Kleicha
 | |
| Type | Cookie |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Iraq |
| Region or state | Iraq and Saudi Arabia |
| Main ingredients | Cardamom or rose water |
 Cookbook: Kleicha  Media: Kleicha | |
Kleicha (Arabic: الكليچة) may be considered the national cookie of Iraq. Kleicha come in several traditional shapes and fillings. The most popular are the ones filled with dates (kleichat tamur). There are also sweet discs (khfefiyyat), as well as half moons filled with nuts, sugar and/or desiccated coconut (kleichat joz).
They are usually flavored with cardamom and sometimes rose water, and glazed with egg wash, which may sometimes be scented and coloured with saffron.
Assyrians bake Kilecheh on Eeda Gura, Easter, and Eeda Sura, Christmas, in which they are usually stuffed with dates and served with tea.[1]
Etymology
The ancient Babylonians were known to make similar cookies called qullupu, which were known to be round in shape (qullu), also taking note that the modern term for Kleicha derives from the Semitic kull meaning whole, and the Greek kolo meaning circle, and kuklus meaning, wheel.[2]