Baklava Baklava Baklava (, , or ; ) is a rich, sweet dessert pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup or honey. It is characteristic of the cuisines of the Levant, the Caucasus, Balkans, Maghreb, and of Central and West Asia. The word "baklava" is first attested in English in 1650, a borrowing from Ottoman Turkish . The name baklava is used in many languages with minor phonetic and spelling variations. Historian Paul D. Buell argues that the word "baklava" may come from the Mongolian root ' 'to tie, wrap up,
Turkish cuisine including börek, manti, kebab and cacik. Butter or margarine, olive oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, and corn oil are widely used for cooking. Sesame, hazelnut, peanut and walnut oils are used as well. "Kuyruk yağı" (tail fat of sheep) is sometimes used in kebabs and meat dishes. The rich and diverse flora of Turkey means that fruit is varied, abundant and cheap. In Ottoman cuisine, fruit frequently accompanied meat as a side dish. Plums, apricots, pomegranates, pears, apples, grapes, and figs, along with many kinds of citrus are the most frequently used fruit, either fresh or dried, in Turkish cuisine.