Iranian Almond and Walnut Crescents | Traditional Qottab

Qotab is a very delicious traditional Persian pastry that you can find in different parts of Iran. Ghotab is originally from Yazd and Kerman. This perfect pastry has a sweet taste and is very nourishing.

Persian Ghottab is very fragrant and tasty and is usually served in Nowruz. Although you can make it at other times of the year and enjoy.

Iranian people are very busy in Esfand. This month, they try to get prepared for the Nowruz holiday. One of the requirements is the pastry. They try to buy or make special pastries. As mentioned above, one of them is Qottab.

Ghotab is made of a dough layer filled with different kinds of nuts. Nuts are very nutritious and somehow expensive. The traditional form of the sweet is made by frying in oil. Although it can be made in the oven too.

Traditional Qottab | Iranian Almond and Walnut Crescents Recipe

PersianGood Team

Qotab is a popular Persian sweet and it is one of the most delicious Nowruz pastries ever. There are other Nowruz sweets too, like Shirini Morabai and Kolompeh. Be with us and learn more about the perfect Iranian traditional crescents.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 2 hours hrs

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Course sweet

Cuisine persian

Servings 20 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 Egg yolk
• 2 units Flour
• ½ unit Milk or yogurt
• 3 tbsp Normal solid oil
• Liquid oil as much as required
• ½ teasp Baking powder
• 1 unit Walnut powder/pistachio powder or almond powder
• ½ unit Powdered sugar
• 1 teasp Cinnamon
• 1 teasp Cardamom
• Rosewater as much as required

Instructions

 

• To make a crescent with a good quality you need to have all the ingredients discarded from the fridge about half an hour before. This will bring the temperature to the room.
• Mix the egg yolk, milk, oil and the baking powder with the electric whisk (if available). The color should change to cream. If you have used yogurt instead of milk, it should be sweet, condensed and fatty. Low-fat yogurt will destroy the dough. In case of using yogurt, let it rest with baking powder in it for 5 minutes before whisking.
• Sift the flour three times and add it gradually to the content to have it cemented. Now it is times to knead the dough. Better not to use gloves, because the warmth of the hands help having better dough. The added flour must be enough for the flour in order not to stick to the hands. The dough must be soft, when the consistency is proper, let the packed dough in a freezer bag rest in the fridge for 2 hours.
• While the dough is resting, prepare the stuffing of the ghottab. The stuffing can contain 3 nuts of walnut, pistachio and almond. Powder the nuts and mix them with powdered sugar. If you are using walnuts, add cinnamon, otherwise add some cardamom.
• Pour some rosewater into the powdered and mixed ingredients until it turns into a paste. If the added rosewater is too much, the sweets will crack while frying.
• Sprinkle some flour on a desk (or the surface you work). Spread the dough with 3 millimeter width on the surface and use a mold or a glass to make medium circles out of it. Make a smallball of the stuffing and place it in the middle of the dough. Then wrap the stuffing all up with it. You can shape the closing ridges with a fork or finger pressings.
• Pick a suitable pan and grease it with oil. Bring the boil to hot temperature and let the crescents frying it. be careful that you should prepare the qottabs and fry them immediately, if you make all the qotabs and then fry them one by one, the result will not be satisfying. So, it is better to prepare the amount of qotabs that are fitted into your frying pan, while they are being fried, go for the next round.
• If you want to make them in the oven, make a content of egg yolk, brewed saffron and ½ teasp flour and brush the surface of the ghottabs with it. Then place them on a tray and put them in the oven for 20 minutes with 170 cg degrees.
• You should keep your qotabs in lidded container in cool and dry place. Remember you should not keep them in the fridge. They will survive for about a month.

What can I do to have a softer Ghottab?

• Using enough amount of flour is the key to having a soft Qottab. If you add too much flour, the croissant will be dry, hard, and unpleasant under your bite. Do not rely on the amount and measures too much. Test and examine while adding the flour to the dough. The dough should be sticky, neither hard nor dry.
• Do not knead the dough too much. Kneading should be enough. If it is less, your Gottab will crack, if it is too much, the Gottabs will turn too dry.
• Add some oil to the dough.
• Do not use too much rosewater.
• Do not hurry in making Gottabs. Also, make them gradually not at once.

History and Origins of Qottab

Best Qottabs to Buy!

Yazd is one of the most beautiful places in Iran! You would not see a tourist leaving Iran without visiting Yazd. This awesome old city has many delicious and unique souvenirs that will delight you. There are different stores and brands selling special products originally from this city, like Qottab and Baghlava. One of the best brands you can purchase these products from is Haj Khalife. If you want to buy something from Yazd and it is what you want to eat, better you do it in Haj Khalifa stores.

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