I love these delicious fried pies, and although they belong to the dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine, I have long considered them my own. Today there is a holiday in the house - we fry kutabs with herbs and cheese in a frying pan. If you don’t know yet, kutabs are large flat pies made from unleavened dough, similar in shape with chebureks, but fried without oil in a dry frying pan. Due to the lack of fat and the abundance of greens in the filling, they contain very few calories. Therefore, everyone who is losing weight can afford pies, even with supplements.
I offer the simplest and healthiest recipe for kutabs, although instead of cheese it is permissible to put cottage cheese, potatoes, spinach, pumpkin and even meat into the filling.
Distinctive features of the dish
Kutab, although an exotic dish for our region, requires the simplest products, which can be purchased in a regular supermarket. It is important to know the cooking features; they are the ones that make kutabs stand out from other dishes. You can get a delicious treat if you follow the rules.
1. The thickness of the dough piece should be no thicker than 3 mm. 2. In the recipe for kutabs with herbs and cheese, you can use any herbs, including mixing them. 3. Be careful with flour. If it comes into contact with a hot pan, it will burn, so do not sprinkle too much on the work surface. And before frying, thoroughly clean each kutab from flour. 4. Use additional tools such as a fork to seal the edges tightly.
Spices from the branded online store “Eat at Home”
In the Caucasus, kutabs are eaten with hands, dipped in curdled milk with herbs and garlic. We serve them with sweet tea, kefir, milk and sour cream. Pamper your family with oriental pastries, and recipes for kutabs with step-by-step descriptions and photos can be found on the “Eat at Home!” website. A
February 22, 2021 1911
No wonder the East is considered a delicate matter, oh no wonder! The geographical location of the state undoubtedly leaves its mark on the specifics of the national cuisine.
If you try to delve into the national cuisine of the Republic of Azerbaijan, then everything here is so ambiguous and here’s why. This country is unique in that it is located both in the East of Europe and in Asia.
Azerbaijan was once called “Europe’s eastern charm” on CNN. The culinary culture of this state combined the features of the cuisines of the peoples of the Middle East and Central Asia and became especially colorful and original, for which it was loved far beyond the borders of Azerbaijan.
If you have ever visited this hospitable country or just want to mentally feel like you are on the border of two continents, don’t think twice. Kutabs, of course, have become the calling card of any housewife since time immemorial.
In Azerbaijani - qutab. This dish is simple and difficult to prepare at the same time.
The simplicity lies in the fact that no one knows clear regulations and cooking technology in every home, in every family it is different, but the complexity is that if you start preparing kutabs, then you need to prepare a lot of them, because no matter how rich and the table was not varied, they are the first thing that guests or family eat at dinner or a holiday table.
How to prepare the dough
Unleavened dough consists of water and flour. Kutab with any filling are made from dough that is easily rolled out and takes any shape. It is important to roll out no thicker than a paper sheet so that the dough is visible but does not tear. In this case, the filling should be securely hidden in the dough. Seal the edges so tightly that even the juice does not leak out.
Kutab with herbs and cheese will be juicy, soft, so thin that the aroma of the filling spreads throughout the kitchen. Greens are used to taste. Parsley, cilantro, spinach, onions and even beet leaves are suitable. The more raw greens, the tastier.
The best type of cheese for kutabs is brine, but you can use the one that is in the refrigerator or that you see in the store. It’s easy to tear soft cheese with your hands, but hard cheese will have to be grated on a coarse grater.
The total preparation time is 1.5 hours, including the dough infusion time. Raw kutabs contain ready-made ingredients, so they are fried within a few minutes.
How to cook “Delicious kutabs with cheese and herbs”
1. Prepare your food. It’s better to take fresh greens, but in winter I make do with frozen ones; dill is simply ideal in this regard.
2. Combine sour cream with butter and salt. Stir.
3. Add flour into the dough in small parts. Mix first with a spoon and then with your hands on the table.
4. The dough should be soft and pliable, but no longer stick to your hands. Place it in a bowl and cover with cling film and let it rest for 25-30 minutes.
5. While the dough is resting, you need to prepare the filling. Grate the suluguni on a coarse grater, add chopped herbs.
6. Stir with a fork, the filling is ready!
7. Divide the dough into parts, depending on the size of the desired pies, I divided it into 8 parts. Roll out each part thinly on a table sprinkled with flour. Place some of the filling.
8. Cover the filling with dough and pinch the edge with a fork.
9. Fry the kutabs in a hot frying pan with a little oil. Or you can fry them in a dry frying pan and then grease them with butter. Have fun!
How to cook kutabs with herbs and cheese
In order for the flatbreads to turn out tasty and satisfying, it is necessary not only to follow the cooking recipe, but also to select fresh products with the right flavor combination.
Main ingredients:
What is needed for the test:
1. Premium wheat flour – 300 g. 2. Warm water – 200 ml. 3. Salt – 1 tsp. 4. Vegetable oil – 1 tbsp. l.
What is used for the filling:
1. Greens (cilantro, dill, green onions, spinach, etc.) – 200 g. 2. Pickled cheese – Cheese, Feta, Adyghe – 200 g. 3. Spices to taste. 4. Butter for greasing kutabs after frying.
Kutaby with greens
After preparing the khychins, I became so excited about making flatbreads that I decided to master the kutabs. This dish is Azerbaijani. They say that previously the most common were kutabs (or there is another spelling - gutabs) with camel meat, but now they are prepared with whatever they can: with just herbs, and with minced meat and pomegranate seeds, and with giblets, and with cheese mixed with greens... There are many options, as well as methods for preparing the dough, as well as frying (from dry frying pan to deep frying). It is believed that it is simply indecent to cook less than 5-7 kutabs per person, although we ate a couple of them and were full. I started cooking with green stuffing, but then I decided to add cheese (I really love this combination), so I ended up with two types of kutabs. Ingredients for the dough:
2 tbsp.
flour, ¾ tbsp. water, 1 tbsp. sunflower oil, 0.5 tsp. salt. For filling:
1 tbsp.
chopped green onions, 1 tbsp. chopped parsley and dill, 1-2 tbsp. butter (melted). Cheese cheese - optional. For frying
- sunflower oil.
Knead the dough from flour, water, sunflower oil and salt. You can pat it on the table for elasticity and then keep it under film in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes.
I put the dough in the refrigerator, but I was urgently called from home, so the dough lay there for three hours. The result turned out great, the dough became so pliable that working with it was a pleasure. Finely chop all the greens, washed and dried. First the green onions.
Then parsley and dill.
I took the types of greens that are most accessible to us, and in general, Azerbaijanis use whatever they can from greens: local herbs with names unfamiliar to us, and nettles, and spinach, and sorrel. So if you want to experiment, don't be afraid to mix up your greens. Pour melted butter into the greens mixture. I didn't add anything else, but you can add salt, pepper and ground coriander if you wish. Do not mash the greens too much to prevent the juice from escaping before frying.
This amount of dough is enough for 6 kutabs, so we divide it into 6 parts. We make koloboks and roll them into flat cakes no more than 2 mm thick. The size of the cake is small - no more than 15 centimeters.
Place the filling on half of the rolled out flatbread.
Fold in half, flattening the cake, and then fasten along the edge by pressing with the pad of your finger.
It is convenient to place 2 kutabs in a frying pan. We heat the oil in advance, but fry it over moderate heat for an average of a couple of minutes.
Kutabs turn brown with characteristic spots.
Kutabs eat with their hands. Of course, in modern conditions they can offer a knife and fork, but it tastes better with your hands, because the juice does not flow out of the kutab. I cut it cleanly to demonstrate the cut, so that you could see how crispy the thin dough is and how good the filling is.
Fermented milk products, such as matsoni, are served as additives to kutabs. I made sour cream sauce with herbs and garlic. Or you can simply pour kefir, fermented baked milk or ayran, tan into a glass (we have now started selling these drinks too). Well, who's ready to test how many kutabs you can eat at one time?
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Kutaby with herbs and cheese: recipes with photos
Cooking kutabs cannot be called quick. Knead the dough in advance. He needs to stand for at least an hour. The dish is suitable for people who do not eat eggs. If desired, you can prepare the dough with yogurt, kefir and yogurt. But then the test version will differ from the traditional one.
Step by step recipe:
1. Sift the flour into a deep container. Cool the boiling water until warm and dissolve the salt in it. Slowly pour water into the bowl with flour, stirring constantly with a whisk. Vegetable oil is gradually introduced. Choose a refined product so that it is odorless and tasteless. In the classic recipe, take 3 parts of sifted flour and 2 parts of warm water. Vegetable oil is necessary so that the dough rolls out easily and does not tear. However, the component is optional and can be skipped. The dough is first kneaded with a whisk; when it becomes thick, we move on to working with our hands. You don’t need to add a lot of flour, just remove the stickiness. Spare no effort in kneading the dough thoroughly. Roll into a ball and place in a container. Cover with a towel on top and leave under normal conditions for about an hour. You should not skip the resting stage of the dough. In an hour, enough gluten will form so that when rolled out, you get thin circles without tearing. 2. The filling is prepared in an hour. Rinse the greens thoroughly and carefully inspect for sand and dirt. Dry the bunches and finely chop them with a knife. The dish will be tastier and more satisfying if you add cheese to the greens. Brynza and Feta can simply be crushed with a fork; other cheeses can be chopped with a knife or grater. Add some pepper. You should be careful with salt, as brined cheeses contain quite a lot of salt. Hard cheese is suitable, but the individuality of the dish and the exotic taste will be lost. 3. Sprinkle some flour on a hard surface; Apply the dough in a thin layer after an hour. Remove stickiness by adding flour. Knead again and leave for 10 minutes under a towel. The result should be an elastic workpiece. Be careful not to overmix so that the finished product is too hard. 4. Roll into a small sausage and divide into 8 equal parts. As a result of division, each piece will weigh approximately 70 g. 5. Take one piece, roll it into an even ball and flatten it on the work surface. The rest of the dough should be waiting under a towel. Roll out as thin as possible. If the workpiece was done correctly, then you can easily get a layer as thick as parchment paper, which is translucent, but does not tear. 6. Place the filling on one side, about 1.5 tbsp. l. spread evenly on one side. 7. Cover the filling with the free half of the workpiece. Carefully seal all the edges so that there is no air left inside the pie. A rolling pin will help if handled carefully. 8. The pinched edges can be tidied up by trimming them nicely with a special pastry cutter. You can create beautiful cloves just right using a fork. Gently but firmly connect the edges so that the filling juice does not spill out. The dough may dry out during cooking, so moisten the edges with water to ensure a tight seal. 9. The last stage is frying. The classic cooking option does not involve the use of butter or vegetable oil for frying. Before placing the kutab in the frying pan, thoroughly heat the frying pan until red hot. Do not cover the tortillas when frying. 3 minutes will be enough on each side.
Kutaby with herbs - step-by-step recipe
Pour water at room temperature into a deep bowl.
Pour salt into it.
Pour in refined sunflower oil
Stir with a spoon until the salt is completely dissolved. Add flour in small portions, stirring constantly.
Place the dough, which is fairly thick in consistency, onto a floured surface and knead it with your hands. The dough for kutabs with herbs is ready. By the way, you can also cook from it. It should be elastic, homogeneous and not stick to your hands. Cover the bowl with unleavened dough with a towel and set aside. While the dough is maturing and proofing, prepare the filling.
Peel and dice the onions.
Wash the spinach leaves and cut off the stems.
Finely chop the leaves.
Wash and finely chop the dill and parsley.
Place chopped herbs and onions in a hot frying pan with vegetable oil.
Add some salt. Stirring, simmer the vegetables for 5-7 minutes.
Sprinkle the table with flour. Knead the dough with your hands again. Roll it out into a thin layer. Use a small bowl or salad bowl to cut out mugs.
Place the green stuffing on one side.
Fold in half. Pinch the edges of the cakes tightly. Trim each cake with your hands, giving it a crescent shape. To decorate the seams of the kutabs, you can use the tines of a fork to make a pattern.
Place a dry frying pan with thick walls and bottom on the stove.
After it is heated, lay out the prepared kutabs with herbs. After 2-3 minutes, use a spatula to turn them over to the other side.
Azerbaijani-style
kutabs with greens, when ready, are placed in a deep bowl or pan and covered with a lid. This is necessary to keep them warm. Before serving, kutabs are greased with a piece of butter.
Like other types of flatbread, they are eaten with your hands. In Azerbaijan they are served with a traditional yoghurt-based garlic matsoni sauce. Enjoy your meal. By the way, using this recipe you can also prepare kutabs with herbs and cheese. All that is needed for this is to add a little feta cheese, Adyghe cheese or suluguni to the stewed greens.
Recipe for lavash kutabs with herbs and cheese
When you don’t have time to fuss with dough, you can replace it with thin pita bread. The taste of the dish will remain quite interesting, but exotic, but at the same time you won’t waste almost an hour waiting for the dough. It is important to try to secure the edges tightly; use a raw egg or white for this.
Ingredients:
1. Thin lavash – 1 package 200 g. 2. Greens – 250 g. 3. Onions 2 pcs. 4. Cottage cheese – 100 g. 5. Butter for greasing. 6. Spices to taste.
How to prepare kutabs from lavash
1. The onion is chopped into thin half rings and fried over low heat. You can use butter for frying, the taste will be special. 2. Add all the greens to the sauteed onions and leave for a few minutes over low heat. 3. Add cottage cheese to the sauteing, mix everything thoroughly. Within a minute, the cottage cheese will warm up well and become saturated with the taste of herbs and onions. If you want to add a little spice to the dish, add a little tomato to the filling. 4. Carefully cut thin pieces from the pita bread and spread the filling evenly on one side. Brush the perimeter with raw egg and seal tightly. Tip: To prevent pita bread from breaking, you can moisten it a little with water on the inside.
Bake the flatbread for 2 minutes on each side. Remove the finished cakes from the pan and coat both sides with butter. Serve hot, top with your favorite sauce or sour cream. Bon appetit!
