Many Ottoman sweets are similar to Byzantine sweets, using dough, sesame, wheat, nuts and fruits, and some were similar to the Ottoman börek, halva, and so on. Indeed, Vryonis identifies the ancient Greek gastris (γάστρις[2]), kopte (κοπτὴ σησαμίς), kopton (κοπτόν), or koptoplakous (κοπτοπλακοῦς),[3] mentioned in the Deipnosophistae, as baklava, and calls it a Byzantine favorite .[4] But though gastris contained a filling of nuts and honey, its outer layers did not include any dough, but rather a honey and ground sesame mixture similar to modern pasteli or halva.[5]
Muhanna Sweets might be the absolute best place to find baklava in Tulsa, if not Oklahoma. You may have never heard of Muhanna Sweets but have had baklava at various restaurants around Tulsa. There is a good chance that you still have had Muhanna Sweets, because they serve many restaurants around town and even ship to various locations around the country. When you first walk in to Muhanna Sweets it is immediately obvious that you have walked into a small baklava factory. There are tons of trays of baklava and other Middle Eastern sweets lining every counter-top and table.
So why is Muhanna Sweets=’ baklava some of the best you will ever try? First off, if you haveno’t ever tried baklava 1– make this trip today, or soon! When you take that first bite it should be extra crispy, a little sticky sweet with a moist center of nuts and another more dense, buttery layer of crispy filo dough on the bottom. As if the initial crunch isnp’t addictive enough, its one of those treats that has layers of delicious and distinctive experience and flavors that you cannot just stop at 1 or 2 or in our case the entire pan was gone in 1.5 days.
[...] Chocolates, flowers, heart shaped cookies and little random giftsf… all normal things that you would expect for Valentines Day. She (my lovely wife) got me my favorite Baklava from Muhanna Sweets right here in Tulsa! I am so lucky and enjoying this tasty treat! Here are some better picture from a previous writeup [...]
