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Qatayef or Atayef

March 11, 2014 by Amira 22 Comments

Qatayef or Atayef is sort of stuffed pancakes that is commonly served during the holy month of Ramadan. Everyone loves Atayef, adults and kids, men and women, I have never seen anyone who does not love Atayef. Whenever I serve this dish to friends, I find myself surrounded with smiley faces as it reminds us all of the good days of Ramadan.


Atayef is usually made sweet, stuffed with nuts or cream and drizzled with simple syrup. I’ve made salty Atayef too which was so so delicious I’ve stuffed it with mined meat, chicken and even cheese.

If you googled the recipe you will find many recipes for Katayef some use whole wheat and others use semolina. The secret behind it is to adjust the batter so it will not be too runny or too thick. I’ve got a recipe that is really fool proof for a successful batter with only needs 3 ingredients commonly found in every kitchen.

You will need :

  • 1 cup of all purpose flour.
  • 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of warm water or milk – I prefer a mixture.
  • 1 tsp dry yeast.
  • Oil for deep frying.
  • Mixed nuts of your choice for the filling.
  • Thick simple syrup- 2c sugar to 1c of water and a dash of vanilla with a tsp of lemon juice.

Add the yeast to the milk then mix in the flour little by little until you get a nice – pancake like batter- let it set for about 20 minutes in a warm place.

Lightly grease a non stick pan – or use your griddle- on a medium heat then pour almost 1/4 cup of the batter or smaller according to the size you are comfortable with. The Atayef should start to bubble on the surface, wait for a couple of minutes until the surface has no wet spots anymore which means it is done. Do not flip the Atayef just remove from heat and let it cool- covered with a clean kitchen towel- on a rack.

When it is cooled enough to handle start stuffing the Atayef by placing 1-2 teaspoons of your filling and fold  it so it forms a half circle pressing on the edge to seal. Deep fry them until golden brown, drizzle with syrup.

Serve and enjoy.

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Filed Under: Desserts, Finger food, Muslim celebrations, Ramadan, Recipe Tagged With: Egyptian Cuisine, Gulf cuisine, Moroccan cuisine, Palestinian cuisine, Tunisian cuisine

About Amira

I’m overjoyed that you have stopped by! This blog combines weeknight dinners for crazy busy days to desserts with the “wow” factor, and classic comforts from the Middle East. One thing in common, they are all recipes that have been tried and tested by family and friends.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joanne T Ferguson says

    March 11, 2014 at 5:10 pm

    G’day! These look amazing and thank you for allowing me to learn something new!
    Cheers! Joanne

    Reply
    • Amira says

      March 12, 2014 at 7:09 pm

      Thanks Joanne I hope you try these.

      Reply
  2. Denise Browning@From Brazil To You says

    March 11, 2014 at 5:26 pm

    These look amazing, Amira! I would devour them all by myself. They remind sweet empanadas.

    Reply
    • Amira says

      March 12, 2014 at 7:08 pm

      Thank you Denise… I bet there are alot in common between Middle east cuisine and the Brazilian one.

      Reply
  3. Henna says

    March 12, 2014 at 4:25 am

    Salaam Sister Amira!
    These look wonderful!

    Reply
    • Amira says

      March 12, 2014 at 7:12 pm

      Hi Henna,How are you dear? aren’t these nice? They have the spirit of Ramadan:) Thanks for the comment.

      Reply
  4. Liz says

    March 12, 2014 at 5:05 am

    I have never heard of atayef before, but I know I’d be an instant fan! They sound amazing!!!

    Reply
    • Amira says

      March 12, 2014 at 7:13 pm

      Liz, this really is simple and tasty I hope you will give it a try.

      Reply
  5. John@Kitchen Riffs says

    March 12, 2014 at 11:12 am

    This is a new dish for me! Looks lovely. The inclusion of the yeast is so interesting — I’ll bet it adds some nice flavor. Fun dish — thanks.

    Reply
    • Amira says

      March 12, 2014 at 7:15 pm

      Hi John…. I though you already knew about this dish!!! It is very common in the Middle east. Very satisfying and easy to make. Thanks for your comment

      Reply
  6. Kathy says

    March 12, 2014 at 4:40 pm

    Oh do these look delicious, Amira! I would love to indulge in a few…I know I would love them!

    Reply
  7. Coffee and Crumpets says

    March 13, 2014 at 12:23 pm

    My all time favourite Ramadan dessert and one of the most searched recipes on my site! It is incredibly popular and because of that I came up with variations last year! I have to have these every Ramadan, without fail. I adore them. Now, having seen yours, I am craving them 🙂
    They are gorgeous and I know they taste awesome!

    Reply
    • Amira says

      March 13, 2014 at 3:49 pm

      Yessss I love it year round too 🙂 I might make them tomorrow in a gathering.

      Reply
  8. easyfoodsmith says

    March 17, 2014 at 11:06 pm

    I wish I had seen your post a day earlier and I would have definitely made them for Holi.

    Reply
    • Amira says

      March 18, 2014 at 5:39 am

      This is nice for any and everyday 🙂 so why not try them today or wait until the Easter if you want a big celebration.

      Reply
  9. Kate @ Diethood says

    March 18, 2014 at 4:57 pm

    I can see myself loving these…a lot!! They sound amazing!

    Reply
  10. Rasha says

    June 23, 2014 at 8:42 am

    Thanks Amira for the recipe. Can we store the Atyef in freezer before frying them for couple months??

    Reply
    • Amira says

      June 23, 2014 at 11:57 pm

      Yes sure, actually I am stocking up on those for the month of Ramadan both sweet and savory.

      Reply
  11. Zana says

    June 3, 2017 at 2:35 pm

    If you add half a cup of fine semolina to your mixture, it yields crunchier atayef that wont get soggy in the syrup.

    Reply
    • Amira says

      June 3, 2017 at 7:32 pm

      Zena, thank you so much for your suggestions. I did actually make another version with semolina in the katayef asafiri recipe but it was a higher ratio. I’ve heard that adding water instead of milk is better regarding crunchiness too. Thank you so much dear.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Qatayef Asafiri with Ashta | Nile to Rockies Cuisine says:
    May 20, 2016 at 10:09 am

    […] breakfast table and then sweet when it comes to dessert time. I’ve showed you a super easy Qatayef recipe before with a handful of ingredients right from your pantry. Today I am going to show you a […]

    Reply
  2. Fettuccine Crepe | Amira's Pantry says:
    September 2, 2017 at 8:41 am

    […] such a pleasing dish. HOW A-MAZING. I love crepes, I do like them waaaay more than I like pancakes. Qatayef is my first love but seriously and so closely followed by crepes. You know why I think crepes are […]

    Reply

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I’m overjoyed that you have stopped by! This blog combines weeknight dinners for crazy busy days to desserts with the “wow” factor, and classic comforts from the Middle East. One thing in common, they are all recipes that have been tried and tested by family and friends. Read More…

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