Miracle with meat
Today we're talking about a national Dagestani dish—chudu—flatbreads made with various fillings from unleavened and yeast dough.
Miracle (stress on the second syllable), translated from Dargin means pieThese flatbreads are very popular in the republic; they are traditionally used to greet guests in Dagestani homes, and every housewife knows how to make them. Khadija from Makhachkala is no exception. Khadija NeMoskva shares the secrets of making delicious flatbreads with its readers. We'll be making chudas from thin unleavened dough.
1. Ingredients for cooking: wheat flour, salt, warm water, minced veal, fat tail, potatoes, cumin, onion, ground black pepper, red paprika, coriander, egg.
Sift about 700 grams of wheat flour into a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of salt, 500 ml of water at room temperature and knead the dough.
2. Then transfer the dough to the table and continue kneading it there. The dough should be moderately soft.
3. Cover the finished mixture with a bowl or plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out and let it rest for 30 minutes. While the dough is resting, you can prepare the filling.
4. Take 1 kg of minced meat (Khadidzha prefers veal), add 150 grams of fat tail fat cut into pieces (this is one of Khadija's main secrets! Today, many housewives add ghee to the minced meat, but for real chudu you need lamb fat), 2 or 3 potatoes, grated on a coarse grater, three heads of finely chopped onions, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of cumin or cumin, red and black ground pepper to taste, paprika, 100 ml of water.
5. Khadija likes to add a teaspoon of coriander to the minced meat, as it adds a piquant flavor. Mix everything together. The minced meat should be airy and tender.
6. Let's get back to the dough. Divide it into two unequal parts. The larger part will be used for the chudu base. Roll it into four balls, each 200 grams, and the smaller part into four balls, each approximately 80 grams. Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour to prevent it from sticking to the plastic wrap. Cover with a towel and let rest for about 10 minutes.
7. Roll out the balls you've prepared for the base of the chudu. Don't make them too thin, otherwise the flatbreads will be tough. Roll out smaller balls as well; these will be used for the top of the dish. At this point, you can turn the oven to 250 degrees Celsius.
8. Lightly dust the baking sheet with flour (bake on a dry surface), lay out the base of the chudu, put the minced meat in the center, level it almost to the edges of the dough, cover with a smaller flatbread.
9. We gather the edges in a circle using the “plaiting method with the pads of our fingers”.
Beat one egg and brush it on top of the chuda, make a small hole in the middle so that the flatbread does not swell and place in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
10. Grease the finished chudus with butter, cover with plastic wrap, and let them rest for 15 minutes. During this time, the flatbreads will become soft and ready to eat.
