Za’atar Swirls are flaky, flavourful, delicious and easy to make snack or appetizer. Basically you need puff pastry and za’atar and you’re good to go. Bake them for parties or gatherings . I have made them into small pies but you can easily shape them into bigger ones to enjoy as a light meal option with some salad on the side.
What Is Za’atar?
Za’atar pronounced as ZAH-tar is a popular Middle Eastern seasoning blend. It is made from dried herbs, sumac and sesame seeds. A versatile blend, it can be used in soups, salads, meats, fish, breads, crackers, etc. Actually, the possibilities are endless. I love this seasoning blend. During my trip to Dubai in summer, I got addicted to the Manakeesh there. Such a filling, delicious snack or breakfast it is. In fact, my introduction to za’atar was when I visited Dubai for the first time. My daughter and I had lunch at a cafe in the Mall Of Emirates. The sandwich I ordered was feta cheese, tomatoes and za’atar. What a burst of flavours.
Must admit I don’t make the za’atar blend at home. Nevertheless, I get mine from Dubai. As a matter of fact, I got the last batch from the spice souk. The advantage of shopping for spices and saffron at the spice souk is that you get to taste the spices and you can bargain. Though I am really bad at bargaining, love going to the spice souk! Usually I store it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge as I don’t use it everyday. If you cannot taste the herbs and sumac then the mixture is either too old or not made properly. Usually za’atar is a blend of dried wild thyme, majoram, oregano, toasted white sesame seeds, sumac, coriander and cumin.
Sharing Za’atar Swirls Recipe With 2024 Alphabet Challenge Group
When we started the Alphabet Challenge in Jan 2024, I made a note of the recipes I would like to share. Many were redoing old posts and some were new recipes. Along the way some got changed completely depending on the ingredients I got or because that is what I wanted to serve at that particular time. With Z I had pencilled in za’atar. Actually, I wanted to redo my Manakeesh but I guess it will have to wait.
We’re at the end of the Alphabet Challenge and cannot thank Wendy enough for initiating this group. What a wonderful and educational journey it has been. Got to learn new recipes, new ingredients, new culture. We are continuing with journey in 2025. So looking forward to more exciting recipes and more learning.
More About Za’atar Swirls
Last week, I invited my neighbour over for coffee and decided to bake some za’atar swirls which disappeared really fast…into our tummies. While I tried to make them a bit cute and different by twisting the pastry and shaping into swirls, you can easily spread the olive oil and za’atar over the rolled out pastry. Shape into a long log and slice them. Becomes into pinwheels. Or leave them as twists if you wish. Make them into mini pies by adding some feta. In fact, the possibilities are endless. Please do remember to chill the shaped pastries for at least 20-30 minutes before baking them.
Some Recipes With Z On My Blog
ZUCCHINI HALWA - VEGAN
Zucchini Halwa is dairy free, melt in the mouth, flavorful, aromatic halwa cooked in the Indian style. If you are a fan of doodhi ka halwa or bottle gourd halwa then you'll surely love this one.
Moong & Zucchini Pancakes are gluten free, nutritious and tasty. Made from whole green moong beans and zucchini, they are a healthy and filling breakfast option.
Stuffed Zucchini Boats are so deliciously cheesy with 3 different kinds of cheese used along with pasta and pesto. Serve them with some soup, salad or as a side dish.
Spinach Zucchini Soup is an excellent way to enjoy both spinach and zucchini. Simple ingredients like onion, garlic and fresh coriander add flavour and the potato provides the slight thickness. To elevate it to the next level, I suggest you serve it with a blob of chutney, pesto or flavoured oil. This soup is suitable for those on a vegan diet or for those who need gluten free soup.
Amaranth Paratha is gluten free, vegan, soft, tasty and healthy flatbread. Pretty easy to make, it is a good way to include amaranth in your diet. Known as rajgira paratha in Hindi, these parathas can be enjoyed during fasting days like Ekadashi, Navratri, Ram Navmi, etc.
Beetroot Tomato Soup is a comforting, easy to make and healthy soup. With some warm spices, it is perfect for the cold season. With the weather so unpredictable at the moment, snow, rain, wind chills, storms, etc soups are so comforting and definitely warm up the body and soul.
Cranberry Achar or Cranberry Pickle is an easy to make, tangy, spicy, delicious pickle that comes together in a matter of a few minutes. However, you will have to wait for a few days before you can enjoy the pickle.Enjoy the pickle or achar with your parathas, rice dishes or add a bit to your sandwich. What I love about this pickle is the natural tanginess from the fresh cranberries.
Dangella | Tawa Handvo is a traditional Gujarati recipe where the handvo batter is cooked on a tawa instead of baking it. It is a Gujarati style savoury pancake. Above all, it is a delicious and healthy breakfast, tea time snack or a light dinner or lunch meal. The advantage of making Dangella or Tawa Handvo is that you can add a lot of vegetables.
Egg Pulao is a one pot, delicious, filling pilaf dish that is made with long grain rice, eggs and spices. It is a versatile recipe as one can choose to add vegetables and spices of their choice. We enjoy egg pulao as a meal on its own with some raita and papad on the side. However you can easily serve it with any curry your choice.
Turkish Fig Pudding also known as Incir Uyutmasi is an easy to make, delectable, melt in the mouth, luscious pudding that can be enjoyed for breakfast or as dessert. Basically you need only 2 main ingredients, dried figs and milk. This dessert is sugar free and excellent indulgence for diabetics.
Guacamole Salad is an easy to make, delicious, healthy salad that has all the components of guacamole. Enjoy it as a side dish with your Mexican food or as a light meal option. Best part is that you can customize this salad to your liking.
Panna Cotta With Hibiscus Berry Sauce is an exquisite, creamy dessert. The Hibiscus Berry Sauce adds a little tartness to the panna cotta. Easy to make and am sure it will be a show stopper at your next party.
Iceberg Wedge Salad is a delicious, healthy way to enjoy crisp and crunchy lettuce. The classic wedge salad has a topping of bacon crumbles, onion and tomatoes with a generous drizzle of blue cheese dressing. My version of the Iceberg Wedge Salad is different- a vegetarian one.
Jeera Bhaat | Jeera Rice is full of flavour, aromatic, easy to make, fluffy rice. It is usually served with dals or curries. Rice in Gujarati or Maharashtrian language is called Bhaat, while in Hindi it is chawal. Jeera is cumin, and thus a generous amount of cumin seeds are added along with other spices to make this popular rice dish.
Khamang Kakdi is an easy, delicious, cooling and refreshing Maharashtrian style cucumber salad or side dish. It is generally served as part of a thali meal. Also known as Kakdi Koshimbir, just a few ingredients put together results in a healthy and tasty side dish. Personally, I enjoy a whole bowlful of it on its own as a snack or light lunch. Khamang in Marathi means delicious, tasty and well balanced. Which undoubtedly this salad recipe is. Kakdi is cucumber.
Mediterranean Lentil Salad is a refreshingly delicious, protein rich, hearty salad that can be enjoyed as a light lunch. Perfect as a vegetarian meal, with summer round the corner, these are the kind of meals that are easy to prepare. Enjoy it as a garden party or picnic salad. Did you know that lentils are a good source of protein? One cup of cooked lentils provides 17.9g of protein.
Makhana Trail Mix, more popularly known as Makhana Namkeen is a protein rich and healthy snack. It is very easy to make this snack at home and what I like the best is that this recipe is versatile. One can mix and match any healthy snack ingredients.
Quick Tawa Naan Recipe, comes in handy when you don't want to wait for the dough to ferment, don't want to switch the oven one and best part is that they turn out soft and delicious. This quick naan recipe uses baking agents and yogurt.
Whole Orange Cake is a light, moist, gluten free cake bursting with flavour of orange. Whole oranges, including the rind are used to make this unique and impressive cake.
Palak Paneer Paratha is a popular breakfast or lunch box flatbread that is filled with paneer, making it protein rich. I prefer using the no cook filling and add fresh spinach puree to the dough to make it more appealing for the kids.
Quinoa Paniyaram is a healthy, protein rich, gluten free, vegetarian breakfast or snack dish. Usually enjoyed with some chutney, this delicious dish is filling. What I like about paniyarams is that they can be enjoyed hot or cold. Therefore it is ideal for lunchboxes too.
Ragi Shavige Uppitu is a healthy, vegan, delicious breakfast or lunch box meal made from ragi vermicelli and vegetables. Also known as ragi semiya, ragi semiya upma or simply ragi vermicelli. Ragi is finger millet. Ragi vermicelli is widely used especially in South India as a breakfast or snack ingredient. Add vegetables and make an upma, add it to idlis, make kheer.
Schezwan Sauce is a popular flavourful, hot and spicy sauce that is used mostly for Indo Chinese Dishes. It is a combination of both the Indian and Chinese flavours. Schezwan Sauce is readily available in all the stores but I like to make my own. Firstly, I can control the spice level and secondly because it is free from chemical preservatives and artificial flavours.
Tomato Onion Chutney is a popular condiment especially in the Southern States of India. This tangy, slightly spicy chutney is usually served with idli, dosa and paniyaram. Easy to make, this recipe has no coconut. I
Vegetable Upma makes a filling, nutritious and healthy breakfast option. I also add some yogurt to make the meal more wholesome. Upma is a popular South Indian breakfast dish made from semolina. To make it protein rich I like to add cooked chickpeas,beans or paneer. Today I am sharing a recipe where besides a mixture of vegetables I have added cooked chickpeas.
Vegetable Cutlets is a popular deep fried snack in India. It is usually made of cooked and mashed vegetables with some spices. The mixture is shaped into discs or heart shapes, coated with breadcrumbs and fried. It is usually served with some chutney and /or tomato ketchup. To make the vegetable cutlets more healthier I opted to air fry them and love the extra crispy coating without it being too oily.
These Walnut Chocolate Tartlets are easy to make, sugar free, healthy and nutritious. Both kids and adults can enjoy these tartlets as dessert or a snack. These tartlets do not require any baking. Yes you heard right. The only cooking required is to toast the walnuts and melt the chocolate. Both which I did in the microwave oven to save on time.
Mushroom Xacuti or Shakuti is a Goan style spicy curry. Generally, chicken is used for this Xacuti (pronounced as Shaa - ku- tee) dish. Vegetarian options are usually made with mushrooms, soya chunks or mixed vegetables. Best to make the xacuti spice mixture at home. The freshness of the spice blend adds so much flavour to the dish. Xacuti comes from the Portuguese word chacuti which means curry. The Portuguese liked the local preparation of spicy chicken and called it chacuti de galinha.
Thandai Baked Yogurt is an Indian dessert that is easy to make, creamy and a flavourful indulgence. You require 2 main ingredients - plain thick yogurt and sweetened condensed milk. Different spices or flavours are used to make this basic baked yogurt different every time. Also known as Bhapa Doi, it is a popular dessert in West Bengal. Bhapa Doi can be steamed or baked. I have chosen to bake it. I sometimes serve it with fruit sauce, fresh fruit or nuts on top.
Buy good quality puff pastry. Leave the frozen pastry to thaw overnight in the fridge. I was quite disappointed with the store brand pastry I got. Unfortunatley, I couldn’t unfold the rolled pastry! I prefer using Tenderflake brand but being the festive season the store had run out of them.
Za’atar
Buy good quality za’atar. Usually Middle Eastern Stores have good brands or check online.
Olive Oil
Need some olive oil for brushing on the rolled out pastry. This way the za’atar sticks to the pastry.
Egg Wash| Milk
Lightly whisked egg brushed on the shaped pastry results in that beautiful appetizing golden colour. However, if you don’t eat eggs then brush the top with some milk.
Sesame Seeds
Optional ingredient to sprinkle on top of the pastries.
Watch How To Make Za’atar Swirls
ZA'ATAR SWIRLS
mayurisjikoni
Za'atar Swirls are flaky, flavourful, delicious and easy to make snack or appetizer. Basically you need puff pastry and za'atar and you're good to go. Bake them for parties or gatherings .
Just in case we haven’t met before I’m Mayuri Patel from the coastal sunny town of Mombasa. In fact more of a global citizen now as I spend time between Canada and India. I’m the creator and writer of Mayuri’s Jikoni. Jikoni is kitchen in Kiswahili. Love cooking up a storm in my jikoni. When I’m not in the jikoni then you may find me reading fiction books, watching romantic movies, listening to Bollywood songs or enjoying God’s creation, nature. If my recipes can inspire you to cook at home then my job is done here. Cook up a storm in your kitchen with easy to follow vegetarian recipes right from soups to desserts.
Jolene, they were a hit with my guests last weekend..and super easy to make it especially if you get good ready rolled pastry.Please do try out the recipe.
Thank you so much Seema. They were a hit for my pre Christmas party. Am sure your friends and family will love the za’atar swirls. And they are so easy to make.
Using puff pastry for Zaatar Swirls surely is a quick way. I have been making Zaatar rolls with yeasted dough. But now as the festive season picks up and so does its hustle bustle, such quick and flavorful treats are a welcome.
I love puff pastry bakes! These zaatar swirls look perfect and a brilliant starter for upcoming festive parties! The idea of serving these flavorsome swirls with whipped feta dip sounds too delish!
23 Comments
Wendy Klik
December 18, 2024 at 7:53 am
They look and sound delicious. I think they would be a great addition to a brunch buffet.
mayurisjikoni
December 20, 2024 at 9:21 pm
Thanks Wendy, they are perfect for brunch or even as appetizers for parties.
hobby baker Kelly
December 18, 2024 at 1:52 pm
Za’atar is one of those delicious spice blends that I have around and never use often enough! These look wonderful!
mayurisjikoni
December 20, 2024 at 9:21 pm
Thanks Kelly, now you can use up a good quantity of the za’atar. Perfect for parties.
Karen’s Kitchen Stories
December 18, 2024 at 5:07 pm
These sound amazing. I love the spice blend and just happen to have some puff pastry in the freezer. This sounds like the perfect snack.
mayurisjikoni
December 20, 2024 at 9:20 pm
Thanks Karen, enjoy za’atar swirls.
Zesty Italian Balsamic Baked Oyster Crackers
December 18, 2024 at 10:08 pm
[…] Za’atar Swirls by Mayuri’s Jikoni […]
Colleen – Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck
December 18, 2024 at 10:19 pm
I love that these are so simple and only require a few ingredients. The perfect little holiday party snack!!!
mayurisjikoni
December 20, 2024 at 9:18 pm
Thanks Colleen and yes perfect for parties.
Stacy
December 19, 2024 at 5:13 pm
Your swirls are so pretty, Mayuri! I can imagine them on a lovely holiday table, just waiting for guests. Please send me an invitation to the party!
mayurisjikoni
December 20, 2024 at 9:16 pm
Thanks Stacy, you’re welcome any time. I’ll make them when you come. The party took place last weekend.
Jolene
December 20, 2024 at 10:57 am
Oooh! I actually have Za’atar that I bought for a recipe and only needed a little bit! Need to get puff pastry on the pickup list STAT!
mayurisjikoni
December 20, 2024 at 9:15 pm
Jolene, they were a hit with my guests last weekend..and super easy to make it especially if you get good ready rolled pastry.Please do try out the recipe.
Seema Sriram
December 22, 2024 at 7:48 pm
This is amazing. I just needed exactly something like this for our friends together on new years eve. I am sure everyone will love this.
mayurisjikoni
December 26, 2024 at 7:04 pm
Thank you so much Seema. They were a hit for my pre Christmas party. Am sure your friends and family will love the za’atar swirls. And they are so easy to make.
Neha (My Culinary Expressions)
December 23, 2024 at 10:50 am
Using puff pastry for Zaatar Swirls surely is a quick way. I have been making Zaatar rolls with yeasted dough. But now as the festive season picks up and so does its hustle bustle, such quick and flavorful treats are a welcome.
mayurisjikoni
December 26, 2024 at 6:57 pm
Thanks Neha, I have made za’atar rolls with yeast bread but the family prefers these ones with the flaky pastry. And so easy to make them 🙂
Radha
December 24, 2024 at 2:14 am
We loved this simple snack! Flaky layers with aromatic zatar, simply amazing!
mayurisjikoni
December 26, 2024 at 6:53 pm
Thank you so much Radha. Am so glad that you loved this recipe.
Priya Srinivasan
December 26, 2024 at 1:35 pm
I love puff pastry bakes! These zaatar swirls look perfect and a brilliant starter for upcoming festive parties! The idea of serving these flavorsome swirls with whipped feta dip sounds too delish!
mayurisjikoni
December 26, 2024 at 6:38 pm
Thank you so much Priya. Please do try the recipe out.I would also like to try them with labneh which is so flavourful.
Jayashree T Rao
December 27, 2024 at 12:04 pm
Liked the idea of using puff pastry bakes here to make the swirls. They make a great treat for the new year party.
mayurisjikoni
December 30, 2024 at 8:33 pm
Thank you so much Jayashree. They always are a hit at the parties I host.