Greece and Turkey, on two sides of the Aegean Sea, often disagree over a string of problems, despite sharing a common history and immense cultural ties. To argue over the origins of dishes apart, both countries probably have found something to agree on: halva. The beloved dessert of Turks and Greeks made headlines in Greece following the Greek prime Minister’s recent visit to Turkey. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in his rare visit, had the opportunity to taste another genre of halva, made of roasted chickpeas, during a lunch with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul.
The unusual dessert was apparently out of a cookbook from the turkish ministry of Culture and Tourism. First Lady Emine Erdoğan was among the patrons of the book titled “Turkish cuisine with timeless recipes.” the first lady had promoted the book in a video where on sees her making roasted chickpea halva. Dessert made Greek media curious. The Greek channel SKAI TV even shared a recipe of the halva following the prime ministerthe visit and soonGreek news websites were flooded with receipts for dessert. SKAI TV went a step further and featured halva in a morning showcourtesy of famous Greek chef Akis Petretzikis, who also cooked galaktoboureko, a dish common to Turkish and Greek cuisines and known as “laz böreği” in Turkish, with a recipe cookbook of Mitsotakis’ delay mother.
Çorum, a province in central Turkey known as the country’s “chickpea capital” with the grain legume being son most famous export product, was quick to seek a way for cash in on new advertising. The mayor of the province, Halil Ibrahim Aşgın, invited the journalists to a restaurant on Wednesday, serving them chickpea halva. Aşgın invited Mitsotakis to the province to eat the dish. He said roasted chickpea halva was once served in Ottoman royal court and thebest” version of dessert is made in Corum.
“Corum is where the Kadesh peace treaty was born, and these lands have always contributed to peace. We are happy that our roasted chickpea halva provided a cozy atmosphere air to our relationships with Greece,” the mayor said. Indeed, it was in Corum that one of copies of the first known peace treaty between the Hittites and the Egyptians was found, in a site that once hosted the Hittite capital Hattuşa. The mayor said they also wanted serving dessert to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country is currently engaged in a conflict with Ukraine. “We hope that everyone who eats it will be instilled with one direction of peace,” the mayor said.
