Baghlava | Sweet Middle Eastern Dessert

Try this gooey, fancy, popular dish for dinner parties and family meals. Baklava is a tasty, fabulous sweet made in Iran, Turkey and some Arabic countries.

It is basically made of layered dough filled with chopped nuts, such as walnuts, pistachios, almonds and sweetened with special syrup. The stuffing is variable depending on the region that the dessert is served.

The origin of the dish goes back to the Central Asia (Qafqaz) and the most famous Baqlavas are made in Turkey and Baku. It has been claimed that the first Baghlava was made in The Topkapi Palace of Istanbul. It also used to be served for Ottoman sultans in a traditional occasion.

It is said that one of the ancient recipes originally comes from ancient Rome, as well, when they flavored a special layered dessert by honey.

Baghlava | Sweet Middle Eastern Dessert

PersianGood Team

Baklava is a tasty, fabulous sweet made in Iran, Turkey and some Arabic countries. It is basically made of layered dough filled with chopped nuts, such as walnuts, pistachios, almonds and sweetened with special syrup. The stuffing is variable depending on the region that the dessert is served.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine persian

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• Filo or phyllo (a very thin unleavened dough)
• 200 grams Nuts (walnut, almond, pistachio, etc)
• 4 tablespoon Powdered Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Cardamom Powder
• 1 tablespoon Cinnamon Powder
• 1 tablespoon Rosewater
• 50 grams Butter
• water as much as required

Shahd of Baqlava

• 1 unit Water
• 1 unit Sugar (whether brown or not)
• ¼ unit Rosewater
• Brewed Saffron as much as required
• 1 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice

Instructions

 

• Choose your favorite nuts and grind them. Now you have a powdered mixture
• Add cinnamon, cardamom and powdered sugar to the nuts and mix them.
• Melt the butter and grease the tray with it carefully. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade.
• Put 1 to 3 layers of Filo on the tray and cover the surface completely.
• Sprinkle the powdered mixture on it.
• Mix the Rosewater with a little water and spray it on the stuff.
• Repeat steps 5 and 6 until the powder is over.
• Cover the ingredients with a mantle of Filo. (as you did in step 4 of the process)
• Try to make diamond shape by cutting the complex as shown in the picture.
  
• Put the tray into the oven for 20 minutes and then grill for 5 minutes to have a golden crust. Your mouthwatering Baghlava is ready to be sweetened. So, let’s make the syrup.

Shahd of Baklava

• Add water to the sugar and heat the solution. Let dissolve and when it starts boiling, add the lemon juice.
• Reduce the heat and leave it for 20 minutes until it becomes concentrated.
• Add the brewed saffron and rosewater to the syrup and leave it for another 2 minutes.
• Put it aside and let it cool. The syrup is ready.

Baqlava around the world

Interestingly, there are many different recipes used around the world. The recipe of Istanbul consists of walnuts and pistachios, while the one held in The Aegean Sea area contains almonds and The Black Sea area uses hazelnuts.

Besides the baklavas sweetened with syrup, the dry one made by Filo or phyllo (a very thin unleavened dough used for making pastries such as baklava and börek in Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines) is desired, too, in Turkey. As no syrup is required in it, it is quick, easy and very tasty.

In Azerbaijan, the delicious Pakhlava is made by walnuts and almonds particularly in spring, Nowruz. In Armenia the instruction includes cinnamon and clove. The Greek recipe is made by 33 layers of dough demonstrating Jesus age.

Arabic Baqlavas have also widespread reputation and the bests are found in Syria and Palestine. However, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco serve this fancy cuisine in their ceremonies. Vermicelli noodles are used in some Arabic instructions, so the sweet looks much darker than the one made by kadayif.

Iranian Baklava

Undoubtedly, this food is on top of the favorite list of Iranians. They cannot resist the excellent dessert, especially ones made in Yazd, Qazvin and Tabriz.

Baklava Tabrizi: It has so many fans when it comes to Ramadan in particular. Reshte Khatayi and walnut Baghlava are absolutely popular, as well as the Turkish type.

Baklava Kashani: It is a mixture of nuts such as walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts and cashews, known as Baghlava Agili (nuts).

Baklava Qazvini: It is composed of dough, stuffing and the syrup that will blow your mind. It might be called three colored Baghlava, flag Baghlava (Parchami) or the Diamond. You can fry it or put it into an oven. The ingredients are rich in essential amino acids and in omega-3 along the fantastic smell.

Baklava Yas Gilani: Because the almonds are marinated in Jasmine and they smell like it, the dessert is named after the flower (Yas).

Home Made Filo Recipe

Instead of buying filo or phyllo you can easily make it at home. Making filo at home can be much better and the result will be unbelievable. Even if you are not a good cook and you can not make dough as good as the ready ones you buy from store, this easy one is a good dough to make and you would not be bothered making it. at most you will need 2 hours and 30 minutes to make this dough. The thin layers of the home made filo can have a significant effect on the taste of the baghlava.

Helping tips

• Covering the tray with 3 layers supports the stuffing and prevents deformation.
• Remember to butter each layer of Filo.
• You can put the nuts separately on each layer or mix them together as instructed above.
• Remember to grease the topping layer of Filo properly.
• When Baklava is ready, take the tray out of the oven and add the syrup in two steps. When the syrup is cool and so does the tray, pour the syrup on it and deepen the cuts. Then wrap it with aluminium foil and put aside for 2 hours. Unwrap the sweets and add the remaining syrup.
• Two hours after instructions followed, your sweet Middle Eastern dish is ready. We highly recommend you to serve your sweets with tea. It boosts you mood.
• For a garnish, you can sprinkle some pistachio or walnut powder on the surface.