This Rakshabandhan you wouldn’t have to go and stand in a queue to buy sweets which you want to share with your loved ones. We are going to share with you a very delicious middle eastern dessert recipe Baklava which is not only super delicious but also very easy to make. You can store it in the freezer if you want to hold it for a long period of time or the fridge area if you want to use it immediately. As this dessert tastes great and can be stored easily it becomes an ideal option for gifts too.
How to Make Baklava:
Ingredients
- Filo pastry sheets
- 1 cup melted butter
- 2 cups of crushed pistachio
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- Juice of a lemon
- 1 cup water.
- 1/2 cup honey
- Rose water
- Coconut shavings
- Sugar powder
Procedure
The procedure for preparing this dessert can be divide into four easy steps:
- Making of filling
- Making the syrup
- Assembling the dessert
Making of filling
Take the pistachios in a bag and crush these with the help of a rolling pin. You can also use a mixer but don’t turn the filling into a paste. Take the mixture in a bowl and add cinnamon powder and sugar. Your filling is ready.
Making the syrup
In a saucepan take 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, ½ cup honey and juice of one lemon. Stir till the sugar dissolves and bring it to boil. Once it boils, simmer it for 10 minutes without stirring on low heat. Add a spoon of rosewater. Remove from heat and let it cool.
Assembling the dessert
For this recipe, you will need around 40 sheets of thin filo pastry sheets. Take the filo pastry sheets out of the fridge at least 1 hour before you’re intending to use them. Take a heavy-based non-stick baking tray (13×4 inches). Cover the sides and the bottom of the pan with melted butter. Now take a single sheet of filo pastry and spread it evenly on the baking tray. Now with the help of a brush, evenly spread a layer of butter on the sheet. Put another sheet of pastry on it. Repeat the process till you have 10 to 11 sheets of pastry layered together to form the base of baklava. Add one cup of filling and spread it evenly on the pastry sheet.
Cover this layer with another layer of pastry sheet. Apply butter on this sheet and cover it with another sheet. Repeat till you layer 5 sheets. After you have stacked 5 layers, again put a layer of filling and in a similar fashion cover it again with 5 layers of pastry.
Repeat the process till you have 3 layers of filling. For the top, again use 10-11 layers of filo pastry. Make sure all the layers of baklava are layered and stacked neatly and evenly. Cut the pastry into 1- and 1.5-inch strips ad then cut diagonally for diamond shape.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 325⁰F for 1 hour until the pastry becomes golden-brown. Remove from oven and immediately pour cold syrup on it. Leave the baklava to cool at room temperature. Garnish with coconut flakes and crushed pistachio. Your delicious baklava is ready to be served.
