Savoury Kunafa

Savoury Kunafa has always been a popular Iftar Dish during Ramadan in most muslim homes.They are a stack of thin lacy pancakes with meat filling in between.They can be made in individual rolls similar to the Malaysian Rotti Jaala or can be made in one whole large serving that is usually sliced up while serving which turns out to be convenient when feeding a crowd.

However the authentic version asks for the okra gel but today I took a shortcut & did it my way!!!! Still so delicious because there’s no compromise in flavour!! My version is loaded with a fabulous meat filling,layers of cheese inbetween & also an additional layer of hard boiled eggs….and then slow cooked in ghee!!How delicious is that??

The Kunafa Mould Can Be Purchased From Elegant Charms. https://instagram.com/elegant_charms?igshid=16yx2x41qqqmy Check her page out for more details

Lets Get Started

You Will Need

1. Lacy Pancakes
2. Meat Filling
3. Five Hard boiled eggs sliced
4. Grated Mozarella Cheese
5. Ghee or Butter
6. 8″ Round Cake tin (approximately 2″ height)

Pancake Batter

Lets Make Them Lacy Pancakes

Kids had a lot of fun making the lacy pancakes!

Heat the pan on medium high & pour the batter over the heated pan to create the lacy effect like so.Using a non stick pan can make life easy and less sticky.If you don’t have a non stick pan, keep in mind to oil the pan before every pancake.

You need to be quick for best results.This cooks quite fast too.I did not cook both sides,you could if you want to.

Place the cooked pancakes on a tray & set aside till you make the filling

THE FILLING

You Will Need

• 500g Boneless Chicken boiled & shredded
• Two large B onions sliced
• Three large raw potatoes cut into cubes and deep-fried
• 05 Curry leaves, Pandan Leaves
• 1/2 tsp Cardamom pwd or 3 Whole Cardamom
• 2″ Cinnamon
• 01 tbsp Garlic chopped
• 01 tsp Ginger chopped
• 01 tsp salt
• 01 tsp Black Pepper
• 01 tsp Cumin Powder
• 01 tsp Chilli Flakes
• 1/2 tsp Tumeric
• Lime Juice of one lime
• 01 tbsp Coconut Aminos/Soy Sauce
• 1/2 Cup Potato Cubes deep fried
• 1/2 Cup Egg plant cubed and deep fried
• 03 Capsicums cut thinly diagonally
• 02 Green Chillies for heat
• 1/4 Cup Coconut Milk(optional)
• Hand full of Fresh Coriander Leaves
• 1/4 Cup Fried Onions

Step One : Add oil in a pan and sauté the chopped ginger and garlic for two minutes on high heat.

Step Two : Add the sliced onions,green chillies and let it get nice and translucent

Step Three : Few minutes later, add curry leaves and pandan leaf

Step Four : Add whole spices like cinnamon and cardamom

Step Six : Mix well and let this cook on low for 2 minutes

Step Seven : Time to add the shredded meat.In this case it’s Chicken but I also made the same with shredded beef.The choice is entirely yours..

Step Eight : Add in fried items and lime juice, liquid aminos or soy sauce

Step Ten : Fried Onions

FINALLY DRIZZLE COCONUT MILK IF YOU FEEL THE FILLING IS SLIGHTLY DRY BUT I ADD THIS EXTRA STEP ANYWAY BECAUSE THE FILLING BECOMES SO RICH AND MOIST…

TIME TO ASSEMBLE THE KUNAFA

I used a lined baking tin to make this circular shape.You could even assemble on a pyrex dish of your choice.Lining with a lunch sheet prevents the last pancake from sticking to the bottom of the pan.I used an 8″ round pan.Height 2″

Step One : Place the lacy pancakes around the edge of the round pan slightly over each other, half of one side of the lacy pancake hanging to form a scallop along the edge, which will be used to make the shape at the ends.

Step Two : Place two more pancakes in the middle to form a firm base.

Step Three : Drizzle Ghee and when cooking or baking the prepped kunafa it creates so much flavour and moisture.If you don’t like additional grease you can totally skip this step.

Step Four : Spread a thick layer of filling and press gently using the back of a spoon.

Step Five : Layer of sliced eggs sprinkled with salt and black pepper.

Step Six : One pancake

Step Seven : More Filling

Step Eight : Cheese and Cheese

So on days I don’t have Mozarella cheese I have used Cheese Slices and it’s still fine as long as there’s a binding cheesy component

Step Nine : Place one more pancake over the cheese and then fold over the pancakes that are hanging over the edge and gently press down to form a circular shape.Drizzle more ghee

At this point you can pop this into a pre heated oven at 180′ till nice and beautifully golden but there’s another method of cooking this whole Kunafa.

Scroll Down to Learn More…

LETS COOK THIS BEAUTY

You could definitely pop this into the oven if you’re in a rush and you are short of time

However the slow cooking on the stove method tastes so much better

The ghee coating the outside layer of this beautiful savoury cake makes it worth every bite!!

Try it once and let me know which method of cooking works for you.

To be honest when I’m lazy I would just do the oven but on some days like today I would not go for short cuts

Carefully transfer the kunafa onto a greased pan that’s large enough to fit the whole thing.(Remove lunch sheet)Slowly rotate it around to get it cooked evenly

Again slowly flip this onto a plate then cook other side with more ghee.Let this rest for a bit before making the cut….

LOOK AT THOSE BEAUTIFUL LAYERS!!!

Have You Ever Made Savoury Kunafa Before???

Would love to see your remakes on this recipe, be sure to tag me on social media or send me a screenshot if your account is private so I can re share them on my stories

Check out my Instagram page for more cooking inspiration

https://instagram.com/my_lankan_food_journal?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Much Love Nuzrath