Harmender Mathur, Executive pastry chef, The Lalit, New Delhi
What a wonderful country Israel is! I have been there many times and visited Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The climate is very pleasant and people are very welcoming. I have also taken a trip to the Golan Heights in the north-east corner of the country. Describing the Golan is quite difficult — it’s beautiful like a fairytale land that breathes life into every molecule of rich, volcanic soil. I have also loved visiting the port city of Haifa, known for its hanging garden.
I have to admit that my stay in Israel had converted me briefly to a coffee drinker from a die-hard tea drinker. The coffee served in cafés there is delicious and a must-try! Israelis might not really have a sweet tooth but being a sweet lover, I couldn’t resist trying out the few desserts available. Some of the desserts that really impressed were — Knafeh, Malabi and Sahlab. They all would be available in most Middle-Eastern countries like Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
Knafeh is a sweet pastry made of layers of shredded phyllo (paper-thin sheets of unleavened flour) dough and cheese soaked in sugar syrup. In the region, some call their dish knafeh and serve it like a pie, in wedges or squares, while others call it kadaif and create individual stuffed rolls. For the crunchy part, most use shredded kadaif noodles (available in all Middle-Eastern stores). And it is essential to infuse the pastry with rose or orange syrup. It is accompanied with coffee or tea.
Malabi, a pudding flavoured with rose water and topped with nuts, is equally popular. A cake that is immensely refreshing, soft and rich is the Pecan date cake avilable in most cafes and restaurants. It is a lovely, nutty cake, not too sweet and I liked to have it for morning or afternoon tea. It makes a lovely dessert if slightly warmed in the microwave oven and served with vanilla ice-cream.
Finally, you can’t complete your Israel trip without a cup of warm, sweet drink — sahlab. It is a thick milk-based drink traditionally made with orchid tubers called sahlab in Arabic. Some recipes call for orange blossom or rose water, while others add coconut, cinnamon or nuts and raisins. In Israel it is usually made into a drinkable substance, while in other Middle-eastern places it is thickened with corn starch.
Sahlab
Ingredients
- 4 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons rose water
- 2 tablespoons pistachio nuts, chopped fine
- Cinnamon to sprinkle
?Method
- Bring the milk and sugar to a boil, and then lower to a simmer.
- Add the diluted cornstarch mixture to boiling milk stirring it continuously to avoid the lump formation.
- Add the rose water, stir again, and pour it in glasses/cups.
- Scatter chopped pistachios over the surface of each cup, sprinkle with cinnamon and serve hot.
?
?Pecan date cake
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup honey
- ½ cup low-fat cultured buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 bananas, mashed
- 2 cups self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 1/3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1 cup dates, pitted, chopped
- 1 cup pecan halves or walnut (toasted)
- 2 tablespoons honey
?Method
- Preheat oven to 170 degree celsius and generously butter a non-stick, 10-inch cake pan.
- In a bowl mix together eggs, honey, buttermilk and vanilla until smooth, then mix in the mashed bananas and set aside.
- Set aside 2 tablespoons of the flour and then, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder, brown sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, allspice and salt.
- Add the liquid mix (one with eggs, honey, etc) to the flour mixture and using an electric mixer, mix on low speed until ingredients are moistened, then add the butter and continue beating on medium to high speed until batter is smooth, about 4 minutes.
- In a small bowl mix the reserved 2 tablespoons of flour with the pitted, chopped dates and pecans, then fold this mixture into the cake batter.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30-35 mins.
- Remove the cake from the oven to a wire rack.
- Heat the final 2 tablespoons of honey before brushing it over the cake, then let the cake cool to room temperature.
- When cool, carefully remove the cake from the pan, slice and enjoy.
