Turkish Kunafa

Ingredients

• 500 g kunafa pastry
• 200 g butter or ghee, or a mix of both
• 1 1/2 cups shelled pistachios
• 1 teaspoon green food coloring (liquid or powder)
• Syrup (Ater):
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon orange blossom water or rose water
• Muhallebi (milk pudding):
• 5 cups milk
• 6 tablespoons cornstarch
• 7 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon rose water or orange blossom water
• 1 teaspoon ground mastic mixed with powdered sugar
• 2 cans clotted cream (qeemar)
• Whipping cream (for decoration) — optional
• This delicious recipe is from a friend and cook on Shoutabkhin:
• Nida Hadrj
• Click Nida’s name to visit her page on our site.
• For more of Nida’s sweets, see: Knafeh with Pistachio Topping

Method

1. First step.. melt the butter and cut the kunafa pastry with scissors or by hand into small fine pieces
2. Grind the pistachios without making them too fine, then add the butter, pistachios and food coloring all over the pastry and rub them with your hands well until the pastry changes color from white to green
3. Place the green Turkish kunafa pastry in a baking tray and put it in the preheated oven at 200°C for about twenty minutes
4. Meanwhile.. prepare the syrup.. mix all the ingredients and let the syrup boil for about 7 minutes.. add rose water or orange blossom water just before removing from the heat
5. When you take the Turkish kunafa out of the oven.. pour the syrup over it immediately while it is hot
6. Prepare the muhallebi.. put the milk, cornstarch and sugar together and stir them cold
7. Then put the mixture in a pot on the heat.. and stir until the mixture thickens
8. Add the rose water and mastic at the final stage, stir and remove the muhallebi from the heat
9. Add ashta (clotted cream) or regular cream and stir well
10. Pour the muhallebi over the kunafa pastry... and garnish the Turkish kunafa with pistachios
11. Let it cool for about two hours before serving