🍯 Tel kadayıf
Tel kadayıf is a Turkish dessert of fine, hair-like shredded pastry tossed with melted butter, layered with chopped pistachios and baked until crisp and golden. Cold sugar syrup is poured over the hot pastry so it soaks in while the top stays crunchy. It is cut into squares and served at room temperature, often for holidays.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g kadayıf (shredded pastry)
- 150 g butter, melted
- 150 g pistachios, chopped
- 400 g sugar
- 350 ml water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Method
- Boil the sugar and water for 10 minutes, add lemon juice and let the syrup cool.
- Loosen the kadayıf strands and toss with the melted butter.
- Press half into a tray, scatter the pistachios, and cover with the rest.
- Bake at 180 °C for 40–45 minutes until golden.
- Pour the cold syrup over the hot pastry and leave to soak before cutting.
How to make it lighter
- Use less syrup and let the pastry stay crisper — the syrup is a big share of the calories.
- Cut small squares; one piece is a satisfying dessert.
- Brush the butter on rather than pouring it to use less; 1 tbsp butter ≈ 100 kcal.
History
Shredded-pastry sweets have been made in the Middle East for centuries, and kadayıf was an established dessert in Ottoman cuisine. Today tel kadayıf is sold in baklava shops across Turkey, with a close relative, kunafa, popular in the Arab world.
Count it in one photo
Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Tel kadayıf and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.
Download on the App StoreSimilar dishes
Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →