In Gaza, large batches of ka’ik are frequently made for holidays - whether Muslim or Christian - and distributed to friends, family, and neighbors. In light of the holiday character of these cookies, the recipe provided is for about five dozen ka’ik. Feel free to divide the recipe proportionally for a smaller batch.
Exceptionally sweet red dates grow in Gaza, particularly in the Deir al-Balah (“monastery of dates”) district, and when not consumed fresh in their khalal stage, they are processed into date paste for local consumption.
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ cups semolina
2 cups olive oil, warmed
½ cup orange-blossom or rosewater
1 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp ground anise seed
1 tsp ground mahlab (available at Middle Eastern or Indian groceries)
1 Tbsp nigella seed
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Date filling:
2 lbs date paste (available in Middle Eastern grocers) or
2 lbs pitted medjoul dates ground to a paste
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 Tbsp softened butter
Instructions:
Mix warmed olive oil with semolina and rose or orange-blossom water and rub together by hand until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine flours, anise, yeast, nigella seeds and mahlab, then mix this into the semolina.
Add approximately a cup of warm water, a little at a time, and knead together until dough is moist and pliable. Use an electric mixer if available. If mixture is too dry, add a little more water, 1 Tbsp at a time. Add sesame seeds in the last stage of kneading. Cover and set aside in a warm place for approximately 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.
Meanwhile, make the date paste: knead together warmed paste or pitted and chopped dates with butter and spices until well combined.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and set rack in middle of oven. Divide dough into golf-sized balls, setting them aside on a greased cookie sheet. Divide date paste into an equal number of balls, but of half the size. Take each ball of dough and roll out until approximately ½ inch thick. Using your thumb, make an indentation from one end of the dough to the other. Now, roll a date paste ball into a little log slightly shorter than the diameter of the dough-circle, and place in the indentation. Roll the dough up over the paste, using a damp finger if necessary to seal it closed. Seal the ends closed also, forming a ring. Arrange rings on greased cookie sheets, 1 inch apart, and bake for approximately 20 minutes. If you prefer crisper cookies, turn oven to broil for the last 2-3 minutes.
Serve with sage tea and distribute to friends and family.
About The Gaza Kitchen (Just World Books):
A lot of other things happen in the kitchen as well as cooking: conversations, the re-telling of family histories, and the daily drama of surviving and creating spaces for pleasure in an embattled place. In this book, women and men from throughout Gaza tell their stories as they relate to cooking, farming, and the food economy: personal stories, family stories, and descriptions of the broader social and economic system in which they live.
“An important book on an egregiously under appreciated, under-reported area of gastronomy. This is old school in the best possible meaning of the term.” -Chef, author, and TV host Anthony Bourdain
The Gaza Kitchen is a richly illustrated cookbook that explores the distinctive cuisine and food heritage of the area known prior to 1948 as the Gaza District - and that of the many refugees from elsewhere in Palestine who came to Gaza in 1948 and have been forced to stay there ever since. In summer 2010, authors Laila El-Haddad, herself from Gaza City, and Maggie Schmitt traveled the length and breadth of the Gaza Strip to collect the recipes presented in the book.