Flatbread made from unleavened dough with herbs is quick to prepare and turns out very tasty!
I want to bring to your attention a version of Lenten flatbreads that you can easily prepare at home and diversify your Lenten or vegetarian menu.
The advantage of flatbreads is that they are prepared quickly, from available ingredients, and we will use yeast-free dough, i.e. fresh, almost like dumpling dough.
These flatbreads are good served with soup instead of bread. Well, for those who adhere to fasting, this recipe is simply a godsend!
If you want to prepare a non-lenten version of flatbreads, then replace the vegetable oil with butter. Also, you can add a mixture of cottage cheese with feta cheese and a raw egg or just grated cheese to the filling - the flatbreads will turn out even tastier. If you add salted cheese to the filling, be careful not to over-salt the filling - add salt to taste!
Bon appetit!
Ingredients
| For fresh dough with hot water and soda: | |
|---|---|
| flour | 500 g |
| hot water (about 60-70ºC) | 130-150 ml |
| carbonated water | 50-60 ml |
| vegetable oil | 40 g |
| salt | 1 tsp |
| sugar | pinch |
| For filling: | |
| any greens (parsley, dill, basil, cilantro, green onions, wild garlic or spinach) | 150-200 g |
| garlic | 1-2 cloves |
| vegetable oil | 2 tbsp. |
| salt | taste |
Have you ever wondered: “What is the secret of Caucasian longevity?” Of course, there are a great many factors influencing this phenomenon. This includes clean mountain air, spring water, organic food, and much more. However, one of the most important reasons is that in the Caucasus it is customary to eat a large amount of greens and herbs. Flatbread with herbs, the recipe for which we will present to your attention, is the signature dish of the Karabakh Armenians. Several dozen herbs are used to prepare them. We will not list the names of all the greenery, since many of them are completely unknown to Russians. All these herbs are collected on mountain slopes, which are sometimes impassable and require the skill of a climber, then they are thoroughly washed, dried and placed in canvas bags specially made for herbs. They are stored in this way for a long time. Stocks are made so that housewives have the opportunity to prepare these delicious flatbreads all year round. From late spring to late autumn, cooks have the opportunity to prepare Armenian flatbreads with herbs from fresh herbs. The recipe for these culinary products is very simple and does not require much time.
Our recipe is slightly different from the original and more adapted to the Russian vegetable market. However, this does not make the flatbread any less appetizing and aromatic. By the way, greens should be of interest primarily to those who care about their figure and are fighting excess calories. These flatbreads are also an excellent food during Lent: tasty, nutritious and low in calories.
Flatbread with herbs. Recipe and step-by-step instructions
Required Ingredients
For the test:
- flour - 1 kg;
- salt -1;
- warm water - 2-2.5 glasses.
For filling:
- 1 bunch of spinach;
- a small bunch of beet tops;
- 1 bunch of parsley;
- 1 bunch of dill;
- 1 bunch of cilantro;
- 1 small bunch of sorrel;
- 10 onion feathers (you can use 1 medium-sized onion);
- vegetable oil - 4-5 tablespoons;
- ground black pepper;
- salt;
- ground red pepper.
Preparing the dough
Pour flour into heaps, dissolve salt in water, pour water in a stream with one hand, and with the other - using a wooden spoon - knead a homogeneous dough. Cover with a towel and leave for an hour.
Preparing the filling
Carefully sort and rinse the greens, place them on towels to remove excess moisture. Take a deep bowl and add finely chopped greens of all varieties and onions one by one. Pour in vegetable oil and add spices. Mix everything well. In a word, it turns out to be a very tasty green salad that can be eaten raw.
Form flatbreads with herbs (recipe is designed for 15 - 20 servings)
Divide the dough into 15 - 20 equal lumps. Sprinkle the work surface with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll each lump into a flat cake the size of an ordinary plate. Place a mound of filling in the center of the flatbread along the entire diameter. Pinch the ends of the dough together like a Russian pie. Press down with the edge of your brush so that the pie becomes flat. You can decorate the product in the form of chebureks, that is, put the filling on one half of the flatbread, cover it with the other half, and press down the edges, giving it a crescent shape.
Baking Armenian flatbreads with herbs
Heat a cast-iron frying pan thoroughly, place the flatbreads on it, reduce the heat and cover with a lid, after two minutes turn the product over to the other side. As you understand, each cake is baked for about 3-4 minutes. To avoid the smell of burnt dough, you need to remove excess flour with a special brush or simply blow it off.
I didn’t dare call these flatbreads with herbs Zhyangalov hats (in Armenian - bread with herbs), since they should contain a large number of herbs, up to 30 types, many of which I had never even heard of. Mine is much more modest, but the shaping and presentation are preserved.
I want to anticipate the disputes that always arise in Caucasian recipes. Some foam at the mouth to prove that the recipe was invented in their country, while others say the opposite. I really like the varied cuisine of the peoples of the Caucasus and for me it makes no difference who first came up with the recipe.
These flatbreads differ from kutabs with greens, first of all, in the rich composition of herbs, then in their shape and method of filling, and thirdly, in the method of serving. They are never greased with oil, stacked on top of each other, or sprinkled with dried barberries, but served with matsun, sour milk or sour cream. It is best to prepare these flatbreads with the whole family in the yard, in the fresh air, and bake them on a large metal sheet lying directly on a brazier with coals.
As for the composition of the filling, the herbs are taken both wild and cultivated: young nettle, horse sorrel leaves, violet leaves, dandelion leaves, purslane, sorrel, chervil, chickweed, carrot grass, green lettuce, beet tops, quinoa, dill, cilantro, spinach , sorrel (required), green onions, dill, some shoots of green garlic and other herbs.
For 6 large flatbreads you will need 1 kilogram of different herbs. The main thing is to create the right bouquet - more herbs that are neutral in taste and a little spicy, so as not to overwhelm the overall bouquet. You can fry and add onions to the filling or crumble Caucasian cheese. My version is self-sufficient, only herbs.
Vegetarians will love these flatbreads when served with tea. This is the second time I've made them in a row.
Traditional recipes speak eloquently about the people. When creating national dishes, people invest a piece of their soul, and not a small one. In Armenian cuisine, a large role is given to dishes with a huge amount of herbs. And although jingyalov (“with herbs”) hats (“bread”) is a delicious flatbread, originally baked only in Karabakh, the dish has traditionally become common throughout Armenia, becoming a calling card.
The recipe is rich in herbs. It just so happened: in the Caucasus, not only bread with herbs, but almost all dishes are seasoned with natural spices. Armenians love recipes rich in herbs, today we will tell you about one of them.
In Armenia, they practically do not eat the rich, fluffy bread familiar to Russian people. Except, perhaps, matnakash lavash. In the Caucasus, there is a different view on flour products: flatbreads are extremely popular. There are many folk recipes for preparing this seemingly simplest dish. Zhingyalov hats is one of them.
According to the traditional recipe, Armenian flatbreads with herbs include about twenty types of herbs. Moreover, not only cultivated ones, known to every person (cilantro, dill, parsley), but also specific ones. Here are just some of the ingredients:
- Kndzmindzuk, also known as chervil, which almost completely copies parsley in appearance, but with more subtle nuances in taste;
- Simsimok, violet leaves, paravi port, etc.
- Among the more familiar ones are nettle, sorrel, beet tops, woodlice.
Some herbs are so exotic for the Russian market that they cannot be bought even in large supermarkets. Therefore, you will not be able to experience the fullness, richness of taste, richness of aroma, and harmony of each component of a flatbread prepared outside of your home country.
Do you want to appreciate the food in all its splendor? Travel to Armenia! Only there you will be able to taste the real Jingyalov hats, or even better, try the Karabakh flatbread, because, as is popularly believed, an unusual dish was born there.
However, you can try to bake Armenian bread with herbs, preserving the peculiarities of shape and presentation. All the same, the necessary flavor will be created, and the flatbread itself will be nourishing, tasty, and aromatic. There is an expression in the Armenian language: “Peace! Friendship! Zhingyalov hats!”, which is a reference to the established cultural tradition: gathering at a common table, eating food, forgiving each other all insults and reconciling.
Recipe for Armenian flatbread with herbs: ingredients
In addition to a large number of different spices, the delicacy includes: flour, water and salt. All components are taken by eye. It is important that you get a thick, plastic dough.
Dough
Mix all ingredients at the same time. For greater elasticity, it is recommended to take boiled, cooled water; you can also add a teaspoon of vegetable oil. The resulting mass is allowed to rest for about half an hour, wrapped in cling film, at room temperature. After this, the large piece is divided into several small balls, which are also left to lie while the most interesting part is cut - the filling.
Filling
Abundant with herbs, it's a celebration of greenery! The more spices you can include, the more traditional the flatbread will be. We will list only cultivated ones (in the classic recipe wild-growing ones are also used, but there are simply no analogues to their names in Russian):
- Young onions (feather and onions),
- Garlic,
- Chervil,
- Cilantro,
- Dill,
- Sorrel,
- Parsley,
- Paraviport,
- violet leaves,
- Beet tops,
- Spinach.
Of the wild ones, you can add dandelion stems, young nettle leaves, wood lice, quinoa, horse sorrel, and field poppy. Using all of them, you will be able to prepare an almost Armenian flatbread, but you still won’t feel such a fullness of taste as in the homeland of the dish.
The listed herbs are finely chopped, mixed thoroughly, peppered, and lightly sprinkled with oil. Among the seasonings, hops suneli are welcome - traditional for the Caucasian table.
Cooking secrets
The peculiarity of the recipe for flatbread with herbs is a lot of herbs, as well as an established method of preparation. The prepared dough balls are carefully rolled out. The round layers should be transparent (your fingers can be seen through them), but not torn. Before placing it on the dough, place the mixture of greens in portions into a bowl and add some salt - one of the main secrets of the recipe.
Spices are placed in the center of the layer, leaving small edges around the perimeter. Then they begin to pinch: from one end to the other, gathering like fabric (like pies).
As necessary, the filling is compacted, all the air is released, then pressed, slightly flattening - and baked in a frying pan, preferably without oil (non-stick cookware is ideal). The appearance of a crispy “blush” is evidence of the dish’s readiness.
photo: inbo70.livejournal.com According to the traditional recipe, jingyalov hats are not eaten immediately. They are allowed to cool, separately. They are consumed only after the initially fluffy cakes have fallen off and become thin. The Karabakh delicacy is served with sour cream or yogurt, or with matsun for added flavor.
To feel the soul of the people, it is enough to try the national dish. Flatbread with herbs is the pride of Armenia, playing with the subtlest shades of rich taste and unusual notes of tantalizing aroma.
The traditional meat for Lamajo is lamb. However, it can be replaced with beef, as some believe that the ground beef filling tastes better. The dough for lamajo is very similar to dumplings, so preparing it is not difficult at all.
Ingredients:
- 200 ml kefir (matsoni);
- half a kilogram of flour;
- 100 ml water;
- a pinch of salt;
- lemon juice;
- half a kilogram of lamb;
- 2 large onions;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 1 tbsp. with a heap of tomato paste;
- a large bunch of herbs (thyme, basil, cilantro);
- black pepper.
Advice! It is not necessary to make minced meat only from lamb. You can take 250 g of pork (or 250 g of beef) and 250 g of lamb. And to make a real Armenian dish, you need to add more herbs. These are cilantro, basil and thyme.
Step-by-step recipe with photos:
- Sift the flour into a deep container (bowl), make a depression in the slide and pour kefir and salted water into it.
- Knead the dough, moving towards the edges from the center, gradually adding flour.
- As soon as the dough stops sticking to your hands, start kneading it. The dough should be stiff, like for dumplings.
- After thoroughly kneading the mass, wrap it in plastic and put it in the refrigerator.
- Pass the meat through a meat grinder. To achieve the desired filling consistency, mince the meat twice.
- Remove the thick stems from the bunch of herbs and grind them in a blender along with the onions and garlic cloves. The mass should resemble mush.
- Combine the herb mixture with minced meat, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly, if necessary, add water and stir well again.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out onto the table into a sausage shape. Divide it into equal pieces and roll into small (tennis ball-sized) balls.
- Sprinkle each dough ball with flour and roll into a thin flat cake. It should be very thin, almost translucent, like pita bread.
- Grease a baking sheet with oil and place the tortillas on it (several pieces should fit side by side).
- Spread each of the flatbreads with a thin layer of meat filling.
- Preheat the oven to 220˚ C and place the lamajó in it to bake for 8 minutes.
- The finished cakes are browned at the edges.
Advice! Tomato paste can be replaced with fresh tomatoes.
The benefits of Armenian flatbreads are undeniable
When baked in a frying pan, greens practically do not lose their beneficial properties, which they are rich in. Vitamins of groups A, B, C, E, PP, as well as iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, manganese, sodium, zinc, phosphorus - the minimum set of components useful and necessary for the body. In addition, greens have the ability to improve digestion, strengthen blood vessels, and cleanse the body of toxins and bile. And red hot pepper added to the greens helps improve appetite.
Armenian flatbreads go well with equally healthy Armenian feta cheese or the drink matsoni (sour milk), which is fermented according to a special recipe and served along with zhengalov hats. Armenian flatbreads can be used as an addition to main dishes, or as a completely independent delicacy. They are very tasty and healthy when observing Lent. They are definitely worth a try.
How to prepare Armenian flatbread
Svetlana prepared the dough in a bread machine in the same mode, but because... I don’t have a bread machine yet, I kneaded the dough by hand (both methods are good - choose either one).
First, we revive the dry yeast and check its performance: pour the yeast into a bowl, add a spoonful of sugar and pour in 0.5 cups of heated water, mix everything and set it aside. If you are a fan of fresh yeast, you will need 3 times more of it (use it right away).
In the meantime, sift the flour so that it absorbs more oxygen and, adding salt and the remaining sugar, mix everything thoroughly. Now we look at the yeast, if there is a “cap” on top, it means it is working. In this case, add the contents of the bowl to the dough. If no reaction with the yeast occurs, then the product is unfit for further use.
Add the remaining water (warm), sunflower oil and sour cream to the dough for flatbreads.
We begin to knead the dough with a spoon, then continue with our hands. You should get a homogeneous dough that is not too tight. I think at this stage you can add chopped garlic, chopped herbs, paprika or fried onions (whatever you like).
Place the lump of dough in a bowl greased with vegetable oil, cover with a clean towel and let rest for 30-60 minutes. If the dough “runs away”, you can knock it down with light claps or stir it.
When the dough has risen, divide it into two koloboks, dusting each with flour.
Generously spread a baking sheet with a piece of butter and place one half of the dough. Gently knead the dough, giving it a round cake shape.
Using a fork and knife, we make a random design on the surface.
Grease the Armenian flatbread with egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake in a preheated oven at 180-200 degrees. oven for 20-25 minutes.
From the second part we make a similar cake. At the request of the children, Svetlana prepared it with cheese. I took out one flatbread 5 minutes before it was ready and placed thin slices of hard cheese on top (you can grate the cheese).
These are the Armenian flatbreads we got.
And finally, I suggest you look at another recipe for making flatbreads.
BE YOUR OWN CHEF
Delicious Armenian flatbread from Svetlana, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating
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Traditional dairy product matsoni
This drink is reminiscent of kefir, widely known in Russia. Matsoni is prepared using fresh milk, and some housewives use different types (goat, cow, sheep). To get this drink, you need to do the following:
- Boil the milk.
- Cool it to 40 degrees Celsius.
- Ferment the milk by adding a little curdled milk and stirring.
- Then the vessel with the drink is covered with a thick cloth and placed in a warm place.
- The ripening process should take from 4 to 12 hours.
- Then the matsoni must be placed in the refrigerator. After two or three days, the resulting product is filtered using a small cloth bag.
- It is not recommended to prepare matsoni from milk purchased in a store.
This drink is considered very healthy. It improves the condition of the body and slows down the aging process.
Matsoni is used for sandwiches, soups, vegetable and meat dishes. The Armenian recipe for Lamajo traditionally includes the addition of this drink.
Serving the flatbread
Since lamajjo, prepared according to the Armenian recipe, has a spicy taste, the dish is served with tan to soften it.
Tan is a drink similar to our yogurt, which in Yerevan is made by fermenting milk and adding salt water and yeast to it.
Before serving, it is recommended to lightly sprinkle each cake with lemon juice. 
Lamajo can be served rolled (like shawarma), or folded in half like a cheburek, or by folding two flatbreads with the filling inward and the dough outward. By taking two closed flatbreads at once, or breaking off pieces from them, you will not stain your hands with minced meat. It is better to roll the flatbreads into a roll while they are hot, immediately after taking them out of the oven. Once cooled, the dough will break when folded.
The flatbread tastes best when hot, but even after cooling it will remain an excellent delicacy! 
How to cook Armenian flatbreads with herbs, recipe with photos
Wash and squeeze the herbs with your hands or a towel. Chop them coarsely and sprinkle with salt to taste, add a drop of oil and stir. Set aside until ready to use.
Divide the dough into 4 equal sized balls. On a very well cleaned work surface, roll each ball into a very thin circle or rectangle. If you make the layers thick, they will remain raw inside.
Place enough herb filling on each tortilla to almost cover it completely. Leave only the edges free. Fold the dough so that the green filling is inside. Gently press the rolled pieces with a rolling pin to secure the herbs inside.
Grease a large non-stick frying pan with vegetable oil and heat. Place the herb tortillas, one at a time, into the pan and fry until brown spots appear on the surface. Carefully turn over and cook on the second side as well. Serve whole or cut into pieces.
Option with herbs
Armenian thin flatbreads are often served with spicy herbs. How is this delicious snack prepared? Only thin pita bread is suitable for this.
It is important that the dough is rolled out as thinly as possible without sticking to the work surface. To do this, you will need to keep a bowl of extra flour and a thin spatula on hand.
If the dough breaks, don't panic. Just pinch it with your fingers to secure it back together.
The original recipe for flatbread with herbs is prepared in a tandoor, but you can also use a non-stick frying pan greased with oil for this purpose. To prepare this snack you will need:
- pita dough prepared according to the above recipe;
- assorted fresh herbs, 3 cups total or more (for example, mint, parsley, cilantro, sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano, dill, etc.);
- table salt;
- a little vegetable oil.
How to cook Armenian flatbreads with herbs step by step with photos at home
To prepare Armenian flatbreads with herbs, we will take different herbs. I have cilantro, spinach, sorrel, dandelion leaves, green onions and garlic, green salad, a little celery, dill... Maybe I missed something. The herbs must include sorrel to add sourness, and onions to complete the taste. We also need vegetable oil, flour, water, pepper, salt.
Combine water and salt, add flour and knead into a firm but not too soft dough. The amount of flour is approximate, I always add it gradually.
Knead the dough until it no longer sticks to the table. Wrap the dough in a towel, cover with film and leave for 0.5 hours.
Divide the dough into 6 equal parts, approximately 100 g each. Form into balls, cover again with a towel and cellophane. Let sit while the filling is prepared.
While the dough is maturing, prepare the greens. Sort it thoroughly, rinse and dry a little. Then chop all the greens.
There is a lot of filling. Don’t let its quantity scare you, everything will go away completely.))) You don’t need to salt all the greens yet, you just need to pepper them, add suneli hops and pour oil over them. Pour in enough oil so that all the leaves become glossy, but nothing squishes at the bottom or flows. Mix the green filling well. Her smell is very pleasant, driving you crazy.
Now you can roll out the dough. Take 1 ball at a time, the rest should be covered. Roll out the dough thinly until transparent. Thin rolling is the key to success. The rolled out sheet of dough should resemble fabric, thin and dense, and your fingers should be visible through. You can lightly dust the dough with flour, but do not cover it with it under any circumstances, otherwise the edges will not stick together.
Before putting the filling on the rolled out layer of dough, you need to take 1 portion of herbs in a separate bowl, the approximate amount is shown in the photo. And add salt to taste. Don't be afraid to try it. Only then spread the grass on the rolled out dough. If you salt everything at once, then the herbs can give water, which we don’t need at all.
You need to start pinching the flatbread from one edge, lightly pressing and gathering the dough like a cloth. Be sure to flatten the filling with your palm and expel the air from inside as you pinch it. You will get a seam like this in the middle.
It’s good to press the flatbread with your palms, as if stretching it to the sides and making it thinner. Be careful not to tear the thin dough.
The flatbread is more than 30 cm in length and needs to be fried in a dry frying pan or on an iron sheet on both sides. I already wrote above that it is convenient to do this directly on a brazier with coals. At home I used a large baking dish for this purpose. It is non-stick and frying in it is very easy. As soon as one side is browned, immediately turn it over to the other until such golden brown marks form.
Do not stack the flatbreads on top of each other, but let them arrange themselves more comfortably. They swell a little when frying, and then fall down and become thin.
And these are flatbreads in cross-section. Serve them with yogurt, sour cream, matsun. Bon appetit.
Food preparation
To make lamajo, you need to choose quality spices. It is advisable to use those specified in the recipe, but changes are allowed based on personal preferences. You also need to purchase fresh meat.
It can be anything, but you should only buy it from trusted sellers. Vegetables used for work must be young, without signs of wilting or rot. To prepare the dough, you should use premium wheat flour.
If some components from the recipe are not found, then they can be replaced. First of all, this concerns matsun - it is often replaced with kefir.
Video recipe for Armenian matsoni:
Lamajo recipe
For the test you will need:
- premium wheat flour - 0.5 kg;
- matsun - 1 glass (200 g);
- water - 0.5 cups;
- salt to taste.
For filling:
- lamb pulp - 0.5 kg;
- fat tail fat - 50 g;
- tomato paste (preferably homemade) - 1.5-2 tbsp. spoons;
- onions - 2 pcs.;
- garlic - 2-3 cloves;
- herbs - cilantro, basil, thyme;
- spices - ground black pepper, cumin, chili (you can use a ready-made spice mixture);
- salt;
- water.
Preparation
The dough for the flatbread is prepared like regular unleavened dough.
- Sift the flour onto a board or into a bowl.
- Make a depression in the center.
- Pour matsun, water, and salt into it.
- Knead stiff dough, like dumplings.
- Cover and set aside for half an hour.
Now you need to prepare the filling. For this:
- We grind the meat with lard, onion and garlic through a meat grinder.
- Add spices, finely chopped herbs, tomato paste to the resulting minced meat, and salt well.
- The filling should be very juicy so that it slightly saturates the flatbread during baking. To obtain the desired consistency, add water and mix well again.
- Leave the meat to marinate in the seasoning mixture.
Roll out the dough into a roller and cut into pieces. Roll into balls, each one into a thin cake 12-15 cm in diameter. We put the filling on it. Bake in the oven at 200°C for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the finished cakes with lemon juice, stack them in a heap, with the filling next to each other. It is customary to take two of Lamajo at a time.
Advice! The video recipe clearly demonstrates the process of its preparation, especially for novice cooks.
Recipe for matsoni for lamajo
To make a real Armenian everyday dish, lamaj, you need to use real Armenian matsun. To prepare matsun or matsoni for Lamajo, you need to boil the freshest milk - cow, goat, sheep, you can mix different types of milk. Cool to 40-45°.
For the first time, self-fermented milk is used as a starter, in other words, a curdled milk clot. All subsequent times, matsoni obtained the day before is used in this capacity. Add a tablespoon of starter to the cooled milk, poured into a glass, and mix thoroughly. Add the mixture to the rest of the milk and mix.
There are two ways to further ripening:
- Wrap the milk with the starter in a blanket and place in a warm place.
- Place in portioned pots in a warm oven with the door ajar.
Depending on the time of ripening, the matsun is more sour or not very sour. Sometimes 4-6 hours are enough, but some last 12 or longer. Armenians believe that real matsun is exclusively in the mountains. But if everything is done correctly, it will be no worse at home.
Advice! You won't get classic matsun from store-bought milk.
After fermentation, the matsun is placed in the refrigerator. There it will ripen. The released whey needs to be removed; you can leave it for baking bread, for example. After 2-3 days, the mass is placed in a linen bag and the serum is decanted. Ready matsun can be spread on bread, pita bread, and used in preparing first and second courses. It contains a large amount of useful substances, vitamins, and lactic acid bacteria. Eating it heals the body and prolongs life.
What you need to know about making lamajo
If this is the first time you hear the name of this dish, then you probably have a question: what is it? Lamajo are flatbreads filled with meat. They are special in that they have a soft structure and juicy filling. The classic Armenian lamajjo recipe involves using lamb as a filling, but today many people also add pork.
In Armenia, lamajo is not considered a holiday dish, but the process of its preparation is approached with all responsibility. What is the secret of this dish? To make the flatbreads taste unforgettable, you need to take into account the following subtleties of their preparation:
- to knead the dough, it is best to take matsoni (a fermented milk product), today you can buy it in almost any supermarket;
- the filling for lamajo must have a liquid consistency in order to saturate the flatbread - for this you need to add water to the minced meat;
- You need to make the minced meat yourself; in no case should you buy ready-made ones;
- When placing the filling on the flatbreads, make sure that it lies in a thin layer, otherwise the meat may burn during cooking;
- The Armenian lamajjo recipe includes a large amount of spices, since the dish should be quite spicy.
Traditional way
To make lamajo, you need the following ingredients:
- 200 milliliters of kefir.
- 400 grams of wheat flour.
- One and a half teaspoons of salt.
- 250 grams of chopped meat (lamb or beef).
- Bell pepper (1 piece).
- 2-3 cloves of garlic.
- Tomato (1 piece).
- Onion head.
- A bunch of greens (parsley or cilantro).
- Seasonings.
- Tomato paste (1 tablespoon).
First you need to prepare the dough. To make it, sift the flour and mix it with salt. A hole is made in the middle of the resulting mass into which the fermented milk product is added. Mix the mass again. If you look at the dough for lamajo in the step-by-step Armenian recipe with photos, you will notice that it has a dense consistency.
The base for the cake is wrapped in a special film and left for 15 minutes. At this time, the meat is minced and the vegetables are cooked. Peppers and onions must be washed, peeled, and cut into small pieces. The garlic needs to be crushed. The tomato is washed, peeled and chopped. All vegetables, as well as chopped greens, are placed in a large container.
Tomato paste and spices are added to the meat and salted. Some recommend spinning lamb or beef along with lard and a little water. This way you can get softer minced meat. Then the meat is mixed with vegetables.
The dough is cut into several parts, taking into account the desired size of the cakes. Then you need to roll it out thinly, like pita bread. The filling is applied to the surface of the flatbreads and spread evenly and neatly over them. Lamajo is baked in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes.
Cooking lahmajo recipe with photos
The recipe for making Armenian lamajo is simple; the main thing is to make the dough correctly so that it does not turn out too kneaded or, on the contrary, blurry.
Compound:
For the test:
- matsoni or kefir – 200 ml;
- flour – 450-500 g;
- water – 100 ml;
- a little salt.
For filling:
- lamb – 0.5 kg (or 250 g each of lamb and pork);
- onions – 1-2 pcs.;
- garlic – 2-3 cloves;
- tomato paste – 2 tbsp. l.;
- herbal spices (you can take cilantro, thyme, basil);
- pepper;
- salt.
Preparation:
- First, knead the dough. When preparing it, we make sure that it has the same consistency as dumplings.
- Take a bowl and pour the previously sifted flour into it.
- We make a depression in the middle and pour kefir or matsoni into it first, and then water. Also add salt.
- Now knead the dough: you need to do this in the direction from the center to the edges.
- Let's prepare the filling. First of all, we pass the meat through a meat grinder.
- Greens, onions, and garlic need to be chopped in a blender so that you get a paste.
- Mix the resulting pulp with minced meat and add tomato paste.
- The filling needs to be salted and peppered.
- If the minced meat is too thick, add a little water.
- Take out the dough and form it into a loaf.
- Cut the dough into equal pieces.
- Each piece needs to be rolled to form a ball, then flattened, sprinkle lightly with flour on top and roll out into a flat cake.
- Grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil and lay out our flatbreads.
- Spread the minced meat on top of the flatbreads (remember that the layer of filling should be thin).
- Bake for about 8-10 minutes. The readiness of the dish can be determined by the browned edges of the lamajó.
The finished dough must be wrapped in cling film and placed in the refrigerator for half an hour.
In an oven preheated to 220 degrees, place a baking sheet with lamajó.
Cooking options
There are many ways to make lamajo at home. The classic recipe is often supplemented with other ingredients or simplified.
Lamajo from pita bread
This version of lamajau is simplified because it does not require preparing the dough.
Ingredients:
- Armenian lavash – 400 g;
- egg – 1;
- minced meat – 300 g;
- spices;
- tomato sauce – 3 tbsp. l.;
- salt.
Lavash sheets are placed on a baking sheet. They should be greased with tomato paste on top, spreading it over the entire surface, including the edges. Beat the egg and add it to the minced meat. Sometimes a little water is added to give the mixture plasticity.
This mass is laid out on top of the pita bread and rolled up like a roll. It needs to be cut into portions and placed in the oven for half an hour at a temperature of 190 degrees. When the minced meat is ready, the dish can be served.
Lahmajo with vegetarian filling
For people who do not eat meat, this version of lahmajo is suitable.
For this you need to use:
- flour – 5 glasses;
- lentils – 0.5 cups;
- onion – 1;
- matsoni – 0.5 liters;
- salt;
- water – 1 glass;
- soda – 0.5 tsp;
- dill;
- spices;
- tomato paste.
To prepare matsoni, mix the starter with a liter of milk and keep the resulting mixture in a thermos for 12 hours. When the component is ready, you can start testing. Add salt and soda to the matsoni and beat lightly.
Add flour little by little to this mixture until you get a smooth dough. It should be quite dense. The dough is wrapped in film and put in the refrigerator for half an hour.
For the filling, combine lentils, onions, seasonings, chopped dill and tomato paste.
These components should be processed in a blender to make the mixture homogeneous. Flatbreads are made from pieces of dough. Each piece is rolled out with a rolling pin, and the filling is distributed over its surface. The blanks are placed on a baking sheet and baked in the oven at 220 degrees for 10 minutes.
Lahmajo with cheese
This method of preparing lamajo is less popular.
Ingredients for work:
- flour – 60 g;
- salt;
- butter – 10 g;
- cheese – 15 g;
- vegetable oil – 10 g;
- ground black pepper;
- mozzarella cheese – 35 g.
The dough is made from water, flour and salt. These components are mixed to form a dense mass. It needs to sit for about half an hour, after which you can form the cakes.
The cheese is cut into cubes, pepper and seasonings are added to it according to preference. All this is mixed and distributed over the surface of the cakes. You need to bake for about 10 minutes at an oven temperature of 180 degrees.
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Homemade semi-finished products
Seasonings for soups
Preparation
- To make the lamajo tasty and aromatic, we will prepare the following products.
These are the ingredients involved in creating Armenian pizza
- First of all, let's prepare the minced meat, so let's start with the meat. Divide the pulp into small pieces so that they can be conveniently turned into minced meat in a blender. We use a blender to obtain very “crumpled” minced meat, that is, the meat should turn into a homogeneous mass.
We will cook the minced meat in a blender, so we will divide the meat into small pieces
- Place the pieces of meat into the blender in parts. When the first part of the beef has already been ground, add new pieces on top.
Grind the meat piece by piece, adding new pieces on top
- We make sure that the minced meat is as homogeneous as possible, since later, after adding all the other ingredients, it should turn into a paste.
Blend the minced meat in a blender until smooth
- Place the ground meat in a mixing bowl, and rinse the blender mold thoroughly in order to proceed with preparing vegetables.
Place the finished minced meat in a mixing bowl.
- Rinse vegetables and herbs under running water. Peel the onion and garlic, remove the stalk from the bell pepper and divide it into parts.
Prepare vegetables and herbs for making minced meat
- Place the prepared vegetables and herbs in a blender bowl and grind them in the same way as the meat until they have a homogeneous consistency.
Grind vegetables and herbs
- Add vegetables to the mixing bowl. Season the mixture of minced meat and vegetables with salt and pepper, and immediately add hot red pepper to taste. In the classic recipe, lamajó should be hot and spicy.
Place the prepared minced meat and vegetables in a mixing bowl, add salt and spices
- Mix all the ingredients well, the minced meat should be slightly runny.
Prepare a homogeneous pasty meat mass
- Let's put the minced meat aside and start preparing the dough for the lamajo. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl.
Let's start kneading the dough
- Add matsun and salt to the flour.
Combine flour and matsun
- Knead soft elastic dough.
Let's knead the dough
- Cover the finished dough with a napkin and leave it to “rise” a little.
Let the dough “reach” under a napkin
- After 15 minutes, remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into small equal pieces.
Divide the dough into pieces
- Roll each piece into a “bun” and place in a bowl.
Roll a piece of dough into “balls”
- To prepare the lamajo flatbread, roll out the dough from the dough into a flatbread with a diameter of about 15-20 cm and a thickness of 0.5 cm.
Roll each “bun” into a flat cake
- Spread minced meat onto the rolled out flatbread. The minced meat should cover the entire surface of the cake to the very edges; the layer of minced meat should be thin, so it must be carefully leveled, avoiding the formation of lumps.
Fill the rolled out flatbread with minced meat
- Carefully transfer the flatbread with minced meat to a dry baking sheet; there is no need to grease it with oil. Bake the lamaj for about 20 minutes in an oven preheated to 180 degrees.
Transfer the dough to a dry baking tray and bake for about 20 minutes.
- When the time has expired, take out the finished lamajó and place it on a dish in pairs, that is, two flatbreads with the meat facing each other.
Place the finished flatbreads in a stack on a plate
- Since lahmajo is a spicy dish, it is customary to serve it with tan to slightly soften the spiciness while eating. Lahmajo is delicious while it's hot. You need to eat it by rolling it into a tube, like a shawarma, or folding it in half, like a cheburek, so your hands won’t get dirty and the juice won’t spill out. If your dish is successful, take the chilled tang out of the refrigerator and invite everyone to the table.
Ready lamajo should burn your lips, so you need to eat it hot, washed down with cold tan.
- Bon appetit!
Bon appetit!
How to make dough for Armenian flatbread
The recipe with photos demonstrates that everything is quite simple. First you need to make a starter. To do this, mix flour and yeast in a small bowl. Gradually add water and stir until a thick paste forms. Cover with cling film and place in a warm, draft-free place for an hour and a half. The mixture should double in size during this time.
Place the finished starter in a large bowl along with water, oil, salt and sugar, mix with a mixer. With it running, gradually add flour to form a soft dough, then beat at the lowest speed for eight minutes. You should get a homogeneous, elastic and sticky mass. Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl, cover with cling film and set aside in a warm, draft-free place for an hour. It should double in volume.
Knead the dough by punching the center of the dough and then folding it back on itself about 3 times to remove any air bubbles. Cover with a lid and set aside in a warm place for another hour.
Serve the lamajo to the table
We know how to cook lamajo, but how to serve it correctly? It turns out that in Armenian cuisine there are several recommendations in this regard.
- Meat flatbreads should be served hot.
- Before serving, each should be sprinkled with lemon juice.
- The dish is not portioned, served in a heap on one plate. To make a mound, you need to place the bottom flatbread with the filling up, and the next one with the filling down. The next one is up again, then down again. This way the filling will not “smear” the neighboring flatbreads. And you should take the lamajó from the plate “closed”, that is, a couple of flatbreads at once.
- The spicy taste of the dish can be somewhat softened by the Armenian tan, which is usually used to wash down the flatbread. However, it is impossible to “get” this milk drink from us. But you can cook it yourself. To do this, take boiled milk, warm it slightly, add the required amount of bacteria for natural yogurt (sold in any supermarket). After fermentation, pour slightly salted mineral water into the finished yogurt in a ratio of three to one. This is how you get homemade Armenian tan.
Be sure to try the juicy and spicy lamajo flatbread! The recipe with photos on our website will help you prepare them no worse than Armenian housewives!
Benefits of the dish
One can debate for a long time about the benefits or harms of lamajó; on the one hand, the dish is very spicy, on the other hand, it is prepared without frying or any fat, and accordingly, it is recognized as a dietary product. However, you can adjust the spiciness of the dish yourself and then you will not only enjoy the taste, but also have clear benefits for the body.
Firstly, the test uses very healthy Armenian matsun; it is also possible to use kefir, which themselves provide the body with beneficial calcium, iron, magnesium, B complex vitamins, and lactic acid bacteria. No baking powder or yeast is used to knead the dough. Secondly, minced meat and vegetables do not undergo heat treatment and, accordingly, retain all their beneficial properties, namely amino acids and lipids, proteins and minerals that are not produced in the human body.
The dish itself is prepared very quickly, on dry bread, without adding oil or other fats. In addition to lamaj, another very healthy drink is served - fermented milk tan, which in itself is a treasure trove of vitamins. Tan helps in the fight against excess weight, normalizes intestinal function, lowers cholesterol, helps prevent cardiovascular diseases, protects against poisoning and relieves hangovers.
Cooking process
- Ingredients for the dish.
Let's prepare the ingredients needed for the flatbread.
- First of all, let's prepare the greens. We use greens for zhengal hats, available in our retail chains - cilantro, dill, green onions. Let's free the bunches of greenery from the strings that bind them, remove the roots and damaged leaves.
Let's prepare the greens: cilantro, green onions, dill
- Place the greens in a colander or sieve and rinse well under running water and let the water drain.
Now wash and dry the greens
- Lay a napkin on a tray and place the greens on it so that the water is absorbed and the greens dry. Let's put it aside.
Place the greens on a towel or napkin and let them dry completely.
- Pour warm water into the mixing bowl and add salt. In another bowl, combine flour and dry yeast.
Mix water and salt in a deep bowl or dough container. In a separate bowl, combine flour and yeast (dry)
- Mix the yeast and flour thoroughly so that they are evenly distributed.
Mix the yeast and flour thoroughly
- Pour some of the flour into the water.
Add a little flour to salt water
- Mix and prepare the dough.
Mix the future dough
- Cover the dough with a lid and set it aside to let it rise. When the dough has risen sufficiently, knead a soft and elastic dough. You need to adhere to the proportion - 500 grams of flour to 500 grams of water, then the dough will not require additional flour and will be tender. Let the dough “rise”.
Let the dough rise and then knead the soft dough. The dough should be kneaded at the rate of 500 g mukinan and 500 ml water. The finished dough should be left to rise for at least 1 hour.
- Now let's start filling our Armenian flatbreads. Peel and finely chop the onion.
For the filling, chop the onion
- Divide the greens into bunches, cut each one, there is no need to chop it too much. Greens and onions should be kept in separate bowls, and mixed for the filling in a separate bowl, since if you prepare all the filling at once, the greens will yield juice and will be unsuitable for baking.
Chop the greens not very finely
- In a separate bowl, mix the prepared mixture of greens and onions in equal proportions, add salt, and add hot pepper. At the end, add sunflower oil, you can mix sunflower and olive oil in equal proportions, and the filling is ready.
Mix greens and chopped onions and season with salt, pepper and vegetable oil to taste
- We check the dough to see if it is “right”. If the dough is “right,” we proceed to making flatbreads with herbs.
As soon as the dough has risen, we begin preparing the flatbreads.
- Divide some of the dough into pieces and roll them into balls. You shouldn’t divide the entire dough at once so that it doesn’t dry out. It is better to take the dough from a common bowl in parts.
Divide a piece of dough into portions and roll each into a bun. We do the same with the rest of the dough one by one.
- Roll out the ball into a flat cake measuring approximately 20 cm in diameter.
From each piece we roll out a flat cake with a diameter of about 20 cm
- In a city apartment, we do not have the opportunity to bake zhengalov hats on a “saj”; we will bake flat cakes in a frying pan with a thick bottom, so our flat cakes will have the shape of a large flat pie. Place the filling in the middle of the rolled out flatbread and distribute it along the middle.
Place the filling in the middle of the flatbread
- We begin to sculpt the flatbread, make a seam from the center to the edges, make sure that the greens do not get on the dough, otherwise the dough will separate. Gently knead the seam with your fingers, leveling it. To prevent the remaining air from tearing the dough during baking, prick the cake with a fork and roll it out with a rolling pin until it becomes thin. The thinner the flatbread, the better; the skill of the housewife is assessed by the thinness of the flatbread she prepares.
Blind the edges of the cake in the direction from the center to the edges. Make sure that the filling does not get into the seam, otherwise the cake will simply fall apart. Gently knead the seam of the cake with your fingers, and then roll it out as thinly as possible
- Place the prepared zhengalov hats in the frying pan, seam side down. If the dough breaks somewhere, don't worry.
Place the finished flatbread on a hot, dry frying pan, seam side down.
- When the cake is baked on one side, turn it over to the other side.
Once the cake is browned, flip it over and bake the other side
- Remove the finished cake from the pan and place it on a dish or large plate. Zhengalov hats is ready. Bon appetit!
Well, that’s all, the Armenian flatbreads are now ready and it’s time to call everyone to the table!
How to make lamajo at home
First, knead the lamajo dough. To do this, sift the wheat flour into a bowl and add salt. Mix them together. 
Make a hole in the middle and pour in a glass of kefir.
Help In the homeland of the Lamajo recipe with meat, cooks very often use the fermented milk product “matsoni” to prepare the dough (it is prepared from boiled and enzymatically treated milk of goats, cows or sheep).
However, we will take ordinary kefir - in our country it will not be difficult to purchase it, and this will not affect the quality of the result at all. Knead the dough into a tight dough. 
Wrap the kneaded dough in cling film and let it rest for 15-20 minutes. 
In the meantime, let's prepare the filling and start with vegetables. It is better to take red bell pepper, it will add a brighter color to the dish. It must be washed, cleaned of seeds and entrails, and chopped very finely.
Tip: If you don’t have fresh sweet peppers, tomato paste and garlic, add adjika to the minced meat instead.
Onions, as well as bell peppers, must be chopped very finely. Grind the garlic in a garlic press. 
Grate the tomato on a fine grater. Or it can be finely chopped, first removing the peel from the surface. But on a grater everything turns out faster. 
Parsley is finely chopped, you can also use fresh basil and cilantro. In general, to prepare minced meat, all vegetables and herbs must be finely chopped. 
Place all the chopped vegetables and herbs in one deep bowl. 
To them we add minced meat made from lamb.
Advice: You can deviate a little from the recipe and prepare minced meat in a 50/50 ratio, lamb + pork. Salt, spices, and tomato paste are also added. You can also replace minced lamb with beef, ground together with lard.
The minced meat should be liquid enough to spread on the dough. It is for this reason that meat minced into small pieces cannot be used to prepare minced meat with Armenian flatbread. It is advisable to pass the meat through a meat grinder 2 times.
For more hydration, you can add a couple of tablespoons of water. 
The dough has had time to rest. We cut it into several parts, it all depends on what size you want the cakes to be. 
Roll out each piece of dough into a thin layer. The thickness is like lavash, 1.5-2 mm. 
Spread the prepared filling onto the rolled out dough.
Important! We spread it, not put it on, because this is not pizza.
The minced meat is spread in a thin layer, covering the entire surface of the dough. If there is a lot of minced meat, during baking it will go beyond the edges of the cake and burn on the sides. 
Bake the cakes for 10 minutes in an oven preheated to 200 degrees.
Attention! If you leave it too long, the cakes will turn out hard. These flatbreads are served in portions
That is why, divide the dough into as many parts as the number of family members you planned to serve the Lamajo dish to.
Features of Lamajo flatbreads
Every housewife in Armenia knows how to cook lamaj. The dish is not served on special occasions, such as oven-roasted lamb ribs. But they approach it skillfully and creatively.
- The dish is a flatbread with meat filling. The flatbread should have a soft structure, and the filling should be as juicy as possible.
- The meat used for the lamajo recipe is lamb. However, today even Armenians allow replacing some of the lamb with pork.
- For the dough of classic Armenian lamajos, matsoni is used. This is a fermented milk drink made from fermented boiled milk of cows, goats, sheep or a mixture. Of course, it is completely impossible to find matsoni in Russia, so it is customary to use regular kefir instead.
- The lamajo filling should be liquid. This is how flatbreads are radically different from Italian pizza. It should spread easily onto the dough and soak it. To achieve this consistency, add water to the minced meat and mix it well.
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