''Qottab'' ( ''qottâb'') is an almond-filled deep-fried

Iranian cuisine Iranian cuisine comprises the culinary traditions of Iran. Due to the historically common usage of the term "Name of Iran, Persia" to refer to Iran in the Western world,Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. ...

pastry or cake, prepared with

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

powdered sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar and icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent—such as corn starch, potato ...

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed ...

, and

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...

. In some cases, ground walnuts are substituted for almonds. The city of

Yazd Yazd (; ) is a city in the Central District of Yazd County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. At the 2016 census, its population was 529,673. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is rec ...

is well known for its ''qottab,'' which is commonly prepard during the Persian new year (

Nowruz Nowruz (, , () , () , () , () , Kurdish language, Kurdish: () , () , () , () , , , , () , , ) is the Iranian or Persian New Year. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many ...

). Qottab developed from an earlier savoury pastry known as ''sanbosag'', the ancestor of the Ethiopian sambusa and the South Asian

samosa A samosa () () (Hindi: समोसा) ( Persian: سمبوسه) is a fried South Asian and West Asian snack. It is a pastry with a savory filling that mostly consists of vegetables like spiced potatoes, onions, and peas, but can also include ...

. Since the 16th century, the original savoury form of ''sanbosag'' has become rare outside of the region of

Laristan Larestan County () is in Fars province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Lar. History Early history In the medieval ages, Laristan was ruled by the local Miladian dynasty, until it was removed by a Safavid invasion in 1602 led by Allahverdi ...

and the Persian Gulf Coast.

References

Iranian pastries Iranian desserts Kerman Almond desserts Deep fried foods {{iran-cuisine-stub

See also

References