26 BAKLAVA

Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry featured in many cuisines of the former Ottoman, Arab, and Iranian countries. It is a pastry made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.
Phyllo dough is made with flour, water, and a small amount of oil. It is almost always used in multiple layers separated by melted butter. When these are baked or deep-fried, they become crispy and the result resembles puff pastry, though the method is very different, and they are generally not substituted for one another.

Phyllo dough sheet - 1 lb ( can use just half of it)
Butter - 1 stick
Sugar - 1 cup
Honey - 3 tbsp
lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Sweetened coconut flakes - 1/4 cup
Nuts - 1/4 cup( can use almonds, walnuts or pistachios and or also dates)
Baking tray
1. Thaw the dough sheet( this pack consists of 2 twin 8 sheets pack...
2. Melt butter and keep aside.
3. Grind coarsely coconut flakes and nuts( do not powder it too fine or it won't be crunchy)
4. Dilute honey with little water( around a 1 - 1 1/2cups of water) ... mix sugar and melt by heating on stove top for 5 minutes ... add lime juice and cool .... keep aside..
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Take one sheet from the thawed dough sheet set... you can directly start layering on a baking sheet( be careful as they are very thin and delicate...just take one sheet and be sure to cover up the remaining sheets with a wet cloth or paper so they don't get dried)... apply/brush in some butter ... layer it with one more sheet... brush in some butter... layer again and brush in with butter until u r done with 4 layers ... the next or 4th layer brush in with butter first and spread some ground powder( nuts and coconut flakes)... then layer it again and brush in butter on top... this way spread the ground mixture on every 3rd or 4th layer...until you layer 16 sheets( that is 2 sheets)... then slice it into any desired shapes... square, rectangular or diamond... next bake/cook it in the oven for just 8 - 10 minutes OR until they are golden brown... Usually they are crispy... allow it to cool next on top pour the cooled sugar and honey mixture... serve... as a tasty and rich desert/appetiser.


Recipe from my friend Athi.... prepared this desert for a friend's sons b'day party... it was really fun to brush in butter and layer and were also careful enough to cover the remaining sheets so it does not get dried or we would have totally forgotten about it during our chit chats :D. It tasted too good... it was good with honey and also really crunchy...
Reposting this entry to send in to Srivalli's(cooking4allseasons)

Mithai Mela