| Kleicha (ܟܠܝܟ̰ܐ,كليجة,کلوچه) | |
| Country: | (Mesopotamia)[1] |
| Region: | Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Iran |
| Creator: | Iraqis |
| Type: | Cookie |
| Served: | Hot or cold |
| Main Ingredient: | Dough, nuts, dates, and sesame seeds |
| Variations: | Saudi Kleicha, Koloocheh |
Kleicha (Persian: کلوچه|koluche; كليچة|klēči, كليچة|kilēča; كليجة|k(i)lēja; ;[2] Turkish: kiliçe) is a type of Middle Eastern cookie.
Kleicha comes in several traditional shapes and fillings. The most popular are the ones filled with dates (kleichat tamur). There are also sweet discs (khfefiyyat), as well as half moons filled with nuts, sugar and/or desiccated coconut (kleichat joz). They are usually flavoured with cardamom and sometimes rose water, and glazed with egg wash, which may sometimes be scented and coloured with saffron.[3]
Muslims make kleicha for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha and also for their celebrations, weddings or special ceremonies and they are stuffed with many different fillings like dates, pistachios, walnuts, coconuts, dried figs, sesame seeds or Turkish delight. While Iraqi Jews make it for Hanukkah.[4]
Assyrians bake kilecheh on Eeda Gura, Easter, and Eeda Sura, Christmas, on which they are usually stuffed with dates and served with tea.[5]
From Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (kwlʾck' /kulāčag/,).[6] Historically, kleicha may be traced back to the ancient Sumerian ‘qullupu'[1]
The origins of kleicha can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia, where Sumerians would prepare this cookie to celebrate the New Year and Ishtar, one of the more prominent goddesses in ancient Sumerian mythology. Spring represented rebirth and renewal, which coincided with Ishtar's power of fertility. To honor the goddess, ancient Sumerians would bake qullupu, the kleicha's ancestor. These cookies were shaped to resemble a full or crescent moon that symbolized the arrival of Spring, which was often marked by the first full moon in late March or early April.[1] [7]
Although the name is somewhat similar, Klēja in the Najd region of Saudi Arabia (Qassim and Haʼil provinces) differs in taste, shape and ingredients from Iraqi kleicha. It is made with yeasted dough that has been enriched with spices, such as cardamom and cinnamon, and filled with a mixture of either date, sugar, or honey molasses and spices, typically cardamom, but also black dried lime, cinnamon, and ginger.[8]