Shaabiyat Kacha
Category – Dessert; Cuisine type – Middle Eastern
Courtesy: Chef Ammoury of The Address Marina
For the last few days, I have been sharing recipes on everything – Starters, Salad, Main course… but Dessert. To resist from writing on dessert, that too from this sweet loving Bengali foodie, is like asking a child not to kick the football after he’s been given a new football! So, here’s recipe that Chef Ammoury shares for my blog readers, on Shaabiyat Kacha, a very traditional Lebanese dessert. These are nothing but puff pastry with Cream Rose Water filling and drizzled in Sugar syrup. Deliciously crispy, you’ll find these sweet puff pastries very easy to make.
For the printable recipes →
Ingredients
To make Kacha Cream Filling
Cream Cheese – 100g
Sugar Icing – 75g
Rose water – 5ml
Pistachio – 10g, chopped for dusting
For the Sugar syrup or Shira
Sugar – 1kg
Water – 500ml
Method of Preparation
• Boil the water and Sugar together until it reduces by half
• Roll puff Pastry into 3mm thickness, cut square 4x4cm and fill with Kacha cream, fold as shown in the picture. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. As soon as it is cooked and comes out of the oven, brush with Sugar syrup and put the chopped Pistachio on top
Note on the dish
Either the pastry should be hot or the sugar syrup should be hot. If both the pastry and Sugar Syrup are hot, the pastry will deflate! So either make the sugar syrup and leave to cool, or wait for the pastries to cool.
Note on Arabic Sweets
Talking of Middle Eastern desserts, I still cannot forget the super cheesy dessert by the way of NabulsiKunafa that I ate on my Arabian Pilgrimage Food Tour With Frying Pan Adventures. Kunafa is a cheese pastry soaked in sweet syrup. Sounds simple? Probably, but the preparation of the Kunafa doesn’t sound that simple at all. The pastry is heated with butter or palm oil and then spread with soft white Nabulsi cheese and topped with more pastry. A thick syrup of sugar, water, drops of rose water or orange blossom water is poured on the pastry during the final minutes of cooking. The Nabulsi cheese or the Jibneh Nablusi is a white-brine cheese originating from the city of Nablus, situated on the West Bank. Nablus is famed for it’s elite or ‘high cuisine’. It is also famous for Kunafas. The other amazing Arabic sweets that I love are Halawat al Jibn, Karabij and Baklava.
{A complete listing of the recipes that I’m going to share over this period}
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Designed in the manner of a traditional Ramadan tent (above) but inside a modern air-conditioned set up of the Constellation ballroom, an extensive Iftar Buffet is available from sunset until 9pm during the entire Ramadan followed by a la carte Suhour menu to be enjoyed in the Terrace Tent from 8pm onwards. The Iftar spread is quite elaborate (yes, I did have a preview of it and have written an elaborate post on it). Starting with cold Mezzeh counters (Mezzehs are small dishes served traditionally at the beginning of Middle Eastern meals like Starters), soup and bread stations, salad bars, there will also be hot buffet and live cooking stations serving traditional Middle Eastern, Asian and International cuisine. Apart from live warm Mezzeh counters, grill stations, Pasta stations, cold dessert and hot dessert counters, there will also be live cooking stations preparing a few traditional desserts like Um Ali, one of my favourite Arabic dessert!
Ramadan Tents in Dubai
Traditionally, Ramadan tents are erected during the month of Ramadan, where people can meet right after Maghrib or the sunset so that everyone who’s fasting for Ramadan can break their daily fast with friends and family over an Iftar meal. Dates form an important part of Iftar (three dates are eaten to break the fast, in the tradition of the prophet Mohammed, who broke his fast in this manner). In Dubai, Iftar buffets are organised in many hotels around the city, complete with air-conditioned Ramadan Tents. I have been curious whether the grandeur of these Iftar Buffets contradict some of the very principles of Ramadan, which is abstinence and self-discipline. While some of my Muslim friends do not attain these Buffets because the prayer facilities for Maghrib isn’t there, most of these Ramadan tents nowadays have prayer rooms. As food blogger and artisan chef Dima Sharif explains, ‘While in Dubai, and especially among the expat community, Iftar Buffets are very popular – probably because they are away from family, and in Ramadan tradition has it that you break fast with a large number of people – it is not the actual tradition of Ramadan among most and not in fact the most famous forms of breaking fast. Actually, the tradition and spirit of Ramadan (the essence) is very much alive, and that is my focus this year.
{This indoor Ramadan tent can accommodate up to 400-500 diners. Families and friends can seat themselves around round tables decorated with traditional Arabic lanterns and date platters. Dhs 155/person. E-mail: meet.dubaimarina@theaddress.com or call +97144367777. More info here}
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My previous post chalks out all about Ramdan in Dubai | Where All You Can Eat. During this entire month, I will be sharing special Ramadan recipes, gathered from many signature restaurants of top hotels in Dubai and around the region. I know that many people do not go out during Ramadan and prefer to cook at home. Most would like to cook special dishes, but they don’t have access to these restaurant recipes. Each hotel that I have contacted has graciously sent me the recipes. I have been inspired by Dima Sharif, who has a tradition of posting daily recipes on her blog during Ramadan. This year, she explains the tradition of Ramadan as it is observed in different countries. Do join her in her journey as well – Ramadan Special 2013 – A Focus on Ramadan Culture & The Spirit of Ramadan. Also, my blog giveaway – ‘Theme Night Dinner invite for two’, courtesy, The Address Marina, runs throughout the month of Ramadan.
Do join me as I post special recipes from the various signature restaurants in Dubai. I hope you try out these recipes (assuming that a restaurant recipe is not difficult to cook!), send me pictures and do keep connected over Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Enjoy your summers and yes, do show off this amazing dessert – Shaabiyat Kacha to your guests. Happy Cooking!
Unblogging it all… Ish*ta
Disclaimer: The images of Shabiyat Kacha has been provided by The Address Marina, the rest of the pictures have been taken by me. The opinions stated here are my own and are independent. I hope you enjoy reading the posts with lot of visuals. Please do not use any material from this post. You can see more pictures of my travel and food journey here.
You may also be interested in the other recipes in this series:
• Date Gyōza (Japanese Dumpling) | Recipe FromZUMA
• Ginger Lotus Sea Bass | Recipe From Blue Jade, RitzCarlton
• Chicken Kabsa | Recipe From Asateer, The PalmAtlantis• Sumac Octopus with Pomegranate | Recipe From Celebrity Chef SilvenaRowe
