Ataif

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Ataif is a Ramadan treat, or at least in our house, Ataif was only made as a dessert after a long day of fasting for Ramadan. I remember asking for Ataif when it wasn’t Ramadan and my sister was like, “You can’t have any, you are not fasting!” For a time I thought that was an actual rule, until my mom was like, “Next time, come to me and I will make it for you.” However, I didn’t often ask as it felt different, or that could have been my sister’s voice in my head! Got to love big sisters!

There are a few different variations that you can make, such as pistachio, walnuts or cheese. Today’s recipe will be Ataif dough with ricotta cheese filling. Others make it with fresh cheese as well, so I will add that recipe soon too. I love Ataif with cottage cheese and simple syrup to top it off, so obviously that would be the one I will start with. It has just the right amount of sweetness without being overpowering. Ataif is almost like a fluffy pancake, and my daughter actually prefers eating them plain without any syrup. Any way you choose to eat them, they are delicious. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can make them in so many different ways, and you can bake them or fry them. The dough recipe can be made in advance and refrigerated until ready to use, you can also pre-bake the dough, then fill and cook it when you are ready to serve it for a meal. This helps when you have lots on your plate and you need everything to be done before Iftar. You can customize them to your preference, for example, when I was growing up, my mom only baked them because it was a little healthier, instead of deep frying them. However, my husband doesn’t consider the baked ones authentic enough! I guess my authentic way is how my mom made things, and his is the way his mom made hers. I will give you both options and you can decide which one you like more!

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Ingredients:

Batter

1/2 Cup Semoule fine #1 (smeed)

2 cups Flour

2 cups Milk

1 cup Water

1 tbsp Sugar

1 tbsp Baking Powder

3 tbsp Orange Blossom Water (mazair)

Chopped Pistachios (optional)

1 piece clean kitchen towel

Sugar Syrup (Ater)

3 cups Sugar

2 cups Water

1 tsp Orange Blossom Water

3 squeezes of lemon

Filling

1 package ricotta cheese

2 tbsp syrup (ater, as shown above)

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Directions for batter

1. In a large bowl add the dry ingredients: semoule, flour, sugar and baking powder.

2. Gradually add the milk, water and orange blossom to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for an hour.

3. While waiting for the batter to rest, start making the syrup.

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Sugar Syrup

1. Place the sugar and water in a pot on medium heat and bring to a boil. Once boiled, turn the stove off, then add the lemon and orange blossom. Place it on the side to use later.

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Filling

1. Add the syrup to the contents of the ricotta cheese package and mix well. Add more syrup if you want the filling to be sweeter.
   

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Preparing Dough:

1. Preheat griddle to high.

2. Once it is rested, stir the batter. It is now ready to pour on the griddle.

3. Pour the batter onto the heated griddle, making small circles.

4. Once the batter has bubbles on the top, you are ready to take it off the heat. Take the kitchen towel and fold it in half. Place the finished pieces into the folded towel, and continue cooking the batter until you have the desired amount of Ataif.

5. Take ataif and fold in half and add the cheese filling and drizzle syrup on top and serve. Best served warm or room temperature. If desired add Chopped Pistachio on top.

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