Qamar al-Din — apricot pudding and drink of Ramadan

i. Origin & history

Qamar al-din begins in the orchards of the Ghouta, the green belt around Damascus, which has been famous for apricots for centuries. To preserve the short summer crop, ripe apricots were pressed to a purée, sweetened, spread thinly on oiled boards and dried in the sun into flexible, glossy, deep-orange sheets. Folded and wrapped in cellophane, those sheets keep for months and travel well, and Damascus qamar al-din became a trade good sent all over the Arab world. Today it is also produced in Turkey and elsewhere, but Syrian sheets are still considered the benchmark.

The name means 'moon of the faith' (or 'moon of religion'), and nobody is quite sure why. Popular explanations include a man named Qamar al-Din who supposedly first made or sold it; the fact that the paste's season coincided with the sighting of the Ramadan moon; and its glowing, moon-like colour. None is documented, and all are best told as stories. The Egyptian pronunciation is amar el-din.

What is not in doubt is the connection to Ramadan. A glass of qamar al-din drink, alongside dates and water, is a traditional way to break the fast in Egypt and the Levant: it is sweet, slightly sour, full of natural sugar and easy on an empty stomach. Shops stack the sheets high in the weeks before the month begins, and street sellers in Cairo pour the drink from large jugs. The pudding, muhallabiyat qamar al-din, is a simple step on from the drink: the same apricot liquid thickened with cornflour into a set dessert.

Apricots run through the sweets of the region — see the semolina cake basbousa or the stuffed date cookies maamoul for other Ramadan sweets — and qamar al-din is often paired with the milk puddings malabi and muhallabiya in layered desserts.

ii. Soaking, blending and setting apricot paste

Qamar al-din sheets are dense and slightly tacky, made from apricot pulp, sugar and sometimes a little oil and preservative. They do not dissolve quickly in cold water. Cutting the sheet into small pieces and soaking it in hot water for a couple of hours (or cold water overnight) softens it enough to blend into a smooth, thick liquid with no fibres. Blending is important: whisking alone leaves small chewy lumps.

The ratio of paste to water decides what you get. Around 1 part paste to 5 parts water makes a rich drink; less water and more starch make a pudding. For the pudding, the apricot liquid is thickened with cornflour, which, like all starch, only thickens fully once it boils. It is cooked until it bubbles and turns glossy and translucent, then poured into cups and chilled until set. The result is soft and spoonable, closer to a fruit custard than a jelly.

Because the sheets are already sweetened and tart, very little sugar is usually needed. Taste the liquid before adding any. A squeeze of lemon sharpens the fruit, and orange-blossom water adds the floral note that is typical of Levantine desserts. Rosewater can be used instead.

Since there is no milk, egg or gelatin, the pudding is naturally vegan and gluten-free — one reason it is popular as a light dessert after a heavy iftar meal.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 6 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 200 g qamar al-din (apricot paste sheet)
• 750 ml hot water
• 45 g cornflour
• 2 tbsp sugar, or to taste
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp orange-blossom water
• 30 g pistachios, chopped
• 20 g pine nuts or flaked almonds, toasted
• 6 dried apricots, sliced, to decorate (optional)

Qamar al-din sheets are sold in Middle Eastern, Turkish and many international grocers, especially before Ramadan; look for a glossy, deep-orange, flexible sheet. If you cannot find it, simmer 250 g dried apricots in water until very soft, then blend smooth — the flavour is less concentrated and fruitier but works. Cornflour gives a clean, glossy set; arrowroot works too. Pistachios and pine nuts are the classic garnish; some cooks also scatter desiccated coconut.

iv. Method

1. Cut the qamar al-din sheet into small squares with scissors and put them in a bowl. Pour over 600 ml of the hot water and leave for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until completely soft.
2. Blend the soaked paste and its water until completely smooth. Strain through a sieve into a saucepan if there are any fibres.
3. Whisk the cornflour with the remaining 150 ml water until smooth, then whisk into the apricot liquid. Taste and add sugar only if needed.
4. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 5–7 minutes until the mixture boils, thickens and turns glossy. Let it bubble for 1 minute more.
5. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and orange-blossom water.
6. Pour into 6 small glasses or bowls. Cool, then cover and chill for at least 4 hours until set.
7. Serve cold, topped with pistachios, toasted pine nuts or almonds and a few slices of dried apricot.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Soak it long enough. Under-soaked paste blends into a slightly lumpy liquid. Pieces should be soft right through before blending.
• Blend, don't just whisk. A blender gives a velvety texture; whisking leaves tough fragments.
• Taste before sweetening. Sheets vary from tart to very sweet. Many need no added sugar at all.
• Bring it to a full boil. Cornflour that has not boiled does not set fully, and the pudding stays runny.
• Add lemon and flower water off the heat. Heat dulls their fragrance, and acid boiled with starch can thin it slightly.
• For the drink, skip the starch. Dilute the blended paste with about 1 litre of cold water and chill well.

vi. Variations

Qamar al-din drink is simply soaked, blended paste diluted with cold water and served over ice, sometimes with soaked dried fruit and nuts. Layered qamar al-din and muhallabiya sets a milk pudding first and pours the apricot pudding on top for two colours. Khoshaf, an Egyptian Ramadan dish, soaks dried apricots, prunes, figs and raisins in water or qamar al-din juice with nuts. Some make qamar al-din ice lollies or sorbet.

For other cooling Middle Eastern puddings, see rosewater malabi and Turkish kazandibi; for a fruit-based cousin, the Peruvian purple corn pudding mazamorra morada is thickened in exactly the same way.

vii. Serving & storage

Serve the pudding cold, in small glasses, as a light dessert after iftar or any rich meal. The drink is served chilled at the start of iftar with dates. Both are particularly refreshing in hot weather.

The pudding keeps covered in the fridge for up to 3 days; add the nuts just before serving so they stay crisp. The drink keeps for 2–3 days in the fridge; shake before serving. Unopened qamar al-din sheets keep for many months in a cool, dry place. The pudding does not freeze well.

ix. More from Middle Eastern

• Malabi — rosewater milk pudding
• Kazandibi — Turkish caramelised milk pudding
• Basbousa — Egyptian semolina cake
• Maamoul — date-filled cookies
• Luqaimat — Ramadan fritters
• Apricot Crumble — baked apricot dessert