Simple Qatayef recipe makes fabulous nut-filled pancakes

Qatayef – also spelled katayif or qatya’if – is traditionally eaten at Ramadan (get our Ramadan vegetarian ideas here), but it’s a treat anytime. In fact, it’s a treat that’s gone through history.

A recipe for qatayif appears in a tenth century Arabic cookbook by the writer Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq, who compiled recipes going back to the eighth and ninth centuries. People have been eating qatayif for a very long time.

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hot chocolate

Stick to commonsense advice. Eat a balanced diet. Exercise regularly. Don’t smoke. And consume dark chocolate.

A study led by geneticist Dr. Ramy Saad at King’s College, London (KCL), found that higher blood levels of theobromine, an alkaloid found in cocoa beans, matched slower biological aging. Dr. Saad’s research focuses on how molecules influence DNA aging markers in human blood.

“This is a very exciting finding, and the next important questions are what is behind this association,” he says.

“Our study finds links between a key component of dark chocolate and staying younger for longer,” adds Professor Jordana Bell, a professor of epigenomics at KCL. We wonder if chocolate camel milk will ever appear in these studies.

Researchers are exploring the possibility that theobromine works together with cocoa flavanols, compounds thought to improve cardiovascular health. Polyphenols, health-boosting compounds that exist in fruit and vegetables, are found in cocoa too, and may be part of the molecular action working to slow aging.

“This study identifies another molecular mechanism through which naturally occurring compounds in cocoa may support health,” said Dr. Ricardo Costeira, a postdoctoral researcher working at KCL.

An additional PubMed study from 2022 on cardiovascular risk factors on humans and animals suggested that theobromine favorably influences inflammation, high blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.

Study results skew positive for chocolate as a health and life booster, although research is ongoing: laboratory experiments, detailed dietary records, and long-term trials are still ahead to understand how theobromine interacts with human aging.

We simple folk know that lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption and enough sleep naturally affect how a person ages. Others include stress, and home and work satisfaction. And always, genetic factors.

So we can’t control everything that affects how long we live, but we can work on our quality of life. Science gives conditional approval to chocolate – in moderation – as part of a health-boosting diet. And we don’t need research to identify that pop of sensation we get from chocolate as pleasure.

Avoid chocolates heavy in sugar and added fat; they subvert the health benefits you’re looking for. Instead, go with fair-trade, organic chocolate with a high cocoa percentage.

Following are two recipes for making hot chocolate at home. Because why pay for commercial chocolate powder when you can save money making your own?

chocolate squares

Mix For Hot Chocolate

Elegant hot chocolate from a prepared mix.

Prep Time 7

Cook Time 10

Servings 1

Ingredients

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 ounces semi- or bittersweet chocolate roughly chopped
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper or cayenne flakes for optional spicy kick

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until powdery.
Alternately, grate the chocolate finely and stir it into the remaining ingredients.
Heat one cup milk of choice in a saucepan over medium heat until steam rises.
Add 3 tablespoons hot cocoa mix.
Heat, stirring 1-2 minutes, until the mix is completely dissolved and the cocoa simmers.
Serve.