Knafeh

English borrowed the word knafeh from Levantine and Egyptian Arabic, and transliterates it as , and similar variations. The ultimate origin of the word is debated. It may come from the Coptic Egyptian , a bread or cake. Or it may come from a Semitic root meaning "side" or "wing", and from the Arabic , "to flank or enclose". Early uses appear in One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern folk Tales. ==History==

A common story is that the knafeh was created to satisfy the hunger of caliphs during Ramadan. The story, which dates in writing as early as the 10th century, is variously said to have occurred in Fatimid Egypt or in the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus, Syria, where Levantine dessert makers preparing it for Mu'awiya I. by Anissa Helou, page 444'' Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's tenth century Arabic cookbook, (Book of Dishes), which documented many recipes from Abbasid courts, does not mention or describe knafeh. However, it does feature a chapter on qatayif, an Arabic pancake dumpling dessert that originated in the Fatamid Empire. Over time, new knafeh preparation methods were developed, including a technique of dripping thin batter onto a metal sheet from a perforated container, creating hair-like strings. A mid-15th century Ottoman Turkish translation of Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi's added several new contemporary knafeh recipes, though it does not specify where they originated from. === Modern era === According to historian , cheese-filled knafeh does not appear in any historical records prior to the 19th century, Turkish and Arabic Damascene recipes from the 18th century always used different nuts as filling. An 1844 dictionary for Syrian and Egyptian Arabic by Swedish Orientalist mentions a knafeh made of string dough and qaymaq, a sort of cooked cream. The book "Comparative Encyclopedia of Aleppo" by Syrian author Khayr al-Din al-Asadi, completed in 1971 and published posthumously in 1981, described 10 different kinds of knafeh, including Nabulsi knafeh. ==Common variants==

'', or street market Knafeh Nabulseyeh (Nablus, Palestine) Knafeh has been described as a "Palestinian Institution." it has 1 layer of either rough (kadayif) or soft (semolina) knafeh pastry atop the cheese, typically prepared upside down then flipped, with soft dough being more popular than kadayif for Nabulsi knafeh. :ar:عبد الوهاب محمد عزام|'s 1950 book '''' noted that "Nablus is famous for its knafeh". Knafeh Ghazawiya (Gaza Strip, Palestine) Knafeh Ghazawiya is a Palestinian variant of knafeh unique to the Gaza Strip. It is made with a variety of Gazan nuts and spices, with "nutmeg and cinnamon replacing the cheese.", the pastry used is made from semolina and bulgur. Osmalieh Osmalieh (, also spelled Othmaliye, ) is a variety of knafeh found in Syria and Lebanon, it is made from 2 layers of kadayif with a layer of qishta sandwiched between them. To prepare it traditionally, the dough is pressed into a cake pan, and then fried in ghee or cooking oil, this is done for 2 layers, and then qishta is placed upon one layer, with the second layer placed over the qishta, forming a "sandwich" like confection. The name is derived from the name Ottoman or Othman. It also received a geographic indication by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, both geographic indications specify that Hatay kunefe is made with 2 separately heated layers of pastry around the cheese. Dubai chocolate Dubai chocolate is a chocolate bar with a kadayif and pistachio filling, It was first produced by Fix Dessert in Dubai, but versions are now sold worldwide. While originally inspired by knafeh and first sold under the name "Can't Get Knafeh Of It", the bar does not contain any cheese. and sometimes considered a variety of knafeh. Sandwiched knafeh In Lebanon, kaak knafeh is a popular street food, its made of a knafeh sandwiched in sesame-coated bread. In Nablus, knafeh is sandwiched in pita bread and eaten for breakfast. Knafeh madlouqa Knafeh madlouqa () is a Levantine dessert made of a layer of finely-shredded knafeh dough that is cooked in samneh and topped with qishta or kaymak. The knafeh pastry in the bottom layer is sometimes replaced with semolina. It is attested as early as 1936 in the journal of The Palestine Oriental Society, which stated "Madlüqah is knafeh with cream (qashtah) and ground pistachios (fustuq)." ==Preparation==

There are several types of knafeh pastry: • khishnah (, rough): a crust made from long thin noodle threads. • nāʿimah (, fine): a semolina dough. • muhayara (, mixed): a mixture of khishnah and ''na'ama''. • mabruma (, twined): a noodle pastry The knafeh pastry is heated in butter, margarine, palm oil, or traditional semneh, spread with soft sweet cheese, such as Nabulsi cheese, and topped with additional pastry. In khishnah knafeh the cheese is rolled in the pastry. During the final minutes of cooking, thick sweet sugar syrup, water, and a few drops of rose water or orange blossom water are poured on the pastry. The top layer of pastry is sometimes tinted red or orange, and crushed pistachios are often sprinkled as a garnish. such as qishta which is used in osmalieh. == Politics ==

Israel-Palestine Today, knafeh is served throughout the Middle East, although it is "particularly associated with Nablus" == Gallery ==

File:Jerusalem Kanafeh (3783936961).jpg|Knafeh served in Jerusalem File:Kanafeh.jpg|Knafeh shop, old city of Jerusalem File:Cheese Soft Konafah.jpg|Soft Knafeh filled with Nabulsi cheese File:Pistachio Kadayif (Unsplash).jpg|Knafeh coated with pistachio and cream File:Turkish künefe and tea.jpg|Turkish künefe File:Knafeh.jpg|Knafeh served with ice cream File:The Kunafa Maker.jpg|A traditional knafeh maker in Cairo File:Dubai chocolate on a plate 02.jpg|A bar of Dubai chocolate, filled with knafeh and ground pistachios ==See also==