Note: This recipe requires a pre-bought pastry shell with layers of pastry sheets for a very simple recipe that requires no baking. You can buy this shell from Middle Eastern or Turkish stores during the holy month of Ramadan or online stores that sell Turkish products (see the links in the middle of this page). Most of these products will also have the simple recipe on the packaging. For more information on Ramadan foods and traditions, refer to our article on Ramadan Delights in the LEARN section.

For this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

6 glasses (cups) of milk (may substitute 2% but not 1% or no fat milk)

3 cups/glasses of white sugar

1 box/package of Gullach (sold in stores) for the pastry sheets

1 - 1.5 glass/cup of thickly ground pistachios (preferred) or hazelnuts or walnuts

Rose water (optional)

Coconut flakes (optional)

Pomegranate seeds for garnish

(Note that you may want to adjust the measurements for ingredients depending on the size of the shell you find).

Open the store bought, pre-packaged Gullach and see how big the pastry shell is. You will need a round and a two-inch deep pan to layer these pastry sheets flat and to allow for them to soak in the liquid that will remain in the pan.

To prepare our light, delightful Ramadan dessert, first, warm up the milk and mix in the sugar to melt it completely. Make sure not to boil it. One by one, take out the pastry sheets and soak them in the warm and sweetened milk. Allow them to get softer and as they do, start layering down each piece onto the pan you have selected. Also pour a little bit of milk onto each layer as you place them. When you have half (you may also choose to do this in the one-third and two-third marks as well) of the sheets of pastry layered into the pan, it is time to put the filling, which is the ground hazelnuts or pistachios. Make sure to leave just a bit of the nuts for decorating the top of our dessert later. Once the filling is spread all over the last layer in the middle, continue with your soaking and layering of the remaining sheets. When all the pastry layers have been placed in the pan, pour the remaining warm milk over it. Note that the pastry will be drowning in the sweetened milk but will not be covered by it. (However also note that the sheets will soak up more milk with time.) Then, let the pan sit in the refrigerator for a few hours to let the pastry soak up more milk and cool off.

Decorate the dessert with remaining crushed nuts, and with some pomegranate seeds for color and joy! Your dessert is now ready.

As for the variations to explore, you may also put a little bit of rose water mixed in with the warm milk used in soaking for a more exotic smell and taste. Some people put coconut flakes with the filling and on the top. I prefer not to use these toppings and ingredients. Try it various ways and see what you like.

Afiyet olsun. Bayraminiz kutlu olsun. (Bon Appetit and happy Ramadan holiday!)

Gulenden

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