Darabeel

Ingredients

Thin pastry

• 300 gplain flour
• 1egg
• about 400 ml water
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• 2 tablespoonsoil
• or 20 sheets spring roll pastry

Filling

• 200 gsugar
• 100 gsesame seeds, toasted
• 2 teaspoonsground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoonsaffron threads, crushed
• 50 gbutter, melted
• or 300 g date paste, for a date version

To finish

• oil, for frying
• or melted butter, for baking
• icing sugar, for dusting
• extra sesame seeds

Directions

1. Crush the saffron threads in a small bowl. Use the back of a spoon to grind them. Add a tablespoon of warm water. Let it steep for at least ten minutes. Adding whole threads to a dry filling wastes them.
2. Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Beat the egg into some of the water. Whisk the liquid into the flour gradually. Add the rest of the water to it. Whisk it into a very thin smooth batter. It should be thinner than crepe batter. Stir in the oil at the very end. Let it rest for twenty minutes. Cooking the sheets takes practice.
3. Heat a wide non-stick pan over a medium heat. Pour a small ladle of batter into the centre. Swirl the pan immediately to spread it. It should form a very thin sheet. Cook it for about one full minute. Cook it on one side only, not both. The surface should set and go matt. Stack them with paper between. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan. Give them about three minutes until golden.
4. Shake the pan constantly as they toast. Let them cool completely first. Mix them with the sugar and cardamom. Add the steeped saffron and its liquid. Add the melted butter to the mix. It should be a damp crumbly mixture.
5. Lay a pastry sheet cooked side up. Spoon a line of filling along one edge. Keep the line thin and quite even. Do not overfill them or they burst. Fold the sides in over the filling. Roll it up into a tight cylinder. Seal the end with a little water.
6. Set them seam side down on a tray. Pour oil into a pan to three centimetres. Heat the oil to about 175C for frying. Fry them for about two minutes. Turn them over as they colour. They should be golden and crisp. Lift them onto a wire rack to drain. Heat the oven to 190C before baking. Set the rolls on a lined tray. Brush them generously with melted butter.
7. Bake them for about eighteen minutes. They should be golden and crisp. Turn them over halfway through. Finishing them is done while warm. Dust them all with icing sugar. Scatter extra sesame seeds over them. Serving them is done warm or cold.

Technique

• Recipes for darabeel differ considerably between households, some being thin crepes rolled around sugar and sesame and others pastry rolls filled with date paste, and both carry the name.
• Cardamom is the defining sweet spice of Gulf baking and is used generously.
• Saffron threads must be crushed and steeped in a little warm water first, since adding them whole to a dry filling wastes them.

Substitutions

• Spring roll pastry is thin in the same way and saves making the sheets.
• Date paste in place of the sugar and sesame gives the other common version.

Variations

• A date-filled version is made in many households.
• Some cooks bake them and others fry them.
• Similar thin rolled sweets are made across the Gulf under various names.

History

Date-filled pastry rolls flavoured with cardamom and sesame, baked for Eid.

Frequently asked questions

What is Darabeel?

Darabeel is a dessert from Kuwait: rolled crepes with cardamom and saffron sugar. Date-filled pastry rolls flavoured with cardamom and sesame, baked for Eid.

How long does Darabeel take to make?

Darabeel takes 40 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 rolls. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Darabeel?

Yes, within limits. Spring roll pastry is thin in the same way and saves making the sheets. Date paste in place of the sugar and sesame gives the other common version.

What is the most important thing to get right in Darabeel?

Lay a pastry sheet cooked side up. Spoon a line of filling along one edge. Keep the line thin and quite even. Do not overfill them or they burst. Fold the sides in over the filling. Roll it up into a tight cylinder. Seal the end with a little water.