Gutap

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• about 280 ml warm water
• 2 teaspoonssalt
• 1egg, optional
• 2 tablespoonsoil

Greens filling

• 500 gspinach or mixed greens
• 4spring onions, sliced
• a large handful of dill
• a large handful of coriander
• 50 gbutter, melted
• salt and black pepper

Meat filling

• 400 gminced lamb
• 2onions, very finely chopped
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• salt and black pepper
• 3 tablespoonswater

Pumpkin filling

• 600 gpumpkin, grated
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 50 gbutter, melted
• 1 teaspoonsugar
• salt and black pepper

To cook

• oil, for shallow frying
• or butter, for a dry griddle

Directions

1. Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the warm water in gradually. Add the egg and oil if using them. Bring it together into a firm dough. It should be firmer than a bread dough. Knead it for a good ten minutes. It should become smooth and elastic.
2. Wrap the dough and let it rest. Give it at least thirty minutes. Wash all of the greens thoroughly. Shake them as dry as you possibly can. Wet greens make the pastry soggy. Chop everything up very finely. Mix it with the melted butter.
3. Season it generously with salt and pepper. Salt draws water out of greens fast. Add it just before you fill the pastries. Mix the minced lamb with the onion. Chop the onion extremely finely. Large pieces tear the thin dough. Add the cumin, salt and pepper.
4. Add the water and work it through. That water turns to steam and keeps it juicy. Grate the pumpkin flesh coarsely. Squeeze out some of the water. Mix it with the chopped onion.
5. Add the melted butter, sugar and seasoning. Divide the dough into small balls. Keep the ones you are not using covered. Roll each one into a thin round. Aim for about eighteen centimetres across. Take it down to a millimetre or two. It should be almost see-through.
6. Spread filling over one half of the round. Leave a clear border of two centimetres. Keep the layer thin and quite even. Fold the empty half over the filling. Press the edges together firmly. Crimp the whole edge with a fork. Check every seal before cooking. Cooking it is quick enough work.
7. Heat a little oil in a wide pan. Use a medium rather than fierce heat. Lay one gutap into the hot pan. Fry it for about three minutes. Turn it over with a wide slice. Fry the other side for three minutes. Judging when it is done takes a look. Cut one open from the first batch. There should be no pink meat at all.
8. Cook them longer over lower heat if so. Cooking them dry is the other method. Heat a dry griddle instead of a pan. Cook them with no oil at all in it. Lift them out onto a wire rack. Do not stack them up while hot. Brush them with butter while hot. Serving them is done immediately.

Technique

• The same pastry runs across the region as Azerbaijani qutab, kutab and gozleme, all thin filled half-moons cooked on a griddle and filled differently in each country.
• The dough is unleavened and rolled almost see-through, more like a pasta dough than a bread dough, and thinness is what makes it work.
• The fillings go in raw and steam inside the sealed dough, which cooks them through and keeps them juicy; pre-cooked filling goes dry and dull.

Substitutions

• Any mixture of spinach and soft herbs works for the greens filling.
• A dry griddle with butter brushed on afterwards replaces shallow frying.

Variations

• Greens, minced lamb and grated pumpkin are the three classic fillings.
• Some cooks add fresh cheese to the greens.
• Qutab in Azerbaijan is the closest relative.

History

Half-moon fried pastry filled with pumpkin, meat or greens, sold at markets.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gutap?

Gutap is a street food from Turkmenistan: half-moon flatbread fried with greens, meat or pumpkin. Half-moon fried pastry filled with pumpkin, meat or greens, sold at markets.

How long does Gutap take to make?

Gutap takes 45 minutes plus resting of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 16 pastries. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Gutap?

Yes, within limits. Any mixture of spinach and soft herbs works for the greens filling. A dry griddle with butter brushed on afterwards replaces shallow frying.

What is the most important thing to get right in Gutap?

Spread filling over one half of the round. Leave a clear border of two centimetres. Keep the layer thin and quite even. Fold the empty half over the filling. Press the edges together firmly. Crimp the whole edge with a fork. Check every seal before cooking. Cooking it is quick enough work.