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Kubdari
Kubdari: Svan bread stuffed with chopped beef, onion and Svan salt
Kubdari is the meat bread of Svaneti, the highest inhabited region of the Caucasus, where hunters and herders needed a pie that would keep them going on the slopes around Mestia: a plain, soft dough wrapped around hand-chopped beef, onion and Svan salt fragrant with blue fenugreek and coriander, then flattened and baked until juicy inside. Some families mix in pork; this version uses beef. A common mistake is using minced meat; hand-chopped pieces stay juicy and give kubdari its texture. Chef's tip: add a spoon of cold water to the filling, which turns to steam in the oven and keeps the meat moist. The filling needs to reach 71 °C.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 ⅛ lb plain flour
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup warm milk
- ¾ cup warm water
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
For the filling
- 1 ½ lb beef chuckchopped by hand into 5 mm pieces
- 2 onionsfinely chopped
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- 2 tsp Svanetian salt
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
- 3 tbsp cold water
- 1 oz buttermelted
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb plain flour, ⅛ oz fast-action dried yeast, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt. Add ¾ cup warm milk, ¾ cup warm water and 2 tbsp sunflower oil and knead for 8 minutes until soft and smooth. Cover and rise for 1 hour.
8 minStep 2: Mix 1 ½ lb beef chuck, 2 onions, 3 cloves garlic, 2 tsp Svanetian salt, 1 tsp ground coriander, ½ tsp dried chilli flakes and 3 tbsp cold water. Common mistake: using fine mince; the filling turns dense.
Step 3: Heat the oven to 425°F (fan 400°F) with a baking tray inside.
Step 4: Divide dough and filling into 3. Roll a piece of dough into a 25 cm circle, put the filling in the middle and gather the edges over it, pinching to seal.
Step 5: Turn seam-side down and pat gently into a 25 cm round about 2 cm thick, without tearing. Make a small hole in the top.
Step 6: Bake on the hot tray for 25–30 minutes, until deep golden and the juices bubble at the hole. A probe in the filling should read 160°F.
30 minStep 7: Brush with 1 oz butter and rest 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 28 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kubdari take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 45 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 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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