Ramadan Man’ousheh Mini Bites {Recipe}

May 26, 2018April 15, 2020 acraftyarab Arab Food, Ramadan Crafts

Ramadan is a good time to adjust the quantities of the different foods one consumes so we made these man’ousheh mini bites to help.

I remember in Libya, we would start our iftar, إفطار in Arabic, with a warm soup, add salads, proteins and very few carbs. Iftar is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset.

For our carbs, we used to have quartered pita bread, but after we moved to America, my mother substituted crescent rolls to our meals. They were small and were excellent in soaking up the last of the soup juices.

While visiting Egypt a few years ago, I was introduced to man’ousheh, مناقيش in Arabic, a dough dish that had spices and sometimes cheese added. The spices were called za’atar, زعتر in Arabic, and the cheese varied in type, depending on the region.

I have loved the dish ever since and have found a local restaurant that does a good job of duplicating it. Lucky for my, they are not close to my house or I would eat there every day.

I wanted to introduce this dish to my daughters. I thought it might be fun to combine my mom’s love of crescent rolls with my new love of man’ousheh for either a supplement to an iftar meal or even to have on hand for a suhur quick bite. Suhur, سحور‎ in Arabic, is the meal consumed early in the morning by Muslims before fasting.

Supplies

Cheese (I used akawi)
Crescent rolls
Za’atar
Olive Oil

Lay out a crescent roll single triangle on a plate and cover it generously with the olive oil. Sprinkle the za’atar and add a strip of cheese at the end.

Roll the crescent roll, just as instructed on the of the package.

However, you’ll notice that you are not able to create the crescent shape due to the cheese. If you have your heart set on the Ramadan crescent moon shape, just cut up your cheese into smaller pieces. But whether you keep the cheese one piece or many, make sure to seal the sides to hold it in.