Shorgoghal

Shorgoghal is a round pastry made of many layers. Thin sheets of dough are buttered and stacked, cut into strips, twisted into circles and flattened.

The filling is a mix of spices in melted butter — fennel or anise, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, salt and pepper. The top is brushed with egg yolk coloured with saffron and sprinkled with poppy seeds, which gives it its bright yellow face.

Each Nowruz sweet has a meaning: shakarbura is the moon, pakhlava the stars, and shorgoghal, round and yellow, the sun. A sweet version filled with sugar and nuts is called shirin goghal.