Qottab (Ghottab,قطاب ) is a traditional Persian sweet pastry that is originally from Yazd. Yazd is a central province of Iran that has a rich culture. According to historical pieces of evidence, this pastry was originated in the late 1800s. Although Qottab is known to be from Yazd, there is another type of it which is from Kerman. This sweet consists of two parts, including an external paste part that is mainly made with flour, and an internal stuffing part that they make with nuts. This pastry soon paved its way to other regions of Iran. However, the most delicious Ghottab is still the one made in Yazd.
Iranians, usually use this pastry on happy occasions such as weddings or birthday parties. It is a great choice to be served on evening parties or casual gatherings. Iranians also serve it during ritual ceremonies. It is one of the most famous souvenirs of Yazd along with Baklava and Yazdi Cake. If you travel to Yazd, do not forget to go to one of Haj Khalifeh (Yazdi Confectionaries) shops and buy a box of this delightful sweet.
Different types of Qottab:
There are two main types of Qottab depending on the ingredients, including Yazdi and Asali. Ghottab Yazdi is the one that they make by Yazd city’s confectionaries method. It has two parts including a pastry part made of flour, and a stuffing part made with nuts. Ghottab Asali is not that different from Yazdi. The only difference is that it includes honey as a sweetening component instead of sugar. There is also Ghottab e Kermani which contains two different types itself. It is either made with pistachio or almond. It has a similar texture and taste compared to the Yazdi type.
Important Nutrition Facts:
Persian cuisine is full of delightful tasty sweet pastries that have high calories and low nutrition. However, Qottab, because of having nuts inside it contains some essential minerals and vitamins. Overall, an average Qottab has about 120 kcal. A significant part of this calorie is produced by carbohydrates. It has a quite high amount of fat and almost no protein. If you have diabetes or you have high blood pressure or cholesterol, you should never think of eating this sweet. However, it is delicious, and it seems to be very difficult to resist in front of it.
Vegetarian tips:
Like many other Persian sweet pastries, Qottab is a vegetarian and vegan dish. You can confidently cook and eat it. However, if you are eating it out of home, you should be precise about the oil that is used in baking that sweet. You can either use ghee, butter or vegetable oil. As a vegan, you should make it with vegetable oil.
Serving Style of Qottab:
Like other sweet pastries, Iranians serve Qottab on happy occasions and along with tea. Qottab is the best choice for a sweet if you are looking for a tiny sweet pastry that is delicious, classy, and has a suitable size for serving. To serve it, place them carefully in a tray-like dish. Serving a cup of Persian black tea along with this sweet helps to moderate the sweet taste and adds to the delightfulness. If you are serving it as an evening party menu component, a dish of fresh fruits and nuts can complete your hosting. We can also serve it as a dessert, which I also recommend serving it with tea.
What are the ingredients of Qottab?
According to the type of Qottab, the ingredients can vary. I am going to discuss the components for Qottab e Yazdi. The main ingredient is flour, which you need for making the external pastry dough. Moreover, you require eggs, sugar, baking powder, and butter or vegetable oil to make the dough. The only spice that you need to add to this is cardamom ground. For making the stuffing part, you need to prepare some nuts, including walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds. Moreover, you need sugar and some simple biscuits or ladyfingers.
How to cook Qottab?
To cook Qottab e Yazdi, you should first prepare the dough to make the outer pastry part. To do so, start with mixing water and oil. If you are using butter, melt it, and then add to water. Then add baking powder and the ground cardamom ground. Finally, add flour gradually. Add flour to the point that dough does not stick to your hands. For the stuffing, mix the nuts and sugar, then ground them together. Ground the biscuits, too, and mix them with nuts. Then take an egg size of the dough and fill it with the stuffing. Finally, bake them in the oven.
Recipe:
This recipe is adequate for four people. The preparation time is 30 minutes, and the cooking time is 15 minutes.
Qottab
Ingredients
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- Flour as needed
- ½ cup walnuts and almonds
- ¼ cup of sugar
- ½ cup minced biscuits
Instructions
- Mix the nuts and sugar and ground them together
- Add minced biscuits to them and ground them once more
- Leave this mixture in a bowl and start making the dough
- Mix water and oil
- Add baking powder and cardamom oil
- Add flour gradually until the point that dough does not stick to your hands.
- Take an egg-size amount of dough and fill it with a teaspoon of stuffing
- Fry the Qottabs in the oil (both sides)
- Put them on a tissue to absorb their oil
- Sparkle some sugar ground on them
Notes
Uniqop’s Advice:
- For a lower-calorie, you can bake them in the oven.
- Oddly, in this recipe using ghee won’t make your dish tastier.
- Let the Qottabs cool down for at least 3 hours.
