Baaghlavaa (Baklava)
Ingredients: (6 servings)
- almonds, 500 grams
- fine sugar, 250 grams
- sugar, 500 grams
- cardamom powder, one spoonful
- egg yolks, two
- milk, 1/2 cup
- cooking oil, 2 spoonfuls
- flour, 150-200 grams
- baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon
- rose-water, 1/2 cup
- small metallic boxes
Directions:
Mix milk, baking powder, oil and egg yolks. Add flour gradually while mixing. Mix the dough well for a few minutes. Pour in a plastic bag and leave for 2-3 hours.
Peel and ground the almonds. Add fine sugar and cardamom powder and mix well. Spread some flour on a table-top. Take a small ball from the dough and flatten into a sheet on the table-top as much as possible with a roller.
Use a brush to remove the flour from the sheet. Place a box on the sheet and cut the sheet at 0.5 cm away from the edges of the box. Place the cut sheet at the bottom of the box. Repeat this procedure three times.
Add the almond-sugar mix on top of the sheets to fill the box. Press using the back of a large spoon to obtain a flat surface. Spread a bit of rose-water on the mix. Cover with another three sheets of the dough. Cut along a grid. Heat up 150 grams of cooking oil and spread on top of the boxes.
Add sugar to 1/2 cup of hot water and bring to boil. Add rose-water and continue boiling for 2-3 minutes. Keep this syrup warm.
Pre-heat the oven to 300 F. Place the boxes in the lower part of the oven and leave for 15-20 minutes. Remove and add a bit of the syrup. Return to a higher part of the oven and leave for another 15 minutes until Baagh-lava turns slightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Add a bit of syrup over Baagh-lava 2-3 times at 5 minute intervals.
Roxana & Farzin Mokhtarian
Jan 2004
