A sweet Ramadan ritual
Qatayef taste best for 1 month out of every year
Mohammad Ahmed Mattour has been running Halawiyat Al-Bustan, one of the most famous pastry shops in Ramallah, in the West Bank, since he took it over from his father in 1994. Giant platters of desserts, from baklava and knafeh to basbousa and kullaj, line the windows and shelves year-round. But come Ramadan, the balance of business shifts, and qatayef, stuffed semolina pancakes, take center stage.
“We sell about 200 a day,” said Mattour, 43. “Not pieces. Kilos.” Throughout the month, especially near the hour of iftar — the breaking of the daily fast — the line outside the shop spills into the street, with at least 30 people waiting at any given moment.
Mattour’s shop is not alone: The scene is the same at other pastry shops across Ramallah and cities throughout the Arab world.
Today, there are two common varieties of these pancakes, which are cooked only on one side. One is stuffed with either cheese or walnuts, folded into a half-moon, then fried or baked and soaked in syrup. The other, smaller in size, is stuffed with cream and only half sealed. It’s then drizzled with a thick sugar syrup and eaten fresh.
People usually purchase the pancakes to take home and stuff, but it’s also possible to buy them stuffed and ready to fry or bake, or even stuffed, fried, soaked in syrup and ready to eat.
What really sets qatayef apart from other desserts is the fact that they are a treat usually reserved for Ramadan, which began April 2, and are a sign the holy month has arrived.
“They just taste different in Ramadan,” said
Eman Al-Ahmed, a fashion designer who lives in Jordan.
Al-Ahmed, 47, makes her qatayef at home and explained that she could prepare them throughout the year, given how easy they are to make. But like most in the Arab word, she and her family eat qatayef only during Ramadan, and they do so every single night of the month.
“Perhaps it’s the nostalgia and the generationslong tradition,” Al-Ahmed said. “But qatayef are this ritual that brings everyone in the community together.”
The tradition is just as strong for Arabs in the United States.
Rawan Shatara, 34, a pastry chef in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who emigrated from Jordan as a toddler, used to make the two-hour drive to Dearborn with her parents several times during Ramadan to buy qatayef. “It’s such an ingrained part of the month,” she said.
Now, she makes qatayef herself, but she still likes to make the trip to Dearborn, where, she said, “you really feel the atmosphere of Ramadan, just like being back home.”