Baklava: The Turkish delight that's winning over India

Baklava, with its delicate layers of filo pastry, crunchy nuts, and rich honey syrup, is a dessert that transcends borders. While it has long been cherished in Türkiye and across the globe, this sweet masterpiece has now captured the taste buds of many in India. But how did this Ottoman delicacy, with its centuries-old history, find its way into India's vibrant sweet culture?

The genesis of pre-Ottoman baklava has several origin theories, of which the most accepted one is centred around the confection practices of the Assyrian Empire in the 8th century BC. The Assyrian inhabitants of what is now Iraq, Syria, Iran, Kuwait, and Türkiye developed techniques for transforming fine unleavened flatbread into delicate layers filled with julienned nuts and honey.

Meanwhile, in Turkish, filo corresponds to "yufka" or "yurga," meaning pleated bread. The term yufka has been part of Turkic languages since at least the 11th century, as documented by Mahmud Kashgari, the renowned lexicographer and author of Diwan Lughat al-Turk, the first comprehensive dictionary of Turkic languages.

Origins in Türkiye

The modern-day baklava that is so cherished is, of course, wholly Ottoman, rooted in the confectionary traditions of Türkiye, with its first recorded references dating to the 15th century.

As scholar and author Mary Isin observes in her book Sherbet and Spices The Complete Story of Turkish Sweets and Desserts, "Food played a central role in private and public life for the Ottomans, and sweet foods in particular were endowed with symbolic significance by people of every class and faith. No social event or public occasion, including birth, marriage, religious festivals and official ceremonies, was complete without the particular sweet foods associated with it."

Baklava was especially prominent during the sacred Islamic month of Ramadan, often made alongside güllaç and distributed as a gesture of goodwill. Isin further notes, "sweets were presented by the janissaries to the grand vizier and other state officials as a symbol of loyalty, while the palace reciprocated with trays of baklava."

Needless to say, baklava found Ottoman royal patronage early on its journey of popularity.

At the heart of this tradition was Topkapi Palace, where exclusive confectioners with exceptional skills prepared desserts for royal food fare. There were dedicated confectionery kitchens, note editors Arif and Ozge Samanci in their paper, Turkish Cuisine.

Clearly indicating the omnipresence of baklava in royal foodways, "The favourite sweets of the palace were at times baklava and at other times a sweet pastry called rikak baklava."

Palace food registers as early as 1688 provide evidence of the frequent use of sugar, flour, nuts, and honey, confirming the regular production of confections, including baklava.

As the Ottoman Empire expanded, Turkish food traditions influenced local cuisines, leading to the creation of hybrids. One such example is the delicious Viennese strudel, said to have originated from Turkish filo pastry.

It emerged in Austrian cuisine after 1683, a period marked by an Ottoman military campaign that defeated the Austrian rulers. Thereafter, baklava has only gained popularity in Europe and elsewhere, but what about its incredible craze beyond Central Asia —specifically, in India?

Arriving in India

Though Mughal cookbooks mention halva, shahi tukda, phirni, shirbiranj, and a host of other sweets affirming use of nuts, honey, saffron, and nutmeg during celebrations and throughout the year, there is little reference to baklava. Seemingly, Mughal kitchens were not directly responsible for the dessert's popularity in India.

The flaky, nutty, scrumptious Turkish confection, which is currently having its moment in the world of rich Indian sweets, has attained phenomenal popularity only in recent years. Interestingly, it's been untouched by the dichotomy of the "our food" of Hindu Indians versus "their food" of all others (including Muslims).

Baklava bloomed late in India, after already finding aficionados across the world. Intriguingly, the dessert had a chance to enter the kitchens of the Nizams – the royal family of Hyderabad – at the turn of the 20th century, due to the family's Turkish connections, strengthened in 1931 through the marriage of Princess Durrusehvar Sultan, the daughter of Abdulmecid II, the last Ottoman Caliph, and Azam Jah, the son of the Nizam of Hyderabad. However, there is little documentation of its presence.

Baklava was however destined to reach India, and it did ultimately in Bombay – now Mumbai – through commoners. In 1909, a Yazdi duo of entrepreneurs, Haji Ghulam Ali (Mohammad Jaffar Yazd) and Haji Khalifa, set up a halviyet or sweetshop called Iranian Sweets Palace, in the bustling Bhendi Bazaar area of South Mumbai.

Soon, Haji Ghulam Ali took over, and today the 95-year-old confectionery, owned by his grandson Haji Mohammad Hassan Irani, can be credited as one of the earliest large-scale sellers of baklava, albeit in the Iranian style.

The shop continues to make their baklava in copper utensils, with nuts and honey sourced from Iran.

Latest craze

But baklava's present-day craze in India didn't truly begin until around the late 2010s and owes its rise to a mix of interesting factors, with Türkiye at its core.

The rich Turkish dessert appeals to Indians not only because of its exotic flair and divine taste but also for its decadent appearance. Imagine a pistachio baklava, that hint of green peeking through the finest layers of filo soaked in honey syrup – and that's just the most common variety!

Better diplomatic relations and easier visa applications saw the rise of Indian tourists visiting Türkiye to the tune of 274,000 in 2023. With such a significant footfall, many discerning travellers returned home eager to share their experiences with Turkish food culture.

Turkish holidays for tourists would mean a Turkish breakfast, some mezze and doner kebabs on the go, and the iconic baklava brought back from legendary establishments like Hafiz Mustafa or Karakoy Golluoglu.

Entrepreneurs like Sevki Ozertugrul, who set up a Turkish home cooking service when upon moving to Chennai in 2016, also played a role in popularising baklava. Ozertugrul, perhaps the lone Turkish home chef in the region, responded to growing demand in 2021 by opening The Ottoman's, a store serving delicious pistachio, walnut and chocolate baklavas.

Word of mouth worked for baklava. Dinner parties, fancy Diwali and celebratory baskets of sweets began including the Turkish dessert. In a diet-conscious, upwardly aspirational Indian society, baklava found its sweet spot.

Unlike a no-go gulab jamun – an Indian traditional deep-fried dough ball made with milk solids and saturated in syrup – the honey and nuts that define baklava allow it to masquerade as a healthier option, giving Indian sweets a run for money.

Smitten by its popularity and market demand, Indian chefs have started reimagining the original dessert. Experimentation includes altering its diamond shape, transforming it into cylindrical or even triangular slices.

While the most popular baklavas in India are still the time-tested ones like fistik baklava (pistachio), and ceviz or walnut baklava, more innovative hybrids like red velvet, chocolate baklava and black forest are picking up too.

If all this wasn't enough, India now has baklava cheesecake and baklava biscuits too. Whether these beautiful innovations will endure remains to be seen. In a country where Hindu-vegetarian food has been politicised or touted for its "superiority," baklava – a "foreign" dessert – has quietly made its way right into the heart of India's sweet universe and is here to stay.

As Isin writes: "(m)aking baklava so delicate that a coin dropped from a height would penetrate the 80 or so diaphanous layers to strike the tray beneath was one of the tests Turkish cooks had to pass to be promoted to master's rank," and India loves craftsmanship, particularly when it comes to food.

And so, baklava—layered, refined, and exquisite—continues its journey in India’s ever-evolving sweet universe, a testament to culinary artistry that knows no borders. Like sugar itself, baklava has found a home where sweetness is always welcome.