Jeanna got her first tooth around a month ago. And if you are Lebanese, I guess you know what that means, we are preparing “snayniye” today!
Yes, it took me a month to do it! we were caught up in other stuff but eventually we made it!
Better late than never!
What is snayniye?
The name of this recipe “snayniye” derives from “snen” which means teeth in English. We traditionally prepare this dessert to celebrate the first tooth of a baby.
It is made with wheat berries and mix of various nuts like pistachio, almonds, walnuts and many more. Nowadays people start adding to it a whole lot of other stuff like marshmallows and candies. Honestly if I am celebrating my baby’s first tooth she needs to be able to celebrate it with us. For that reason I came up with this healthy wholesome and baby safe version for Jeanna.
My snayniye version is not the 100% traditional way. But for sure it does not have any artificial candies and unhealthy doses of sugar.
This recipe is a must try even if you do not have a baby and a first tooth to celebrate. It is perfect for a breakfast bowl or snack ! It is so fresh and full of natural flavors.
My most favorite part is that my baby can eat also and enjoy her first tooth celebration also.
The ashta twist!
The more interesting part is that it includes “ashta” yes you read it right! My snayniye has ashta in it and it is so good. Once you try it you will never skip this part.
Ashta is traditional Lebanese clotted cream made from milk traditionally. Mine has a little extra something in it that makes it faster to make and much tastier.
How much does this recipe make?
The quantity in the recipe below is enough to prepare 6 jars of 300 ml. And you can also prepare it in a big transparent serving bowl to see those beautiful layers.
Sweetener options for baby and substitutions:
In the grown up version of this recipe I used honey to sweeten the layers. As for the baby version you can use natural date syrup or carob molasses syrup. The reason I use honey in the grown up version is to keep the color of the layers bright. However, you can totally use the carob molasses or date syrup for the grown-up version. It tastes even better with the other syrups!
For cheaper substitution you can also replace the honey or other syrup with just normal white or brown sugar.
So, let’s dig in and start making this beautiful layered snayniye dessert for Jeanna’s first tooth!
Baby first tooth Lebanese wheat berries dessert “snayniye”
Ingredients
For the wheat berries layer:
- 3 cups wheat berries washed and drained
- 6 cups of water
- 250 ml fresh juice
- 1 cup shredded coconut flakes
- 2 tbsp rose water
- 2 tbsp orange blossom water
- ½ cup honey for the adult version, in baby version I skip this one, check notes
For the ashta cream layer:
- 3 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup cold milk
- 6 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp rose water
- ½ cup honey for the adult version, in baby version I skip this one, check notes
For the nuts layer:
- 1 cup walnuts roughly chopped
- 1 cup almonds roughly chopped
- ½ cup pistachio roughly chopped
- ½ cup dry cranberries
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 cup dry figs diced
- 1 cup dry apricots diced
- 1 cup dry dates diced
Instructions
For the wheat berries layer:
- First start by cooking your wheat, you can do this step the day before and let it cool in the fridge overnight.
- To cook your berries on stovetop: Bring the water to boil and the wheat and boil till tender for around one hour. Remove from heat and drain in coriander and spread in a big tray to cool down.
- To cook your berries in smart pot or pressure cooker: add the wheat and water and close the pot, set to manual/high pressure for 20 minutes. Let it naturally release the pressure for 5 minutes and quick release the remaining pressure manually. Open drain if any liquid is left and spread in a big tray to cool down.
- After the wheat berries are cool enough to touch, sprinkle the orange juice,rose water, flower blossom water, the shredded coconut and mix well until everything is coated . you can taste and add more juice or aromas to your liking, but don’t add to much liquid and end up with very watery wheat mix. At this point remove your baby portion before adding the sugar. Then add to the remaining adult version the honey and mix and adjust to your liking. Don’t add to much honey because the other layers also have sweetness also.
- Cover the tray with some cling film and let it sit in the fridge while you prepare the other ingredients, so the wheat berries absorb more the flavors and cool down completely before adding to the jars.
For the ashta cream layer:
- If the ricotta is so watery, drain for 30 minutes in a coriander in the fridge before using.
- In a small saucepan whisk together the milk and cornstarch till dissolved. For the adult version add the honey also here and whisk till dissolved. in the baby version, skip the honey and continue the recipe without it. Put the sauce pan on medium heat while continuously whisking until the mixture start to get thick. Whisk for a minute ad remove from heat add the ricotta cheese and rose water and mix it through. Set aside to cool down while we prepare the final layer.
For the nuts layer:
- Chop and diced all your dry fruits and nuts and lay in a tray so you can use in assembly.
For the assembly:
- You can use your decorated snayniye jars for layering like I did in the pictures above and you can use a big deep glass serving bowl also for feeding a big crowd, like the picture below.
- Start first with a layer of wheat berries mixture spread it equally and press it little with the back of your spoon.
- add a layer of the ashta cream and spread it equally and gently above the wheat layer. sprinkle little from each nut and dry fruit to form a layer. And now we repeat the same process until your jars or serving bowl.
- Close with the lis or some cling film and store in the fridge until serving. you can store up to 3 days maximum because it contains the ashta cream.
- For the baby version: you can make the same layer concept or you can mix everything together and serve to your baby fresh or mash it to your liking , each baby love a different texture. Jeanna just eat them right from the jar 😛
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Honey: I use honey as a natural sweetener for this recipe, if your baby is more than 1 year old you can skip the baby version and let him enjoy the same adult recipe but if he is younger than 1 year old it is preferable you avoid the honey. You can substitute the honey with carob molasses or date syrup or honestly you can skip the whole sweetener syrup step because this dessert will be sweet enough for your baby from just the dry fruits used in the recipe.
- Sugar: for cheaper option you can use just normal white or brown sugar instead of honey in the recipe for the adult version.
- Other syrups: you can also prepare the whole batch with baby safe syrup if you don’t want to make two batches , you can use the carob molasses or date syrup or maple syrup but the reason I use honey because I found it over trials to give the brighter color when added to the recipe , the other recipes will affect the color if the layers drastically. But if you are preparing this recipe just for yourself and your baby you can totally use those syrups, they taste amazing in this recipe especially the carob one.
- Ashta: Because of the ashta this recipe once layered will stay fresh in the fridge for 3 days maximum. But if you skip the ashta or didn’t assemble the layers the cooked wheat berries will stay fresh in fridge for up to 4-5 days and 6 months in the freezer. And for dry fruits and nuts layers it will stay fresh for up to 6 months!