Qatayef are stuffed Arabic pancakes with lots of varieties and fillings. Classic qatayef are stuffed, fried, and then drenched in simple syrup. This time I am showing you a different style of qatayef. Qatayef Asafiri stuffed with creamy ashta, dipped in crushed nuts and drizzled with honey or syrup. So tasty and delicious.
If you ask any Middle Eastern person what food comes to his/her mind when he/she hears the word Ramadan, the answer is one of two Qatayef or knafeh.
Ingredients:
- All-purpose
- flour and fine semolina flour as the main flour types for this recipe.
- Baking powder and yeast as leavening agents, plus sugar to activate the yeast.
- A batch of Ashta.
- Pistachios for garnishing.
How to make qatayef asafiri
- In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients well.
- Add water and mix until everything is well incorporated, cover and let it rest for 30 minutes. You can do this step in a blender.
- The batter should be runny and not thick like pancakes.
- In a skillet set over medium heat, pour 2 tablespoons batter.
- Cook until the batter has no visible wet spots you will notice bubbles forming on the surface. Do not flip.
- Check out images 5 and 6 for how your pancake will look like.
- Scoop about a teaspoon of the Ashta filling in the middle of the Qatayef.
- Pinch the edges together sealing them two-thirds of the way. Dip the open side into ground pistachios.
Qatayef Asafiri
Qatayef is sold everywhere in Egypt during Ramadan, it is like mini pancakes filled with all sorts of goodies. I usually serve it savory with soups on the Ramadan breakfast table and then sweet when it comes to dessert time. I am showing you a super easy Qatayef recipe with a handful of ingredients right from your pantry. An elegant recipe that is a feast by just looking at it... Qatayef Asafiri.
Qatayef is usually deep fried, but Qatayef Asafiri type is not fried after being filled with Ashta or cream and that's how it should be done. My mom though, used to make it, fry it then fill it as my late father did not like to eat Qatayef without being fried. Frying the Qatayef makes it crunchy and even more delicious.
Qatayef is also usually dunked in thick simple syrup, but this time I felt it does not need the excess sugar and we just ate it as is, I've made my Ashta with sugar so I will not need to use syrup or honey but this is of course up to you.
When you make Qatayef you need to work somehow fast so it will not get dry and at this point it will be very hard to seal and it might tear as well. So a side note keep your Qatayef covered until you finish the whole batter and also when you are stuffing them. These Qatayef should be consumed the same day as the Ashta will not hold fresh until the next day.
My kids love this recipe but I have one of them who does not like pistachios- poor thing 🙂 missing a lot - so he just have it with honey and Ashta, and I always get "you are the best mom" feedback from them.
Qatayef Asafiri
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour.
- 1 cup fine semolina
- 2 Tablespoon granulated sugar.
- 1 teaspoon baking powder.
- ½ teaspoon instant yeast.
- ¼ teaspoon salt.
- 2½ cups warm water.
- ¼ cup ground pistachios.
- Optional : simple syrup or honey for drizzling.
- A batch of Ashta
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients well.
- Add water and mix until everything is well incorporated, cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- In a skillet set over medium heat, pour 2 tablespoons batter.
- Cook until the batter has no visible wet spots you will notice bubbles forming on the surface.Do not flip.
- Complete the batter and cover the cooked Qatayef so it will not get dry.
- Prepare the Ashta as directed in the above link.
- Scoop about a teaspoon of the Ashta filling in the middle of the Qatayef.
- Pinch the edges together sealing them two-thirds of the way. Dip the open side into ground pistachios.
- Arrange nicely in a serving dish and cover until time to serve.
- *You can also drizzle some thick simple syrup or honey over the Qatayef.
Simi
Lovely!
Nadin
I have always had his dessert at family gatherings and never knew the name but you were lucky if you would get one at these over sized dinners. Now that I make them darn perfect thanks to Amira’s recipe, I can bring a tray of my own for future gatherings. Excellent.
Amira
Thank you Nadine so much for your sweet comment, I am happy you liked it.
Rosemary
I would love to use this bread wrap recipe to make a savoury filling, preferably vegan. Would you have any ideas ? I am impressed with the presentation.
Amira
Rosemary, I believe vegan samosa filling would work great here, vegan cheese mix, vegan sausage, onions and mushrooms.. etc. When I make savory version of qatayef, my favorite is always feta cheese mixed with dry mint and sometimes green onion.
Nancy Soranno
These look delicious and easy I will have to try to make them sometime.
Question, what type or grade of semolina is used?
Amira
Nancy let me just say these fall into the category of addictive food for me, so delicious. For the semolina, check out this resources page, it has a semolina link on amazon so you can take a closer look. Hope this will help, let me know if you need anymore assistance.