Arabic & Levantine Pantry Guide
Qatayef: Stuffed Middle Eastern Pancakes for Ramadan
Qatayef are small, one-sided pancakes from Levantine and Egyptian cuisine, traditionally prepared throughout the month of Ramadan. Folded into half-moons around walnuts, sweet cheese or clotted cream, they are fried or baked until crisp and soaked in scented syrup, or served fresh as Qatayef Asafiri.
A Porous Pancake Cooked on One Side Only
Qatayef batter combines all-purpose flour, fine semolina, warm water, a pinch of sugar and leavening, often scented with mahlab or orange blossom water. Poured onto a hot griddle, the pancakes are never flipped: the bottom turns golden brown while the top sets into a dry, spongy surface dotted with tiny bubbles. That soft, porous top allows the edges of the disc to seal tightly together when pinched with the fingers.
Walnuts, Sweet Cheese and Qatayef Asafiri
Medium-sized discs are filled with chopped walnuts, sugar and cinnamon, crushed pistachios or desalted sweet akkawi cheese, then pinched completely shut into crescents. They are either deep-fried or brushed with ghee and baked in the oven until crisp, then dipped straight into cold sugar syrup. Smaller discs are used for Qatayef Asafiri: pinched halfway up to form an open cone, filled with fresh clotted cream (qishta) without any further cooking, dipped in crushed green pistachios and drizzled with syrup.
A Ramadan Tradition from Street Stalls to the Table
Throughout Ramadan, street stalls across the Levant and Egypt pour fresh qatayef to order on large round griddles. Because the edges dry out quickly when exposed to air or refrigeration, cooks keep the fresh pancakes covered under a clean kitchen towel and stuff them the same day. Once filled and sealed, however, raw qatayef freeze well and can be fried or baked straight from the freezer.