Central Asia and the steppe · Volume 57, The Nomad Steppe
Gutap
Turkmenistan
An illustration of the dish, not a photograph of it cooked.
- Time
- 45 minutes
- Reviewed
- Not yet reviewed from inside the tradition
- Cooked
- Not yet cooked and reported
Gutap sits closer to the oasis, urban side of Turkmen cooking than to the pastoral, sand oven register ishlekli belongs to, structurally close to çeburek and the wider Turkic fried pastry family rather than a shepherd's dish specifically. It takes meat or, just as commonly, a spinach filling, and either way is finished fast in hot oil rather than slow heat.
As tradition built it
Makes 16. About 45 minutes.
Ingredients
- 500 g plain flour
- 300 ml warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- 500 g minced beef or lamb, for the meat filling
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp ground red pepper
- 2 tbsp water
- for frying oil, for frying
Method
- Mix the flour, warm water and salt into a soft dough. Divide into 16 balls and rest 5 minutes.
- For the filling, mix the minced meat, onion, salt, black pepper, red pepper and water to a loose, well combined paste.
- Roll each dough ball to about 14 cm across. Place 1 tablespoon of filling on one half, fold the other half over, and seal the edge firmly with a fork.
- Heat about 4 cm of oil in a wide pan. Fry two at a time, turning once, until deeply golden on both sides.
- Drain briefly and serve hot.
What a modern chef changes
Temperature control, and a proper dipping side
Rung 1
Method
- Hold the oil at a true, checked 175°C. Rather than judging readiness by eye, use a thermometer and adjust the heat between batches, since gutap's whole appeal depends on a crisp, evenly browned crust achieved through consistent frying temperature rather than a crust that has merely absorbed oil at too low a heat.
- A chinois strained yoghurt and dill dip. Strain thick yoghurt through a chinois with a little of the wild garlic used elsewhere in this chapter and fresh dill folded through, for a clean, smooth dipping side that plays against gutap's fried crust the way a bare table otherwise leaves it without.