• Capital: Dushanbe
• Population: about 8.7 millions
• Area: 143 100 km²
• Currency: Somoni

For my Tajik recipe I made Qurutob. Qurutob is a traditional dish from Tajikistan. It’s made with a salted yogurt base cheese called Qurut which is dissolved in water and served with Fatir bread on top and a lot of herbs and vegetables.

Qurutob

Ingredients:

For the Qurut:

• 18 oz greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Fatir:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter

For the Toppings:

• 1/2 cucumber
• 3 tomatoes
• 3 scallions
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 1/2 onion
• Red chilis (optional)

Directions:

First, start by making the Qurut. Preheat the oven at 300F. Pour the yogurt in a baking dish. Put it in the oven and let it cook undisturbed for 1 1/2 hour.

After 1 1/2 hour, put the yogurt in a cheese cloth or a very fine mesh sieve and press as much liquid out as possible. Return the yogurt to the baking dish, spread it evenly, add the salt, mix and cook for another 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, take the yogurt out. It should be mostly solid curds. Reserve until ready to do the final assembly.

Now for the Fatir, mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Gradually add water and stir. Once all the water is added, knead the dough for a minute until you have a uniform ball. Wrap the ball in cling film and let rest in the fridge for 1 hour. Take the butter out to have it ready at room temperature.

After 1 hour, take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out into a large rectangle about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut the rectangle in 5 long strips lengthwise. Take the butter (it should be very soft, if not, put it in the microwave for 10 seconds) and spread it over all the strips.

Roll the first strip with the butter inside the roll. Put it on the second strip and roll it. Repeat with all 5 strips. You should end up with one very large cylinder. Put it in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven at 375F.

Place the cylinder vertically on a well floured surface and flatten it with your hands or a rolling pin, flipping frequently, until you obtain a 1/2 inch thick disk that looks like a snail with the butter and the dough. Pierce holes with a fork all over the disk.

Put the Fatir in the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Now cut all your vegetables. Dice the tomatoes, the onion and the cucumber. Slice the scallion and chop the herbs.

When the Fatir is ready, pour 2 ounces of water in a pot and crumble the Qurut in it. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for a few minutes. You should obtain and thick and lumpy sauce. Add more water if necessary. In small pan, brown 1.2 the onion until golden brown. Cut the Fatir in small bite size bits.

In a serving platter pour the Qurut sauce, add the Fatir and stir together. Finish by sprinkling with all the vegetables and herbs on top.

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