Berrylicious Ataif

Its already the second Thursday of June and hence the reveal day of

BEHIND THE CURTAIN DESSERT CHALLENGE !!

This month, the two ingredients that Sheryl wanted us to include in our desserts were Strawberries and Raspberries. Pretty apt for the season right ? While there were so many recipes which included the two, till yesterday I could not make up my mind as to what I wanted to make... and then i flipped the pages of this cookbook that I had borrowed from the library and BAM... I knew what to make...  I decided on Ataif, an Arabian syrupy yeasted-pancake which is often sandwiched with kishta (or ushta), which is milk clotted cream. 

I decided to stuff the Ataif with a mixture of paneer and berries, slather them with  raspberry coulis and set them afloat in kishta of some sort.  I say 'kishta of some sort' because the  puree of paneer and sweet milk on which i placed the Ataif can only qualify as a cousin of milk clotted cream... any way the result was phenomenal !! the creamy sauce tasted like "malai" and added so much to the flavors of Berrylicious Ataif !     

Berrylicious Ataif
ingredients

• for the pancake (8 pancakes)
• 1 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 200 ml tepid water 
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• for the filling(the quantity is just enough to fill 3 pancakes)
• 1/4 cup paneer (i used homemade paneer)
• 1/4 cup strawberry+ raspberry, chopped
• sugar to taste
• zest of 1/2 lemon* (in case you are using store bought paneer. I did not use it)
• for the raspberry coulis
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 oz raspberry
• 1 1/2 fl oz water
• for the creamy sauce
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup homemade paneer
• 1/4 cup sugar
• for garnishing 
• few raspberries

please do not get intimidated by the long list of ingredients. i assure you that the recipe is really simple.. and check out this image... 

don't you want a bite ???

yes.. then read on.....   

what i did

• for the pancakes
• i added the sugar and yeast to 50 ml of tepid water and  set it aside. 
• 10 minutes later, i sifted the flour into a large bowl and added to it the remaining water along with the yeast solution. mixing all the ingredients well, i then covered the bowl with a kitchen towel and set it aside to let the batter ferment.
• after an hour, when the batter looked gloopy i preheated the oven to 375 degrees F, set a baking tray with parchment paper and heated a non-stick pan over medium heat and started making the pancakes. 
• i stuffed 3 pancakes and left the remaining 5 unstuffed. 
• for the stuffed  ones, i cooked the pancake on one side. when the bubbles on the surface solidified i took the pancake off the pan and kept it on a parchment paper with the uncooked side facing up. 
• for the others, ones the bubbles on the surface of the pancake solidified i flipped them over with a spatula and cooked the other side just like i would /do for a regular pancake.  and when done i stacked them in a plate.
• once all the batter was used up, i mixed the berries, sugar and paneer for the filling, put about 3-4 tablespoons of the filling into the uncooked center of the 3 pancakes i had kept aside, then folded the pancakes and pinched them halfway along edges. (from all the images i have seen online, i believe traditionally after stuffing, edges of the pancakes are pinched together all along to form a crescent shape. i however chose to leave them partially open.) then putting them back on the baking tray, i baked them in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the shells felt crisp.  (though many recipes just coating the stuffed pancakes with oil, i chose not to use any.)
• while the pancakes were getting done in the oven, i cooked up the raspberry coulis as well as the creamy sauce. 
• i made the coulis following Martha Stewart's recipe. i simply combined the raspberries, water and sugar in a bowl and cooked the mixture over medium high heat for about 8 minutes.then switching off the heat i set it aside to cool for a while before pureeing it and straining off the seeds from the coulis.
• for the creamy sauce, i added the paneer, milk and sugar in the blender and processed till all the ingredients were well combined.

and thats it. once the stuffed pancakes got done i plated them over a pool of creamy sauce, slashed some coulis on them, then poured some more sauce over the pancakes, garnished the plate with some raspberries and put the plated dessert in the refrigerator to chill. 2 hours later we scooped out our first bite of the chilled dessert. swooned with delight and wished that i had made some more.....

Hope you enjoyed gawking at the dessert as much as i enjoyed putting it together and hopefully you'll try out it while the berry season is still on...  for more berrylicious desserts check out what the other participants of BEHIND THE CURTAIN DESSERT CHALLENGE  have made...

This dessert is being yeastspotted.
also sharing it at all these food parties...
Monday Food:  Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Meatless Monday @Veggie Mama's,  Meatless Monday My Sweet and Savory, Just Another Meatless Monday @ Hey What's for Dinner Mom Tuesday Food:  Tempt my Tummy @Blessed with Grace, Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday Wednesday Food : Wow Me Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday @ Confessions of Overworked Mom, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain ,  Wednesday Whatsit @White Lights on , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2, Seasonal Celebration @ Natural Mother's Network, Whole Foods Wednesday 101 Thursday Food:Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes, Fresh Bites Friday @ Real Food, Wellness Weekend, Weekend Kitchen Link Party