The World That Was - Sumerian Date-Filled Pastries (qullupu)

 Hello and Welcome to The World That Was!

Today, I'm making some date-filled cookies described as being votive religious offerings to the Sumerian deity Inanna (also known as Ishtar - to the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians). It's unknown exactly how these cookies were prepared, being only described as "date-filled parcels of dough" - so I've reconstructed this based on modern Iraqi culinary traditions.

In any case, let's now take a look, at the World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above!

Ingredients (for approx. 8 qullupu)

1 cup/150g dates, pitted

honey

water

1 cup white flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cardamom powder

2 tsp ground cumin

100g butter, melted

milk

sesame seeds (for decoration)

Method

1 - Make the dough

To begin with, we need to make a dough. Pour a cup of flour into a large mixing bowl, along with a pinch of salt, a few tablespoons of ground cumin, and a few tablespoons of cardamom powder - you can buy this pre-ground, or you can take the seeds out of cardamom pods yourself and grind them up for a stronger taste! In any case, whisk this together so it's all combined.

Then, pour 100g of melted butter into this, along with a large squeeze of honey. Mix all of this together for a while, until it starts to crumb together into large clumps. If it looks dry, pour in a little bit of milk - about a tablespoon at a time - and mix it through. When you can't mix it any more, knead it by hand in the bowl until it's smooth and can come away from the bowl easily. Put this aside while you work on your filling - the fridge works best! (of course, fridges were not used by Bronze Age Sumerians, it just helps the butter stay solidified here)

2 - Make the Filling

Now we need to make our date filling! Do this by pouring a cup's worth of dates into a saucepan, along with some ground cumin, some more ground cardamom, and another generous squeeze of honey. Top off the pot with some water, so the dates are just about covered by it. Place all of this onto a medium heat, and let it cook away for a few minutes. Depending on your dates, they might break down faster or slower than mine - but it should turn into a smooth, jammy mixture, that is honestly good enough to eat on it's own. When it's done, take it off the heat and let it cool down to room temperature.

3 - Prepare the qullupu

Next, take your dough and place it on a sheet of baking paper. Roll this out as thin as you can, about as thick as a finger into the shape of a rectangle. Then, place a few dollops of your date jam across the centre of your dough, and spread it out evenly, leaving some space around the edges of the rectangle. 

Roll the dough sheet into a log, and place it seam-side down on the baking sheet. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the log into segments, each about two to three fingers in width. Place your qullupu so the spiral shape is facing up, and sprinkle some sesame seeds across the tops of them. Toss your spirals into the centre of an oven preheated to 180C / 356 F for about 25-30 minutes - or until they turn golden brown.

Take them out when they're done, let them cool down slightly, and dig in!

The finished cookies are amazingly flavourful, and very filling. You can adjust the sweetness of your finished filling by changing how much honey you add. Fennel seeds can also be used here to add a liquorice taste to it too. 

This recipe leans heavily on modern Iraqi kleicha - which are traditionally eaten at Eid. Given that many modern dishes are adjustments of older culinary traditions, it's not unlikely that kleicha are a continuation of bronze-age Mesopotamian qullupu.