KATMER

GRANDMA

Fatma

COUNTRY

Turkey

ORIGIN

Central Asia and Anatolia

INGREDIENTS

To make the dough

• 360 g all-purpose flour 
• 10 g salt
• 200 ml water
• 1 egg
• 80 ml olive oil

• 200 g tahini
• 250 g melted butter

• Icing Sugar

HISTORY

Katmer is an ancient pastry, well-known in Anatolia, especially in rural areas. The earliest written reference to katmer goes back to the end of the 14th century during the Ottoman era. But its history possibly began even before. According to some historians, katmer has been known in Central Asian Turkish cuisine since the 11th century.  In 17th century Istanbul katmer existed among the pastries sold in bakeries. Katmer is prepared with the same technique used in making flat bread (yufka) and baklava. But the dough for katmer is prepared with a generous amount of butter and oil, unlike yufka. It is known in most of the regions in Turkey. Katmer can be prepared plain or stuffed with tahini, poppy seed paste or with walnuts. It can be consumed as a savoury or sweet pastry.  It is prepared with grounded pistachios in Gaziantep, a city in the South-East region and with poppy seed paste in Afyon and Uşak.  Katmer filled with tahini is renowned, especially in Konya. Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. Katmer with tahini can be served plain and also as a sweet pastry, when it is served with jams, grape molasses or icing sugar. Katmer is baked on a metal plate or copper pan. Nowadays it is also baked in the oven.