Khushaf

Dried apricots, prunes, raisins, and almonds soaked overnight in fragrant rose water and orange blossom water until plump and yielding — the ancient Ramadan compote of Syria and Lebanon, served cold at iftar as a sweet and restorative first course.

Ingredients

• 200 g dried apricots (whole, the small Lebanese type)
• 150 g pitted prunes
• 100 g golden raisins
• 80 g blanched whole almonds
• 40 g shelled pistachios
• 30 g pine nuts
• 600 ml cold water
• 2 tbsp rose water
• 1 tbsp orange blossom water
• 2 tbsp (optional — depends on sweetness of fruit) sugar
• 100 g (optional) dried figs

Method

1. Place all dried fruit (apricots, prunes, raisins, and figs if using) in a large glass bowl or deep dish.
2. Add the almonds, pistachios, and pine nuts.
3. Pour cold water over everything. Add rose water and orange blossom water. Stir gently.
4. Taste the liquid — if the fruit seems tart (some dried apricot batches are very sour), add the sugar and stir to dissolve.
5. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight — at minimum 8 hours, ideally 12.
6. By morning, the fruit will have plumped significantly and the liquid will be fragrant and lightly syrupy from the fruit sugars.
7. Serve cold in individual glass bowls or cups, with plenty of the soaking liquid spooned over.

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