Spread the sweetness this Eid with ‘Baklava’ – A Turkish Dessert

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Eid Al Fitr is a celebration which marks the end of Ramadan. It simply translates to ‘festival of breaking the fast’. It’s the time to show kindness and to munch on some yummy delicacies. We have to admit the fact, that any celebration is incomplete without a splash of sweetness. And so, we at the Royale thought of spreading some sweetness by bringing to you a special Eid recipe – Baklava.

Baklava is a Turkish wonder and the name translates to “many layers” in Farsi. It is a sweet pastry filled with nuts and spices and is soaked in syrup. It will simply melt in your mouth and you will be left wondering at the miracle you just created. There are many variations of this amazing dish and a special one is available for each region. Use this recipe and spread the goodness of life in your family this Eid.

Ingredients

For Syrup:

• 2 or 3 cups of sugar

• 1 cup honey

• 1 and half cups water

• 2 tbs lemon juice

• 2 tbs light corn syrup (this is optional)

• 2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks (this is optional)

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom or 4 to 6 whole cloves (optional)

For Dough:

• 4 cups flour

• 1 egg

• 1/2 a cup of lukewarm milk

• 1/2 a cup of juicy yogurt

• 1 tbsp baking powder

• 1/2 a cup corn oil

• 500g corn starch to roll

Filling:

• 4 cups of mixed dry fruits(pistachios, walnuts, almonds)

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1 to 2 tsp ground cinnamon

• cardamom or 1/4 tsp ground cloves (optional)

• vegetable oil or 1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter

And now the Recipe…

1. Mix all the ingredients for the dough well. Make sure that the dough is not too soft. Leave it aside for 20 minutes

2. Divide this dough into 3 portions. And make 16 small balls from each of these portions. You will have 48 balls(16 balls in each of the 3 groups.

3. Sprinkle corn starch over them

4. Using a rolling pin, roll out each of the balls. Keep one over the other forming layers with corn starch spread between them so that there is no overlap. Repeat the same for the other two groups.

source : leenb.com

5. To make the syrup: Stir all the syrup ingredients over low heat for about 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves .Stop stirring, increase the heat to medium, and cook until the mixture is slightly syrupy. This is to be done for 5 minutes. Discard the whole spices. Let the syrup cool.

6 Combine all the ingredients for the filling

7. Preheat the oven to 320 degrees. Grease a baking pan which you would like to use to bake the Baklava.

8. Take the first group of layered dough and roll it out into as big and as thin a sheet as you can.

9. Place this on the baking tray. Lightly brush this with butter.

10. Spread half the filling on this.

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11. Roll out the second group of layered dough and place it on the filling spread out

12. Spread the remaining filling mixture

13. Now roll out the layered dough and put it on top. Trip the edges.

14. Using a sharp knife cut across the baking tray to form diamond shapes

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15. Lightly sprinkle the tray with water so that the pastry does not curl. Bake this for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300 degrees and bake it until you see it turning golden brown.

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16. Sizzle the hot baklava with the cooled syrup and let it cool for at least 4 hours

You can store this baklava at room temperature for about 1 week and add hot syrup as and when you find the baklava is dried up.

This delicacy right out of the sultan’s palace in Middle East is an absolute winner for any occasion.