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Knafeh

Alternative names	Kunafeh Kunafa Kanafeh Konafi Kunaftah Künefe Kinafa
Type	Dessert
Place of origin	Nablus, Palestine (Knafeh Nabulseyeh)
Region or state	Arab world
Serving temperature	Warm, room temperature, or cold (qishta variety)
Main ingredients	Dough Sugar Cheese Almonds Pistachios Rose water Kaymak
Variations	Multiple
Media: Knafeh

Knafeh (Arabic: كنافة) is a traditional Arab dessert made with spun pastry dough layered with cheese and soaked in a sweet, sugar-based syrup called attar. Knafeh is a popular throughout the Arab world, especially in the Levant, and is often served on special occasions and holidays. The most common variant of knafeh in Jordan and Palestine, Knafeh Nabulseyeh, originated in the Palestinian city of Nablus.

Etymology

The English language borrows the word "knafeh" from Levantine and Egyptian Arabic, and widely transliterates it as kanafeh, kenafeh, knafeh, kunafah, kunafeh, konafa, knéfé, kunafa, and similar variations.

The ultimate origin of the word knafeh is debated. Some sources state that it comes from the Coptic Egyptian word "kenephiten", meaning a bread or cake. Another view is that it comes from a Semitic root with a meaning of "side" or "wing", and from the Arabic kanafa, "to flank or enclose". Early uses are found in stories like One Thousand and One Nights.

History

A common story is that the knafeh was created to satisfy the hunger of caliphs during Ramadan. The story, which dates in writing as early as the 10th century, is variously said to have occurred in Fatimid Egypt or in the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus, Syria, where Levantine dessert makers preparing it for Mu'awiya I.

Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's tenth century Arabic cookbook, Kitab al-Tabikh (Book of Dishes), which documented many recipes from Abbasid courts, does not mention or describe knafeh. However, it does feature a chapter on qatayif, an Arabic pancake dumpling dessert that originated in the Fatamid Empire. The 13th century anonymous cookbook, Kitab al tabikh fi-l-Maghrib wa-l-Andalus (Book of Dishes from Maghreb and Al-Andalus), however, gives a number of recipes for knafeh, which it describes as a pancake dumpling thinner that qatayif prepared on a flag pan. Some of the knafeh recipes in the cookbook call for layering the thin pancake with fresh cheese, baked, and topped with honey and rose syrup.

Ibn al-Jazari gives an account of a 13th-century Mamluk period market inspector who rode through Damascus at night ensuring the quality of knafeh, qatayif, and other foods associated with Ramadan. Over time, new knafeh preparation methods were developed, including a technique of dripping thin batter onto a metal sheet from a perforated container, creating hair-like strings. A mid-15th century Ottoman Turkish translation of Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi's Kitab al-Tabikh added several new contemporary knafeh recipes, though it does not specify where they originated from. Today, knafeh is served throughout the Middle East, although it is "particularly associated with Nablus" and considered to be a "cultural touchstone for Palestinian identity".

Common variants

Knafeh Nabulseyeh (Nablus, Palestine)

Knafeh Nabulseyeh originated in the Palestinian city of Nablus, hence the name Nabulseyeh (also spelled as Nabilsiyeh). Nablus is still renowned in for its knafeh, which "is filled with the city’s trademark firm, white, salty nabulsi cheese" and covered with sweet syrup. Today, Knafeh Nabulseyeh is the most common variant of knafeh in Jordan and Palestine. As a result, academics have described Nablus to as the modern-day knafeh capital.

Knafeh Ghazawiya (Gaza Strip, Palestine)

Knafeh Ghazawiya is a Palestinian variant of knafeh unique to the Gaza Strip. It is made with a variety of Gazan nuts and spices, with "nutmeg and cinnamon replacing the cheese."

Künefe (Hatay, Turkey)

Künefe is a variant of knafeh believed to have originated in Hatay Province, Turkey. It is filled with a mozzarella-like local Hatay cheese and coated in "a syrup made of water, sugar and lemon juice." In 2012, the EU Commission approved Antakya Künefesi, a variant of both kadayif and künefe, as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).

Preparation

There are many several types of knafeh pastry:

• khishnah (Arabic: خشنة, rough): a crust made from long thin noodle threads.
• nāʿimah (Arabic: ناعمة, fine): a semolina dough.
• muhayara (Arabic: محيرة, mixed): a mixture of khishnah and na'ama.
• mabruma (Arabic: مبرومة, twined): a noodle pastry

The knafeh pastry is heated in butter, margarine, palm oil, or traditional semneh, spread with soft sweet cheese, such as Nabulsi cheese, and topped with additional pastry. In khishnah knafeh the cheese is rolled in the pastry. During the final minutes of cooking, thick sweet sugar syrup, water, and a few drops of rose water or orange blossom water are poured on the pastry. The top layer of pastry is sometimes tinted red or orange, and crushed pistachios are often sprinkled as a garnish.

Gallery

• Knafeh served in Jerusalem
• Knafeh shop, old city of Jerusalem
• Knafeh Nabulseyeh
• Soft Knafeh filled with Nabulsi cheese
• Knafeh coated with pistachio and cream
• Turkish künefe
• Knafeh served with ice cream
• A traditional knafeh maker in Cairo

See also

• List of pastries
• Palestinian cuisine
• Phyllo
• Qatayef, a dumpling-like confection involving some of the same ingredients
• Kadayif (pastry)

References

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19. Al-awsat, Asharq (4 October 2007). "The Ramadan Experience in Egypt - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive". ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
20. "Kunafa, Qatayef: Ramadan's most favorite desserts". Cairo Post. 6 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
21. "20 places to get amazing kunafa and Arabic sweets in the UAE". gulfnews.com. 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
22. Nasrallah, Nawal (2007). Annals of the caliphs' kitchens : Ibn Sayyār al-Warrāq's tenth-century Baghdadi cookbook. Brill. pp. 39, 43, 420. ISBN 9789047423058.
23. "An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century". www.daviddfriedman.com. Retrieved 2018-07-12. See also contents and footnotes.
24. Sato, Tsugitaka (31 October 2014). Sugar in the Social Life of Medieval Islam. BRILL. ISBN 9789004281561 – via Google Books.
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26. Cuisine Archived 2007-08-04 at the Wayback Machine Institute for Middle East Understanding
27. Berger, Miriam. "The Palestinian dessert few can enjoy". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
28. ^ Tokyol, Gonca. "Künefe: The beloved dessert rebuilding Turkey". BBC. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
29. ^ Publication of an application for registration of a name pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs 2022/C 433/24
30. "Kunafa". Sampateek. 9 October 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.

External links

• Media related to Kanafeh at Wikimedia Commons

• Arab desserts
• Arab pastries
• Ottoman cuisine
• Egyptian cuisine
• Jordanian cuisine
• Lebanese desserts
• Palestinian desserts
• Syrian desserts
• Turkish desserts
• Stuffed desserts
• Cheese desserts
• Palestinian pastries