Swetha's Fusion

Baklava (Airfryer recipe) made with flaky paratha

Saturday, January 01, 2022

YEAH! THIS IS MY 150th POST. THOUGHT BAKLAVA RECIPE WOULD BE THE RIGHT FIT FOR CELEBRATING THE ACHIEVEMENT :))

Baklava is a Mediterranean sweet dessert made of layers of flaky phyllo pastry filled with crushed nuts and sweetened with honey syrup. Each country/region has their own variations. For me, any of the variation would do :P I do love Mediterranean food ... for two main reasons. One: good vegetarian options on the menu, though I am not vegetarian, I lean towards being one. I should say their chicken recipes, especially the kabobs are yummy. Two: all sorts of desserts, especially Baklava.

The traditional Turkish baklava, aka "Fistikli Baklava" is my favorite. Fistikli Bakalva is a pistachio baklava, typically made of phyllo dough, finely crushed pistachios, butter, and a simple syrup made of sugar, water, and lemon juice. Read more about different baklava here

Inspired by Bhavan's recipe, here is my version of Baklava. Flaky parathas are used instead of phyllo sheets. I used Air-fryer to prepare these baklava. So far I have prepared it three times since I purchased the air-fryer in December 2020. Every time, it has been a big hit and disappeared in no time.

Ingredients:

6 - Kawan Flakey Parathas
2 tbsp - flour
1/2 cup - unsalted melted butter
For fillings:

3 cups - nuts ( Almonds, Pistachios, Walnuts, Pecans - may use any type of nuts or combination of nuts)
3 tbsp - brown sugar
1/4 tsp - cardamom powder
1/4 tsp - cinnamon powder
1/8 tsp - nutmeg powder

For syrup

1 cup - Honey (may substitute with Maple syrup or Agave nectar or make with sugar syrup)
1 tsp - Rose water / or rose syrup
1/4 tsp - cardamom powder
2 (3") cinnamon sticks
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 strips lemon peel
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest, plus 1 teaspoon orange curls
2 cloves (optional)

For garnish:

1/4 cup - chopped Pistachios or save some of the filling mixture.

Method:

Prepare honey syrup:

Place the honey and about 2 tablespoon of water in a saucepan and heat on the stove-top. As it warms up, add orange extract, and cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamon powder, lemon juice and peel, orange zest and curls, and rose water/syrup. Stir to mix. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let the syrup simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn off the stove and keep aside. NOTE: remove the cinnamon stick, cloves, and orange & lemon peels before pouring the syrup on the baked baklava (Step 13).

Prepare nut mixture:

In a food processor, pulse each type of nut separately till they are coarsely ground. Transfer the processed nuts in to a mixing bowl, add brown sugar, cardamom powder, cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder. Mix it all together and keep aside.

Line your baking pan with a parchment paper. On the parchment paper, dust dry flour. Optional step, but helps to remove baklava from the pan later.
Take out the Kawan Parathas and let them thaw on the parchment paper. Sprinkle some dry flour on top of the parathas so as to not let it become sticky. Let it thaw for only 7-10 minutes.
Preheat the air-fryer on high for four minutes.
Once the parathas are slightly thawed, dust bit of flour and roll one of the parathas to the size of the pan.

Place one paratha on the bottom of the pan and brush the top with melted butter. Spread about 3-4 tbsp of nuts and sugar mix on the paratha.

Repeat the above two steps for four more parathas.
Roll the sixth paratha, place on the top, brush melted butter.

Using the edge of a sharp knife, cut the paratha layers into shapes you would like.

Place the pan in the preheated air-fryer and air-fry for about 20 minutes. Note: the time required may deffer from one air-fryer to another. Check after 8 minutes and every 3 minutes to make sure baklava does not get burnt.

If using oven, bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes or till golden brown.
Remove the baked baklava and pour the prepared honey syrup while it is still hot.