INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Flavors of the Heartland is back on at the Indiana History Center, and this month’s event will embrace a Greek sweet with roots dating back thousands of years.
Rachel Serago is an instructional designer by day, but will be teaching a koularakia-making class Wednesday at the Indiana History Center.
The class, scheduled from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., offers participants an opportunity to learn about traditional Greek cookies. The class is included with the price of admission to the history center.
These Greek cookies, known as koularakia, have a long history dating back to the Minoan civilization, between 2000 and 1400 BC. They later became a popular street food during the Ottoman Empire.
Serago says her family is Greek, stating that her great-grandparents emigrated from Greece in the early 1900s, and she was raised with these traditional recipes.
“(Koularakia) is honestly Greek for ‘cookies,’” she said. “These are cookies that are not too sweet, great to have with coffee, and they’re always made around Easter,” Serago said, adding that the current week between Easter and Orthodox Easter makes it the perfect time to prepare them.
The preparation involves shaping the dough. Participants will learn to roll the dough into a rope and then form various shapes. Serago mentioned common shapes, noting, “You actually roll them into like a rope, and you shape them. They’re frequently S shapes or braids.”
Serago says some families add sesame seeds to the cookies, but recipes vary by family. “What you’ll learn about Greek cooking is that every family has their own recipe. So, every recipe for koularakia is different. Every recipe for dolmades, the grapevine leaves, those are all different.”
