For Arabs from the Levant, “this dish, more than any other, represents Ramadan,” writes chef Reem Assil.

By Reem Assil | Published Mar 31, 2022 10:25 PM

Whatever else may have been happening in our lives, when it came time to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan, we could always count on having atayef. We made the festive little pancakes two ways: stuffed with nuts, folded, fried, and served hot; or pinched into cone-shaped pockets and filled with ashta—chilled, sweetened clotted cream—and pistachios. Unless, that is, my youngest sister, Manal, happened to be nearby. She loved to pull the atayef straight from the pan and pop them into her mouth before they could even reach the pot of oil for frying or the fridge for cooling.

When I exchange stories with other Arabs from the Levant, this dish, more than any other, represents Ramadan for us. Cooked on only one side, and porous with perfect, tiny, crumpet-like bubbles, atayef are velvety-soft receptacles for the filling and syrup to come. Recipe and technique are equally important here: it’s all about getting a good seal by keeping the pancakes moist before pinching them closed. The components may each be prepared ahead of time for quick assembly before serving. (I recommend making homemade ashta, since store-bought versions tend to be too runny and don’t hold as well in the pancakes.) If you plan to make both fillings, double the quantity of pancake batter and blossom syrup.

Featured in “Rediscovering Communal Ramadan Meals Brought Me Back To My Purpose As a Chef.”

This recipe is adapted with permission from Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora by Reem Assil, copyright © 2022. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.” Photographs copyright © 2022 by Alanna Hale. 

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