Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Kahi with Geymar
Flaky layered pastry baked crisp, soaked in syrup, and topped with rich clotted geymar cream.
Iraqi · medium · serves 4
prep 25 min · cook 25 min
~799 cal · 9g protein · 88g carbs · 46g fat · 2g fiber · 28g sugars · 29g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Kahi with geymar is the indulgent weekend and festive breakfast of Baghdad, a pairing few Iraqis can resist. Kahi is a buttery, paper-thin laminated pastry, folded and baked until it turns shatteringly crisp and golden, then brushed while hot with a light sugar syrup so it glistens.
Its essential partner is geymar, a thick, rich clotted cream skimmed from slowly simmered buffalo or cow's milk, closer to the Levantine qishta or the Turkish kaymak. Spooned generously over the crisp pastry, it melts slightly into the warm layers, rich against crisp, cool against warm.
It is treat food, not everyday fare, traditionally enjoyed on a leisurely morning or during Ramadan and celebrations, always with a glass of sweet tea.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2.5 cups flour (for the flaky pastry)
1/2 cup butter or (for the layers)
1 cup geymar (clotted cream), to serve
Hard to find? English clotted cream, or mascarpone - geymar is clotted from rich buffalo milk; clotted cream is the nearest thing, mascarpone a softer, tamer stand-in
1/2 cup sugar syrup
a pinch a pinch of salt
Instructions
1
Roll the dough paper-thin, brush with butter (or plant butter), and fold into layers.
2
Roll out again and bake at 400°F until crisp and golden.
3
Brush the hot pastry with sugar syrup.
4
Top generously with geymar (or whipped coconut cream).
5
Serve at once with sweet tea.
Baghdad tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Baghdad. Baghdad cooks along the Tigris, layering rice and meat into timman and quzi, and searing masgouf carp upright beside an open fire. Iraqi cooking loves sweet-sour depth, using tamarind, dried lime, and pomegranate in its stews.
🗺️
Iraq. Iraqi cooking descends from ancient Mesopotamia, famous for masgouf grilled river fish, dolma, and slow-cooked stews over rice. Dates, tamarind, and dried lime lend a distinctive sweet-and-sour depth.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Iraq
Iraqi DolmaVine leaves and vegetables stuffed with tomato-and-pomegranate rice, packed tight and steamed until sweet-sour and tender.
MasgoufButterflied river fish marinated and slow-grilled over open flame, Iraq's national dish and the pride of Baghdad.
KleichaSpiced pastry spirals filled with date paste and cardamom, Iraq's national cookie, made for every celebration.
Browse all Iraq recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Rolling pin.
Storing it: Store in an airtight container. Most keep 2 to 3 days at room temperature, and longer refrigerated.
Make it a Iraq meal
Iraqi ChaiDrink
KleichaDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Kahi with Geymar?
Flaky layered pastry baked crisp, soaked in syrup, and topped with rich clotted geymar cream.
Where does Kahi with Geymar come from?
Kahi with Geymar is a Iraqi dish from Baghdad, Iraq.
Can Kahi with Geymar be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Kahi with Geymar recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Kahi with Geymar safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Kahi with Geymar take to make?
About 50 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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