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Flija
Flija: Kosovo's layered batter pie, baked leaf by leaf under a hot lid
Flija is the dish of long summer afternoons in Kosovo, from the Rugova valley to the villages around Prizren, when friends gather and take turns tending the saç, a domed iron lid heaped with embers. Thin batter is painted onto a round tray in spokes, cooked under the heat, brushed with a mix of sour cream and yogurt, then painted again, until 15 or more layers have built up over a couple of hours. Cut into wedges, it is chewy, buttery and lightly scorched, served with honey, white cheese, pickled peppers or a bowl of yogurt. At home, a very hot oven grill stands in for the saç. The most frequent mistake is crowding the batter: each spoke must leave a finger-wide gap for the next layer to fill, or the pie becomes a thick, gummy pancake. Chef's tip: keep the batter as thin as single cream, and whisk in a spoonful of water whenever it thickens as it stands.
- Total time
- 240 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the batter
- 1 ⅛ lb plain flour
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 3 ¾ cups waterplus a little extra
For the cream
- 10 ½ oz sour cream
- 7 oz plain yogurt
- ½ cup milk
- 3 ½ oz buttermelted
To serve
- 4 tbsp honey (optional)
- 7 oz vegetarian white cheese (optional)
- 8 pickled peppers (optional)
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Whisk the 1 ⅛ lb plain flour and 1 ½ tsp salt in a large bowl, then pour in the 3 ¾ cups water gradually, whisking, until you have a smooth batter as thin as single cream. Rest for 20 minutes.
25 minStep 2: Whisk the 10 ½ oz sour cream, 7 oz plain yogurt, ½ cup milk and half the 1 ¾ oz butter into a pourable cream.
3 minStep 3: Heat the oven grill to its highest setting with a shelf about 10 cm below it, for 10 minutes. Brush a 30 cm round metal tray or pizza pan with a little of the remaining ⅓ oz butter.
10 minStep 4: For the first layer, pour in a ladle of batter and tilt the tray to coat the base thinly. Grill for 5 minutes, until set and blistered with brown spots.
5 minStep 5: Brush the layer with about 2 tablespoons of the cream mixture.
1 minStep 6: For the second layer, spoon or pipe the batter in spokes from the centre to the edge, leaving a finger-wide gap between each. Grill for 5–6 minutes, until the spokes are set and spotted brown, then brush with cream.
7 minStep 7: For the next layer, fill the gaps left by the spokes before. Keep alternating, brushing with cream after each one and grilling until each layer is set and golden, for about 15–18 layers in all, which takes about 2½ hours.
150 minStep 8: Brush the top with the rest of the 1 ⅜ oz butter, cover with foil and bake at 350°F (oven, not grill) for 15 minutes so the layers fuse.
15 minStep 9: Rest under a clean cloth for 15 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve with 4 tbsp honey, 7 oz vegetarian white cheese and 8 pickled peppers.
15 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 50 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does flija take?
- About 240 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 210 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of sour cream?
- Greek yoghurt, same amount.
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