Kushknânaj
SOURCE: Translation of the original from A Baghdad Cookery Book(ch. X) is in Cariadoc, Vol. 1, p.14. Modern version by Mathilde Eschenbach.
ORIGINAL (from al-Baghdadi, ch. X):
Take fine white flour, and with every ratl mix three ûqîya of sesame-oil, kneading into a firm paste. Leave to rise: then make into long loaves. Put into the middle of each loaf a suitable quantity of ground almonds and scented sugar mixed with rose-water, using half as much almonds as sugar. Then press together as usual, and bake in the oven: remove.
NOTES:
Use plain sesame oil (which a lot of grocery stores carry these days), not the Chinese toasted sesame oil. I added water and yeast because this amount of sesame oil is not enough to make the flour into a dough, and it is supposed to rise. 3½ T of liquid would have been enough for the almond mixture. I diluted the rosewater because a lot of people find even a small amount to be overwhelming (this may depend on the brand you use).
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 cups Flour
- 1/2 cup Sesame oil
- 1 cup Warm water
- 1 package Yeast
- 2 cups Sugar
- 1 cup finely ground Almonds
- 1 T Rosewater
- 1 T Water
DIRECTIONS:
- Make dough out of first 4 ingredients and knead till smooth.
- Cover with a damp dish towel and let rise ~1½ hour.
- Mix remaining ingredients.
- Stretch dough out into two large rectangles (a little less than the size of a cookie sheet). Place half of almond mixture onto each rectangle and spread out to an inch or two of the edges.
- Roll each rectangle up into a long loaf. Make sure the ends and the long edge are well-sealed, or the almond mixture will leak out during baking. Place on a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 30 min. at 375º.
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