A Lebanese treat to break the fast
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.