Knafeh

For the Ottoman desert, see Kadayıf. For the folded pancake, see Qatayef.
Knafeh
Alternative names
  • Kunafeh
  • Kunafa
  • Kanafeh
  • Knafeh
  • Konafi
  • Kunaftah
  • Künefe
  • Kinafa
TypeDessert
Place of originMiddle East[1]
Region or state
Serving temperatureWarm, room temperature or cold (qishta variety)
Main ingredients
VariationsMultiple

Knafeh[2] (Arabic: كنافة) is a traditional Arabic dessert, made with spun pastry called kataifi,[3][4][5] soaked in a sweet, sugar-based syrup called attar, and typically layered with cheese, or with other ingredients such as clotted cream, pistachio or nuts, depending on the region.[6] It is popular in the Middle East.[7][6][8][9]

In Arabic, the name may refer to the string pastry itself, or to the entire dessert dish. In Turkish, the string pastry is known as tel kadayıf, and the cheese-based dessert that uses it as künefe. In Turkey, it is called künefe.[10] In the Balkans, the shredded dough is similarly known as kadaif/cataif,[11] and in Greece as kadaifi, and is the basis of various dishes rolled or layered with it, including dessert pastries with nuts and sweet syrups.

  1. ^ Natanel, Katherine (2016). Sustaining Conflict: Apathy and Domination in Israel-Palestine. Univ of California Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-520-96079-4.
  2. ^ "knafeh". dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  3. ^ "Cheese pastry (künefe)".
  4. ^ "Tel kadayıf hamuru tarifi". Hurriyet.
  5. ^ The World Religions Cookbook. Greenwood Press. 2007. p. 158. ISBN 9780313342639.
  6. ^ a b Davidson, Alan (2014). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. pp. 33, 661–662. ISBN 9780199677337 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Knafeh". Time Out Sydney.
  8. ^ Edelstein, Sari (2010). Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. ISBN 9781449618117.
  9. ^ Nasser, Christiane Dabdoub (2013). Classic Palestinian Cuisine. Saqi. ISBN 9780863568794.
  10. ^ Albala, K. (2011). Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Greenwood. p. 311. ISBN 9780313376269. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
  11. ^ Encyclopedia of food and culture. Scribner. 2003. p. 159. OCLC 50590735.