[Sca-cooks] Khushkananaj (was: Around the Mediterranean...)

[david friedman]

>I suggested:
>  > Or you could make khushkananaj. It isn't baklava, but I have had
>>  someone asking me for the recipe describe it to me as "a kind of dry
>>  baklava". It might be close enough to make him happy.

and Stefan responded:

>Is this the "proto-baklava", we've talked about here before? If not,
>recipe please? What do you mean by "dry"? Do you mean no honey or
>sugar syrup?

No. Recipe in the Miscellany, also below. It is a pastry with a
sugar/chopped almond/rosewater filling. One way we make it ends up
with the pastry and filling rolled up together, producing thin
layers.  (The original just says "make into long loaves".) Since it
is made with a sugar/nut filling and almost no liquid in the filling,
it comes out dry rather than sticky with honey like baklava. It is
one of the standard things we make and bring to events; our kids, who
Do Not Like nuts, are none the less happy to eat this.

Khushkananaj
al-Baghdadi p. 212/14 (13th c. Islamic)

Take fine white flour, and with every ratl mix three uqiya of
sesame-oil [one part oil to four of flour], kneading into a firm
paste. Leave to rise; then make into long loaves. Put into the middle
of each loaf a suitable quantity of ground almonds and scented sugar
mixed with rose water, using half as much almonds as sugar. Press
together as usual, bake in the oven, remove. [end of original]

2 c white +1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c sesame oil
6 oz almonds =1 c before chopping
additional flour for rolling out dough
12 oz = 1 1/2 c sugar
1 T rose water
3/4 to 7/8 c cold water or
1/2 c water, 1/2 c sourdough starter

"Leave to rise" is a puzzle, since the recipe includes neither yeast
nor water. The recipe does not seem to work without water; perhaps
the author took it for granted that making a paste implied adding
water. We originally developed the recipe without leavening, but
currently use sourdough, which is our best guess at what the original
intended (and also seems to work a little better). The two versions
are:

Without leavening: Mix the flour, stir in the oil. Sprinkle the water
onto the dough, stir in. Knead briefly together.

Sourdough: Mix the flour, stir in the oil. Mix the water and the sour
dough starter together. Add gradually to the flour/oil mixture, and
knead briefly together. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise about 8
hours in a warm place, then knead a little more.

We also have two interpretations of how the loaves are made; they are:

Almost Baklava: Divide in four parts. Roll each one out to about
8"x16" on a floured board. Grind almonds, combine with sugar and rose
water. Spread the mixture over the rolled out dough and roll up like
a jelly roll, sealing the ends and edges (use a wet finger if
necessary). You may want to roll out the dough in one place and roll
it up in another, so as not to have bits of nuts on the board you are
trying to roll it out on. You can vary how thin you roll the dough
and how much filling you use over a considerable range, to your own
taste.

Long thin loaves: Divide the dough into six or eight parts, roll each
out to a long loaf (about 16"), flatten down the middle so that you
can fill it with the sugar and almond mixture, then seal it together
over the filling. You end up with a tube of dough with filling in the
middle.

Bake at 350° about 45-50 minutes.

Notes: At least some of the almonds should be only coarsely ground,
for texture. The sesame oil is the Middle Eastern version, which is
almost flavorless; you can get something similar at health food
stores. Chinese sesame oil, made from toasted sesame seeds, is very
strongly flavored and results in a nearly inedible pastry. We do not
know what scented sugar contained.

Elizabeth/Betty Cook (over a month behind on the list)