Saudi Arabia, Middle East and Africa · Mutabbaq

Banana Cream Cheese Mutabbaq Roll Bites with Honey and Pistachio

Name: Banana Cream Cheese Mutabbaq Roll Bites with Honey and Pistachio
Cook time: 32 min
Total time: 1 h 2 min
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: Saudi Arabia
Ingredients: Plain (all-purpose) flour 160 g; Salt 1 pinch; Sugar (for the dough) 2 tsp; Lukewarm water 100 ml; Neutral oil (coating and stretching) 3 tbsp; Ripe bananas 2; Cream cheese, at room temperature 80 g; Ground cinnamon ½ tsp; Unsalted butter (for frying) 2 tbsp; Honey 2 tbsp; Pistachios, roughly chopped 20 g; Toasted sesame seeds 1 tsp

Thin mutabbaq dough rolled around cinnamon cream cheese and banana, pan-fried in butter until golden, sliced into bites and finished with honey and pistachio.

ServingsServes 2

Total cooking time32 min

Resting the dough+ 30 min

DifficultyMedium

About servingsThe filling is very hot straight from the pan; let it cool well before giving it to children.

Method

Mix the flour, salt and sugar, add the water a little at a time and knead for until smooth. Divide into one ball per serving, coat with oil, cover and rest for .
Add in this stepPlain (all-purpose) flour 160 gSalt 1 pinchSugar (for the dough) 2 tspLukewarm water 100 mlNeutral oil (coating and stretching) 0.6 tbsp
Peel the bananas and slice them into 5 mm rounds. Stir the cinnamon into the cream cheese with a spoon until soft and smooth.
Add in this stepRipe bananas 2Cream cheese, at room temperature 80 gGround cinnamon ½ tsp
On an oiled surface, stretch a ball of dough into a rectangle of about 35 × 30 cm, thin enough to see through. Spread one portion of cream cheese in a 5 cm wide band about 5 cm in from the edge nearest you and lay the banana slices along it. Fold in the sides, then roll up tightly from the front into a log about 4 cm thick, and set it seam side down.
Add in this stepNeutral oil (coating and stretching) 2.4 tbsp
Melt the butter in a 26 cm · 1× pan (the number is how many rounds you fry, up to two logs at a time) over medium-low heat and lay the logs in seam side down. Fry for , turning every minute, until evenly golden all over. Don't turn the heat up: the sugar and butter burn quickly.
Add in this stepUnsalted butter (for frying) 2 tbsp
medium-low heat
Move to a board and cool for (cut straight away and the hot filling runs out), then slice into 3 cm pieces with a gentle sawing motion and stand them cut side up. Drizzle with honey, scatter with pistachios and sesame, and serve warm.
Add in this stepHoney 2 tbspPistachios, roughly chopped 20 gToasted sesame seeds 1 tsp

Cook's tip

Bananas with brown-speckled skins are the sweetest and most fragrant. For less sweetness, serve with plain Greek yoghurt instead of honey. Ricotta can replace the cream cheese.

Cooking it at camp

Make the dough at home and carry it in a cooler; slice the bananas on site and roll and fry straight away. Camp stoves run hot, so keep the flame close to low and turn the logs often so the outside doesn't scorch.