Menena: An Egyptian Jewish Pastry

Menena–Maamoul

Stuffed Tartlets

“Menena” is the Jewish name for the Arab “maamoul,” and it is a little different from the Arab version—at least that is what I learned when I went back to Egypt and Muslim friends said they missed ours. Every Jewish family kept a boxful, and continued to do so for decades after they left. My mother always had a supply. For years she looked for the exact dented pincers with which we had made a little design on the top, and in the end she found somebody who made it for her—even though a fork could do just as well. The flour-and-butter pastry is perfumed with flower water and meltingly soft. The most common filling is with walnuts, the most prestigious with pistachios, and there is a lovely variation with a date paste. It is one of our greats.

For the dough

3 ½ cups (500g) flour
2 tablespoons sugar
8 oz. (250g) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon rose or orange-blossom water
1 tablespoon milk or as required
Confectioners’ sugar to sprinkle on

For the nut filling

1½ cups (200 g) walnuts or pistachios, finely chopped 
4–6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon (only for the walnut filling)
2 tablespoons rose or orange-blossom water

For the date filling

10 oz (300 g) pitted dates, preferably a soft variety
4–6 tablespoons water or as required

For the dough, mix the flour and sugar and rub in the butter: (You may do this in the food processor, then turn into a bowl.) Add the flower water and just enough milk to bind the dough into a soft, malleable ball.

For the nut filling, mix all the ingredients together. For the date filling, blend the dates in the food processor with just enough water to make a soft paste.

Take walnut-sized lumps of dough. For each, make a hole in the center with your thumb and enlarge it by pinching the sides as if shaping a little pot, turning and pressing against your palm. The walls should be quite thin; any breaks are easily patched. Fill the hole with one of the fillings to three-quarters full, and bring the dough up over the opening to close into a ball. Flatten the filled balls slightly and arrange on a baking sheet with the smooth side on top. Make a design by pinching all over the top with dented pincers or by pricking with a fork. Bake in a preheated 325°F (160°C) oven for 20–30 minutes—no longer. Do not let them brown. The pastries will be very soft and still pale when they come out of the oven, but they will firm when they cool. Do not try to move them until they do. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.