MARMITE WITH 13TH CENTURY RECIPE FOR TEL KADAYIF/DECORATIVE CREPE NIBBLES

Marmite
Photo by: Lord-Williams

marmite, earthenware cooking container, stockpot. Today, these are being replaced by teflon pots and pans. [Anón/Grewe; 1982:XXXXVIIII; Anón/Hucci. 1966:330: 183:405:223:408:225]

PREPARATION OF TEL KADAYIF

[1]/FINE PASTRY ADAPTED FROM HUICI’S TRANSLATION OF ANÓN AL-ANDALUS, #405 HECHURA DE LA “KINĀFA[2], p 223

Ingredients[3]

4-5 crepes made with semolina flour[4]

¾ c olive oil

¾ c honey

½ c rosewater

camphor[5]

1 ½ c powdered sugar

Shredding Orange Peel for Crepes
Photo by: Lord-Williams

15 small pieces of taffy

spikenard[6]

¾ tsp cloves

3 tsp peeled and chopped almonds

Preparation

Take paper-thin crepes and cut them up in pieces the size of rose pedals. Some 40 pedals were cut. They were divided into 3 batches.

Pour enough oil in a marmite to cover pieces of crepe (¼ c in this case) and bring to a boil. Place as many pedals as another marmite (9” diameter) will hold (12-15 in this case). Pour boiling oil over the pedals. Let the oil boil until absorbed (pour off excess oil if necessary).

Put 5 pieces of taffy in a different pan and melt it over low heat.

Add enough clarified honey to cover the pedals (¼ c), and sprinkle it with rose water (¼ c) in which camphor has been dissolved. Stir it gently to prevent if from sticking to the bottom of the marmite.

Pouring boiling water over 

 crepes shaped like rose pedals
Photo by: Lord-Williams

Sprinkle it with powdered sugar (¼ c), stir it gently and when starts to thicken, pour melted taffy over the pedals. Remove from heat, stir it and place it on a plate. Sprinkle it with spikenard, ½ tsp cloves, ¼ c powdered sugar, 1 tsp chopped and peeled almonds. Smooth it with a spoon while it cools[7] and the oil disappears, as you do with mu'assal[8]. The people of Bijaya and Ifriqiyya [Tunisia] make kunafa with fresh and clarified butter instead of oil, but oil is better and lasts longer.[9]

Repeat this recipe two more times or until the pedals have all been treated.

Place the pedals on a plate, serve warm if possible and enjoy.

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Yummy tidbits!
Photo by: Lord-Williams

[1] Fine pastry strands. Today pastry cut up like noodles as per “Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking,” 1998, pg 137 but in the 13th century, it was paper thin bread, basically crepes.

[2] Huici states that this means encircle.

[3] Measurements are flexible as per the utensils used.

[4] Recipe: 

Ingredients - ¾ c semolina flour, 2 eggs, ½ tsp salt, ⅔ c milk, 1 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp powdered sugar, ½ tsp orange peel, ⅓ c water.

Preparation – Sift flour, add salt, baking powder, sugar and resift. Add orange peel. Beat eggs, add milk and water. Pour liquid ingredients into sifted ingredients, combine with a few swift strokes – ignore lumps.

Heat a 5” skillet, grease it with a  few drops of good oil. Add a small quantity of batter, tip the skillet and let batter spread over the bottom. Cook crepe over moderate heat. When brown underneath, flip it over and brown the other side. Use a few drops of oil for each crepe.

[5] Camphor was not used as it tastes like mothballs.

[6] Not available.

[7] Huici translates this as “fries” / fríe but that is a little difficult if removed from the heat. Perhaps he meant enfríe, it cools.

[8] Huici states this means “honeyed”.

[9] Charles Perry adds: “Fascinating recipe. Today kunafa is the baked Arab pastry that looks like shredded wheat; in the Middle Ages it was a thin crepe but in this recipe it is cut into small pieces and fried rather than baked.”

HUICI’S TRANSLATION OF ANÓN AL-ANDALUS, #405