{{Short description|Arab dessert made from fried dough}} {{Infobox food | name = Asabe Zainab | name_lang = ar | image = بائع حلوى رمضان (مشبك وعوامة) (cropped).jpg | caption = Asabe Zainab in Syria | course = Dessert | region = Arab world | main_ingredient = Fried dough, sugar }}
'''Asabe‘ Zainab''' ({{langx|ar|أصابع زينب|translation=Zainab's fingers}}), also '''Sawabe‘ Zeinab''' ({{langx|arz|صوابع زينب}}), are a cannoli-like dessert popular in the Arab world typically made from fried dough with many variations.<ref name="krondl" />
== History ==
A recipe for cannoli-like "stuffed tubes" or ''qananeet mahshuwwa'' ({{langx|ar|قنانيط محشوة|translation=stuffed tubes}}) appears in a 13th-Century Andalusian cookbook, the recipe calls for frying unleavened dough then stuffing it with sugar and nuts.<ref name="nasrallahDelights">{{cite book |last1=Nasrallah |first1=Nawal |title=Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and History of the Iraqi Cuisine |date=2013 |publisher=Equinox Pub. |isbn=978-1-84553-457-8 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Delights_from_the_Garden_of_Eden/4RZAPgAACAAJ |access-date=1 October 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="exile">{{cite book |last1=Al-Tujībī |first1=Ibn Razīn |title=The Exile's Cookbook: Medieval Gastronomic Treasures from al-Andalus and North Africa |date=8 August 2023 |publisher=Saqi Books |isbn=978-0-86356-997-5 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Exile_s_Cookbook/51XOEAAAQBAJ |translator1=Daniel Newman |translator-link=Daniel_Newman_(academic) |access-date=23 September 2025 |language=en}}</ref> They appear later in a Mamluk Egyptian cookbook as "Zaynab's fingers".<ref name="nasrallah">{{cite book |last1=Nasrallah |first1=Nawal |author1-link=Nawal Nasrallah |title=Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook: English Translation, with an Introduction and Glossary |date=27 November 2017 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-34991-9 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Treasure_Trove_of_Benefits_and_Variety_a/fIJ1DwAAQBAJ |access-date=23 September 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Newman |first1=Daniel |author1-link=Daniel_Newman_(academic) |title=Andalusian cannoli |url=https://eatlikeasultan.com/andalusian-cannoli/ |website=Eat Like A Sultan |access-date=23 September 2025 |language=en |date=13 August 2023}}</ref> It is believed by some historians that these medieval recipes might have influenced modern day cannoli through their presence in Muslim Sicily.<ref name="krondl" /><ref name="sweetDelights">{{cite book |last1=Salloum |first1=Habeeb |last2=Salloum |first2=Muna |last3=Elias |first3=Leila Salloum |title=Sweet Delights from a Thousand and One Nights: The Story of Traditional Arab Sweets |date=25 June 2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-85773-341-2 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sweet_Delights_from_a_Thousand_and_One_N/cp-LDwAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&pg=PT94&printsec=frontcover |access-date=1 October 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="exile"/>
''Zaynab's fingers'' also make an appearance in Muhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi's ''Kitab al-Tabikh'', another 13th-Century cookbook from the Abbasid Caliphate.<ref name="krondl">{{cite book |last1=Krondl |first1=Michael |title=Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert |date=1 October 2011 |publisher=Chicago Review Press |isbn=978-1-56976-954-6 |page=102 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sweet_Invention/Dt0RErSFvE8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA102&printsec=frontcover |access-date=23 September 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
"Zaynab's fingers" were also mentioned as a dessert in a poem by Al-Tha'alibi in his work {{ill|Thimar al-Qulub|ar|ثمار القلوب في المضاف والمنسوب}}.<ref name="sweetDelights" /><ref>{{cite web |title=مركز المعرفة الرقمي {{!}} ثمار القلوب في المضاف والمنسوب |url=https://ddl.ae/uploads/books/166.html#item-21-23 |website=ddl.ae |access-date=1 October 2025}}</ref>
The 1936 volume of the journal of ''The Palestine Oriental Society'', described a variety of ''Asabe Zainab'': <blockquote>'Asabi' zenab are small cakes made of plain dough with sesame oil, syrup, anise and hilbeh (fenugreek). The surface is rolled on the ''ghurbal'' to give it a ridged appearance.<ref name="POS1936"> {{cite book |title=The Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 1936: Vol 16 |date=1936 |page=58 |url=https://archive.org/details/journal-of-the-palestine-oriental-society_1936_16/page/58/mode/2up |access-date=27 March 2026 |language=English |volume=16}} </ref> </blockquote>
== Names ==
The origin of the name ''Zainab's fingers'' is debated, and there are multiple competing stories with explanations for the name, some stories claim that "Zainab" refers to Zaynab bint Ali, the granddaughter of Prophet Muhammed,<ref name="raseef22">{{cite news |title=''أم علي'' و''أصابع زينب'' و''عزيزة''... حكايات أسماء الحلويات العربية |url=https://raseef22.net/article/1083305-%D8%A3%D9%85-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A-%D9%88%D8%A3%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B9-%D8%B2%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A8-%D9%88%D8%B9%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B2%D8%A9-%D8%AD%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A3%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9 |access-date=23 September 2025 |work=Raseef22 |date=29 June 2021 |language=ar |trans-title="Umm Ali," "Zainab's Fingers," and "Aziza"... the stories behind the names of Arabic sweets}}</ref><ref name="egyptianstreets">{{cite news |last1=Makary |first1=Marina |title=Who was Sawabe’ Zeinab Named After? {{!}} Egyptian Streets |url=https://egyptianstreets.com/2022/05/04/who-was-sawabe-zeinab-named-after/ |access-date=23 September 2025 |date=4 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=هل تذوقتم حلاوة "أصابع زينب"؟ إليكم أصلها |url=https://arabic.cnn.com/travel/video/v73714-asl-w-fasl-asabe-zainab |access-date=23 September 2025 |work=CNN Arabic |date=9 April 2019 |language=ar |trans-title=Have you tasted the sweetness of "Zainab's Fingers"? Here's its origin.}}</ref> other stories claim that Zaynab was a famous queen,<ref name="krondl" /> other popular stories claim that Zainab was the cook who invented the dish.<ref name="raseef22" />
== By Region ==
In Egypt, ''Zainab's fingers'' (or ''sawabe Zeinab'',<ref name="egyptianstreets"/> {{langx|arz|صوابع زينب}}<ref name="raseef22" />) is an anise-flavored fried pastry that is flavored with orange flower water,<ref>{{cite news |title=Sweet stories: Popular desserts in the Middle East explained |url=https://www.euronews.com/2019/05/17/sweet-stories-popular-desserts-in-the-middle-east-explained |access-date=1 October 2025 |work=euronews |date=17 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref> the same dessert is referred to as ''maakaroun'' ({{langx|ar|معكرون}}) in Lebanon.<ref>{{cite news |title=أطباق رمضانية: المعكرون "أصابع زينب" {{!}} البوابة |url=https://www.albawaba.com/ar/%D8%B5%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%83%D9%90-%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%90/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A3%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B9-%D8%B2%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A8-509638 |access-date=23 September 2025 |work=Al Bawaba |language=ar |trans-title=Ramadan Dishes: Macarons "Zainab's Fingers"}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=بـ3 خطوات... إليكم طريقة تحضير المعكرون اللبناني (صور) |url=https://www.annahar.com/arabic/section/99-%D8%B7%D8%A8%D8%AE/05042022105136197 |access-date=23 September 2025 |work=An-Nahar |trans-title=In 3 steps... Here's how to prepare Lebanese macarons (photos)}}</ref><ref name="newmanMaakaroun">{{cite web |last1=Newman |first1=Daniel |author1-link=Daniel_Newman_(academic) |title=Mulberry pastries |url=https://eatlikeasultan.com/mulberry-pastries/ |website=Eat Like A Sultan |access-date=23 September 2025 |language=en |date=3 October 2021}}</ref>
In Omani cuisine, ''asabe Zainab'' are a fried filo pastry roll stuffed with cream cheese, they are analogous to znoud el-sit that are popular in Iraq and the Levant.<ref name="memo"> {{Cite web |title=How to make asabe Zainab, a deep-fried pastry from Oman |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/food-recipe-how-to-make-asabe-zainab-dessert-oman |access-date=2025-09-23 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}} </ref> "Balah al-Sham" are sometimes referred to as "Zaynab's fingers" as well.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Salloum |first1=Habeeb |title=Arabian Nights Cookbook: From Lamb Kebabs to Baba Ghanouj, Delicious Homestyle Arabian Cooking |date=28 February 2012 |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |isbn=978-1-4629-0524-9 |page=133 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Arabian_Nights_Cookbook/v5TTAgAAQBAJ |access-date=1 October 2025 |language=en}} </ref>
In Nablus, ''asabe Zaynab'' resemble lokma but are made with semolina flour and are shaped into fingers rather than balls.<ref>{{cite news |last1=دغلس |first1=عاطف |title=بالفيديو- مدينة نابلس الفلسطينية أم الحلويات الرمضانية.. مهنة الآباء والأجداد |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/misc/2021/4/18/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88-%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D9%85 |access-date=4 October 2025 |work=Al-Jazeera |date=2021-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241006185918/https://www.aljazeera.net/misc/2021/4/18/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88-%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D9%85 |archive-date=6 Oct 2024 |language=ar |trans-title=Video: Nablus, the Palestinian city of Ramadan sweets: a profession of our forefathers and grandfathers.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=بالصور.. "رمضان فلسطين" حلويات يتوارثها الأبناء عن الأجداد |url=https://alkhaleejonline.net/%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B9/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AB%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AC%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF |access-date=4 October 2025 |work=Al-Khalej Online |date=29 Jun 2015 |language=ar |trans-title=In pictures: "Ramadan Palestine": Sweets passed down from grandparents to children}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=أصابع زينب ولقمة القاضي حلويات تحافظ على رونقها الرمضاني في نابلس |url=https://www.alwatanvoice.com/arabic/news/2015/07/05/739429.html |access-date=4 October 2025 |work=دنيا الوطن |date=5 July 2015 |language=ar |trans-title=Zainab's Fingers and Luqmat al-Qadi: Sweets That Preserve Their Ramadan Flavor in Nablus}}</ref>
== In Culture ==
{{Wikisource|The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night/The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad|The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad}}
"Cannoli-like" ''asabi Zaynab'' were mention in the story "The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad" in ''Arabian Nights''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nasrallah |first1=Nawal |author1-link=Nawal Nasrallah |title=Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and History of the Iraqi Cuisine |date=2013 |publisher=Equinox Pub. |isbn=978-1-84553-457-8 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Delights_from_the_Garden_of_Eden/4RZAPgAACAAJ |access-date=30 September 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
==See also==
* ''{{ill|Fatima's fingers|fr|Doigts de Fatma}}'', savory Tunisian fried roll with thin dough with similar name * Brik * Tulumba * Lokma
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Egyptian cuisine}} {{Levantine cuisine}}
Category:Arab desserts