I’ve been in lurk mode for a while (but don’t worry, I’ve still been eating – a lot), waiting for the right recipe to inspire a new blog post. So when Fae posted this recipe for Nazook last night, I knew I had to make it immediately as it caused a wave of lovely childhood memories!
Nazook – also known as Gata, an Armenian pastry
I vividly remember riding in the car with my mom after school to go visit our older Armenian friends who lived nearby. As an 8 year old, I eagerly awaited these visits with our octogenarian friends because I knew I would be greeted with the warm scent of nazook bread. Years and lifetimes have passed since then, but I can still taste the sweet memory. Making the gata took me back over 20 years – thank you Fae for sharing!
Upon googling, Pavithra from Dishes from My Kitchen has an interesting write up of the history of Nazook bread – apparently it is traditionally prepared on Easter and eaten through Ascension – almost 40 days after Easter itself.
I used Fae’s recipe and made the following adaptations:
- Chilled the dough for 2 hours
- Added to the filling:
- 2 tsps ground cardamom
- 1 tsp rosewater (golab)
Nazook (Gata) Dough
The Nazook (Gata) filling
Nazook (Gata) ready to bake!
Piping Hot Nazook / Gata Bread
Is ‘nazook bread’ and anagram of ‘a zonked boar’.
These look quite yummy and fine!!
Nice to see you writing again.
PJJ
Thank you for dropping by!
Hello Dear Ahu, I am impressed! I can see why you wanted to bake some immediately and reminisce about your childhood memory. They are a bit time consuming, but quite easy to make with everyday available ingredients. Af’farin!
Merci Fae jan – you were the inspiration behind them. It was somewhat time consuming but it was a pleasure with all the memories 🙂
Beautiful..
Tanx!
Gadzooks! I think I will love nazooks! Thanks for give us the link to Fae’s post! ~ David
Haha – loved the play on words! Cheers.
nice!
thank you! 🙂
Hello,
I made Nazouk last week from Fae’s recipe and it was so good. But now I am trying to find the recipe and it’s not there anymore. Do you mind sharing the recipe?
Thank you so much!
Hi! I believe Fae is migrating her site to a new platform right now so stay tuned for the site to come back!
How do you make the filling for the Nazook/ Gata Bread. (Easter Bread) ? What temp and how long ?????
Hi Sandra, the instructions are on Fae’s site here – my adjustments are noted in my post above : http://fae-magazine.com/2014/06/13/nazouk/
Hope this helps,
ahu
Would you believe, before the internet, I looked for this recipe for 9 years?! An Iranian woman watched my children about 28 years ago and gave me a slice on an unusually busy morning when I ran out without breakfast. I said I had to run and find breakfast, she bade me sit for Gata and tea. I loved it and begged her for the recipe. She was new to the US and could not write, but I thought I could work it out. I didn’t think she wrote it down correctly, or I could make it correctly though I tried. I totally recognize the recipe, but of course mine was not as good as hers. Anyway, my search at the librarys in Middle Eastern books began. Finally ended in about 1998 when it was found in an Armenian book. I only made it once and thought it was too fattening. But, now that I need to make it again, I am so glad to see all the options! I’ve also gone to pastry school and was thinking of adding rosewater – we think alike!