Gutab

See below for recipe

Gutabs are a sort of folded flatbread stuffed with different fillings such as meat, an assortment of fresh green herbs, cheese or pumpkin. They are cooked on an iron disk called a ‘saj.’ In Baku and the Absheron region of Azerbaijan, gutabs are drizzled with melted butter and served with yoghurt and pomegranate. They can also be sprinkled with sumakh, rolled into tubes and eaten with your hands. Azerbaijanis often serve gutabs with ayran – a cold yoghurt drink mixed with salt and herbs.

RECIPES Adapted by ORKHAN MUKHTAROV

Gutab with Meat – Recipe

Instructions

1. Soak the small piece of lavashana in water until it dissolves. It will dissolve more quickly in hot water. If you use tomato paste, mix it also with a little bit of water.
2. Peel and chop the onion. Mix the minced meat with the chopped onion. Add salt and pepper and lavashana or tomato paste liquid. Set the mixture aside.
3. Mix the flour, water and salt to make dough. Separate the dough into 150 gram balls.
4. Place the dough balls on a tea towel and cover with clingfilm. Leave the balls to rest for 5-10 minutes.
5. Roll out the dough balls until they are 3 mm thick. Traditionally a thin, light rolling pin, ohlov, is used. Use a small plate to shape the rolled-out dough into rounds approximately 20 cm in diameter.
6. Spread the mincemeat mixture thinly on one half of the dough round. Fold in half into a semi-circle, pressing the edges together.
7. Kutabs are traditionally cooked on a saj, a convex iron griddle. A large frying pan turned upside down can be an excellent substitute for a saj. But it works only with gas stoves. If you have an electric stove, use a usual pan. Place two gutabs at a time on the hot pan. Traditionally gutabs are cooked without oil or butter. In our family we like to cook  gutabs in a little bit of oil or butter (not much!). Turn over after 2-3 minutes or when the gutab begins to brown and cook on the other side.
8. If you didn’t use oil or butter when cooking, spread the cooked gutabs with melted butter or melted clarified butter while still hot and place one on top of the other to serve.
9. Meat gutabs are often served with sumac, a red ground powder which has a zesty flavor.

Gutab with Herbs – Recipe

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 350 g
• 200 ml water
• Salt

For the filling:

• 1 egg
• 1-2 tsp plain yoghurt
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 onions
• A variety of green herbs:
  • Sorrel (or lemon juice)
  • Spinach
  • Coriander
  • Dill

Instructions

1. Wash the herbs. Dry them very good and chop them. If herbs will give some juice, squeeze it out. Sprinkle with salt.
2. Chop onions and pan them with some butter. You can use vegetable oil. Put the egg, yoghurt and panned onion into the herbs mix and mix good.
3. Make dough with the flour, egg, yoghurt, water and salt. The dough must be soft enough to roll out and not stick to fingers. Make the dough into small balls, roughly 50-60 grams. Roll out each ball into a thin circle approximately 27 cm in diameter. Spread the herb mixture on one half of the gutab and fold into a semi-circular shape.
4. Gutabs are traditionally cooked on a saj, a convex iron griddle. But I always use an ordinary frying pan. Place one or two gutabs at a time on the hot saj/pan. Do not use oil or butter during cooking. Turn over after 2-3 minutes or when the gutab begins to brown and cook on the other side.

Gutab with Pumpkin – Recipe

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 350 g wheat flour
• 200 ml watter
• Salt

For the filling:

• 1 middle pumpkin (appr. 2 kg)
• 2 piece onion
• 1 piece pomegranate
• Salt and Pepper
• Butter

Instructions

1. Cut the pumpkin into small pieces, remove the skin and put it into the pot. Let the pumpkin simmer. Do not add water. Cook the pumpkin until the juice evaporates. Taste the pumpkin. If it is not sweet enough, add 1 tbsp of sugar.
2. Chop the onion and fry in the butter until slightly golden brown. Add to the pumpkin and mix them well. Add pomegranate seeds.
3. Mix the flour, water and salt to make dough. Separate the dough into 150 gram balls. Place the dough balls on a tea towel and cover with clingfilm. Leave the balls to rest for 5-10 minutes.
4. Roll out the dough balls until they are 2 mm thick. Traditionally with a thin, light rolling pin – ohlov . Use a small plate to shape the rolled-out dough into rounds approximately 20 cm in diameter. Spread the filling thinly (appr. 50 gr per kutab) on one half of the dough round. Fold in half into a semi-circle, pressing the edges together.
5. Gutabs are traditionally cooked on a saj, a convex iron griddle. A large frying pan turned upside down can be an excellent substitute for a saj. But it only works with gas stoves. If you have an electric stove, use a regular pan.

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