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Gumma
Gumma: Tashkent fried yeast pies filled with lamb liver, heart and onion
Gumma are the hot, puffy fried pies sold from big pans on Tashkent street corners and in bazaars like Chorsu, wrapped in paper and eaten in the morning with tea. The classic filling is cheap and hearty: lamb or beef offal, usually liver, heart and lung, minced with plenty of onion and black pepper; potato gumma is the vegetarian sister. This version uses lamb's liver and heart. A common mistake is frying in oil that is not hot enough, which makes the dough greasy and heavy. Chef's tip: cook the filling fully before shaping, then fry the pies at 175 °C until puffed and golden; the dough cooks in minutes while the filling only needs warming. Offal should be cooked until no pink remains, 71 °C.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 ⅛ lb plain flour
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
For the filling
- 10 ½ oz lamb's liver
- 9 oz lamb's hearttrimmed
- 3 onionsfinely chopped
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
For frying
- 6 ¼ cups sunflower oil
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb plain flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt, add 1 ¼ cups warm water and 2 tbsp sunflower oil and knead for 8 minutes into a soft dough. Cover and rise for 1 hour.
8 minStep 2: Cut 9 oz lamb's heart and 10 ½ oz lamb's liver into small pieces. Fry 9 oz lamb's heart in 3 tbsp sunflower oil over a medium-high heat for 8 minutes, add 3 onions and fry 8 minutes more, then add 10 ½ oz lamb's liver and fry 4 minutes, until no pink remains.
20 minStep 3: Mince or chop finely, season with 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper and cool.
Step 4: Divide the dough into 12. Flatten each into a 12 cm circle, put 2 tbsp filling in the centre and pinch closed into a flat, oval pie. Rest 10 minutes.
10 minStep 5: Heat 6 ¼ cups sunflower oil to 350°F. Fry 3–4 at a time for 2–3 minutes per side, until puffed and deep golden. Common mistake: oil too cool; they soak up fat.
12 minStep 6: Drain on kitchen paper and eat hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 12 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does gumma take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 50 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- 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 fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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