A Savory Gullac Recipe for Iftar

Having become identified with the month Ramadan, the dessert "Gullac", which is both tasty and light, always tops the list of the oldest and traditional desserts of Turkish cuisine. Gullac, a refreshing dessert with plenty of milk, has made its name as an indispensable delicacy of Ramadan menus.

The history of the dessert "gullac", which only shows up in Ramadan although it is extremely savory, dates back to Ottoman times. In the Ottoman, the phyllo, made from corn starch, was dried before storage, and then soaked with a mixture of sugar and milk before consumption.

This old dessert was formerly known as "Gullu As" (Food with Rose Water) as it contains rose water, and then started to be called Gullac over time. Just like sutlac (rice pudding) that was formerly known as "sutlu as" (food with milk), the name "gullu as" was replaced with gullac. Having been retaining its savory taste and enjoying its fame for centuries, Gullac is still the main dessert on Ramadan tables.

You can serve Gullac, which also appeals to those who are looking for a savory dessert recipe that will linger long on the palate with only a few ingredients, to your loved ones at your Ramadan tables. You will find the most delicious answer to “How to make Gullac?” below in the article. You can also take a look at our article Diet Suggestions for Those Who Want to Keep Fit to avoid weight gain during Ramadan.

Ingredients of Gullac:

•10 sheets of Gullac

Syrup:

•7 drinking cups of milk

•2 drinking cups of granulated sugar

•1 tablespoon of rose water (if you do not prefer rose water, then you can use 1 dessert spoon of vanilla)

To garnish the top of the dessert:

• Sour cherries or cherries

• Crushed walnuts or pistachios

Directions:

Start with preparing the syrup.

• Mix 7 drinking cups of milk and 2 drinking cups of granulated sugar in a saucepan, and put it on the stove.

•Heat the milk and sugar on medium heat while stirring. Heat the milk up to a temperature that is hot to touch.

• Take the mixture of sugar and milk from the stove and add rose water or vanilla depending on your preference.

• Divide the sheets of Gullac in half and put one of the sheets in a large glass baking dish with the shiny surface facing up.

• Pour 1-2 scoops of the mixture of sugar and milk to soak and soften the sheet of Gullac.

• Put another sheet of Gullac on the sheet that is already soaked with milk, and pour 1-2 scoops of the mixture of sugar and milk.

•Repeat the same procedure for all the sheets of Gullac.

• Pour the remaining mixture of milk and sugar over the sheets of Gullac. Do not worry that the milk will be too much because the sheets of Gullac immediately absorb the milk.

• Gullac is almost ready. But it still needs to rest and be garnished.

• Cover gullac and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to absorb the milk.

•Cut gullac before serving and top it with cherries, sour cherries or pomegranate seeds and crushed nuts, pistachios or walnuts.

Tips for a Tasty and Perfectly Made Gullac

Even though Gullac is an easy dessert to make, it will appeal more to the eye and palate if the finest details to reach the peak of taste are taken into consideration. Let's take a look at the things to be considered for a perfectly made gullac.

•A perfectly made gullac is all about the temperature of the milk. Boiled milk makes the sheets of Gullac melt and disperse, while warm milk is not sufficiently absorbed by the sheets of gullac. So, the milk must be heated up to a temperature that is slightly hot to touch.

• If you will consume whole gullac after taking it out of the refrigerator and want it to contain too many ingredients, then you can put dried nuts in between every 2-3 sheets of Gullac. But remember that you will have to consume it immediately, as the dried nuts will make the color of Gullac become darker. On the next day, the color of Gullac made in this way will not be as white as it was on the first day.