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    Home » By Category » Appetizers & Snacks » Baked & Grilled

    Published: Sep 29, 2014 · Modified: Oct 1, 2020 by Usha Rao

    Yemeni Ka'ak

    Today we travel to Yemen, an Arab state in southwest Asia. Sana’a is the capital and also the largest city in the country. Yemen is a culturally rich country with the influences from various civilizations.

    Yemeni Bread, Yemeni Cookie, Yemeni Food, Yemeni cuisine, Blogging Marathon, Around the world in 30 days with ABC cooking

    Yemeni cuisine is unique from Middle Eastern cuisine and also differs from region to region. Chicken, goat and lamb are common meats and fish is common in coastal areas. Holba, fenugreek froth is a common condiment and is also added to many dishes. Holba is used extensively all over Yemen. I was going to make holba and a dish that uses holba. I had short listed couple of recipes when I landed on the Queen of Sheeba blog.

    Yemeni Bread, Yemeni Cookie, Yemeni Food, Yemeni cuisine, Blogging Marathon, Around the world in 30 days with ABC cooking

    This blog has some amazing recipes and especially bakes. I wanted to try all the Yemeni bakes but for now I settled for Ka’ak. According to the blog, Yemeni ka’ak is cross between a biscuit and a cookie. To me it was more like cross between a biscuit and roll. It was soft and flaky in the inside and crunchy on the outside. This is a savory and a little sweetish bake that is a staple for any special occasion. It is also served with afternoon tea. The shape of the ka'ak was so pretty and just could not wait to bake it. I baked these a month ago, the Friday before this edition of blogging marathon started and I still had to cook 3-4 recipes and two from week 2. Though I was going to post the ka’ak end of this month, I could not wait to bake it. My ka’ak is not as pretty as the images on Queen of Sheeba but I totally loved it. I ate the ka’ak as it is but Mr.U felt it would be better with jam or some butter.

    Yemeni Bread, Yemeni Cookie, Yemeni Food, Yemeni cuisine, Blogging Marathon, Around the world in 30 days with ABC cooking

    Source: Queen of Sheeba
    Total Time: 87 – 105 minutes
    Preparation: 15 – 20 minutes
    Resting Time: 50 – 60 minutes (rest the dough twice, one before shaping the ka'ak and once after shaping)
    Bake Time: 22 – 25 minutes
    Yields: 20 – 22 depending on the size

    Ingredients:

    • 2 ⅓ cup Flour
    • ½ cup + 1 ½ tbsp. Butter
    • 1 Whole Egg
    • 1 Egg White
    • ⅓ c Milk
    • ¼ tsp. Yeast
    • ¼ tsp. Salt
    • ½ - 2 tbsp. Sugar (I used 1 tbsp. Can add more for a sweeter taste)
    • Egg Wash
      • 1 Egg Yolk
      • ¾ tbsp. Milk for egg wash
    • Few Black or White Sesame Seeds

    Preparation:

    • Mix together milk and yeast to dissolve yeast.
    • Mix together flour, butter, egg, egg white, milk, sugar and salt to combine everything.
    • Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 – 30 minutes.
    • Shape the dough into small cookies. Ka'ak can be shaped into any shape one likes. I made one round ka’ak and for the rest I tried to pattern like Queen Sheeba did but I wasn’t successful. My pattern was narrow and thin that after baking the patter was barely visible. To shape the ka’ak like Queen Sheeba did, make round ball, flattened it a little and pinch the corner and fold it back. Repeat the pinching and folding around the flattened ball. Shape all the ka’ak and place them on a cookie / baking sheet.
    • Cover and let the ka’ak rest for 30 minutes.
    • Preheat the oven to 375 F.
    • Prepare the egg wash by mixing milk and egg yolk.
    • Brush it with on top of the ka’ak. Add sesame seeds.
    • Bake in preheated oven for 22 – 25 minutes or until golden brown. I baked for 22 minutes. Temperatures vary from oven to oven bake until brown.
    • Transfer to a cooling rack. Once cold, store ka’ak in an airtight container at room temperature. My ka’ak for good for 3 days. On third day I had 2 left and it was good but not as fresh as they were the first 2 days.

    Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44

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    Reader Interactions

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    1. SuhailsMom says

      May 10, 2016 at 11:18 pm

      Does the milk need to be warm or room temp when putting the yeast in?

      Reply
      • MySpicyKitchen says

        May 10, 2016 at 11:35 pm

        Room temperature should work but to be on the safe side, warm it for 10 - 15 seconds in the microwave.

        Reply
    2. cookingwithsapana says

      December 08, 2014 at 4:56 am

      Very nicely made cookies. Love your step by step presentation..

      Reply
    3. Chef Mireille says

      October 29, 2014 at 11:34 pm

      this is one I definitely want to try

      Reply
    4. Manjula Bharath says

      October 28, 2014 at 10:30 pm

      Cute little shaped cookies , would love to munch the all now 🙂

      Reply
    5. Ammaji Kitchen{Sree} (@sreevallie) says

      October 15, 2014 at 1:57 am

      Cute & delicious kaak..

      Reply
    6. themadscientistskitchen says

      October 13, 2014 at 11:25 pm

      I love this one too Usha. Where was i looking? Queen of Sheeba must have been wondering about us all trooping down the length and breadth of her blog. These are yum.

      Reply
    7. PJ says

      October 09, 2014 at 8:49 am

      Nice step by step pics USha and they look so good.Looks like most of us selected recipes from the same site...

      Reply
    8. pumpkinfarmfood says

      October 05, 2014 at 11:32 am

      i wanted to make them...but the shape confused me, i thought these were stuffed so dropped the plan...i am making them for sure..your step by step will be great help

      Reply
    9. Pavani says

      October 02, 2014 at 9:53 pm

      Queen of Sheba sure has some new fans 🙂
      The name 'ka'ak' sounds interesting and those buns look cute and yummy!!

      Reply
    10. Harini says

      October 01, 2014 at 7:02 pm

      Wow! they look super cute and I am sure they make a great pair with Tea/coffee!

      Reply
    11. Srivalli says

      September 30, 2014 at 6:49 am

      Such cute ones Usha..like your idea of showing us all the steps!..very neatly done.

      Reply
    12. Vaishali Sabnani says

      September 29, 2014 at 1:01 pm

      The cookies look pretty. .no wonder you couldn't wait to bake these. Nice presentation.

      Reply
    13. Priya says

      September 29, 2014 at 10:13 am

      Those kaak looks pretty cute. One can munch some for evening snacks with a cup of masala chai.

      Reply
    14. Suma Gandlur says

      September 29, 2014 at 9:47 am

      Love the shape of these cookies and these do make a nice accompaniment to coffee / tea.

      Reply
    15. Varada says

      September 29, 2014 at 8:00 am

      They are super cute! I like mildly sweetened bakes. They are perfect for an evening snack.

      Reply

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