Abu al Saoud’s sweets shop smells like the Gaza that could have been. Inside the large glass doors, shiny displays and clean tables are enveloped by the warm waft of sugar and dough. It’s quiet except for the chatter of customers and the ‘clink clink’ sound of the server slicing up the shop’s famed sweets and storied attraction: Knafa Arabiya.
Abu al Saoud的甜點店聞起來滿是加沙的味道。在店鋪大大的玻璃門里面，亮閃閃的器皿和干干凈凈的桌子都包裹在一股溫熱的糖果和面團的味道中。整個店很安靜，只聽得到顧客的交談聲，還有店員給招牌甜品Knafa Arabiya切片時發(fā)出的叮當聲。
This Gaza Strip version ofknafa, a beloved Middle Eastern sugar-soaked pastry, is rarely found outside of the tiny coastal enclave. The more widely known kind is Knafa Nablusiya (from Nablus in the Palestinian territories), where cheese – common in Palestinian desserts – is layered between crushed noodles or semolina. Knafa Arabiya or Ghazawiya (Arabic or Gazan) is a savoury-sweet twist, made richer with the signature Gaza flavours of nuts, nutmeg and cinnamon replacing the cheese.
這種加沙地帶的knafa是一款深受人們喜愛的中東糖漬點心，出了這片小小的沿海地帶幾乎j就找不到這種糕點。更為人們所熟知的是一種來自巴勒斯坦納布盧斯的叫做Knafa Nablusiya的點心，它在壓碎的面條和粗面粉中間放上一層在巴勒斯坦的甜點中很常見的芝士。Knafa Arabiya和 Knafa Ghazawiya（分別為阿拉伯風味和加沙風味）則是香甜味的，它的配料更為豐富，里面不加芝士，取而代之的是獨具加沙風味的堅果、肉豆蔻和肉桂。
Saqallah’s Sweets, as Abu al Saoud’s is also known, has been baking Gaza’s most characteristic dessert since 1896. The dish’s exact origins, however, are hard to pin down. Mahmoud Saqallah, grandson of the store’s patriarch, proudly offered one theory, dating it back to the 7th Century and the time of the Prophet Mohammed, when his companion, Ali ibn Abi Talib, reportedly requested a hearty dessert – and behold, as Saqallah told it, Kunafa Arabiya was born. True or not, the story speaks of the dish’s storied place in Palestinian Gazan identity.
Saqallah的甜點店，和Abu al Saoud的店一樣，從1896年起就開始烘焙最具加沙特色的甜點了。不過這些甜點最初源于何處已經(jīng)無從知曉。該店創(chuàng)始人的孫子Mahmoud Saqallah自豪地告訴我們，有一種說法講這些甜點最早得追溯到7世紀先知穆罕穆德的時代，據(jù)說當時穆罕穆德的追隨者Ali ibn Abi Talib希望能夠得到一個有許多配料的甜點，然后，用Saqallah的話說就是：瞧，Kunafa Arabiya這樣誕生了。不管這個故事真假與否，里面提到Kunafa的發(fā)源處是巴勒斯坦的加沙地帶。
Today you need a hard-to-procure permit to enter or exit Gaza. But historically, this now isolated area was a place of crossroads and commerce. In ancient times, Gaza was the main port along the Mediterranean and access point for travellers and traders on route to the Levant and greater Syria, Arabian Peninsula or Africa. Today, its cuisine of unique combinations still mirrors this past.
如今人們很難獲許進出加沙。但是這片現(xiàn)今與世隔絕的地帶在歷史上卻是交通發(fā)達、商業(yè)興盛。加沙曾經(jīng)是地中海沿岸的重要港口，并且是游客和商人前往Levant 和大敘利亞、阿拉伯半島或非洲的必經(jīng)之路，如今加沙當?shù)鬲毺氐母鞯孛朗炒缶C合依舊能夠反映出這段歷史。
“[Knafa Arabiya] reflects Gaza itself,” said Laila El-Haddad, author of The Gaza Kitchen. “It’s a more rustic dessert that’s richly spiced.”
”Knafa Arabiya是加沙的寫照。“《加沙廚房》的作者Laila El-Haddad這樣說道，“這是一種更具鄉(xiāng)土氣息的甜點，配料豐富。”
She added, “In modern times, as it’s [Gaza] become more closed off, these flavours have become relatively unknown, even to other Palestinians.”
她又說道：“而現(xiàn)今，由于加沙變得越來越封閉，這些口味已經(jīng)不像以前那樣為人所知了，甚至連其他地方的巴勒斯坦人也不知道。”
In fact, today most people physically can’t access the dessert. After decades of rule by the Turks, Brits and Egyptians, Israel then occupied Gaza from 1967 to 2005; two years later Hamas, a designated terror group, violently seized power from its rival, the more moderate Palestinian Authority (PA) based in the West Bank. Israel and Egypt then imposed travel and trade blockades on Gaza. Over the last nine years, Israel and Hamas have fought three devastating wars; many in Gaza have still not recovered from the last one three years ago.
事實上，如今大部分人根本吃不到這種食物。在被土耳其人、英國人、埃及人統(tǒng)治了幾十年后，加沙于1967年至2005年間被以色列人占領(lǐng)。兩年后，被定性為恐怖組織的哈馬斯從其對手——位于約旦河西岸的較為溫和的巴勒斯坦政權(quán)手中暴力奪取了權(quán)力，隨即以色列和印度在旅游和貿(mào)易方面對加沙進行了封鎖。在過去的九年里，以色列和哈馬斯總共打了三場毀滅性的戰(zhàn)爭，最近的一場發(fā)生在三年前，至今仍有許多加沙人還未從這場戰(zhàn)爭中恢復過來。
Today, Israel restricts most border crossings. At the Erez crossing in southern Israel, the only point of entry and exit for people between Gaza, Israel and the Palestinian West Bank, "Food is not permitted to be exported from Gaza for regulatory purposes," according to Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories. Informally, however, half a kilo or a kilo of sweets – or about two big plates of Knafa Arabiya – will get through.
如今，以色列控制了絕大部分的過境點。位于以色列南部的Erez過境點是人們進出加沙、以色列和巴勒斯坦約旦河西岸的唯一出入口，依據(jù)以色列政府國土行動協(xié)調(diào)部門的命令，此處“出于監(jiān)管的目的，食物不得從加沙運出”。不過在非正式的情況下，半斤或一斤糖果，或者兩大盤的Knafa Arabiya在這里暢通無阻。
When I visited Abu al Saoud’s shop in July, times were tough and getting tougher. Gaza was a month deep into a severe electricity crisis that left the strip's two million people with just two to three hours of power a day – down from only eight hours in the months before. The lucky ones, like Abu al Saoud, can keep lights on longer with generators. Even at just five shekels per slice – the same price as in Nablus – the knafe is unaffordable for many in Gaza, which has some of the highest unemployment in the world.
當我七月份前往Abu al Saoud的店參觀時，當?shù)氐纳钭兊迷桨l(fā)艱難。加沙曾經(jīng)有一個月深陷嚴重的電力危機，導致兩百多萬人每天獲得的電力供應(yīng)由之前的八個小時跌至兩三個小時。一些人比如Abu al Saoud則比較幸運，能夠通過發(fā)電機延長照明時間。即便每片Knafe只要五謝克爾，跟在納布盧斯的價格一樣，在失業(yè)率為全球之最的加沙還是有很多人吃不起。
Despite the hardships, Abu al Saoud has had several successful locations around Gaza City. In 1994, a time when now-stalled negotiations over creating a Palestinian state appeared most promising, Saqallah Sweets added Knafa Nablusiya to its mix. The family opened the current location in central Gaza City in 2009, just a few weeks before a war with Israel. By the war’s end, bombs had shattered their windows and cost them tens of thousands of pounds in losses and damages.
盡管困難重重，Abu al Saoud還是在加沙周邊擁有幾家經(jīng)營得不錯的店。早在1994年，當時圍繞建立巴勒斯坦國的談判顯露出好的跡象（該談判現(xiàn)今擱淺），Saqallah甜點店將Knafa Nablusiya納入經(jīng)營范圍，該家族于2009年在加沙中心開了現(xiàn)在的這家店，當時距離和以色列交戰(zhàn)只有幾個星期。在戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)束前，炮彈炸碎了他們的窗戶，造成了上萬英鎊的損失。
Now, with borders blocked and money getting tighter, “It’s hard to create a consistent system,” Saqallah said, explaining that high-quality ingredients – and even just some of the basics – are becoming harder and harder to procure.
現(xiàn)在隨著邊界封鎖和經(jīng)濟形勢越來越嚴峻，“配料很難統(tǒng)一”，Saqallah講道，并解釋說制作中需要用到的高質(zhì)量的原料，甚至是一些基礎(chǔ)原料都越來越難獲得。
Though, according to Saqallah, “It’s not just about the materials, but how it’s cooked.”
不過，對于Saqallah來說，“制作Knafa不僅關(guān)系到原料，還有制作過程。”
In the kitchen below the bustling shop, Saqallah’s team has mastered the art. Saqallah declined to give his exact Knafa Arabiya recipe, but described how it starts with a base of toasted and ground semolina, whey and milk that’s cooked and refined to achieve the dish’s characteristic coarseness. Next, the crumbly dough is poured over a large oiled pan, followed by a mix of cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg and a layer ofein jamal– the eye of the camel, or walnuts. Then it’s all pressed down by a smaller pan and placed over a large fire stovetop for about 20 minutes. The final touch, of course, is a layer of syrupy sugar poured on top.
在繁忙的店鋪下層的廚房里，Saqallah的團隊已經(jīng)掌握了技術(shù)。Saqallah不愿意說出Knafa Arabiya的具體配方，但卻講述了制作過程，首先用烤過的粗粒小麥粉、面粉以及經(jīng)過燒煮并提純過的牛奶揉成面團，這樣能夠達到Knafa特有的粗糙口感，接著將松軟的面團攤到抹好油的平底鍋里，接著加入肉桂、糖、肉豆蔻，再放上一層ein jamal（即駱駝的眼睛）或者核桃，然后再用一個小點的鍋壓住，放到一個比較大的爐子上烘烤20分鐘左右，最后一步，當然就是在其表面涂上一層糖漿。
The dish is best served hot – but if it’s covered for too long, it will go dry and clumpy, the tell-tale sign of lesser-quality knafa, Saqallah warned.
Saqallah提醒到，Knafa最好趁熱食用，如果蓋住的時間太長，就會變干變脆，這就說明Knafa的品質(zhì)開始變差了。
The complicated texture is tough to achieve at home, which is in part why the dish has remained largely unknown outside of Gaza, said El-Haddad. Instead, home recipes, like the one in her cookbook, rely on an easier mix of bulgur and semolina to achieve the knafa’s pastry base.
人們在家里很難做出配料這么復雜的食物來，這也是Knafa不為加沙以外的人所熟知的原因之一，EI-Haddad這樣說道。取而代之的家庭配方——比方說她烹飪書里寫到的一種，則是簡單的用碾碎的干小麥和和粗粒小麥粉作為Knafa的基礎(chǔ)原料。
Saqallah has been working at the shop for 40 years. Now one of his six children, Saud, 31, is being prepped to inherit it. On any given day and night, the store is packed, especially during holidays or the beginning of the month, when salaries come.
Saqallah在店里工作了四十年。如今他的六個孩子之一、31歲的Saud正準備繼承這家店。在某些特定的日子里，店里從早到晚都擠滿了人，尤其是節(jié)假日或者是每個月月初發(fā)工資的時候。
"We always come here for it," said 20-year-old Nur, who a little before 10am was waiting with four university friends for the first knafa of the day to be ready. They had an appointment that morning nearby and decided to treat themselves first; three wanted the more savoury Arabiya and two opted for the cheese version.
“我們一直都是到這里來買Knafa的。”20歲的Nur在早上快到十點的時候就已經(jīng)和四個大學里的朋友一起等著第一張Knafa出爐了。那天早上他們在附近有個約會，大家決定先吃點東西，其中三個人點的是咸味的Arabiya，另外兩人點的是芝士味。
They were a bit taken aback by my intense interest in the dish. “It’s not weird to us at all,” Nur said with a smile.
他們有些驚訝我對Knafa有著這么濃厚的興趣，“Knafa對我們來說已經(jīng)習以為常了。”Nur笑著說道。
*原文來自BBC Travel頻道。僅做翻譯練習之用。*
