A Lebanese treat to break the fast

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

If you are looking for something different from Middle Eastern gastronomy for the pre-dawn meal and breaking your fast, you may could do worse than try the baked puff pastries filled with korma (date) paste from Lebanon.

This practical treat is created by Chahid Youness, executive sous chef with the Al Nafoura Lebanese restaurant in Le Meridien Jakarta and it is one of the restaurant's special desserts.

"In my country, Lebanon, locals usually eat a light delicacy first, before they eat other heavier meals for breaking the fast," he said.

Youness explained that he uses korma for the filling because it's a popular item during the fasting month.

"This ingredient is always available, especially during Ramadhan and in my country, we can also obtain the ones produced by our neighboring countries," he added.

Youness said that beside using dates as a cooking ingredient, they can also be consumed as they are, sweet and dry. "I have learned that many Indonesians also break the fast by drinking a couple of glasses of water and eating some dates," he said.

In the dessert, the dates serve to represent a flavor from the Middle East in western-style puff pastry. "You can make the puff pastry at home but I advise you to buy the commercial one. It will save you from a time-consuming process," he said, referring to the preparation of homemade pastry.

The korma paste is also very easy to prepare and you can purchase the fruit at any supermarket during the fasting month. "It doesn't require additional sugar since the dates are already sweet. You can serve this dessert with the sauce, which can be made by adding a little water to the korma paste until it reaches the consistency of syrup," he said.

Baked puff pastry filled with korma paste

To make one serving of this sweet delicacy, Youness uses 150g of puff pastry (available in supermarkets) and korma paste.

1. He rolls out the puff pastry into a four-millimeter thickness and bakes it in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius until it turns golden brown.

2. Youness carefully cuts the baked pastry into three equal rectangular parts.

3. He takes one part of the puff pastry and gently spreads the surface with korma paste and sandwiches it with the second pastry and layers it again with the paste before finely sandwiching it with the third pastry.

4. Before serving it, Youness decorates it with mint leaves and enough icing sugar to cover the top.

To make korma paste, he uses 70g korma, seeded, and boils it in a little water. He removes it from heat and lets it cool thoroughly before blending it into a fine paste.