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Baklava -
Turkish (and other nationalities)
Layers of a thin flaky dough called Phyllo, stuffed with crushed nuts,
and soaked/drizzled in a sweet syrup made from Rose Water. It's
one of the signature Turkish/Greek desserts (and at least part of Turkey is on the Asian
continent, hence its inclusion here). If you try nothing
else from the Turkish desserts out there, you should at least try
Baklava. From what I could tell at Kalustyan's, there are many
different types to choose from - and what I've tried was quite
good..
Would I try again?
Yes - it's flaky goodness, and is a first taste of yet another culture
of goodies.
Where I found it: Kalustyan's
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Bourma -
Lebanese
Phyllo (Filo) dough, in a packed, shredded wheat type
form, wrapped around pistachio chunks embedded in a sweet congealed
syrup. It was nice, and slightly chewy, although not mind blowing.
Would I try again?
No, it wasn't amazing enough.
Where I
found it: Kalustyan's
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Halva -
Middle Eastern
Rich confectionary sweets made from a foundation of semolina, sesame,
or even sunflower. Though popular in Jewish culture, this sweet crosses
numerous borders, available in various forms in countries such as
India, Turkey, Egypt and Greece. The kind that I've sampled is
sesame - slightly grainy blocks with a thick, sweet texture. Due
to the richness, it's hard to eat alot in one sitting. But the
flavors are quite addictive. So you might just try....
Would I try again? Oh yeah. Good
stuff. Rich...but
good stuff!
Where I found it: Store bought.
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Kataifi Roll -
(Shredded Nut Pastry) - Greek
It looks like a huge cereal shredded wheat nugget - it tastes considerably more moist, and
it's sweet - ingredients include butter, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon,
brandy and honey. It's nice and satisfies the sweet tooth.
Would I try again?
No - it wasn't extraordinary.
Where I found it: Kalustyan's
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Loukomades -
Greek
Fried donut holes, done Greek style and flavored with honey and
cinnamon. They taste good, and pretty much what you'd
expect. They're not all that exotic, but they do hit the
spot. Too junk foody to eat regularly, but definitely worth being
sampled at least once.
Would I try again?
Yes (occasionally)
Where I found it:
At a Greek food table, at the Cloisters. Weird, but it worked.
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Saray Sarma -
Turkish
Tasted alot like Baklava (see above)
- it's made of Phyllo dough, and wrapped in a ring shape. As I
recall, the center was some mixture of crushed nuts, and syrup.
(Saray means 'palace' in Turkish).
Would I try again?
Sure.
Where I
found it: Kalustyan's
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Turkish Delight
- Turkish (duh)
There are alot of different types/flavors of this dish, from what I can
tell. But the essence of the treat is chunks of nuts (pistachios
in my instance), powdered and embedded in a stiff, chewy sweet gel -
something like gelatin. Not bad, although not addictive,
either. But it should be
said that there seem to be some striking variations available, so I
will be open to trying different types, and will report back!
Would I try again?
I'm not in a rush.
Where I found it: Kalustyan's
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