1200. Iraqi Kahi

Kahi and geemar are a traditional breakfast served to newly weds in Iraq. Both the kahi and the geemar are made fresh and daily. Should you find yourself in Iraq wanting to indulge in this sweet and decadent breakfast daily, you would be sure to get it fresh daily.
The closest thing I can find to approximate the kahi to is puffed pastry, gone rural Iraqi. A basic dough is spread, using your best ghee, until it is translucent and thinner than a paper. It would be bigger than an A3 sized sheet. You would then proceed to fold it, making sure to generously grease it with ghee between each and every layer, until it is a package the size of your palm. It is mandatory to drown the baked kahi in sugar syrup or runny honey and serve with lashings upon lashings of geemar.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp cornflour
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp yeast
1 cup water
Ghee, to spread

Sugar syrup and geemar to serve

Method:

Make the sugar syrup first to ensure it is cold by the time the kahi are baked: Bring to a boil 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and a quarter teaspoon of citric acid. Reduce temperature to a simmer for about 8 minutes until a syrup has formed. It will thicken more as it cools.

Make the kahi: In a food processor, add all the ingredients except for the water.
As the machine is running, drizzle in the room-temp water, until a slightly sticky but fully formed dough has resulted.
Transfer the dough to a clean tabletop and knead a bit by hand. Divide the dough into eight and let rest covered on the tabletop for 15 minutes.
Working one ball at a time, make sure your tabletop is greased well with ghee.
Using your hands or a rolling pin, slowly roll out the ball of dough into the largest possible rectangle. It will be so thin that it will appear translucent, and a couple of holes might be inevitable here and there.
Grease the entire surface with more ghee. Fold in the left and right flaps to the middle line; grease again. Fold those over themselves; grease again. You should have a long rectangle by now. Fold this long rectangle into thirds, greasing well between each layer, until you end up with a palm-sized square or rectangle package. Press gentle to flatten some sore, and grease again top and bottom.
Place on a baking sheet, and repeat for the rest. Let rest covered about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F. Bake the kahi, rotating half way, for a total of 35 to 40 minutes, until puffed and golden.
Place the hot kahi in your serving dish and pour over the sugar syrup. Serve with extra sugar syrup and lashings of geemar.

صحة و عافية