Poppy-Seed Pastries

Plain katmer – brushed with oil but without the sprinkling of poppy seeds – is traditionally a sacred food that can be distributed instead of pişi on Kandil feast days. After the oil is brushed on, the katmer is folded into a cylindrical shape, then flattened with a rolling pin and fried in oil.

Of the many kinds of katmer popular in Turkey, the haşhaşli katmer is the best loved in the hinterland of the Aegean region where poppies generally grow in large quantities. It has a delicio