By: Nadia Tommalieh, Seattle-area cooking instructor and food blogger (@nadiatommalieh)

Growing up, our Ramadan iftar table was never complete without that last minute bakery trip to buy fresh bread, known in Arabic as khobez. Usually, this trip would happen in the last rush hour of the day before breaking fast at sunset. My dad would ask if any of us would be interested in joining him, and often I would be the first volunteer to take that offer.

Al Sufara Bakery in Amman would have a long line of people waiting to get their last-minute needs. The aisles would be stacked with all kinds of freshly baked goods, and the smell of all these breads and pastries was so tempting after a long day of fasting. By the time we reached the cashier, we would have a full basket of various tasty treats. Including a piece or two of my favorite sweet Ramadan date bread, which is also known as ma’arouk bread. Ramadan date ma’arouk bread usually steals the show with its amazing sweet taste and soft fluffy texture. Until this day, one of the first things I do when I visit home either in Jordan or Palestine is to go to the neighborhood bakery and buy some to share with my own family.

When my dad questions any of the items we have in the basket, I would tell him that I can eat everything on these bakery shelves. As a Palestinian refugee, my father would remind me that his options for breaking fast were so limited. He would always follow up with a reminder about the importance of thinking and helping those less fortunate than us.

During Ramadan, if we don’t finish the meal at iftar, it will be back at suhoor, the pre-dawn meal or often shared with those in need around us. In our house, food never goes to waste.

Food is such a central component of Palestinian culture. Food is always at the center of our everyday lives, whether it is during happy or sorrowful events. It is important to remember that to this day, many Palestinian refugees still lack basic needs. Most of them are living day by day on the bare minimum, combined with hardship from a brutal occupation, blockade, and countless restrictions imposed on them on a daily basis.

My Baba

My father, Khaled Tommalieh, is a refugee from the village of Annaba, Palestine. He was forced out of his village during the Nakba in 1948 at the tender age of eight years old. After his family lost everything, they ended up in a refugee camp in Jericho. He lived there until his high school graduation. With Palestine always on his mind – his hard work and perseverance to find more hope and a better life – he ended up in South America for several years, followed by Jordan for the remainder of his lifetime.

Becoming a refugee at a young age shaped my father and taught him to never take anything for granted.

Creating a better life and lending a hand when needed was a very important thing for him. He would often say “food should be a human rights issue; no human being should ever go to sleep hungry.” A saying that we, his children, live by every day.

Today, in the Gaza Strip, more than 1 million Palestinians, mostly refugees, live under the poverty line. They depend on the work of amazing organizations like UNRWA USA to help them secure their basic needs. I’m grateful and thankful to UNRWA USA for always spreading awareness about the situation on the ground, keeping the hope for these refugees alive by raising funds to fill refugee families’ pantries with necessities and giving refugee orphans a chance to thrive.

Nowadays, traveling through Palestine with my own children always brings back both the sweet and hardship memories my father shared with us. Walking through the hustling and bustling market of the old city of Jerusalem and seeing that sweet date bread on the bakery shelves puts a smile on my face. I’m grateful to be able to share these memories and the taste of this sweet bread with my family as well.

For Palestine with love

In solidarity with Palestine, Ramadan, and my father, I am honored to partner with UNRWA USA as a Knafeh Ambassador to help raise awareness and funds for Palestine refugees! As a small token of my gratitude, I’m sharing my favorite sweet bread date and cardamom recipe. I hope you enjoy this bread and support UNRWA USA to keep hope alive!

Khobez Al Tamer, Ma’arouk (Sweet date and cardamom bread)

Yield: 14 rounds of Ma’arouk

Dough:

1 cup warm whole milk

1/4 cup whole milk yogurt, at room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg, at room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

500 grams unbleached all-purpose flour (about 3 1/2 cups), plus extra for dusting

Date filling:

One package, 13 oz (370 grams) of baking date paste

1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom, or more to taste

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Egg wash and garnish:

1 egg

1 teaspoon white vinegar

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

• In a stand mixer or large bowl, whisk together milk, yogurt, sugar, yeast, and baking powder. Cover with a plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.

• Mix salt with flour and set aside.

• If using a stand mixer, switch the whisk attachment with a dough hook. Add the egg and melted butter to the milk mixture and mix on medium speed. Gradually, add the flour and continue kneading until the dough comes together and becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough will be very soft but not sticky. If it feels sticky, add extra flour, 1 teaspoon at a time as needed. Cover, set aside, and let it rise at room temperature for at least 1 hour. 

Note: this dough can be easily kneaded by hand. Kneading time is about 10 minutes.

• Preheat oven to 400F.

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

• Place the risen dough on a lightly floured surface and form it into a log. Divide the log into14 equal portions. Form each one into a ball and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel, and let it rest for another 10 minutes. 

• Meanwhile, prep the date filling by kneading it with ground cardamon and butter until well combined. Divide the dates into 14 equal portions, then form each one into 5-inch log. 

• Using a rolling pin, spread each dough into a 6-inch circle. Place a date log in the lower end of the dough and roll it over. Pinch the end to secure the dough, then roll it again to smooth it out. You should now have a stuffed log.

• Using a knife or a pair of scissors, make about  5-6 (1/3 -inch) slits along the stuffed date log. You should be able to see part of the date filling through these slits. Form the log into a loop and close tightly.

• Place the ma’arouk loops on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel, and let it rest for 20 more minutes.

• Whisk the egg with the vinegar. Brush the ma’arouk gently with the egg wash,  and sprinkle with sesame seeds

• Bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the ma’arouk gets the desired golden-brown color. It might need a minute or two on broil to achieve that color. Just make sure to watch it closely.

• Enjoy warm for breakfast, suhoor, or as an afternoon snack.

Thank you for reading about my small memory of a Ramadan Iftar.

-Nadia
@nadiatommalieh