FOOD

Ramadan Iftar Feast

Wrap up Ramadan with these AMAZING Palestinian Iftar recipes.

FOOD

Ramadan Iftar Feast

Wrap up Ramadan with these AMAZING Palestinian Iftar recipes.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds shredded phyllo dough, ground
  • 5 ½ tablespoons sweet butter, divided
  • 1 cup margarine, melted
  • 2 teaspoons powdered orange dye
  • 12 ounces ackawi cheese
  • 12 ounces sweet white cheese
  • 1 ½ cups mozzarella
  • 2 cups simple syrup
  • ¼ cup ground pistachios, for garnish

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Soak ackawi cheese in water for at least 6 hours to remove saltiness.
  3. Mix ground kanafeh dough with margarine and 3 tablespoons of melted sweet butter.
  4. Add 2 teaspoons of powdered orange dye to 2 1/2 tablespoons of butter and spread out into a large pan.
  5. Spread out kanafeh dough mixture into a pan, on top of the butter, and press it flat.
  6. Grind ackawi cheese, sweet white cheese and mozzarella in a food processor.
  7. Layer cheese mixture on top of the kanafeh and bake in the oven until lightly golden and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.
  8. Pour simple syrup over the kanafeh and top with pistachios. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

  • 1 ½ pounds farina
  • 1 ½ pounds semolina
  • 1 ½ pounds sweet butter
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 ¼ cups confectioners sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup fennel powder
  • 1 tablespoon mahlab
  • 2 tablespoons anise powder
  • 1 ½ tablespoons nutmeg
  • ½ tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 cup water

Date Filling

  • 2 ½ pounds date paste
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • ½ tablespoon nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon fennel powder
  • 1 tablespoon anise powder
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • For topping:
  • Powdered sugar
  • Ground pistachios

Steps

Cookie Dough

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Mix farina, semolina and sweet butter. Cover and let it sit at room temperature overnight.
  3. Mix in confectioners sugar, granulated sugar, fennel powder, mahlab, anise powder and baking powder.
  4. Add water and avoid over-mixing by using just your fingers, set aside.
  5. Prepare the date filling.

Date Filling

  1. Mix date paste with cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel powder and anise powder.
  2. Roll the date mixture and into small 1 ½ inch sized balls, then roll the dough into slightly bigger balls, about 1 ¾ inch in size.
  3. Lightly flatten one of the dough balls and place a date ball into the center.
  4. Roll together then press into a date cookie mold until it’s level with the edge.
  5. Tap the mold against a hard surface to remove the cookie.
  6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees until golden brown, sprinkle with powdered sugar or ground pistachios.
  7. Serve and enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh grape leaves
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 8 grey squash
  • 2 pounds white short-grain rice
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 2 cups chopped onion
  • 2 cups chopped tomatoes
  • 1 ½ cups parsley
  • 5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • ½ tablespoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • ½ tablespoon black pepper
  • For cooking:
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 ½ cups water
  • 2 tablespoons salt, divided
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 - 2 lemons, as preferred
  • 9 garlic cloves
  • ½ cup sliced onion
  • 1 whole tomato, sliced
  • 1 potato, sliced

Steps

  1. Add juice of one lemon to a medium pot of water and bring to a boil.
  2. Add about 10 grape leaves and cook for 1 ½ minutes until they begin to change to an olive color. Drain then wash with cold water.
  3. Core grey squash and set aside.
  4. Soak rice in water for 10 minutes, drain and mix with, ground beef, chopped onion, parsley, chopped garlic, black pepper, cumin, turmeric and olive oil.
  5. Lay out a grape leaves and place a small amount of rice in the middle, roll it up and repeat.
  6. Fill grey squash with the same rice mixture.
  7. Add a tablespoon of oil, garlic cloves, sliced onions, potatoes and tomatoes to the bottom of a large pot.
  8. Add a single layer of rolled grape leaves, then all of the stuffed squash.
  9. Fill the pot with the rest of the grape leaves then add salt, lemon juice and about 4 1/2 cups of water, until it reaches just under the top layer of grape leaves.
  10. Cover with an upside down plate to weigh it down.
  11. Cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes on medium heat or until the rice is cooked all the way through.
  12. Remove the lid and plate and carefully flip onto a tray. Serve and enjoy!

Ingredients

Chicken and Stock

  • 2 ½ tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 pounds chicken
  • 1 ½ cups chopped onion
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 sticks cinnamon
  • ¼ cup cardamom pods
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 4 ½ cups water

Rice MIxture

  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 ½ pounds jasmine rice
  • 1 ¾ cups vermicelli
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • ½ tablespoon pepper
  • ½ tablespoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ tablespoon allspice
  • ½ tablespoon cardamom
  • 1 tablespoon 7 spice blend

Fried Vegetables

  • 1 head cauliflower, separated
  • 1 eggplant, peeled and sliced
  • 3 potatoes, sliced
  • 5 cups canola oil

Steps

Chicken and Stock

  1. Add oil, chopped onion, chicken, bay leaves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks and salt to a large pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Add water and bring to a boil, skimming the foam off the top as it goes.
  3. Remove chicken and place it in the maqlooba pot; save the stock for the rice mixture.

Rice MIxture

  1. Fry vermicelli until golden brown, then place on paper towel.
  2. Soak rice for 10 minutes, then drain and add salt, pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, all spice, powdered cardamom and 7 spice blend. Mix in the vermicelli and layer it over the chicken and fried vegetables.
  3. Ladle in about 4 cups of the leftover chicken stock or until you can see it a quarter inch under the rice.
  4. Cover with a lid and cook on medium until the stock boils away.
  5. Once the stock boil away, after about 25 to 30 minutes, remove the lid, place a large pan on top of the pot and flip. Carefully remove the pot.
  6. Serve and enjoy!

Fried Vegetables

  1. Fry sliced eggplant, potatoes and cauliflower in the canola oil.
  2. Dry on paper towels then layer them on top of the chicken in the maqlooba pot.