After Iftar it’s time for desserts. Some of these desserts were only served in Ramadan in the past, and although they are now prepared all year round, people still have a special craving to them in Ramadan. Whether it’s one of the desserts found all over the Arab world such as kunafa, qataiyf or luqaimat (luqmat al-qadi) or one of the more typical Hijazi ones such as maasoob, jubniyah or ghurbaliyah, there is always a dessert on the Iftar table.
Jubniyah
3 cups baladi cheese (unsalted goat cheese), ground.
1 cup white flour
1 egg beaten
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon baking powder
For the sugar syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/2 lemon juice
Melt the sugar in the water and lemon in a pan over heat until the syrup bubbles and thickens. Remove from heat and let cool.
Mix the main ingredients together and divide the dough in small patties. Heat the vegetable oil in a deep frying pan and then lower the heat. Place a number of patties that fits comfortably in the pan until they float and become golden and then flip them, remove them from the oil and drain them of excess oil. Let them cool then dip them for a few seconds in a bowl full of sugar syrup and then serve them on a plate.
Maasoob
2 whole-wheat round bread ground
1 1/2 kilo bananas
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Leave two bananas aside. Peal the other bananas and cut them in quarters and then slice them thinly. Melt the butter in a pan over heat and add the cut bananas, sugar and cardamom. Continue mixing and folding the ingredients together until they are semi-liquid and then fold in the bread. Remove from heat and fold in the other two bananas after cutting them in small pieces.
Ghurbaliyah
3 cups white flour
3/4 cups vegetable oil
3/4 cups water
Mix the ingredients and then divide in small balls.
Filling:
1 1/2 cups almonds
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Boil the almonds and peel them and then fry them in oil and when cold, coarsely grind them.
Roll the dough balls out flat and add a teaspoon of the filling in a horizontal line at the bottom half of the circle and then tuck the end in over the filling and roll the dough like a cigar. Glue the flap over with some dough glue (water and flour paste) and tuck in the side ends. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the ghurbaliyah, remove it and, after it cools, dip it in sugar syrup.
Kunafa
1/2 kilo kunafa
3 bananas
1 can cream
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 cup unsalted butter
Melt the butter and mix it with the kunafa while untangling it and grinding it. Grease a 14-inch round baking pan. Place half the kunafa evenly in the pan. Peal the bananas and cut them in thin slices and put a layer on the kunafa leaving a 1/2 centimeter around the edge. Cover the bananas with the cream and then top it with the remaining kunafa and press down gently. Put the pan on the bottom rack of a preheated oven at 350F (180C) for 25 minutes and then turn on the grill for a few minutes to make the kunafa golden brown.
Shake the pan slightly to loosen the kunafa from the sides and then pour two tablespoons of sugar syrup all over the top. Flip the kunafa in a serving plate and add another two tablespoons of sugar syrup over the top.