<p>If you happen to be a die-hard sweets fan and are always looking for new varieties to gorge on, then Arabic confectionary Kunafa in Mehrchand Market should be your next destination. Kunafa, with four branches across the Arabic world, is now in Delhi thanks to Palestinian restaurateur Naser Barakat and his Indian partner Nikhil Anand. <br /><br /></p>.<p>It offers Kunafa – a cream cheese pastry with vermicelli coating, Baklava – filo pastry with nuts and honey, stuffed dates and many more Arabic delights guaranteed to transport you to heaven.<br /><br />The confectionary opened in March last and is already one of the most popular shops in the market. Nikhil Anand informs us, “Naser and I, foodies both, have known each other for a long time. Only last year did he come up with the idea of bringing Kunafa here. <br /><br />“It was costly. The equipment, ingredients and the chefs – all had to be imported from the Mediterranean. Plus, we are very particular about authenticity. So we fired three chefs until we found one who could prepare the perfect mabroomeh (a type of baklava that takes four days to make). It shot up the price of the final product many times over traditional Indian sweets.”<br /><br />“But we are very happy to see Delhiites having taken to it well. We have a steady clientele of corporate, hotels, wedding planners and in general sweet lovers.”<br />Not much really to be surprised about considering the mouth-watering delicacies they have and the standards they have maintained in quality.<br /><br />Kunafas, with their heavenly filling of cream and cheese soaked in sugar syrup, rose water or orange blossom drops, fill the stomach and the heart. <br /><br />The Baklavas come in 14 varieties – with fillings of cashew, almonds and other dry fruits. The most expensive kind being the one filled with pistachios. <br /><br />Then there are basbousas – a kind of halwa from Turkey, the newly introduced Turkish delights from Istanbul – a mix of gelatine and dry fruits, and much more.<br /><br />An irresistible part of the menu are the dates stuffed with different nuts. Among the 600 varieties of dates grown in the Mediterranean, Kunafa gets the best Jericho dates from Palestine which are the biggest and the juiciest in the world. <br /><br />Besides, they also offer Arabic and Turkish tea and coffee, and honey imported from Jordan (Rs.475 for 500ml). The tea and coffee are served in traditional tea pots from <br />Arabia.<br /><br />Nikhil says, “Arabic sweets are different from the Indian ones in the respect that the former use little ghee and sugar, and more of dry fruits and honey. <br /><br />Also, they last much longer than Indian sweets allowing its habitues to appreciate it for months. As a result, people are taking to Arabic sweets easily.”<br /><br />The fact that Nikhil offers a sampling of his sweets to every individual as yet uninitiated to his delicacies, makes the experience at Kunafa even sweeter. We suggest you make a quick visit. Kunafa will do full justice to your sweet tooth.<br /></p>
<p>If you happen to be a die-hard sweets fan and are always looking for new varieties to gorge on, then Arabic confectionary Kunafa in Mehrchand Market should be your next destination. Kunafa, with four branches across the Arabic world, is now in Delhi thanks to Palestinian restaurateur Naser Barakat and his Indian partner Nikhil Anand. <br /><br /></p>.<p>It offers Kunafa – a cream cheese pastry with vermicelli coating, Baklava – filo pastry with nuts and honey, stuffed dates and many more Arabic delights guaranteed to transport you to heaven.<br /><br />The confectionary opened in March last and is already one of the most popular shops in the market. Nikhil Anand informs us, “Naser and I, foodies both, have known each other for a long time. Only last year did he come up with the idea of bringing Kunafa here. <br /><br />“It was costly. The equipment, ingredients and the chefs – all had to be imported from the Mediterranean. Plus, we are very particular about authenticity. So we fired three chefs until we found one who could prepare the perfect mabroomeh (a type of baklava that takes four days to make). It shot up the price of the final product many times over traditional Indian sweets.”<br /><br />“But we are very happy to see Delhiites having taken to it well. We have a steady clientele of corporate, hotels, wedding planners and in general sweet lovers.”<br />Not much really to be surprised about considering the mouth-watering delicacies they have and the standards they have maintained in quality.<br /><br />Kunafas, with their heavenly filling of cream and cheese soaked in sugar syrup, rose water or orange blossom drops, fill the stomach and the heart. <br /><br />The Baklavas come in 14 varieties – with fillings of cashew, almonds and other dry fruits. The most expensive kind being the one filled with pistachios. <br /><br />Then there are basbousas – a kind of halwa from Turkey, the newly introduced Turkish delights from Istanbul – a mix of gelatine and dry fruits, and much more.<br /><br />An irresistible part of the menu are the dates stuffed with different nuts. Among the 600 varieties of dates grown in the Mediterranean, Kunafa gets the best Jericho dates from Palestine which are the biggest and the juiciest in the world. <br /><br />Besides, they also offer Arabic and Turkish tea and coffee, and honey imported from Jordan (Rs.475 for 500ml). The tea and coffee are served in traditional tea pots from <br />Arabia.<br /><br />Nikhil says, “Arabic sweets are different from the Indian ones in the respect that the former use little ghee and sugar, and more of dry fruits and honey. <br /><br />Also, they last much longer than Indian sweets allowing its habitues to appreciate it for months. As a result, people are taking to Arabic sweets easily.”<br /><br />The fact that Nikhil offers a sampling of his sweets to every individual as yet uninitiated to his delicacies, makes the experience at Kunafa even sweeter. We suggest you make a quick visit. Kunafa will do full justice to your sweet tooth.<br /></p>
