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The word baklava is first attested in English in 1650, a borrowing from Ottoman Turkish باقلاوه /bɑːklɑvɑː/.The name baklava is used in many languages with minor phonetic and spelling variations.
Historian Paul D. Buell argues that the word “baklava” may come from the Mongolian root baγla- ‘to tie, wrap up, pile up’ composed with the Turkic verbal ending -v; baγla- itself in Mongolian is a Turkic loanword. Linguist Sevan Nişanyan considers its oldest known forms (pre-1500) to be baklağı and baklağu, and labels it as being of Proto-Turkic origin. Another form of the word is also recorded in Persian, باقلبا (bāqlabā). Though the suffix -vā might suggest a Persian origin, the baqla- part does not appear to be Persian and remains of unknown origin.
The Arabic name بقلاوة baqlāwa likely originates from Turkish,though a folk etymology, unsupported by Wehr’s dictionary, connects it to Arabic بقلة /baqlah/ ‘bean’.
In Turkey, baklava is traditionally made by filling between the layers of dough with pistachios, walnuts or almonds (in some parts of the Aegean Region). In the Black Sea Region hazelnuts are commonly used as a filling for baklava. Hazelnuts are also used as a filling for the Turkish dessert Sütlü Nuriye, a lighter version of the dessert which substitutes milk for the simple syrup used in traditional baklava recipes. Şöbiyet is a variation that includes fresh cream in the filling, in addition to the traditional nuts.
The city of Gaziantep in southeast Turkey is famous for its pistachio baklava. The dessert was introduced to Gaziantep in 1871 by Çelebi Güllü, who had learned the recipe from a chef in Damascus. In 2008, the Turkish patent office registered a geographical indication for Antep Baklava, and in 2013, Antep Baklavası or Gaziantep Baklavası was registered as a Protected Geographical Indication by the European Commission. In many parts of Turkey, baklava is often topped with kaymak or ice cream.
Armenian paklava is spiced with cinnamon and cloves.Greek-style baklava is supposed to be made with 33 dough layers, referring to the years of Christ’s life. In Azerbaijani cuisine Azərbaycan Paxlavası, made with walnuts or almonds, is usually cut in a rhombus shape and is traditionally served during the spring holiday of Nowruz.In Bosnian cuisine Ružice is the name of the regional variant of baklava. In Crimean Tatar cuisine, the pakhlava is their variant of baklava. In Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, Iraqi, Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian cuisines, baklava prepared from phyllo dough sheets, butter, walnuts and sugar syrup is cut into lozenge-shaped pieces. In the Maghreb, mainly Libyan, Tunisian, Algerian and Moroccan cuisines, the pastry was brought (along many others) by the Ottomans, and is prepared differently depending on the regions and cities.
In Iranian cuisine, a drier version of baklava is cooked and presented in smaller diamond-shaped cuts flavored with rose water. The cities of Yazd and Qazvin are famous for their baklava, which is widely distributed in Iran. Persian baklava uses a combination of chopped almonds and pistachios spiced with cardamom and a rose water-scented syrup and is lighter than other Middle Eastern versions.
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