Amani Massoud

My mother taught me to make atayef because it is a family tradition to have atayef every day of Ramadan. We never make desert atayef, but we do occasionally vary the cheeses and the combinations of cheese. Because I grew up in Alexandria, I know the good atayef sellers there; they are the same ones who sell ingredients for making konafa at home. Atayef ingredients are sold by the kilo as well. They are little white pancakes that are kind of sticky by nature. You have to be careful about how much filling you add, because atayef can break easily if you over stuff them. Atayef are usually sold during Ramadan. This recipe is very easy. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

½ kilo atayef

Equal parts gibna beida (white cheese) and gibna areesh (cottage cheese)

Chopped parsley (optional)

Sunflower oil

Instructions:

1. Lay the pancakes flat on a cutting board or other flat surface.
2. Place a spoonful of cheese in the middle of each pancake. Do not use a very big spoon or you will break the pancakes.
3. Fold the pancakes in half over the cheese and press the edges together to help it stay closed.
4. Alternatively, fold the pancakes first, leaving only a small opening so as to better measure how much cheese will fit inside.
5. At this point, you can freeze the stuffed atayef for up to a week and take out however many you want for frying and serving.
6. To fry: heat sunflower oil in a frying pan. Make the oil deep enough to take half the thickness of the folded pancake.
7. Fry for approximately 5 minutes on each side.
8. Let drain on a paper towel and enjoy!

*Staff Recommendation: Amira Noshokaty, Culture Editor at Al-Masry Al-Youm English Edition, suggests adding dried mint into the cheese mixture.