Ramadan food varies and varies from country to country, but kunafa and kataef are among the most popular sweets during the holy month.
The kitchen is unique in all homes during the holy month from the rest of the months of the year, but the most famous Ramadan dessert remains. Konafa and Qattafat are considered to be historical Ramadan sweets, as there are numerous accounts of their onset.
The researcher at the Atlas of Popular Archeology in Egypt, Dr. Al-Shaymaa Al-Saidi told the German News Agency (dpa) that the candy makers in the Levant were the ones who invented and innovated the kanafah next to the marigolds, and they presented them specifically to the Caliph Muawiya bin Abi Sufyan, when he was the ruler of the Levant, as It is said that Muawiyah was the first to make Konafa from the Arabs, and even her name was associated with him, so they said, "Muawawiyah Konafa."
According to al-Saidi, Muawiyah complained to his doctor about the hunger he encountered in fasting, so he described the kunafa for eating during the period of suhoor until he stopped hunger during the day in Ramadan. It was also said that the konafa was specially made for Suleiman bin Abd al-Malik al-Umayyad, so the people of the Levant are considered among the most brilliant specialists in making konafa.
The researcher indicates that the history of the kunafa may also date back to the era of the Mamluks, and it was also said that the origin of the kunafa dates back to the Fatimid era, and the Egyptians knew it when the caliph al-Muizz entered the Fatimid religion of God to Cairo, as it was in the month of Ramadan, so the people went out to receive him after breaking fast In presenting gifts to him, and among what they presented Konafa as a manifestation of honor, then it was then transferred to the Levant through the merchants.
There are three types of kunafa, the first is called "hair" for fine kunafa strings just like hair, which is the most popular among housewives, and the second is "manual" and depends on the traditional method through the container with holes, and it is called "baladi kunafa", and the third type in which the machine is used It is called "Kunafa Machine".
What indicates the great effect that the kunafah has had on the hearts of Egyptian society is that the Sheikh of Islam, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, combined what was said in the kunafah in a message he called "Manhal al-Latif in Konafa and al-Qatif".
While the history of the origins of Al-Qatayef dates back to the same history as the Konafa, and it was said that it is ahead of it, meaning that the Qatayaf preceded a discovery from the Konafa, as it dates back to the late Umayyad and early Abbasid periods, and in other accounts it dates back to the Fatimid era.
It was said, but the history of its manufacture dates back to the Mamluk era, as candy makers were competing to offer the best, and someone created a pie stuffed with nuts and presented it beautifully decorated in a large plate for guests to pick, and from here its name “Al-Qatif” was derived.
The story of Al-Qatayef in the Arab Islamic civilization is well-known, as history books in the past narrated that they originated from (Andalusia), as the Arabs knew them there, especially in cities such as Granada and Seville, and then this Arab pie moved to the countries of the Arab East during the Islamic rule.