Warbat
Cream-filled filo pastry dessert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Warbat (Arabic: وربات), also known as shaabiyat (Arabic: شعيبيات,[2] شعبيات[3]) and Şöbiyet,[4] is a Levantine sweet pastry similar to baklava.[1]
Şöbiyet with Turkish baklava | |
| Alternative names | Shaabiyat[1] |
|---|---|
| Type | Pastry |
| Course | Dessert |
| Region or state | Levant |
| Associated cuisine | Levantine cuisine |
| Serving temperature | Hot or room temperature |
| Main ingredients | Filo, custard or qishta, sugar syrup, ghee or butter |
| Variations | Filled with nuts or cream; sometimes topped with pistachios and petals |
| Other information | Popular during Ramadan |
Warbat consists of layers of phyllo dough filled with a semolina based custard,[5][6] though it is sometimes also filled with pistachios, walnuts, almonds,[7] or sweet cheese.[8] The dessert is topped with a sweet syrup made from sugar, water, and lemon juice brought to a boil and then left to cool and thicken.[9][10]
When served with cream or qishta it is called warbat bi-qishteh or warbat be gishta. Warbat is often served during Ramadan.[11][12]
In Jordan, warbat and knafeh are often the most sold desserts for celebrations, such as tawjihi exam results.[13][14]
History
The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office states that Şöbiyet have been a part of the cuisine of Gaziantep "since ancient times".[15] According to historian Nawal Nasrallah, kaymak-filled baklava are mentioned in the 19th-century works by Ottoman author Turabi Efendi.[16]
Shʻaybiyyāt (شعيبيات) are mentioned as a breakfast food in Arabic Aleppan texts from 1840-1875.[17][18] Late 19th-century proceedings by the International Congress of Orientalists described shaʻbīyah (شعبية) as a triangular cake filled with cream and pistachios.[19] The 1885 Lebanese Arabic cookbook Ustadh al-Tabbakhin provided a recipe for shuʿaybāt (شعيبات) which called for filling square pieces of dough with baklava filling, baking them in a samneh-coated tray, then soaking them in qatir.[20]
Shaabiyat were popularized in Germany by refugees of the Syrian civil war.[21][22]
Variations
"Lady's cheeks" (Arabic: خدود الست, called so because of its shape) is a version of warbat made from 2 circular layers of phyllo pastry around a layer of cream.[23][24][25] This variation is popular in Nablus city.[23]
Turkish Şöbiyet (Antep Şöbiyeti) received official registration and geographical indication status from the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office on 6 April 2022 for the Gaziantep region.[15] The patent specifies that they are made with 12 layers of phyllo pastry, a kaymak filling, and topped with syrup and pistachios.[15] Şöbiyet are popular during Eid al-Fitr in Turkey.[26]
Syrian shaabiyat are made into a variety of shapes besides triangles with different fillings.[2][27][28]
Etymology
According to one account, the dessert is attributed to a confectioner named Shuʿayb (شعيب), whose identity is otherwise unknown. Another explanation holds that the dessert was originally made in a large size sufficient to satisfy a person on its own, leading it to be called الشبعيّة (al-shabʿiyya), derived from the Arabic root ش ب ع (sh-b-ʿ), meaning “to be full or satiated”; the name was later phonologically altered to الشعيبيّة (al-shuʿaybiyya), with the plural form الشعيبيّات (al-shuʿaybiyyāt). [18][29]
According to the Etymological Dictionary of Contemporary Turkish by Sevan Nişanyan, the word Şöbiyet is derived from the Arabic word (shabʿiyyat).[29]
The name warbat is derived from the warbats triangular shape, the word warbat (وربات) means "corners" in Arabic.[30][31][18]
Gallery
A platter of warbat
Warbat in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Syrian shaabiyat[2]
Syrian-style restaurant in Berlin serving shaabiyat
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