Oriental sweets: pistachio halva, Gaziantep baklava, Turkish delight and pastry gift boxes. Perfect with tea, on a party platter or as a gift.
Oriental sweets are the pastries and confectionery served from the Maghreb to Turkey, often with tea or coffee. What they have in common is honey or syrup, dried fruit and the scents of rose or orange blossom. They are served to welcome guests, at religious festivals and at weddings. Many of the recipes come from the kitchens of the Ottoman Empire.
Halva is a paste of ground sesame, known as tahini, mixed with cooked sugar. Its texture is crumbly and melts in the mouth. The Durra brand offers it plain or with pistachio. Similar versions also exist in Greece and across the Balkans.
Baklava layers thin sheets of filo pastry, butter and pistachios or walnuts, then is soaked in sugar syrup. The Turkish city of Gaziantep is its capital: its pistachio baklava has had a protected geographical indication since 2013. It is cut into diamonds or squares, each piece making one or two bites. In Turkey it is often eaten with a glass of tea.
Turkish delight, or rahat lokum, is a soft confection made from starch and sugar. It is flavoured with rose or lemon, or filled with pistachios and hazelnuts. It is often rolled in icing sugar or desiccated coconut so that it does not stick. In Turkey it is offered with coffee.
Look at the pistachio content shown on the packaging. On a generous baklava, you can see the green layer when it is cut. A pistachio halva shows whole pieces in the paste. The small, deep-green pistachios of Gaziantep are the most sought after for baklava.
For baklava, choose one made with clarified butter rather than margarine: it has more flavour and is crisper. The house of Çelebioğulları, from Gaziantep, is one of the well-known names in Turkish baklava. A good baklava crunches at the top and stays soft at the bottom, where the syrup has settled.
Choose the format to suit the occasion. A single box is enough for a taste; an assorted gift box brings several pieces together, for a party meal or for Eid. Assortments often mix baklava, pistachio rolls and walnut nests. For a gift, also check the best-before date: it usually leaves several weeks.
Check the list of allergens: most sweets contain tree nuts, sesame or gluten. Halva and Turkish delight are generally gluten-free, but the label is still the only proof. People who are allergic to sesame should avoid halva, which is made from tahini.
Keep baklava at room temperature in its closed box: the fridge hardens the syrup. Halva keeps for several weeks, away from heat. Close the box of Turkish delight again after opening, as it dries out in contact with air. Once the box is open, enjoy the baklava within the week, before it goes soft.
Serve the sweets in small portions: they are rich and very sweet. One or two pieces go well with a glass of green tea or a cup of Turkish coffee. Take them out of the box an hour beforehand so that they regain their softness. Turkish coffee, served without sugar, balances the sweetness of the pastries.
For a party platter, alternate shapes and colours: diamonds of baklava, cubes of Turkish delight rolled in icing sugar, slices of halva. Add dates and almonds for variety. Tongs or wooden picks save you from touching the pieces with your fingers. Place the pieces in small paper cases so that they do not stick together.
Mint tea remains the classic companion to these treats. For savoury cooking, our oriental spices complete the meal, and everything else is waiting for you in our oriental grocery range.
