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.
Persian New Year (Norouz) Haft Seen Table Spread
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 Norouz! Wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year!
Recipe
Ghotab / Qottab Pastry (Traditional Iranian Almond and Walnut-Filled Crescents)
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
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
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup plain yogurt
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 + ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup Confectioners sugar
For the filling:
- ½ cup almonds
- ¼ cup walnuts
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ 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. Set aside
- 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 ½ 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.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Deep Fry
- Cuisine: Persian
Courtney says
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.
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
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 🙂
Sharon says
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!!!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
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 🙂 ).
Anne says
These look positively divine. I've never heard of them before and now I think I need to celebrate Persian New Year!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Hahaha, thanks Anne! Everyone should celebrate 🙂
Elizabeth says
Gosh these sound amazing! Why don't I make awesomely creative things like this in my kitchen! I need this in my life!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Hahah, thanks Elizabeth! You can make it too, it's not too hard 🙂
Julia @ HappyFoods says
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)?
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
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! 🙂
Jillian Wade says
This sounds like a delicious dessert, I love the flavors of the filling!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thanks, Jillian! I love it too 🙂