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Ramadan pastries explained

During Ramadan especially rich pastries and desserts are made. Considered restorative and nourishing, you can find them until the end of Id al-Fitr, which is the name of the three days of feasting that follow the end of the fasting period.

In Iran, baklavas, kadaif, macaroons and shortcrumb cookies heavily dusted with icing sugar are baked by families everywhere. In Muslim families in Turkey, they focus on pastries filled rickly with cream:

Snood el sit is a phyllo dough pastry filled with whipped cream and fried. Then it's soused in rosewater syrup.
Shayebia is almost the same - a triangle of phyllo stuffed with a confectioner's custard but not dipped in syrup.
Warbat is a circular phyllo pastry filled with whipped cream.
Katayef is crepe-like, filled with whipped cream and soused in rosewater syrup.
Halanet Jiben is a roll made from a thin sheet of sweet cheese and stuffed with whipped cream.
Katayef Ushta is a folded and fried crepe stuffed with a variety of options, from sweet cheese, whipped cream, confectioner's custard or walnuts.
Farghat Kenafa bil Ushta is a semolina individual cake flavored with rosewater, stuffed with whipped cream and chopped nuts and frosted with more cream.
Hish el Saria is like bread pudding, but stuffed with nuts and made with whipped cream not creme anglaise.
Besma bil Ushta is a dough made from semolina and ground cashew nuts which, once baked, is covered in honey and whipped cream. 

In Maryland, order them at Yasaman Bakery, in Virginia at Samadi Sweets Cafe, 5916 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, 703 578 0606.

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Posted on Tuesday 13th May 2008 in Greece & the Middle East, Baking, Information, Ingredients

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