Cardamom, cinnamon, hyacinth and rose water, that is just a sample of what my house smells like right now. It is Persian New Years! Happy Now Ruz everyone! So I am in a baking mood and whipping out a batch of my absolute favourite Persian pastries: Ghotab or Qottab (there are so many different spellings for this). Ghotab is a traditional Iranian almond and walnut-filled crescent pastry that is made anytime of year, but they are particularly delightful during the new year festivities.
This pastry originated in the city of Yazd, where my dad was raised before moving the Tehran. So it really hits home. As a treat, my parents would buy us some from the Persian bakery stores. I remember a year when my great aunt came to visit us and it felt like she was in the kitchen the entire summer baking us batches of these sweet pastries. The homemade version was just something else. They tasted unbelievable and really put the store bought pastries to shame. I kind of lost a taste for them after having experienced the real, authentic thing.
If you are wondering why my pastries are placed near a display that includes an apple, dried fruit and a fishbowl, well there is a simple explanation! This arrangement of items is the traditional “haftseen” or in English, the seven S’s. During Persian New Years, it is customary to set up a table a few days prior to the New Year with an arrangement of these seven items that all begin with the letter S in the Persian language. These spreads tend to be quite large and elaborate. Since I live in a condo, mine is more of a mini, compact version.
Each “S” item is put there for a reason and has a symbolic meaning for the new year.
- Sabzeh (wheat or lentil sprout) – rebirth
- Samanu (sweet pudding) – affluence
- Senjed (dried oleaster) – love
- Seer (garlic) – medicine and health
- Seeb (apple) – beauty
- Somaq (sumac) – sunrise
- Serkeh (vinegar) – age and patience
There are other symbolic items that are normally placed on the table in addition to the seven required pieces. These include: goldfish, hyacinth flower, a mirror, a Persian poetry book, painted eggs, coins, candles and an array of decadent Persian pastries.
Happy Now Ruz! Wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year!
Ghotab / Qottab Pastry (Traditional Iranian Almond and Walnut-Filled Crescents)
Prep Time: 2 hours- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Yield: 24
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: Persian
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Ghotab or Qottab is a traditional Iranian almond and walnut-filled crescent pastry that is infused with cardamom and cinnamon flavours to make the perfect treat.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup Confectioners sugar
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the vegetable oil, yogurt and egg yolks and stir together until fully combined.
- In another bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Sift the dry ingredients slowly to the large bowl, whisking continuously.
- Once your batter forms a soft and sticky dough, knead for a few minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 2 hours (at room temperature).
- Make the filling: Grind the almonds and walnuts in a food processor or blender. Add the cardamon, cinnamon and sugar and continue to blend.
- Roll out the dough very thin, almost paper-like, at about 1/16 inch thick on a well-floured surface. Using a round 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out circular shapes.
- Add 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of the almond/walnut filling onto the centre. Fold over to form half-circle shape. Press down on the edges and roll them over to seal or seal them using a fork and make mini impressions onto the seal. Repeat with all the dough.
- Fill up a pot about 2 inches of vegetable oil and heat on medium. Deep fry the crescents, one by one. It will only take a few seconds until the crescents brown. Do not overcook or they will burn. Place the cooked crescents onto paper towels to remove any excess oil.
- In a small plate, pour out some Confectioners sugar. Dip the cooked crescents into the sugar while they are still hot, but cool enough to handle, or the Confectioners sugar will not stick on properly. Place on a tray and allow it to cool completely.
These look delicious! Could I bake these instead of frying to make them a bit healthier?
Thanks! You can try baking them, I have always fried them so I am not sure what oven temperature or length of time would work best.
Hi, Could you confirm the size of the cookie cutter? 2 inches is about the size of a silver dollar. This would only hold half a teaspoon of filling. The pastries in the picture above are much larger than a 2 in cookie cutter piece.
Thanks.
I use a round cookie cutter that is 2 inches in diameter. A silver dollar is approximately 1 inch in diameter, so it would be double the size. Hope that helps 🙂
Hi Sam, a friend forwarded this recipe to me because one of mine reminded her of it (Raw Energy Balls). I made these on the weekend & they tasted divine, but the proportions were quite off. I replaced the almonds with pecans because of an allergy, but everything else was exactly the same. I made 28 crescents, but only used a quarter of the filling. There wasn’t enough dough to use the rest. For the remainder I used a packaged puff pastry to make large pockets. I also wasn’t able to deep fry the crescents. They kept opening up in the oil, so I coated & baked for them 10mins. The end result was great & my family enjoyed them. Just wondering if you have any suggestions with the dough to filling ration & tips on keeping them closed during frying. Thank you!!!
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Hi Sharon, glad you liked the recipe! 🙂 Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention! I have to apologize, this was my mistake. I always make a huge batch of these during our new years and so the recipe I have been taught yields about 4 dozen cookies. For the blog, I decided to cut it in half, so I had cut the batter in half and must have missed cutting the filling in half. I am so sorry!! I have updated the recipe now to fix that. But you still seemed to have extra even then. Did you roll out the dough super thin? It should be almost paper-thin, roughly 1/16th of an inch, with lots of filling inside.
Also, my tip for keeping them closed is to dip your finger in a little water and just coat the rim of half of the pastry so when you fold it over, it sticks together. Then, roll the edges over and make your fork impressions to seal it together. Baking is definitely another option (and healthier 🙂 ).
These look positively divine. I’ve never heard of them before and now I think I need to celebrate Persian New Year!
Hahaha, thanks Anne! Everyone should celebrate 🙂
Gosh these sound amazing! Why don’t I make awesomely creative things like this in my kitchen! I need this in my life!
Hahah, thanks Elizabeth! You can make it too, it’s not too hard 🙂
These look amazing! Love the symbolic items that are placed on the table. Does it mean that everyone or most people have goldfish (seeing that it’s one of the items normally put on the table)?
Thanks, Julia! Most people do have the goldfish, but it is not required. We just transferred our goldfish into a bigger tank because my husband thinks its mean to put him in a fish bowl! I kinda see his point, our fish is moving around a lot more now! 🙂
This sounds like a delicious dessert, I love the flavors of the filling!
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Thanks, Jillian! I love it too 🙂
These look so yummy! I absolutely love Iranian desserts, granted I don’t stumble across them as often as I should. Your recipe makes it seem very manageable to make at home. Looks great – thanks for sharing!
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Thanks, Brianne! Yes, they are not too difficult to make.. I will be sharing more in the future 🙂
Sam these look great. Love seeing recipes different cultures. Thx for sharing.
No problem, Peter! I am glad you like the recipe 🙂
I could have these with a nice cup of tea or coffee right now and enjoy myself! My sweet tooth is kicking in!
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I couldn’t have said it better myself! These are perfect with a nice cup of tea or coffee! You got me craving them too… good thing I still have a few left 🙂
That looks delicious!
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Thanks, James!
That looks amazing… Would love to try them right now 🙁
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Hahah, thanks Ityqual!
Your pastries look adorable! I love the idea of stuffing these with nuts! Have a wonderful week!
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Thank you, Tania! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and have yourself a wonderful week too!
I learned so much from this post — Happy New Year! I can’t wait to try these pastries, the nuts must give them such a fabulous flavor.
Thanks, Sue!! Happy new year to you too! Yes, the nuts are amazing alongside the cinnamon and cardamom spices… mmmm 🙂
These pastries looks amazing and delicious and seems easy to bake. Bookmarking to try soon.
Thanks, Oriana! 🙂
Happy Nowruz! These pastries are so pretty. And what a great story of your aunt making you homemade versions. I’ve had many store-bought treats lose their luster for me in exactly the same way. 😉
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Thanks, Tracy!! I don’t know if sometimes it is a good thing or a bad thing to try things homemade because then I can’t go back to store bought… but I guess it is totally worth it 🙂
wow..never tried to make Iranian food but would love to try this one out. it looks super tempting and delicious.
Thanks! This one would be a classic dessert for you to try 🙂 It goes perfect with Persian tea
Wow those look good! I’ve never had them, but I’d like to try them, and they look easy enough to make. Great recipe!
Thanks, Dorothy 🙂 Yes, they are quite easy!
I am swooning at the very thought of these pastries. They look and sound superb and I have a weakness for pastry. I usually make my pastry with yoghurt, but hadn’t seen it done anywhere else, so that’s interesting too. I always think of almond pastries as very French, so was fascinated to hear where these originate from. Lovely post.
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Thanks, Choclette! You and me both with that weakness for pastries 🙂
These sound amazing! I love seeing how different cultures celebrate their New Year with food. Here in Scotland its Black Bun and Shortbread. And Whisky of course!
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Haha, thanks Claire! Yum, I loveeee shortbread 🙂
What absolutely beautiful looking and sounding pastries. Plus what beautiful memories!!
Thanks, Sara! 🙂
Wow, what a beautiful post! And the pastries look SO good…I’ll be trying these soon! 🙂 And happy Now Ruz!
Thanks Wajeeha! Happy Now Ruz to you too 🙂
Sam,
I’m a huge fan of cardamom. It’s such a versatile spice and love finding ways of incorporating it in dessert recipes. Great blend of flavors. I look forward to trying this recipe out.
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Thanks, Mica! I am a huge fan of cardamom too!! I just love the smell and flavour 🙂
Wow… they look so good 🙂
Definitely, will try it, thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Emi! 🙂
Looks yummy. Mmmmmm…
Thanks, JoJo! 🙂