Ingredients
Batter
- 1 kgpotatoes
- coarsely grated
- 250 gplain flour
- about 400 ml water
- or 400 ml milk
- 2 teaspoonssalt
- black pepper
The pan
- 5 tablespoonsoil
- or 60 g melted butter
- a round metal tepsija
- or any wide baking dish
Garlic cream
- 300 gsoured cream
- or thick yoghurt
- 5garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 teaspoonsalt
- a little water, to loosen
Sometimes served with
- kajmak
- plain yoghurt
- pickled vegetables
Directions
- Keep every bit of the potato starch. The batter goes straight into hot fat. Peel every one of the potatoes first. Grate them on the coarse side of a grater. Work quickly once they are peeled. Working fast keeps it much paler.
- Put the grated potato in a large bowl. Add all of the plain flour to it. Add the salt and black pepper. Mix it thoroughly with your hands. Add the water or milk gradually. Mix it well as you pour the liquid in. It should be thick and dropping. Pour the oil into the tepsija.
- Put it in a hot oven for five minutes. The oil should be shimmering hot. Take the hot pan out carefully. Pour the batter straight into it. It should hiss loudly as it goes in.
- Spread it out evenly with a spoon. Aim for about two centimetres deep. Use a wide enough pan for the quantity. Heat the oven to two hundred degrees.
- Bake it for about forty-five minutes. Do not open the door for the first half hour. Cover it with foil if the top browns first. Let it stand for a good ten minutes. That lets it firm up enough to cut. Crush the garlic to a paste with salt.
- Stir it into the soured cream. It should be pourable rather than thick. Reduce the garlic if you prefer. Make the cream twenty minutes ahead. Serving it is done hot from the pan.
- Cut it into thick squares or wedges. Lift them out with a wide spatula. Pour the garlic cream over them. It keeps two days refrigerated.
Technique
- Grated potato releases a great deal of starch and that starch binds the batter as it bakes, which is why so little flour is needed; do not rinse the grated potato, since rinsing is standard for crisp fried dishes but here it would wash away the binding.
- The pan and its fat must be genuinely hot before the batter goes in: cold fat lets the batter soak into it for a greasy heavy result, while hot fat seals and browns the base at once, and the difference is considerable.
- Undercooked potato is gritty and tastes raw, so a knife into the middle must come out clean and meet no resistance; cover the top with foil if it browns before the inside is done.
Substitutions
- Milk in place of water gives a richer softer result; both are made in Bosnia.
- Any wide shallow baking dish stands in for a tepsija.
Variations
- It is served with garlic cream, with kajmak or with plain yoghurt.
- Some cooks brush melted butter over the top and others use oil.
- Pickled vegetables are put on the table to cut the richness.
History
A rural Bosnian dish of grated potato baked in a tepsija and eaten with kajmak, yoghurt or garlic sauce in the highlands.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kljukuša?
Kljukuša is a main from Bosnia and Herzegovina: grated potato and flour batter baked in a pan, served with garlic cream. A rural Bosnian dish of grated potato baked in a tepsija and eaten with kajmak, yoghurt or garlic sauce in the highlands.
How long does Kljukuša take to make?
Kljukuša takes 25 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Kljukuša?
Yes, within limits. Milk in place of water gives a richer softer result; both are made in Bosnia. Any wide shallow baking dish stands in for a tepsija.
What is the most important thing to get right in Kljukuša?
Bake it for about forty-five minutes. Do not open the door for the first half hour. Cover it with foil if the top browns first. Let it stand for a good ten minutes. That lets it firm up enough to cut. Crush the garlic to a paste with salt.
