As the holy month of Ramadan comes to an end, Muslims around the world are preparing delicious feasts and festivities to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. And no festivity is complete without something sweet!
Digital creators across social media are sharing their favorite traditional and fusion recipes to mark the celebrations. London-based creator Ilhan Abdi says bur, a Somali fried sweet bread, will be making its appearance.
"You won't really have it the entire year. And then when Ramadan comes, every Somali family is going to have bur on their table," she said.
Ayesha Nemat Khan and Nabeah Wahab decided to add a twist to their favorite traditional flavors.
Khan, originally from India and currently based in Dubai, lives far away from her family and wanted to create a recipe that was reminiscent of her home and her culture. Her rooh afza (flavored syrup) mousse recipe was three years in the making.
"I remember my father, he used to drink this glass of rooh afza milk every single day. I thought that the mousse would be the perfect way to bring that alive," she said.
Vancouver-based Wahab says food is a medium to create new things. Wahab took knafeh, a dessert made with phyllo dough and a sweet cheese, and merged it with a cheesecake. She advises others who hope to make the dessert to not be afraid to try something new.
"Keep your mind open to new flavors, new foods, because you never know what you will like," she said.
Wahab plans to mark Eid celebrations with prayers, family and friends, henna, and giving back to those in need, also called Zakat al-Fitr, "so everybody has a chance to celebrate and eat good food, because there's no point in celebrating something as big as Eid if a lot of the community or more of the community can't do it," she said.
Check out Abdi's, Khan's and Wahab's recipes below and try them yourself.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 sachet or tablespoon fast action yeast
3 tablespoons (40 grams) any neutral oil
3 tablespoons (40 grams) granulated sugar
1 cup warm milk
Oil for frying
Icing sugar to coat
You can also add 1 pinch cardamom powder or nigella seeds, if you'd like
Directions
In a large bowl, add the sugar, oil and yeast.
Pour in the milk. Reserve 2 to 3 tablespoons.
Whisk together well until the yeast dissolves.
Add in the flour and mix well. If you find the dough too dry, add the remaining milk. If it is too wet, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour.
Knead well and form into a ball. Place in an oiled bowl (this will prevent sticking) and cover. Place in a warm dark place and leave to rise for a minimum of 30 minutes. Try not to leave it any longer.
Once the dough has risen, roll out onto a well-floured surface and fold a few times. Divide into 4 to 6 balls. I usually do 5. If you like them thicker, make 4.
Individually roll them out and cut into 4 to 5 triangles. You can make them any shape you like. I use a cup to make circles. Once cut, add more flour on both sides.
Heat up some oil and add the dough to the hot oil. Don't overcrowd the pan. The dough should rise to the top and puff up. You can pour the oil over them to help puff. Once it has puffed and slightly browned on the underside, flip them over. Continue to fry for a few more seconds and remove.
Leave them to cool and enjoy as is if you prefer. I love adding icing sugar to the top. Enjoy!
Tip: If you like, you can roll these out thicker and add cold thickened custard to the centre of the dough, then cover with another identical piece. Press the edges firmly and fry!
Ingredients
30 milliliters ice-cold water
6 grams gelatin powder
200 grams white chocolate
75 milliliters milk
75 milliliters liquid whipping cream (for chocolate mixture)
80 milliliters rooh afza syrup
255 milliliters liquid whipping cream/heavy cream
80 grams pistachio paste
Topping
Sweetened whipped cream
Rooh afza
Chopped pistachios
Directions
Bloom the gelatin -- pour ice-cold water in a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin powder over it. Immediately mix the water until the gelatin water is dissolved, then let it set in the fridge for 15 minutes.
In a heat-proof bowl, add the white chocolate. Meanwhile, add the milk, 75 milliliters whipping cream, and rooh afza in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once it's hot, pour the milk mixture over the white chocolate, let it sit for 1 minute until the chocolate melts, then whisk together until the chocolate is properly incorporated into the milk mixture.
While the mixture is still hot, add the bloomed gelatin and whisk until the gelatin is fully melted and incorporated into the milk mixture. Make sure your mixture is still hot, or the gelatin will not melt properly. Set it aside until it cools down to room temperature.
Add 255 milliliters liquid whipping cream to a separate bowl and whip it with a hand or electric mixer until it reaches medium peaks.
Once the milk mixture reaches room temperature, gradually pour it into the whipped cream while folding it gently with a silicon spatula. Again, do this gently so that the mixture remains fluffy.
Assemble the mousse: In your serving dish of choice, add a layer of the pistachio paste, then a layer of the rooh afza mousse, another layer of pistachio paste and chopped pistachios, then another layer of the mousse. Let the mousse set for at least 2 hours.
Once set, top the dessert with some sweetened whipped cream swirled with rooh afza syrup and chopped pistachios. Serve cold.
Ingredients
2 1/3 cups (141 grams) shredded phyllo
4 tablespoons (42 grams) butter, melted
A pinch of orange food coloring
2 pounds (907 grams) full-fat cream cheese
3/4 cup (75 grams) sugar
1 cup (250 grams) sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons orange blossom water
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
Ashta:
1/2 cup cream (125 milliliters)
1/4 cup milk (62 milliliters)
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon orange blossom water (to taste)
Topping:
1 cup (58 grams) shredded phyllo
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
A pinch of orange food coloring
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease sides of a springform pan (line bottom with parchment paper as well if you want to remove it from the pan completely later).
Melt butter with some orange food coloring. Add a little bit of water to make the color brighter. In a medium bowl, massage together the shredded phyllo and melted butter.
Press it evenly into a springform pan and bake for about 15 minutes. Take it out and let it cool. Then line the outside of the pan with 2 layers of good aluminum foil. This is to prevent any water leaking into the pan and making the crust soggy.
In a large bowl, blend the cream cheese with a handheld mixer or stand mixer. Then add in the sugar and mix well.
Add in the sour cream, lemon juice, orange blossom water and salt. Blend until incorporated
Crack in and mix the eggs in one at a time. Add in the next one just when the last one starts to mix in the batter. Don't mix too much with the electric mixer because it will incorporate too much air, leading to your cheesecake cracking at the end.
Once all the eggs are in, mix gently and thoroughly with a spatula. Do not mix it too much.
Start boiling the water for the water bath
Pour the batter into the pan and pop out the air bubbles
Put the cheesecake in a bigger pan for the water bath and place into the oven. The pan should be tall enough to be able to hold enough water to be at least an inch high on the side of the pan.
Place both pans into the oven and then pour in the boiling water in the bigger pan (water should be 1 inch high)
Bake for 55 to 70 minutes, or until the sides are set and the middle is kind of jiggly
Turn off the oven and keep the oven door slightly open with a wooden spoon and let it cool for an hour.
Take the cheesecake out and remove from the water bath and let it cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours. This slow cool is important so the temperature doesn't change drastically, which leads to cracking.
To make the ashta: In a saucepan, add in the milk, heavy cream, cornstarch, flour, sugar and orange blossom water. Whisk it well to remove any lumps. Place it on the stove at medium high heat and cook it while stirring continuously. Once it starts to thicken up and has big bubbles forming, cook for about 30 more seconds and then take it off the heat. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let it cool.
Tear up the shredded phyllo for the topping and massage it with some melted butter and food coloring. In a pan on medium high heat, toast this mixture until it becomes nice and crispy. Set aside to cool
To assemble, take out the cheesecake from the pan and place it in a serving plate. Spread the ashta on top and coat the top with the toasted kataifi (phyllo dough) mixture. Sprinkle some pistachios and rose petals and enjoy!