Unutma Beni (Poor Man's Baklava)
Unutma Beni (“Don’t Forget Me”) is a traditional dessert listed among Çorum’s “famous desserts” by the Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, made from dry yufka (thin flatbread); the same source also records it under the name “züğürt baklavası” (poor man’s baklava).
How it’s made
According to the official source, dry yufka bread is broken into pieces and placed in a bowl. Grape molasses and butter are mixed and brought to a boil in a pan; this mixture is poured over the yufka pieces, and a little walnut is added.
Its name
Sources record the dessert under both names, “Unutma Beni” and “Züğürt Baklavası.” The second name suggests a simpler, more economical dessert made from whatever dry yufka and molasses are on hand, as opposed to classic baklava’s reliance on walnuts, layered phyllo and syrup. A similarly named dessert is also known in the cuisine of Amasya; this page follows only the recipe given in the Çorum source.
Sources
- Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism — “What to Eat?” (corum.ktb.gov.tr)
- Gastronomi Dergisi — “Çorum Cuisine, Bearing the Traces of a Five-Thousand-Year-Old Culture”, Reha Tartıcı, 20.09.2021