koloocheh
{{Short description|Persian cookie}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name = Koloocheh
| image = 250px
| caption = Masghati (left) and Koloocheh (right)
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| country = {{IRN}}
| region = Shiraz, Fuman, Lahijan, Kermanshah and Khuzistan
| creator =
| course =
| type = Cookie
| served =
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}}Koloocheh or kleicha (Persian: کلوچه), also known as Persian New Year bread,{{Cite book |last1=Hertzberg, M.D |first1=Jeff |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YJdJDwAAQBAJ |title=Holiday and Celebration Bread in Five Minutes a Day: Sweet and Decadent Baking for Every Occasion |last2=François |first2=Zoë |date=2018-11-06 |publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4668-8977-4 |language=en}} is a Persian stamped cookie or bread, originating in various parts of Iran.{{Cite web |last=Raminrad |first=Samin |date=2020-06-21 |title=Koloocheh Recipe |url=https://uniqop.com/koloocheh-recipe/ |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=UNIQOP Online Persian Grocery |language=en-US}} There are many variations on the recipe (bready texture vs. crispy; stuffed vs. unstuffed) made in Iran and in Persian diaspora communities, including in Eastern Europe{{Cite book |last=Shafia |first=Louisa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QzqXzbAbsB8C |title=The New Persian Kitchen |date=2013-04-16 |publisher=Ten Speed Press |isbn=978-1-60774-357-6 |pages=45 |language=en}} and North America.
About
Typically, koloocheh are cookies filled with dates and walnuts, but they can be stuffed with grated coconut and additionally spiced with saffron, rose water, cardamom, cinnamon, or citrus zest.{{Cite web |date=January 13, 2021 |title=3 Most Popular Iranian Cookies |url=https://www.tasteatlas.com/most-popular-cookies-in-iran |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=Taste Atlas}} Caspian cuisine-style bready koloocheh cookies can be made vegan by replacing butter with coconut oil.{{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Yasmin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j_yFDAAAQBAJ |title=The Saffron Tales: Recipes from the Persian Kitchen |date=2016-07-14 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4088-6874-4 |pages=218 |language=en}}
It is a recipe made by Persian Jews during the holiday Purim; by Christians during Easter; and Muslims during Ramadan. For Norooz (English: Persian New Year), Iranians will make a koloocheh bread. Koloocheh cookies from Southern Iran are brittle biscuits that principally consist of water, sugar, wheat flour and egg white.
File:Fresh Cookies for Sale - Punel - Caspian Seacoast - Northwestern Iran (7418502512).jpg|Traditional cookie making in Punel village
File:Fuman Koloocheh.jpg|Renowned thin koloocheh from Fuman, Iran prior to cooking
Etymology
From Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (kwlʾck' /kulāčag/, “small, round bun”){{Cite book |last=Mackenzie |first=D. N. |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203462515/concise-pahlavi-dictionary-mackenzie |title=A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary |year=2014 |pages=52 |doi=10.4324/9780203462515|isbn=9781136613968 }}
See also
References
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{{Cuisine of Iran|dessert}}
Category:Saudi Arabian desserts
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