What Is Qatayef? The Ramadan Pancake of Egypt

Qatayef are small pancakes folded around nuts or cream, then fried or served fresh with syrup. A guide to Egypt's favourite Ramadan street sweet.

Qatayef are small yeasted pancakes cooked on one side only, then folded around a filling of nuts, raisins, coconut or cream. They are either fried or baked and dipped in syrup, or left soft and pinched half-open around cream. In Egypt they are made almost exclusively during Ramadan, when street stalls cook them in long rows on hot griddles.

History

Qatayef are described in medieval Arabic cookbooks, and they are often associated with the Abbasid and Fatimid periods. Like kunafa, they have long been tied to Ramadan evenings in Egypt.

Two ways to eat them

Asafiri, or bird qatayef, are small pancakes folded into a cone and filled with ashta cream, the open end dipped in crushed pistachio. They are eaten fresh, with a drizzle of syrup. Fried qatayef are larger, sealed around walnuts and cinnamon or sweet cheese, fried until crisp and dipped in cool syrup.

How the pancake is cooked

The batter is a loose mix of flour, semolina, yeast and water. It is poured onto a griddle and cooked only on the bottom, so the top stays bubbly and sticky enough to seal when pressed. That is why fresh qatayef are bought the same day.

Cooked on one side, sealed by hand, eaten that evening.

Making them at home

Buy the pancakes fresh, keep them covered so they don't dry out, and fill them within a few hours. Fried qatayef should be dipped in syrup straight from the oil.

Ask Délices

We bake by the season, so call us to ask what's on the counter today, or to plan Ramadan sweets for an occasion: +20 3 486 1432. You'll find us at 46 Saad Zaghloul Street, Raml Station, open daily 8 AM – 1 AM.