Atayef
Small folded pancakes of yeasted semolina batter, stuffed with sweetened cheese or chopped walnuts, fried golden, then drowned in cold rosewater syrup. Eaten across Ramadan in Jordan and the wider Levant; the contrast of the hot crisp pancake against the cool sweet syrup is what makes them.
Overview
A loose batter of fine semolina, plain flour, yeast, sugar and warm water rests until bubbly. Small disks are poured onto a hot dry pan and cook one side only, bubbles rise and burst, the top setting porous and lacy. Each disk is folded around a filling (sweetened cheese or spiced walnut), pinched into a half-moon, then fried in oil until deep golden. Cold sugar syrup is poured over hot pancakes; serve immediately.
Ingredients
Batter
- 200 g fine semolina
- 100 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon fast-action yeast
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 600 ml warm water
Walnut filling
- 200 g walnuts (chopped fine)
- 4 tablespoons caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon rosewater
Cheese filling (alternative)
- 250 g low-salt halloumi (rinsed of salt; grated)
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
Syrup
- 250 g caster sugar
- 150 ml water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon rosewater
- 1 teaspoon orange blossom water
Frying
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
- Crushed pistachios (to garnish)
Method
Stage 1 - Batter
- Whisk the semolina, flour, yeast, sugar and salt; add the warm water; whisk smooth.
- Cover and rest 1 hour at room temperature; bubbles will form on the surface.
Stage 2 - Syrup
- Combine the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small pan.
- Simmer 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Off the heat, stir in the rosewater and orange blossom water.
- Cool fully - this is poured over the hot atayef, so it must be cold.
Stage 3 - Pancakes (one side only)
- Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat (no oil).
- Pour 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake; let spread to about 8 cm circles.
- Cook 90 seconds without flipping - bubbles will rise and burst across the top, leaving a lattice of holes; the top should set with a matte finish.
- Lift onto a clean tea towel; cover with another so they don't dry out.
Stage 4 - Fillings
- Walnut: mix the walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and rosewater.
- Cheese: mix the grated cheese and sugar.
Stage 5 - Fold and seal
- Place a teaspoon of filling on each pancake (cooked side up).
- Fold in half to a half-moon; pinch the edges firmly to seal - they shouldn't open in the oil.
Stage 6 - Fry
- Heat 4 cm of oil in a wide pan to 180°C.
- Fry 4-5 atayef at a time for 90 seconds, turning, until deep golden.
- Lift onto kitchen paper to drain briefly.
Stage 7 - Syrup and serve
- Dip each hot atayef into the cold syrup for 5 seconds; lift onto a serving plate.
- Top with crushed pistachios.
- Eat hot.
Notes
- Cold syrup, hot pastry: This is the rule for everything in this family of Levantine sweets - basbousa, baklava, atayef. The temperature contrast is what makes the syrup soak in without going greasy.
- One side only: Atayef are uncooked on top so the filling sticks to the still-doughy surface. Flipping breaks the fold.
- Pinch firmly: Filling escaping into hot oil burns and ruins the dish. Pinch the seam hard; double-pinch if dry.
Storage
- Best eaten same day. The crisp goes within a couple of hours.
Recipes mentioned here
Basbousa
A simple batter of semolina, yogurt, sugar, butter and coconut is baked in a shallow tray. The classic move: the cake is cut into diamonds before baking so the syrup soaks through the cuts later. Hot syrup is poured over the warm cake and disappears in seconds, leaving the surface tacky-glossy. Topped with a single almond on each diamond.
Baklava
A Middle Eastern delicacy of honey-soaked, crispy-layered filo pastry studded with pistachios and warm spices, cut into diamonds and served at room temperature. This globally beloved pastry achieves its legendary texture through careful assembly and the crucial overnight soaking that allows the honey syrup to penetrate all layers while maintaining crispness.
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