Katlama

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 1 tspsalt
• 300 mlwarm water

Layering

• 150 gtail fat, rendered, or butter, softened
• 2 tbspplain flour

For frying

• 150 mloil, or more rendered fat

To serve

• green tea
• sour cream or katyk
• sugar, if wanted

Directions

1. Put the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the warm water gradually, mixing with your hand as you go. Bring it together into a firm dough. Knead it on a floured surface for ten minutes. It should be smooth and quite firm rather than soft and slack.
2. Cover it with a cloth and rest it for thirty minutes. The rest is what lets you roll it thin without it springing back. Butter is the common substitute and works well. Beat the fat with the two tablespoons of flour to make a spreadable paste. The flour stops the fat simply running out during frying.
3. Divide the dough into six pieces and roll each into a ball. Keep the ones you are not using under the cloth. Roll one ball out as thin as you possibly can. It should be almost translucent, thin enough to see the board through.
4. Use as little dusting flour as you can get away with. Now spreading, which is done right to the edges. Spread a thin even layer of the fat paste over the whole sheet. Leave only a centimetre bare around the very edge. A thick layer in one place makes a hollow rather than layers. Roll the sheet up tightly from one long edge into a rope. Roll it firmly so no air is trapped in the middle.
5. Pinch the ends of the rope closed. Press the coil down gently with your palm. Let the coils rest for ten minutes before rolling them out. Now the second rolling, which must be gentle. Roll each coil out into a disc about eighteen centimetres across. Roll from the centre outwards and turn it frequently.
6. Press lightly, since hard pressure crushes the layers together. It should be about half a centimetre thick. Heat oil to a depth of about half a centimetre in a wide heavy pan. Bring it to a medium heat rather than a fierce one. Too hot and the outside browns before the layers cook through.
7. Lay one disc gently into the pan. Fry it for three or four minutes on the first side. Spoon a little hot oil over the top as it cooks. Turn it and fry the other side for the same time. Both sides should be deep golden with darker blistered patches.
8. Lift it onto a rack rather than a plate so it stays crisp. Fry the rest, topping up the oil as needed. Now serving, which is done warm and torn. Tear it apart rather than cutting it, so the layers show. The inside should pull apart into distinct leaves. Serve it warm with green tea, which is the standard pairing. It keeps for a day wrapped in cloth but is best fresh.

Technique

• Roll the dough almost translucent before spreading the fat, since that is what makes the layers.
• Beat flour into the fat so it does not simply run out during frying.
• Fry over a medium heat, as a fierce one browns it before the layers cook.

Substitutions

• Butter in place of rendered tail fat.
• Any neutral oil for frying.

Variations

• Sweet, with sugar dusted over while hot.
• With chopped onion worked into the fat layer.
• Made larger and cut into wedges for sharing.

History

Rolled and coiled so it separates into leaves; sold in stacks at bazaars and eaten with tea.

Frequently asked questions

What is Katlama?

Katlama is a bread & pastry from Uzbekistan: layered pan-fried flatbread brushed with fat between the folds. Rolled and coiled so it separates into leaves; sold in stacks at bazaars and eaten with tea.

How long does Katlama take to make?

Katlama takes 30 min plus 30 min resting of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 flatbreads. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Katlama?

Yes, within limits. Butter in place of rendered tail fat. Any neutral oil for frying.

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

Put the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the warm water gradually, mixing with your hand as you go. Bring it together into a firm dough. Knead it on a floured surface for ten minutes. It should be smooth and quite firm rather than soft and slack.