Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Baklava

Baklava is a classic Greek pastry traditionally made with phyllo dough, honey, nuts, and orange essence. Many other Middle Eastern nations too have pastries which are very similar, thanks to a long running tradition of sweet desserts which feature flaky and delicate pastry.
Read more about Baklava and its history
here and here.

Phyllo is a simple flour-and-water dough that is stretched to paper thinness and cut into sheets. It is notoriously difficult to handle, because it is so fine and easily dries out as I quickly learnt! It can be found in the freezer section of most grocery stores.
More information on phyllo dough
here and here.

We attended a potluck party over the weekend and Baklava was one of the three dishes that we prepared.
This recipe is
Giada’s version of the traditional Baklava and was made using layers of paper-thin dough, buttered and placed in mini-muffin cups with a filling of a ground mixture of nuts, dried fruit, sugar, honey and spices, and baked at 350 degree F until golden brown. Ingredients:

1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup almonds
12-15 dried apricots (the original recipe uses ¼ cup)
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1 Tbsp sugar (the original recipe uses 2 Tbsp)
¾ tsp cinnamon powder (the original recipe uses 1 ½ tsp)
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 stick butter, melted and divided
3 Tbsp honey
12 sheets phyllo dough (I used the Athens brand)
Special equipment: 2 mini-muffin pans (I only had one pan, so I prepared two batches)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grind the almonds, walnuts, apricots, bread crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves to a coarse mixture in a food processor.

Transfer this to a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and the honey and mix well to combine.

Place 1 sheet of phyllo on a clean and dry surface. Using a pastry brush and the remaining melted butter, lightly cover the entire sheet of phyllo with melted butter. Cover the first sheet with a second sheet of phyllo and brush with melted butter. Continue until there is a stack of 6 sheets of phyllo. Cut the stacked phyllo rectangle into 12 equal pieces (Cut lengthwise into 4 pieces and widthwise into 3 pieces.)

Gently press each cut piece of phyllo into the mini-muffin tin cups. Press 1 spoon of the ground mixture into each of the phyllo cups. Gather the ends of each of the phyllo squares and twist to make a little sachet.

Bake until the edges of the phyllo are golden (this takes about 20 to 22 minutes.) When cool enough to handle, remove the baklava sachets and transfer to a serving plate.

This recipe yields around 24 little baklavas.

I followed Giada’s recipe and instructions very carefully after making a few minor modifications to the recipe. The end result was not disappointing at all. Needless to say, this Greek pastry was a great hit at the party and was completely worth all the time and effort that went into making it.

This is my entry for the Middle Eastern edition of A.W.E.D. being hosted by Siri @ Siri's Corner.

This is also being sent to Andrew @ Spittoon Extra for Waiter There's Something In My...Dried Fruit and Nuts.

62 Burps:

Sreelu said...

WOw you made Bhaklava, amazing. I love this dessert not to sweet

Pdk said...

they look tempting!!

bha said...

somebody gifted me these sweets recently, and i simply loved them.....and now here i find the recipe also...i think i am getting lucky....the pics looks beautiful

Apple said...

Looks yum...I love this dish, but never attempted to try on my own..thanks for sharing the recipe

Unknown said...

Lovely looking pastry!!!

Raaga said...

My mom said I could try this with samosa patty strips... but now you get even those!! Am certain I can't make the pastry by hand :-) nopes, not me :-)

They are so tempting!!

Suganya said...

Baklava in muffin pan is new to me. I just love the filling. And I also prefer orange clover honey in it.

amna said...

it was nice to read about a dessert that's so new to me.. i am sure we dont get the special dough in india though :)

musical said...

This is one sinful dessert!

Latha Narasimhan said...

This is amazing! What a tasty pastry! Only thing I need to read the instructions carefully once again. I know with the nuts filling my family will love it!

Sia said...

for a person who is not fond of sweets, i am drooling girl... its so unfair to cook up wonderful dishes and call urself the budding cook;)

Laavanya said...

TBC, I love Baklava too but I made it into layers instead. This is new to me but it looks great. Also you add the honey to the nut mixture right, the one I did we add the honey syrup after it is baked.

FH said...

Delicious!! So easy to make at home with your recipe. Every Xmas ,somebody or other gives us a huge box of Baklava!!:D

Anonymous said...

TBC! I am beyond words for describing this. I have never seen mini baklavas before, such a great party idea too. thanks for sharing.

Rajitha said...

yummy! what are you doing to me..here i am eating oatmeal for b.f and u show me baklawa...looks great!!

Richa said...

looks amazing! so crunchy n colorful! i can eat the filling by itself :)
i've some walnut/sugar mix leftover from the galette, would love to try this soon ;)

zlamushka said...

Wow, very interesting baklava. breadcrumbs and apricot, unusual,. the one we get here is walnuts and honey combo... way to sweeeet for my taste buds. But guessing from what you used, it looks actually pretty good... I am still thinking :-)

Bharathy said...

Not heard of this dessert...They look sinfully delicious!
Can I grab one..right away??:)

TheCooker said...

The baklava bites look good.
I've never made baklava...that is my husband's department.

Finla said...

It is so delicious.
Yours looks so easy to make.
I love them but have never ate home made ones.

Seena said...

OH! Lots of information and a very nutritious recipe..! Enjoyed..

Manasi said...

WOW!!! Super! i have had baklava (or something similar) just once and i loved it! not too sweet, just right! ooh!
Share some?

marriedtoadesi.com said...

They look like modaka's!!!

Kanchana

Tee said...

You really have patience ! :) Baklava looks mouth watering and so professional. My hubby and me love it, especially the ones we find at Traders' Joe. :)

Cynthia said...

Love the idea of wrapping the baklava ingredients in the phyllo purses.

Siri said...

I was discussing about Baklava today with one of my friend and was wondering howz made and..here I see the recipe.. :D.. thanks for sharing TBC.. they looks nutty and lovely..

Sona - quick picks/pick quicks said...

hey there..wow!!..i was just away from ur site for a couple of days, and there's all these great dishes lined up one behind the other!!...looks really yummmm..luv the bhaklava..its remadhan time over here, and u get to see a number of varieties of it now...

WokandSpoon said...

Wow - great job. I always thought that baklava was really complicated to make but you make it sound so simple! and they look so cute!

Shella said...

You made baklava - amazing. They look so professionally done. Great going girl. I dont think I could ever do that.

Suma Gandlur said...

Though I have not prepared it, I can imagine how delicious they must have been looking at your pictures.
Your RCI entry gojju looks fabulous.
BTW, Love your snack. Where did you get ripe plantains? I don't think I have seen them ever.

Grihini said...

very tempting Baklava. Inspires me to try.... :)

Kribha said...

Looks awesome. I made this 3 years back. This is my hubby's fav. You pic looks mouth watering. I'm drooling right now.

Kajal said...

This is very nice and new recipe for me. This recipe ingredients say this is delicious and tasty my dear. You capture nice photo.........looks crispy and delicious. Great work and thanks for sharing.:)

VINI said...

OMG!!! they look so PERFECT..makes me want to pop one into my mouth :).

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Excellent job with the baklava. I have made it rolled and in squares but not in muffin cups. What an excellent idea!!!Wondeful phpotos as well. I wish they would jump right off the page!!!

TBC said...

sunita has left a new comment on your post "Baklava":

I love baklavas and have been putting away making them for a long time...your gorgeous ones have really inspired me now :)

TBC said...

bindiya has left a new comment on your post "Baklava":

have heard so much about baklava ,but never found a workable recipe, kudos girl!

TBC said...

Dhivya Karthik has left a new comment on your post "Baklava":

HI,

first timer and Bingo! I have this phyllo dough and I was wondering what to do with it..and u give the answer..will try and update :)

http://culinarybazaar.blogspot.com

TBC said...

Helene has left a new comment on your post "Baklava":

I simply love baklavas. Yours are so cute. I like the way you did them. I think I'll make some soon. I'm in the mood.

TBC said...

Sreelu, Priya, Bhags, Apple, Cinnamon, Musical, Latha, Sia- thank you so much for all the encouraging words and the appreciation:-)


Raaga, I wonder if samosa patty strips are the same thing? Give it a shot girl, u can do it. Compared to all the fab recipes u dish out daily, this one's a piece of cake! umm... pastry;-)

Suganya, baklava itself was new to me!

Nags, it was very new to me too.These days pretty much everything is available there too. Maybe you would find it in one of the fancier places?


Laavanya, gimme your layer-recipe. Here I added the honey + butter to the nut mix.

Asha, this was by no means " easy" but I did al that work 'cos it was for a party.But the results were pretty good, so I will def make it again!


Red chillies- thank you & you are welcome:-)

Rajitha, I'm trying to get back at you for making those gorgeous dishes & then posting drool-worthy pics;-)

Richa, Let me know how it turns out for ya:-)


Zlamushka, you could omit the sugar completley. I halved the amount in the original recipe. Think no more... go make it:-)



Bharathy-Thanks dear:-)



TC- I thought about doing that but then I wd have had to clean up all the mess after him.So I thought it was better this way!;-)


HC, Seena, Manasi, Kanchana- thanks girls:-)


Tee: I did it only 'cos it was for a party:-)But I like it so much I will do it just for myself too;-)
Let me know if you try it.


Cynthia,
I wish it were my idea:-( but I just followed Giada's recipe with a few changes.



Siri, thanks:-)


Sona,
Actually I had never heard of or tried this before.


Wokandspoon,
Thank you:-).It was inspired form the recipe on Food Network.


Shella, thank you so much for your generous compliments.
Come back often... I like compliments;-)

Suma,thanks:-)
Re the plantains, I managed to locate them in my local grocery store. I'd never seen them there before.And what I got were not even the typical Kerala bananas though they came pretty close to it. I even had to add some sugar 'cos they were not sweet enough.


Grihini & Kribha- thanks a lot :-)




Kajal,thanks dear:-)
You are welcome.


Vini:thanks



Valli-thank you somuch for the generous compliments.
Would you mind sharing your version?



Sunita, let me know if you try them:-)


Bindiya,
This was something I had never even heard of , but I liked the results and will def be making it again.

Dhivya, thanks for stopping by.
Do let me know how it turns out for you.


Helene, I wish it was my idea!I blindly followed Giada's recipe.
Please let me know when you make it.

Susan said...

Sweet, rich little dumplings, lovingly created. Baklava is one of my many weaknesses. I better look away now... : ) Great results, TBC!

TBC said...

Thanks, Susan. Making it was really labor-intensive but it was so worth all the effort that went into making it:-)

Sharmi said...

hey that looks so good. nice one for a romatic dinner. I am going to try this one.

Padma said...

That looks so scrumptious TBC!

SeeC said...

Very very tempting TBC.
Haven't heard of this though.

Will remember it and check it out in store.

TBC said...

Sharmi,let me know if youu try it out;-)


Padma, thanks:)


Seec,nice to see you here after a long time:-)

Viji said...

That is packed with nutrition TBC. Lovely photos. A must try item for me. Will try some time. Tks for sharing. Viji

TBC said...

Viji, do let me know when u try it out.It tastes really great. :)

Sophie said...

This is one of my top favorite desserts and you make them look so darn tasty...I love how they resemble little drops!

Sophie :)

TBC said...

Sophie, thank you so much for the kind words:-)

Mansi said...

oohh!!! I have eaten this a couple of times...too heavy to eat, but I love it:) a beautiful recipe!!

TBC said...

Mansi, thank you & I thank Giada too!:-)

Unknown said...

I have tasted Baklava once n loved it..will try this for sure..i have bookmarked it..

TBC said...

Divya V- thanks:-)
It's time forme to make it again too. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Wow TBC, it looks fantastic indeed. I think I will do this stuffing the next time and bake them in the pre baked shells.

Andrew said...

Many thanks for the submission to Waiter; looks delightful!

Sunshinemom said...

Wow! The list of ingredients made my mouth water! I am sure that tasted great!

TBC said...

Sunshinemom- thank you! I have to make it again soon...I am beginning to forget what it tasted like.;D

Anonymous said...

Baklava is a Turkish dessert.Not Greek. This recipe is wrong or it is not real baklava. You have to eat to know how it is different and delicious.Go to Turkish desserts seller (for example; Gulluoglu)and eat please. You will feel the difference.

TBC said...

Anon- thanks for leaving your comment. I was trying to look up the history of baklava, but my searches w.r.t. the origin of the pastry have produced different results.
What do you mean by "the recipe is wrong"? This is how I made baklava and it worked well for me. If you'd read the post carefully, you would have seen that it is mentioned that this is a variation of the traditional recipe!

And if you do come back here again, I'd appreciate if you left your name! or else I just might have to address you by your IP address.;-)

Amanda said...

Thanks for posting this recipe! I saw Giada make it on her show. Today, I looked for the recipe on food network, but it wasn't there. Long-shot to google it, but yay! Thanks again!

TBC said...

Amanda- you are welcome.:) I've made these a couple of times now (mainly potlucks) and they have been well-received. I watch Giada's shows a lot and try out a lot of her recipes. She makes them seem so simple!
Do give me some feedback if you do make them.

Post a Comment

I'm glad you're here! Thanks for stopping by.