Cashew Baklava — When the Kitchen Keeps Showing Up for the Ordinary Week

The week unfolded with the rhythm that defines this period of life: work at the clinic and Rutgers, children growing, Amma in memory care. The kitchen produces meals on schedule — breakfast, lunches, dinners — the machinery of a household run by a woman who learned to cook from a woman who measured in handfuls. I visit Amma three times a week. The containers, labeled, delivered. She eats or she doesn't. She hums or she doesn't. The connection through food persists regardless of response. The children are themselves: Anaya with her books and her quiet observations, Rohan with his noise and his spatial brilliance. Both of them in the kitchen — Anaya by choice, Rohan by appetite. The ordinary week. The week that holds the extraordinary weeks together. I made Beans poriyal and dal. Because the kitchen doesn't stop for ordinary weeks. The kitchen treats every week the same: with heat, with spice, with the generous pinch that is always enough.

The week asked nothing extraordinary of me — and so I let the kitchen answer in its own way. Cashews have always lived in my pantry the way they lived in Amma’s: in a steel dabba, measured by feel, used in everything from rice dishes to sweets. Making this baklava was its own kind of meditation, the layering of dough and nut and syrup a task that demanded exactly the kind of focused, quiet presence that the rest of the week did not allow. I made it because Anaya would notice it on the counter, and because Rohan would eat half of it before dinner, and because the kitchen — like love — does not wait for a special occasion.

Cashew Baklava

Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 1 hr 10 min | Servings: 24 pieces

Ingredients

• 1 lb (about 4 cups) raw cashews, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 lb phyllo dough (thawed if frozen), sheets kept under a damp towel
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• For the syrup:
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tsp rose water (or orange blossom water)
• 1 strip lemon peel

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Brush a 9x13-inch baking pan generously with melted butter and set aside.
2. Make the filling. Combine the chopped cashews, sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Stir to coat evenly and set aside.
3. Layer the base. Lay one sheet of phyllo in the prepared pan and brush it lightly with melted butter. Repeat, layering and buttering, until you have 8 sheets stacked.
4. Add the filling. Spread half of the cashew mixture evenly over the phyllo base. Layer 4 more buttered phyllo sheets on top, then spread the remaining cashew mixture. Finish with a final stack of 8 buttered phyllo sheets, brushing the very top layer generously.
5. Score and bake. Using a sharp knife, score the top layers of phyllo into diamond or square shapes, cutting about halfway through. Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the top is deep golden and crisp.
6. Make the syrup. While the baklava bakes, combine water, sugar, honey, and lemon peel in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, discard the lemon peel, and stir in the rose water. Let cool slightly.
7. Finish and soak. Remove the baklava from the oven. Immediately pour the warm syrup evenly over the hot baklava, following the score lines. Allow it to rest uncovered at room temperature for at least 2 hours so the syrup is fully absorbed before cutting through and serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 285 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 33g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 95mg