Shekarbura facts for kids
Azerbaijani şəkərbura
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| Type | Dessert |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Former regions of the Persian Empire |
Shekarbura (called şəkərbura in Azerbaijan) is a delicious sweet pastry. It is shaped like a half-moon. This tasty treat is filled with ground almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts, mixed with sugar.
In Azerbaijan, shekarbura is a very important food for the Novruz holiday. This holiday celebrates the start of spring. Shekarbura, along with shorgoghal and pakhlava, are special symbols of Novruz. Making shekarbura often involves family, friends, and neighbors working together. They gather to prepare this sweet delight. Shekarbura's half-moon shape represents the moon or a flame of fire.
What's in a Name?
The name Shekarbura comes from the Persian words shekar and bureh. Shekar means "sugar" in Persian. The word Bureh is an old word that means "to cut" or "to carve."
Many Turkic languages have borrowed this word from Persian. Another pastry called Borak (or Börek) also gets its name from the same Persian word.
How Shekarbura is Made
Making shekarbura starts with the dough. It is made from wheat flour, butter, milk, egg yolks, cream, and yeast. The filling is just as important. It uses peeled almonds or fried nuts, mixed with sugar powder. A spice called cardamom is also added to give the pastry a special flavor.
First, the dough is rolled out flat. Then, it is cut into small round shapes. Each round piece is filled with the sweet nut mixture. After filling, the dough is carefully closed up. A special pattern of stitches is made on the pastry. This pattern is created using traditional tweezers called maggash.
Other Sweet Versions
In Persian, this pastry is known as shekarbureh (Persian: شکربوره). Originally, it was a type of halva made from sugar and almonds. It has other names too, like Shekarborak and Shekarpareh.
Different versions of this dessert are popular in Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkey. In Turkey, a similar pastry is called Şekerpare. It is a very popular dessert in Turkish cuisine. Turkish şekerpare is usually made by baking soft balls of almond-based pastry. These are then dipped in a thick, lemon-flavored sugar syrup.
See also
In Spanish: Shekerbura para niños
- Şekerpare
- Revani
