Kunafa

petukbong

May 3

Hello readers. Eid Mobarak to everyone.

This Eid I want to share with you my take on this beautiful middle eastern dessert called Kunafa or knafeh .

Knafeh , is made with a a crust of shredded dough called kataifi or string pastry. Though I used a cheap method by using lachha semai or pheni of string vermicelli which you find in abundance during Ramadan.

The dish has a crust of pastry with a filling of cheese and then soaked in sweet syrup called attar .

I will mention to different methods I tried to make this beauty,

Things you will need,

Lachha semai : 200 gms
Ricotta cheese : 200 gms
Mozzarella cheese : 100 gm s
Sugar : 250 gm
Butter : 50-75 gms softened at room temperature.
Rose water : 2 tsp
Pistachio : chopped, 2 tsp
Dried rose petals : for garnish
Dry fruits of your choice

How I made it,

Mix ricotta and mozzarella cheese together in a bowl till smooth
Take laccha in a bowl and add softened butter and mix thoroughly but softly with hand
Mix sugar with equal amount of water in a bowl and bring to simmer on low flame till starts to thicken ( do not let it boil ) , add in rose water and take off the flame.
Procedure 1 :
- In a small pan( almost the same size of your desired knafeh ) make a layer of butter mixed semai.
- Place on low medium flame
- Add the cheese mixture and spread evenly.
- Cover with the rest of the buttered semai mix.
- After 5-7 mins( when the side starts to brown ) , take a small plate and slide the knafeh out with cooked side down . Place the hot pan on top of uncooked layer and flip the plate to get the other side start cooking. ( I know very tricky )
- After 5 - 7 more minutes , pour the sugar syrup and let it simmer down.
- Take out on plate and top with rose petals and pistachios.
Procedure 2 :
- Take baking tray and make the arrangements as described above.
- A layer of semai , then cheese layer and finally covered with more semai.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 mins at 190°c
- After the baking pour hot syrup directly on top
- Top with pistachios and rose petals and other dry fruits