The Azerbaijani kutabs are traditional pastries, which are pies with some, often seasonal stuffing, molded in the form of a crescent. Dough for kutabs is usually prepared fresh, as a filling use meat, pumpkin, onions, greens and even grains of pomegranate. Prepare and kutaby with cheese. Currently, meat stuffing for kutabs is most often made from mutton meat (including, and from by-products). In the past, meat stuffs for kutabs were made from camel meat. Generally, the preparation of kutabs is a simple matter, even a beginner culinary will cope with it, because a fresh unleavened dough does not require special concentration.
Simple recipe of kutabs
Ingredients:
- gram of 400-500 lamb meat;
- 2 cups of wheat flour;
- 2 onions;
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped greens (parsley, coriander, tarragon, basil and others - in fact, it's a matter of taste);
- ground black pepper;
- salt - to taste.
Preparation:
How to cook kutaby? First we prepare the filling. We will pass the meat through the meat grinder along with the onion. Add the crushed greenery. Season with ground pepper and slightly add. If desired, you can season with mince and other dry spices. Thoroughly mix. The flour must be sieved for enrichment with oxygen - so the baking turns out more magnificent. We knead the dough with the addition of a pinch of salt and water. Roll the layer to a thickness of about 1 mm and cut out the circles the size of a small plate. You can do otherwise: divide the dough into equal koloboks and out of each roll out a round base for kutaba. The size of the circle depends on the diameter of your frying pan.
The final stage
Spread the filling on the circles from one edge, carefully distribute to the middle and cover with a free edge of the dough, we patch the edges - it turns out kutab in the form of a crescent. Fry the kutubs in deep-frying (in boiling oil) for 4-6 minutes, the patties should become even golden brown. We serve kutaba warm or cold with tea, ayran, kumys, shubat.
How to cook kutaby with greens?
In fact, this is a great alternative for vegetarians. To prepare kutabov with greens, the dough is prepared in the same way as in the previous recipe. For the filling, prepare any edible fresh herbs that can be found in your area by season. It can be sorrel, spinach, green onions, dill, parsley, tarragon, coriander, basil, lovage. You can use other edible herbs - it's a matter of taste. Also for the filling you need a bit of natural butter.
Cooking kutaby
Greens should be washed and dried. Peel and remove thick stems. All the greens should be chopped finely. We form kutabs with greens and fry them from both sides on a dry (just dry!) Well-heated frying pan without oil. So kutaby will turn out to be super-useful - without the carcinogenic substances contained in deep fat. Now fried kutaby smeared with melted butter. Serve with sour cream, kefir or ayran.
Kutaby with cheese
For the preparation of kutabs with cheese, you can use any cheese. Including home, rennet and even cottage cheese. By the way, when using homemade cheeses for stuffing kutabs it's good to combine them with greenery. Cheese for the filling, of course, you have to grind - grate it, and then mix it with crushed greenery. Prisalivat such stuffing is not necessary - cheese and so contains a sufficient amount of salt. The technology of cooking cheese kutabs is the same as for kutabs with greens.
Kutabs in pita bread
For those who have little time, who does not like to bother with the dough and bother with the long preparation of baking, there is a simplified version: to prepare kutabs in pita bread. Currently, lavash is included in the assortment of the bread department of large supermarkets. Of course, in this case, kutabs are not obtained in the form of a crescent. Thin ready lavash is divided into equal parts with a knife, wrap the filling in lavash with an "envelope" - it turns out something like a pancake, they are fried in a frying pan. Filling for such kutabs is better to take one that does not require long heat treatment. Such "lazy" kutaby quite a good option, if you unexpectedly came to the guests.