Tuesday, April 30, 2013

A sweet fit for a King - Baklava

Baklava is a sweet made of layers of phyllo pastry filled with a variety of nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is characteristic of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and those of Central and Southwest Asia. According  to wikipedia, the word baklava is first attested in English in 1650,a borrowing from Ottoman Turkish باقلوا /bɑːklɑvɑ. The history of baklava is not well documented. It has been claimed by many ethnic groups, but there is strong evidence that its current form was developed in the imperial kitchens of the Topkapı Palace based on a Central Asian Turkic tradition of layered breads. In today's post I will show you two methods of making delicious baklava. You can either make the baklava into diamond shapes or you can make them round and dainty in small cup cake pans. Either way, once baked, the baklavas look stunning and visually appealing to the eyes. They don't only look beautiful on a fancy platter but they are also mouth wateringly delicious.

                                            1. Buy phyllo pastry from your local supermarket

                                            2. Open up the dough bit my bit taking care that
                                                the dough does not dry out. With a pair of
                                                scissors cut the dough into small pieces and pack
                                                away into a packet.

                                            3. Seal the packet tightly if you not going to use the
                                                dough immediately

                                            4. Take spray and cook and line the cup cake
                                                 pans.

                                            5.Take the shredded pieces of phyllo dough and place in
                                               pan

                                              6. Add the filling on top of the shredded phyllo. 
                                                  Filling: 250g of coarsely ground almonds
                                                            (Pistachios can also be used or a 
                                                             combination of both almonds can 
                                                             and pistachios can be used)
                                                             1 dessert spoon flour
                                                             1 dessert spoon sugar
                                                   Once the filling is added top up with more 
                                                    shredded phyllo pastry

                                  7. Now add 1 dessert spoon of ghee (clarified butter) over
                                   the phyllo pastry and then press down firmly. Then bake in the
                                   oven at 180 degrees.
     
                                8. Once the baklava is baked pour over cold syrup on top of the
                                    warm baklava.
                                    Syrup: 2 cups of water
                                               2 cups of sugar.
                                               Boil the above two ingredients until the consistency is
                                               sticky. Then add:
                                               A few drops of rose essence
                                               A pinch of tartaric acid
                                               1/4 cup of golden syrup
                                                Boil the mixture for another ten minutes

                                             9. Decorate with ground pistachios and
                                                 cherries

                                10. VOILA!!!! Bon appetit!!!

Diamond Shape Baklavas
                                              1. Phyllo pastry usually comprises of a few layers.
                                                  Separate the layers into 6 sheets each. Place
                                                  6 sheets on a tray. Then place the filling over.

                                             2. Then cut strips right through the layers of phyllo
                                           
                                           3. Then cut the strips at an angle to form diamonds. Now
                                            pour over the ghee (clarified butter) making sure that it
                                            penetrates through all the  layers of phyllo pastry. Then
                                            bake in the oven at 180 degrees

                                            4. Once the baklava is baked, pour over the cold
                                                syrup over the hot baklava

                                             5. Decorate with crushed pistachios and enjoy...