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Sweets and desserts

Knafeh nabulsieh

The orange-topped sweet of Nablus: desalted white cheese under fine pastry, baked and soaked in syrup.

Knafeh nabulsieh is the cheese knafeh of Nablus, in the West Bank. A layer of white brined cheese, soaked to remove its salt, is covered with a fine semolina or shredded pastry coloured orange, baked in a large round tray and soaked in syrup scented with orange blossom or rose water. It is cut in squares and served hot, often in a sesame bread.

What goes in

Nabulsi or akkawi: 33%33%Shredded or semolina pastry: 28%28%Ghee: 11%11%Sugar syrup: 17%17%Pistachio: 6%Orange colouring: 6%6parts
  • Nabulsi or akkawi633%, Desalted in water.
  • Shredded or semolina pastry528%, Rubbed with ghee.
  • Ghee211%, Butter richness.
  • Sugar syrup317%, Orange blossom or rose water.
  • Pistachio16%, Ground, to finish.
  • Orange colouring16%, Gives the traditional colour.

Rough parts by weight. The ring shows each ingredient's share of the dish.

Made step by step

Each drawing shows the operation for that step. Quantities and timings differ from house to house; this is one traditional way, in outline.

  1. Step 1: Rest Slice the cheese and soak it in water for several hours, changing the water often.
  2. Step 2: Knead Rub the pastry with ghee and orange colouring.
  3. Step 3: Layer Press the pastry into a large round tray.
  4. Step 4: Grate Cover it with the drained, grated or sliced cheese.
  5. Step 5: Bake Bake or cook over a flame until the pastry is crisp and the cheese is melted.
  6. Step 6: Serve Turn out, pour over syrup, sprinkle pistachio and serve hot.
  7. Nabulsi or akkawi: 33%33%Shredded or semolina pastry: 28%28%Ghee: 11%11%Sugar syrup: 17%17%Pistachio: 6%Orange colouring: 6%
    Finished Knafeh nabulsieh, by share.

Nablus

Nablus has been famous for its sweets and its cheese for centuries, and knafeh is the city's signature. Families queue at sweet shops in the old city, and the dish is served at weddings, Eid and celebrations of all kinds. In 2009 confectioners in Nablus made a single knafeh more than seventy metres long, recognised as the largest in the world.

Nabulsi cheese

The cheese is nabulsi, a semi-hard white brined cheese of sheep's or goat's milk, often flavoured with mahleb and mastic, or the milder akkawi. Both are very salty, so they are sliced and soaked in water, changed several times, until mild. Under the pastry the cheese melts and stretches. The topping may be khishneh, rough shredded dough, or naameh, fine semolina crumbs.

Where it is used

WeddingsEidSweet shop breakfast

The cheeses in it

Nabulsi cheeseThe cheese of Nablus itself.AkkawiA milder alternative across the Levant.

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Sources and further reading

About this page

Original text and drawings by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The shares are a rough, illustrative ratio, not a recipe: every family and kitchen makes it differently. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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