For a Westerner, the East is exotic, manifested in everything: religion, worldview, customs, cuisine. The Eastern world is very different from ours, perhaps that is why it is so interesting to us. The East primarily attracts food lovers with its oriental desserts, sweets and pastries. This will be discussed in this article.

Oriental sweets are confectionery products of Central Asian, Transcaucasian and Arabic cuisines, the distinctive feature of which is the addition of spices, nuts, raisins, candied fruits, spices and honey.

Oriental confectionery products are varied, tasty and nutritious, making them popular all over the world. There are about 200 different varieties of oriental sweets. It is quite difficult to list and describe everything in one article, so we will try to classify them and highlight only the most popular. Let's figure out what kind of oriental sweets there are.

Types of oriental sweets

1) Halva- the name of a group of oriental sweets made from sugar, flour and nuts. Additional ingredients of halva can be honey, cinnamon, vanillin or fruit essence and others. As a rule, halva is prepared as follows: syrup is made from sugar or honey, to which nuts are added, at the same time flour is fried in oil in a frying pan, then everything is mixed and allowed to cool. Sometimes flour is added directly to the syrup; after readiness, the resulting thick mass is poured onto a greased baking sheet. After the halva has cooled, it is cut and served.

There are a huge number of varieties of halva and each has its own recipe and method of preparation. Here are some names of this oriental sweet: “Sesame halva”, “Reshid-halva in Azerbaijani”, “Gris-halva”, “Ak-halva in Turkmen”, “Arishta-halva in Armenian”, “Liquid halva”, “Halva-lavz in Tajik style”, “Nut halva in Arabic”, “Halva with vanilla”, “Pistachio halva”, “Halva with milk in Uzbek”.

2) Baklava- This is a diamond-shaped pie with a nut filling. Baklava is a very tasty oriental sweet that almost everyone likes. This dish is prepared in a low frying pan or on a baking sheet; before cooking, the preparations are cut into diamond-shaped pieces; during baking, a break is taken to add oil; upon completion of cooking, the baklava is poured with honey or sugar syrup with spices, which gives the dish a unique taste.

There are many varieties of baklava, which differ in the ingredients and proportions in which they are used. Here are some of the varieties of this oriental sweet: “Baklava-arishta”, “Sheki baklava”, “Baku baklava”, “Butter baklava”.

3) Cookies- an oriental flour-based sweet with the addition of various ingredients such as vanilla, figs, dried apricots, raisins, nuts, honey and others. The dough, as a rule, is prepared traditionally from flour, eggs, butter, sugar with the addition of soda.

The most famous oriental cookie-type sweet is “Kurabiye”. But besides it, there are many other varieties of this oriental dessert for tea, such as: “Chereki”, “Yugatert”, “Shaker-Puri”, “Shirvari-Nan”, “Peach cookies”, “Nazuk with Armenian shavran” , “Mutaki”, “Kyata Yerevan”, “Kada”, “Zemelakh”, “Beshkito”, “Vanilla Oriental Cookies” and others.

4) Fried sweet oriental products- a group of oriental sweets that are deep-fried. The culinary product is immersed entirely in oil heated to a temperature of 160-180 degrees Celsius. Vegetable oils are used for deep-frying, since butter cannot withstand high temperatures and acquires a bitter taste.

Before immersing in oil, excess flour is shaken off the culinary product to prevent it from burning; during frying, the product must be periodically turned over with a spatula to ensure even frying, and after cooking, remove it from the fryer and place it on a mesh to allow the fat to drain. After this, the product is glazed and decorated in every possible way.

The most famous deep-fried oriental sweets are “Khvorost” and “Chak-chak”. They are so finger licking delicious. But besides them, “Samsa with almond filling”, “Oriental shavings” cookies, “Honey Fingers” strips, “Tajik style Pilita” and other sweets are prepared in deep frying.

5) Cakes and pastries- oriental sweets on a biscuit, curd and other basis, traditionally used in the preparation of cakes, pastries and rolls. A distinctive feature of oriental cakes is the use of nuts and southern fruits as filling. In addition, the oriental flavor of these sweets is given by the combination of certain ingredients in the right proportions and a special method of preparation.

When you go to the East, you can find oriental cakes, rolls and pastries of the following names: “Metloof with whipped cream”, “Almond roll”, “Nut roll”, “Oriental marshmallow” cake, “Shakerbura” cake and others. There are a huge variety of oriental cakes.

6) Baking from butter dough- an oriental flour-based sweet with the addition of nuts, dried and fresh fruits. The composition of oriental pastries is not very different from European ones. What gives it originality is mainly its unusual shape; some types of baked goods are served in the form of balls, which is not typical for European sweet confectionery products.

There are the following varieties of oriental pastries: “Nan Bardinsky”, “Nan Bukhara”, “Pies with persimmon in Turkmen style”, “Shaker-Chuker”, “Gata Artsakh”, “Gata Yerevan” and others.

7) Caramel- an oriental sweet made on a sugar base with the addition of nuts, dried fruits, and flavorings. Oriental caramel is very tasty, nutritious and high in calories. The most famous oriental sweets such as caramel are kozinak, roasted almonds, sugared almonds, and navat.

Kozinak- an oriental sweet with a high content of nuts: almonds, sesame seeds, cashews, etc. It is rectangular pieces of nuts in caramel. Grilyazh similar to kozinak, with the only difference being that significantly fewer nuts are added to it. Nogul- an oriental culinary product of white caramel type containing cilantro seeds. Navat which are smooth, transparent sucrose crystals grown on threads. Kangalyak- a round-shaped product, reminiscent of dragees, with the addition of apricot kernels.

9) Soft candies- oriental culinary products made from sugar and flour with the addition of nuts or dried fruits. The most popular: nougat, Turkish delight, sherbet, candied fruits.

Turkish delight- a sweet with a gelatinous consistency, made from flour and sugar with the addition of various nuts. Nougat- a confectionery product based on syrup, sugar, honey and molasses with the addition of nuts. Nougat can be stretchy, soft or hard. Sherbet- a fruit and creamy product in the form of colored fudge with nuts. Candied fruit- pieces of fruit boiled in sugar syrup.

8) Other desserts- other sweets for tea on a milk, curd, fruit basis. For their preparation, fruits such as peaches, quinces, apricots, and apples are used. And nuts such as peanuts, almonds. In addition, other ingredients are sometimes used: melons, raisins, etc.

Oriental desserts include “Apples with raisin filling”, “Melon balls”, “Peanut balls”, “Almond balls”, “Quince sweets”, “Peaches with curd filling”, “Dessert quince and others”.

As you can see, there are a huge variety of oriental sweets and they are all tasty and unusual. I want to try them all at once. But they are made mainly from sugar and flour with the addition of nuts, that is, very high-calorie ingredients, so if you want to maintain your figure, it is better to limit yourself in their consumption. A few pieces a day are enough to appreciate their amazing taste and fill you up. Bon appetit!

Turkish delight, halva, baklava and nougat are the delicious calling cards of the East. Sweet, spicy, aromatic, and melt in your mouth. The main thing is not to rush, but to get intense pleasure from every bite.

We call oriental sweets all unusual confectionery products, recipes for which first appeared in the East - in Arabic, Turkish and other cuisines. Some of these desserts have already taken root and become familiar to us - for example, marmalade, grilled fruit, marshmallows or halva, but many still seem like overseas wonders.

The main difference between oriental sweets and desserts from other countries of the world is the presence in recipes of not only generally accepted ingredients (sugar, flour, butter, eggs), but also honey, sesame seeds, candied fruits, dried fruits, nuts, raisins and, of course, spices - vanilla, licorice , ginger. And oriental delicacies can be safely stored without a refrigerator, without fear that they will spoil.

Queen of the East! Baklava is a juicy multi-layered dough product with honey and nut filling. Want details? Please: place chopped walnuts, pistachios, almonds or hazelnuts between thin layers of dough, and then add honey syrup. The art of making baklava originates in Persia, although Turkey also claims to be the birthplace of this sweet. The technique of rolling out dough is incredibly complex, requiring maximum accuracy and skill - perfectly rolled dough is so thin that you can read a book through it! In ancient times, baklava recipes were carefully protected from outsiders and passed from master to master.

Turkish Delight.

Turkish delight is a delicate, marmalade-like delicacy made from sugar syrup. The name rahat-lokum translates as “convenient piece” or “piece of pleasure.” According to legend, the sweetness appeared thanks to the whims of the Istanbul Sultan: he constantly demanded variety. And the pastry chef found a way out: he cooked a mixture of water, sugar, honey, starch, crushed almonds and rose petal syrup, let it harden, then cut it into small pieces and sprinkled it with powdered sugar. The Sultan, having tasted it, was delighted, and after him the sweet pieces fell in love outside the palace. Subsequently, Turkish delight began to be made with nuts, fruit juices and purees, syrups, cinnamon, cocoa, baked cream and coconut.

The most popular oriental sweet, because it is prepared in many countries around the world. But only in Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey can you find kandalatchi - masters of making halva. The classic recipe includes sesame seeds to make tahini halva. Traditionally, sesame halwa is prepared in small pans over high heat. After the dish reaches the required consistency, the mixture is distributed into molds. Other types of halva are prepared based on pistachio or peanut paste, sometimes with the addition of walnuts or almonds. In Russia, halva made from sunflower seeds was liked.

When we mention this name, we first of all, of course, think of fruit and berry ice cream in a paper cup, but if we talk about oriental sweets, sherbet is a soft creamy fondant mass filled with raisins, nuts or vanillin. Sometimes candied fruits or dried fruits are added to sherbet. The finished dessert should be pliable and soft and easy to cut into portions.

Nougat and grilled meat.

Nougat is typically made from honey, egg whites and a mixture of nuts (chopped or whole). The most commonly used are roasted almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts. Lemon zest, cinnamon and vanilla are used to add additional flavors. The consistency of the finished dessert can be very different - from tender and light to thick and hard. Today there are two main varieties of nougat: brown and white. Brown nougat (harder and crispier) is made from caramelized sugar, while white nougat, which is fluffy and light, uses egg whites. Candied fruits, chocolate and dried fruits can give nougat its original taste.

Also, roasted nuts, a dessert made from fried nuts, came to Europe from the East. Beloved by many since childhood, kozinaki is a type of grilled dish made from seeds or nuts with the addition of honey.

Oriental sweets is a tempting name that unites several hundred different sweets that have been created in the countries of the East for thousands of years. It is believed that the largest selection of oriental sweets can be found in Turkey, Afghanistan and Iran. For their production, sesame and sunflower seeds, raisins, candied fruits, honey, spices and many other ingredients are used.

In ancient times, sugar was practically unavailable, so foods acquired their sweetness from honey and sweet fruit juices. Their preparation was considered a real art. Oriental sweets were very expensive and were available only to rich people.

The hot eastern climate also played an important role in the history of these delicacies. Sweets are made in such a way that they can be stored for quite a long time, and most of them are not refrigerated. The names of oriental sweets can be listed for a very long time. But, probably, everyone has tried or at least heard about such delicacies as halva, kozinaki, Turkish delight, nougat, sherbet, baklava or churchkhela. By the way, marshmallows and marshmallows, which are more familiar to us, were also first prepared in the East.

Halva

There are many types of halva.

Who doesn't know halva? We are accustomed to the fact that in almost any store you can find this delicacy made from sunflower seeds. However, in fact, there are quite a few varieties of this delicacy; it is made from sesame (tahini halva), peanuts and any other nuts (almonds, pistachios, walnuts, etc.). This delicacy has beneficial properties, because the seeds and nuts contain protein, vitamins, minerals, vegetable oils and other nutrients. But due to the high sugar content, of course, you should not abuse halva.

Nougat

Nuts are an essential component of nougat.

This delicacy is traditionally created from sugar or honey, egg white and various types of roasted nuts. Peanuts are not the only ingredients used to make nougat. And vanilla and candied fruits are used as natural flavorings. Real nougat is a slightly viscous soft light mass. Today you can find many different types of nougat in stores, but, unfortunately, most of these confectionery products have little in common with a real oriental delicacy.

Turkish delight

To obtain Turkish delight of different colors, fruit juice is added to it.

This delicacy is made from molasses or honey, starch, flour and nuts or coconut. There are many types of Turkish delight; the most famous is Turkish delight; this phrase can be translated as “convenient pieces.” If sweet fruit juice is added to the treat instead of sugar, the pieces will come out in different colors and flavors. White delight is made from starch, sugar (molasses, honey) and water, sometimes sprinkled with coconut flakes. Nut delight is very common, when crushed or whole nuts (hazelnuts, peanuts, cashews, etc.) are added to the thick mass.

Sherbet

Sherbet is a refreshing vitamin drink.

In fact, the correct pronunciation and spelling is sherbet, not sherbet. We are well aware of hard (thick) sherbet, but this name combines several delicacies that are completely different in properties and recipes. Most of us think of sorbet as a thick, nutty mixture made by boiling down sugar and molasses, sometimes adding cream or milk. And in Eastern countries, sherbet is most often called a refreshing vitamin drink, which is created on the basis of rose hips, rose petals, licorice and various spices. One of the varieties of sherbet is sorbet (sorbet) - a delicious frozen or chilled dessert made from fruit puree and sugar syrup, sometimes alcohol is added to it.

Baklava (baklava)

Baklava is made from puff pastry with nuts.

This oriental delicacy is very popular all over the world. Baklava is prepared from puff pastry with nuts, the finished product is generously poured with sugar syrup. The sheets of puff pastry that are used to prepare this delicacy are no thicker than a sheet of paper, and the number of layers sometimes reaches 40. The thinnest sheets of dough are folded on top of each other, coated with butter and sprinkled with finely crushed nuts. This cake is baked in a rectangular pan and then topped with sugar or fruit syrup. The finished product is cut into squares, diamonds, shaped into “nests” or rolled into a roll.

Churchkhela

Churchkhela contains walnuts and grape juice.

A traditional oriental dish, very popular in Georgia, where dried seedless berries are used to prepare it. In Turkey, this delicacy is called sujuk and is traditionally made from walnuts, which are strung on a string and dipped several times in grape juice thickened with flour. The finished products are dried in the sun for 2-3 weeks, then placed in boxes and kept for several months until fully prepared. Hazelnuts, almonds, peach or apricot kernels are often used to prepare sudjuk.

Oriental sweets are widely available on sale all over the world today. Unfortunately, finding high-quality and natural delicacies is quite difficult. You need to choose confectionery products made from natural ingredients. They should not contain artificial colors, preservatives, flavors or low-quality vegetable fats.

Video on the topic “How the famous Turkish delight is prepared”:

In the East, the first sweets appeared a long time ago, but Europe became acquainted with them only in the 17th - 18th centuries. These were delicacies for wealthy people.

Oriental sweets have always been made in Afghanistan, Turkey and Iran. In Europe they are produced in Bulgaria, Bosnia, Greece, Macedonia and Romania.

Oriental sweets contain the following ingredients: eggs, sugar, cocoa, molasses, butter, flour, vanillin, fats (for making dough).

However, the original taste of these confectionery products is given by such spices and additives as poppy seeds, nuts, starch in interesting and varied combinations.

There are only about 170 types of oriental sweets. Let's look at the most popular of them.

Grilyazh- an oriental sweet made from roasted nuts with sugar. Ideally it should be crumbly.

Djezerye- an oriental dessert prepared with the addition of juices and nuts. Traditionally, this confection was made from pomegranate juice (pomegranate is the fruit of kings), boiled in sugar syrup, with the addition of dates and nuts.

Kozinaki- a sweet made from walnuts (or seeds) with the addition of honey. First, honey is melted together with sugar. Then chopped and roasted walnuts are poured into the resulting dense mass. The finished mass is rolled out and cut into diamonds.

Turkish delight is a dessert made from sugar (Turkish delight) or flour (shaker delight), to which nuts (almonds, coconut, pistachios), chocolate or cocoa and starch are added.

Nougat is a confectionery product traditionally based on egg white, honey (or sugar) and roasted nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds). Dessert can be hard or soft. Cinnamon, candied fruits, dried fruits, chocolate, lemon zest, and vanilla are added to the product to give the nougat original aromatic and flavor tones.

Baklava is a popular oriental dessert made from puff pastry in syrup with the addition of nuts. Most often it is a multi-layered sweet made from thin sheets of dough; they are coated with oil and rolled into cylinders or laid out in layers in a rectangular baking dish.

Tulumba– a confectionery product made from unleavened dough, which is cut into small pieces up to 5 cm. Then they are rolled into cylinders or tubes and fried until a beautiful golden color; Top with delicious syrup. The dish needs to cool before serving.

Halva– an oriental sweet made from sugar with the addition of seeds or nuts.

Chuck-chuck- an oriental dessert made from deep-fried pieces of dough drenched in hot honey. Dried fruits and nuts can also be added. Different types of chak-chak may differ in the way the dough is cut (in thin strips, squares, in the form of vermicelli or balls) and in the form of laying out on the dish (in the form of a slide, small and large cones, balls and hearts.).

Churchkhela- a confectionery product made from nuts (traditionally, walnuts, but now hazelnuts, almonds, peach and apricot kernels are also used) in a thickened syrup, the basis of which is grape juice. It is boiled and wheat flour is added. Nuts, which are strung on threads, are dipped into the resulting mass. A thick sweet layer is formed; Churchkhela is dried in the sun for 15 days, then in a cool place for 2-3 months for sugaring.

Sherbet– oriental sweetness, creamy fondant with raisins, vanillin, nuts.

Oriental sweets is a general name for confectionery products of Transcaucasian, Arab, and Central Asian cuisines. In the preparation of oriental sweets, nuts, sesame seeds, raisins, candied fruits, vanilla, ginger, licorice, rose water and many other ingredients are widely used in combinations unusual for Western confectioners. Oriental sweets can be made in the form of caramel and montpensier (for example: roasted meat, kozinaki), sweets (Lukum, halva, nougat), flour products (baklava, kyata). In the East, all types of sweets are called “halawa”, which in Arabic means “sweets” (which, by the way, is where the word “halva” comes from).

Once upon a time, a long time ago, the production of oriental sweets was carried out exclusively by healers and pharmacists. “Sweets are a sign of joy. They heal the soul, nourish the brain and fill with happiness!” - they have said from time immemorial in the East. Healers claimed that sweets have amazing properties. With the help of tasty medicines you can improve your health faster! Sweets were credited with magical powers and healing properties. In fact, the sweet taste helped to mask the unpleasant taste of the medicine that was placed inside Turkish delight or a piece of nougat. And sweets without medicinal filling were prepared for padishahs and noble people. In Europe, delicacies from the far East appeared around the 17th - 18th centuries, they were served in the richest houses as exquisite delicacies.

The range of oriental sweets is very wide. All sweets are divided into three groups: products such as soft sweets or caramel, various fruit or dairy desserts and flour products. Sweets such as caramel are made by melting honey, molasses or sugar. Crushed or whole kernels of nuts - peanuts, pistachios, cashews, walnuts or sesame (sunflower) seeds - are added to the hot caramel mass. The resulting mass is given the desired shape, cooled and packaged. The finished products have a solid consistency, differ in the caramel mass recipe, finishing, shape and size (almond kozinaki, cashew kozinaki, walnut, sesame seeds, roasted nuts, chocolate-covered nuts or caramel-covered nuts). From the pulled caramel mass, shaker-pendyr is prepared in the form of oblique pads; it is made with vanilla, mint, lemon, ginger, and parvadu - sweet pads sprinkled with flour. Halva, popular in different countries, also belongs to caramel-based sweets.

Halwa in Arabic means “sweetness”. This is a product that consists of thin caramel fibers and lightly fried grated oil seed kernels located between them. not only very tasty, but also nutritious, thanks to the content of fats and proteins, in addition to sugar. The following types of halva are distinguished: tahini, peanut, sunflower, nut and combined - when several types of oil seeds or nuts are used simultaneously.

Oriental sweets such as soft candies are most often made from sugar-treacle syrup with egg whites and the addition of nuts, dried fruits or candied fruits. However, the syrup for this type of sweets is boiled less than for regular sweets, so the resulting products have a softer consistency. Oriental sweets such as candies, depending on the recipe and method of production, are divided into: nougat, whipped delight, Turkish delight, oilu, aly, butter log, chuch-helu and sherbet.

It is obtained by boiling sugar-treacle syrup, agar, starch with the addition of flavoring and aromatic substances. This is a soft and delicate marmalade-type product; its surface is thickly sprinkled with powdered sugar. Initially, Turkish delight was made from fruits, rose water, honey, crushed almonds and starch, but over time, more and more new recipes began to appear. So, to prepare Turkish delight, they began to use walnuts and pistachios, colorful fruit juices, fresh fruits and chocolate. And at the beginning of the 18th century, another variety of Turkish delight appeared, which was called “white splendor” - confectioners from the Turkish city of Afyon came up with the idea of ​​diluting the sweet mass with melted cream.

Today, Turkish delight is made from syrup, agar (a natural gelling agent made from red seaweed), starch with the addition of fruit juice, fruits or nuts. The lokum is sprinkled with powdered sugar on top, or - these are the trends of new times - with coconut flakes. Turkish delight differs in shape and size. In oriental sweet shops you can see the following types of Turkish delight: cubic, rolled, whole, sliced, double-layered and children's (in the form of animal figures). The closest relative of the eastern Turkish delight is marmalade.

Another popular “candy” oriental dish is. Sweets made from a sweet, sticky mass are perhaps the most popular delicacy in European countries. The exact origin of Nuga is unknown, but most likely it appeared in Persia and was initially available only to the padishahs. To prepare it, egg whites, starch, as well as fried nuts, raisins, dried apricots, cinnamon, cocoa or pieces of fruit are added to the syrup. Nougat can be anything you want - creamy, lemon, tangerine, chocolate, almond - everything is limited only by the imagination of the confectioner. The only exception is that real nougat cannot be made from peanuts. There are two types of nougat: white and brown. Caramelized sugar is added to brown nougat, and its consistency becomes denser and even crispier. White nougat is made from sugar-treacle syrup, beaten with egg whites, with the addition of nuts, raisins, dried apricots and other additives. The finished mass is cooled and cut into rectangles or squares.

Flour oriental sweets are all kinds of combinations of honey, sugar, nuts and dried fruits. These products are made from shortbread, yeast or unleavened dough with various fillings, and when finished they are often soaked in syrup or honey. Flour oriental sweets include cookies, gingerbreads, pies with sweet filling and rolls. But the most famous flour sweet is baklava or baklava. The famous multi-layer dessert made from the thinnest dough and nut filling, soaked in syrup with spices, is very common in the cuisines of the peoples of the former Ottoman Empire. And each baklava has its own secrets and “zest”.

Baklava is a multi-layer dessert made from paper-thin sheets of dough, which are coated with butter and laid out in layers in a rectangular baking dish or rolled into cylinders. Traditional baklava is made from 8-12 thin layers (in some types the number of layers reaches 40) of dough with a nut filling between them. Ground and finely chopped walnuts or pistachios are placed between layers of dough, the pie is cut into pieces, poured with honey and placed in the oven. Spain, Great Britain and the USA have their own baklava recipes, although the baklava recipe here has some differences. So, the British prepare baklava with chocolate, and the Americans add maple syrup to it.

One of the famous oriental sweets is sherbet - a chilled dish made from fruit juice and puree and very similar to fruit ice cream. Sherbet is a dessert of Iranian origin, popular in Central Asia and the Caucasus. However, for example, in Azerbaijan, light, liquid sherbets have come into use, used mainly as soft drinks, and in Tajikistan, heavy, thick sherbets, used more like jam, are common. Sherbet can be very different - from aromatic colored fudge with crushed nuts to a soft drink. Traditional oriental sherbet was prepared from rose hips, dogwood, roses, licorice and various spices. In Europe, sherbet was transformed into sorbet - a delicious dessert made from fruit and ice cream.

Unfortunately, nowadays it is difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to find high-quality oriental sweets. Abundant with preservatives, dyes and other achievements of the chemical industry, they often turn out to be unpleasant to the taste. Not to mention the fact that recently the number of people suffering from food dyes or. Therefore, the best way to guarantee a tasty, high-quality and healthy product is to make it yourself.

Oriental sweets eaten with a cup of coffee or tea, accompanied by your story about an amazing trip, what could be better. This is the most ideal end to the work week and pleasant memories of your tourist trip to Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia and other eastern countries.