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Baklava: a healthier alternative to desi sweets

Baklava: a healthier alternative to desi sweets

The crispy sweet, filled with honey, dates, almonds, pistachios and butter, is regarded to be rich in nutrition
Updated 11 Jul, 2016

Though there are a lot of options for sweets in the garrison city, Arabic sweets are becoming increasingly popular, especially baklava.

The crispy sweet filled with honey, dates, almonds, pistachios and butter, is popular in the winters as well as the summers, also because it is regarded to be rich in nutrition.

Baklava is available in bakeries across the city, though it was Tehzeeb Bakers which first introduced the sweet in Rawalpindi.

Categorised as an Arabian delight, Baklava can be traced back to Turkey, from where it spread to the Middle Eastern countries.

To make Baklava, kneaded fine wheat dough is spread into a thin sheet. Bite size servings of a mix of dates, almonds, pistachios, butter and honey are placed on the dough, which is then cut into small squares, rolled over the filling and then baked in the oven till the outer layer is crisp and golden. Thick sugar syrup is drizzled on top after it has cooled.

“The sweet is made by especially trained chefs because it is difficult to get the pastry and the filling right. We introduced the sweet three years ago,” said Shaukat Noon, the owner of Tehzeeb Bakers in Saddar.

He said the sweet was popular in Middle Eastern countries and that the bakery had received demands for the Arabian delights, which is why the bakery had decided to include Baklava on its list of items.

Chefs trained in making the sweet were asked to teach local chefs to perfect the pastry as well, Mr Noon said.

Baklava was first being sold without packaging, he said, adding that it was later decided to sell packaged Baklava as they can last for long and the packaging helps to preserve the taste and aroma of the sweet.

Customers at the bakery said Baklava is a better option compared to desi sweets as it has better nutritional value.

“One can eat honey and nuts with butter instead of sugary local sweets, My family prefers Arabian sweets instead of local sweets,” said Mobeen Ahmed, a resident of Saddar.

He said Baklava is good for having with evening tea and to serve guests and that the dried fruit and honey gives one energy.

A resident of Bahria Town, Farhan Malik said he had first had Baklava in Dubai and later in a local bakery. He had found the taste of both to be the same. He said his family loved the Arabian delights and that his father routinely visits the bakery in Saddar to get Baklava for his mother.

He suggested adding a topping of fresh cream on Baklava.

“The outer layer is crispy and the filling is soft. It melts in your mouth when you take a bite of it,” said Sofia Ahmed, a customer at the bakery, waiting for her order.

She said she preferred giving her children Arabian sweets instead of candy and chocolates.

“Baklava is a healthier option,” she said.


Originally published in Dawn, July 11th, 2016

Comments

Najam Jul 11, 2016 09:21am
Is this for real? Have you tried Baklava? Try making it and you will find out.
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Krana Jul 11, 2016 09:30am
But it cannot compete with our south Asian desi sweet. It tastes like sugar only.
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Pakistani Jul 11, 2016 09:46am
Sweets in generally are unhealthy so you might as well enjoy gulab jamin and jalabi instead of buying disgusting baklaval.
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ron Jul 11, 2016 09:47am
Really? Last time I read sugar is unhealthy.And this has bucket load of sugar in it
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ABC Jul 11, 2016 10:36am
@Najam I have tried it. I will never do that again. Overly sweet. No taste other than sweet sugar. Our sweets are better,even regarding health.
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anser naqvi Jul 11, 2016 10:40am
Baklava is a good sweet.In Dearborn,USA a city with the highest Arab population there is a famous Baklava shop Shatila whose Baklava is even better than middle east.
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Concerned Jul 11, 2016 10:41am
Baklava - a healthier alternative to desi sweets ? What is the main difference between the ingredients of desi sweets and Baklava ? They use honey instead of sugar, which is also a sweetener. Otherwise all the other ingredients are the same or similar. Both of them use wheat, milk, nuts...
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Ahsan Jul 11, 2016 11:31am
Yeah I tried it and really liked it. Its different and delicious
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Aimal Jul 11, 2016 11:32am
Diabetes and obesity is preprogrammed with the Arabian delights.
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Afghan Jul 11, 2016 11:35am
In Afghanistan we call it Baghlawa and I don't think it traces to Turkey or any of those middle eastern countries. I heard Pakistanis call Firni a Pakistani desert too!
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Abi Jul 11, 2016 12:03pm
Another Dawn fd special, like the auor who claims even eater came from, wait for it, Iran! How can refined white flour, fat and sugar have different nutritional value when called by a different name, really!
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Mehreen Jul 11, 2016 12:05pm
Khoye wala gulaab jamun all the way! :D
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sadary Jul 11, 2016 12:07pm
Baklava has lots of butter that brings out the taste.
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سے Shaam Jul 11, 2016 12:11pm
An excuse to promote Arab culture while distancing from your own roots...
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raoul Jul 11, 2016 12:14pm
"She said she preferred giving her children Arabian sweets instead of candy and chocolates." More arabisation of Pakistan's middle and consumer classes.....
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JUST HUMAN Jul 11, 2016 12:45pm
Why is Pakistan so crazy about every thing Arab? Desi sweets are better and are more acceptablale ganetically by desi bodies.
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50 Shades of Khaki Jul 11, 2016 04:56pm
@Krana Exactly.. Our Sohan Halwa beats any Baklawa turkish or Somali hands down.
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Desi Jul 11, 2016 06:29pm
In USA they sell as Greek Baklava. It is Turkish delight, since Turkish ruled Greek for a long period of time.
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Indian Analyst Jul 11, 2016 08:25pm
Baklava is awesome! Just because we like baklava does not mean that we are selling out to the arabs... They can have a better dish than us... No biggie.
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SyedChaudhryGangaDinKhan Jul 11, 2016 10:46pm
@Afghan : Pakistanis don't have identity so they go with the flow. Regarding Baklava, its a Mongolian dish. Middle east has nothing to do with it.
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Malik Usman Javed Jul 11, 2016 11:07pm
In the middle of night awake me up .....and offer to eat Multani Sohan Halwa ....I will eat...all hands up in front of Sohan Halwa..no Baklava stands in front of Sohan Halwa
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Alethia Jul 12, 2016 12:13am
Pakistani & Indian sweets are much more healthy than baklava. The base of Desi sweets is milk-derived, which is protein. The base of baklava is wheat-derived, which the body turns into glucose (sugar).
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Harsh Jul 12, 2016 08:31am
Yes yes. Anything Arabian is better than anything desi. And holier too, no???
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Talha Jul 14, 2016 10:32am
What? Surely endless layers of super-oily puff pastry and an overdose of sugar cannot be healthy or even healthier than local sweets? Its delicious - but please don't paint it into something it can never be
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lashari Jul 16, 2016 11:51pm
its one piece is sufficient to full and fill your mouth with taste and richness in Ankara i tasted one with chopped pistachio baklava whenever i read hear the my linger back to that baklava
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