Baklava
Baklava (or baklawa) is a popular rich, sweet pastry found in many cuisines of the Middle East and the Balkans, made of chopped nuts layered with phyllo pastry, sweetened with sugar or honey syrup.
Names of baklava
Baklava is found in many cuisines, with essentially the same name:
- In Afghan cuisine.
- In Albanian cuisine as bakllava.
- In Armenian cuisine as Template:Hayeren (pʼaḫlava).
- In Assyrian cuisine.
- In Azeri cuisine.
- In Bosnian cuisine as baklava.
- In Bulgarian cuisine as баклава (baklava).
- In Egyptian cuisine as بقلاوة (baʼlēwa).
- In Georgian cuisine as tapluna.
- In Greek cuisine as μπακλαβάς. (mpaklavás or baklavás). This is also the most famous type in the United States.
- In Iraqi cuisine.
- In Israeli cuisine as Template:HbrbbetTemplate:HbrpatahTemplate:HbrqofTemplate:HbrshvaTemplate:HbrlamedTemplate:HbrqamazTemplate:HbrvavTemplate:HbrqamazTemplate:Hbrhe or בקלוה (baqlava).
- In Kurdish cuisine.
- In Lebanese cuisine as بقلاوة (baʼlēwa).
- In Levantine cuisine as بقلاوة (baʼlēwa).
- In Macedonian cuisine as баклава (baklava)
- In Montenegrin cuisine as baklava.
- In Persian cuisine as باقلوا (baqlavā).
- In Palestinian cuisine as بقلاوة (bak'lawa).
- In Romanian cuisine as baclava.
- In Serbian cuisine as баклава, baklava
- In Syrian cuisine as بقلاوة (baʼlēwa).
- In Turkish cuisine as baklava, Ottoman باقلوا. It is the most famous type, especially in Europe.
Preparation
If layering in a baking dish, layer and butter a dozen filo pastry sheets, then top with a mixture of ground nuts and a little sugar (and cinnamon, for variation, if desired). Walnuts or pistachios are used most often sometimes with a combination of almonds and pecans. After the nut mixture has been spread evenly across the phyllo, layer and butter the remaining dozen phyllo sheets. Before baking, cut baklava with a sharp knife into diamonds (traditional in Lebanese cuisine) or squares.
If rolling, butter 5 individual sheets of phyllo, then place nut mixture along 1 side of the phyllo and proceed to roll up like a tight log. Once rolled, cut the log on the diagonal into about 12 to 13 pieces. Do not cut all the way through until after the baklava is baked. For easier handling, the logs can be frozen for 10 to 15 minutes to firm them up.
Whether using the pan or rolled technique, the procedure is the same after the baklava is baked. Pour on the syrup (equal parts sugar and water boiled to a syrup consistency and then mixed with either a small amount of lemon juice and rose water (traditional in Lebanese cuisine) or with honey, cinnamon and cloves (traditional in Greek cuisine). As the hot syrup douses the baklava fresh out of the oven, it boils again and thickens by evaporation. It is then ready to cool down until ready to serve, or to refrigerate and serve later.
References
- Speros Vryonis, The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor, 1971. Quoted in Perry (1994).
External links
- The place for Baklava
- Baklava Recipe at TurkishCook.com
- The History of Baklava
See also
- Albanian cuisine
- Arabic words
- Armenian cuisine
- Azerbaijanian cuisine
- Balkan cuisine
- Bosnian cuisine
- Bulgarian cuisine
- Cuisine of the Republic of Macedonia
- Desserts
- Egyptian cuisine
- Greek cuisine
- Israeli cuisine
- Lebanese cuisine
- Levantine cuisine
- Palestinian cuisine
- Persian cuisine
- Romanian cuisine
- Serbian cuisine
- Syrian cuisine
- Turkish cuisine