Ethnic Sweets From Nazareth

## What is Osh El Bulbul?

Very fine stringy dough wrapped around pistachios or pine kernels and lightly fried to boldness. Ingredients Pistachios (or pine nuts), butter ghee, flour, sugar, milk powder, corn starch. Characteristics Osh El Bulbul is a very light dessert. It is so light, one can eat a few dozen pieces before noticing. It is the lightest among all Middle Eastern sweets and pastries. Meaning and Pronunciation of "Osh El Bulbul" Pronounced [ush-shel-bul-bul], it means "Bird's Nest" in Arabic. Its circular shape and filamentary structure resemble very closely that of a bird's nest. How is Osh El Bulbul Made? To make Osh El Bulbul, first the stringy Knafeh dough and the sugar syrup are prepared, then the dough is formed into circular shapes resembling birds nests, filled with nuts, and baked. Preparation of Strings of Knafeh Dough Knafeh dough consists solely of flour and water. To prepare it, flour and water are mixed for about four hours to form a watery mixture. Then the mixture is poured into a special container that contains small holes in its base and placed on top of a hot surface. As the watery dough mix passes through the holes, it forms filaments of dough. The container is moved along the hot surface as the dough mixture drains through the container to form long strings of dough. The strings of dough are then let to dry, and voila, you got the stringy Knafeh dough. Preparation of Osh El Bulbul For each Osh El Bulbul piece, a few strings of the freshly made Knafeh dough are formed into a circular shape resembling a bird's nest and filled with pistachios or pine nuts. The birds nests shaped pieces are the left to dry for about 12 hours. Baking Butter ghee is added on top of the Osh El Bulbul pieces which are then baked for one hour on medium temperature. After baking, the remaining butter ghee is drained and sugar syrup is added. Serving Suggestions Osh El Bulbul is offered as a dessert. It is however so light and so small in size, make sure you offer at least a dozen pieces for each person. Popularity It is most popular in Syria. It is also popular in Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan. Classification It is one of the assorted Baklava pastries that are made with knafeh dough. Assorted baklava pastries are made of two forms of dough: Paper thin sheets of dough that resemble the phyllo dough and thin strings of dough called knafeh dough. While many types require the knafeh strings of dough to be shredded, Osh El Bulbul takes advantage of the stringy shape of the dough to give it a unique texture. Osh El Bulbul is one of the elements of Arabic sweets.