Facts About Kleicha
Kleicha is sometimes considered the national cookie of Iraq. Kleicha come in several traditional shapes and fillings. The most popular are the ones filled with dates. There are also sweet discs, as well as half moons filled with nuts, sugar and/or desiccated coconut. It is consumed by Iraqis alike, of all ethnic and religious groups; Muslims, Christians, Mesopotamian Arabs, Kurds, Chaldo-Assyrian, Turkmen, Yazidis, and others. Iraqis, from ancient times through the rule of successive Mesopotamian empires, to the present day, have been consuming Kleicha for centuries.
They are usually flavoured 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.
A Turkish version is called Klija Kurabiyesi and is a sweet disc or filled with almonds, hazelnuts and sugar. It is also flavored with rose water and orange blossom water and glazed with egg wash.
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.
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