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Kunafa bil Kishta

Kunafa is a Palestinian pastry which is originally made with shredded Phyllo/ Filo Dough stuffed with cheese and a Sugar Syrup poured on top. Gradually it found its way to Turkey, Azerbaijan and many other different places where it was experimented with different kinds of dough like semolina dough or different kinds of fillings like cream filling. Today, it has many different varieties. Either its layered like a lasagna or rolled like enchiladas and each one of it has its own beauty.

Kunafa bil Kishta decorated with some chopped pistachios and almonds. Topped by rose petals of homegrown roses.

Phyllo dough is a very this unleavened dough used for making pastries. It is made with flour, water, and a small amount of oil or white vinegar, though some dessert recipes also call for egg yolks.

Homemade filo takes time and skill, requiring progressive rolling and stretching to a single thin and very large sheet. A very big table and a long roller are used, with continual flouring between layers to prevent tearing. Hence for domestic use it is bought from supermarkets, fresh or frozen. I used the frozen and pre-shredded one for my Kunafa.

Kunafa bil kishta simply means Cream Kunafa. But not just any cream, you have to prepare the cream from milk and cornstarch. You can add cream to this mix while cooking but as it only enhances the texture and taste its not completely necessary (and of-course I skip things that are not necessary, most of the time).

So lets move to the recipe? Yes please!

Ingredients:

Shredded Phyllo/ Filo dough/ Kataifi: 500 grams fresh or frozen
Butter: 1 cup, melted
Cooking oil: 1 tablespoon
Orange food color: a pinch

For the cream filling:

Milk: 3 1/2 cups
Corn flour: 7 tablespoons
Sugar: 1/4 cup

For the sugar syrup:

Sugar: 1 cup
Cardamoms: 4-5 pieces, slightly hand-crushed
Water: 1/2 cup

Decoration:

Almonds: handful, chopped
Pistachios: handful, chopped
Rose petals: 2-3 (optional)

Method:

For the dough:

Place the phyllo dough and orange food color in a bowl. Gradually add the oil and melted butter and mix everything well. Everything should be well combined but not too drenched in butter or oil so you increase or decrease the amount of both. Set aside.

If you are using a frozen dough pack then you need to thaw it for a few minutes before coating it with butter and oil.

For the cream filling:

Heat 3 cups milk and all the sugar in a saucepan. As soon as the milk is heated up slightly, mix all the cornflour in the remaining half cup of milk and add it to the saucepan. Cook it until the mixture thickens up and then remove from stove. Let it cool down a bit so you easily handle.

For the sugar syrup:

Add the sugar, cardamoms and water in a saucepan and allow them to boil over medium heat. Boil this mix until it thickens up a bit and has a slightly golden color. Set aside to cool down.

Bringing it all together:

In a baking dish, layer half of the shredded phyllo dough. Press it down a bit with your hand. Now add the cream mixture on top leaving half an inch from the sides. This makes it easy to cut while eating.

Spread the second layer of phyllo dough on top of the cream, covering it completely and bake it on 180 degrees for 45 minutes or until the dough is brown from the top.

To check whether the pastry is cooked or not, bring it out of the oven and check it by your finger tips if its crisped up.

If your pastry is not brown from the top within the given time frame, then i suggest you to not increase the time but just switch on the toasting or upper grilling option of your oven for about 10 minutes to do so while keeping a close eye on it!!

When done, remove it from the oven and drizzle with sugar syrup and have it hot or cold as you like.

For the pastry to not turn soggy, either the sugar syrup or the baked pastry should be slightly cold. I suggest you to prepare the sugar syrup beforehand so its slightly cold and ready to be poured on the hot kunafa.

Enjoy my lovelies!❤




This post first appeared on Lady Bla Bla's Foodentures, please read the originial post: here

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Kunafa bil Kishta

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