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Fatir is a traditional wheat cake of the peoples of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran. The product has a long history and deep symbolic meaning not only as bread (and these peoples greatly honor and respect bread, calling it the highest value of every family), but also as an element of national culture and way of life. Tajiks, for example, have an old family tradition associated with this cake, according to which, on the second day after the wedding, a young wife, having come to her husband’s house, is obliged, instead of relaxing and celebrating her own celebration, to cook fatir for her husband’s relatives. The attitude of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law towards a woman will be based on the quality of the cake she bakes. However, it is not at all necessary to adopt the strict customs of the Eastern peoples in order to enjoy this wonderful pie. It is enough to stock up on simple ingredients and carefully study the recipes offered on the Internet.
The meaning of fatir in Eastern culture
Uzbeks and Tajiks associate a round cake of appetizing yellow color with the image of a star that gives life – the sun. The preparation of the dough and the baking process do not just take place in the form of mechanical actions. Prayers, thoughts, meaning are invested in them. The dough is kneaded at dawn, after a special prayer. The sourdough that is used for yeast dough should be stored in a clean place, away from prying eyes. Cutting the dough takes place on a special canvas towel, which is intended only for bread. The finished product is taken out of the tandoor (furnace) with a special scoop, and if it accidentally falls into the ashes, such a fatir is considered sacred, and it is given to the closest people in the family. It is believed that the cake, which a kind and wise person gave from his own hands, carries warmth and gives vitality.
Meals in Tajik and Uzbek families usually begin with the distribution of bread, fatir or any other variety of it. The cakes are broken by the hands of the oldest member of the family, who distributes the pieces to everyone else.
It is considered extremely successful to take fresh fatir with you on the road both for saturation and for maintaining vitality. Traditional fatir is prepared with onion filling, and it can be added both during cooking to a raw dish and to the dough itself. However, the presence of filling is not a prerequisite.
Calorie content and nutrient content
Considering that the pie is actually prepared “out of nothing”, as Tajik housewives themselves often claim, its calorie content, as for such a dish, is quite low – only 245 kcal per 100 g. Nutritional value:
- 7,9 g protein;
- 0,8 g fat;
- 50,4 g carbohydrates.
The flour from which the fatir dough is kneaded contains a complex of valuable vitamins: B1, B2, B6, B9, B12, D, E, H, PP, A. All these elements perform important functions in the human body, affecting metabolic processes, the production of hormones and the work of almost all organ systems. Also in the cake there are: boron, vanadium, potassium, calcium, sulfur, chromium, fluorine, iodine, iron, selenium.
The product is rich in carbohydrates, gives energy for the life of the body, gives a long-lasting feeling of satiety.
Together with a small amount of fat in the composition, as well as an average level of calories, all these useful substances make fatir a dish that even those who, due to overweight problems, need to follow a dietary diet can afford from time to time.
How to cook Uzbek fatir
On the one hand, this pie has a very simple list of ingredients: for puff pastry, only flour, water, salt and a little vegetable oil are needed, sourdough and yeast are also added to the yeast dough. The filling is made from onions. On the other hand, the process of preparing and manipulating the dough itself requires a certain skill and skill. It is not for nothing that Uzbek girls are taught the tricks of traditional baking from a young age.
For a classic puff fatire, for 4 cakes take the following ingredients:
- 3 cup of flour;
- 200 g of vegetable oil;
- 1 glass of water;
- 2 bulbs;
- salt and spices to taste;
- sesame seeds for decoration.
From water, salt and flour, the dough is kneaded, similar in consistency to dumplings, and divided into 4 equal cakes. They are stacked on top of each other, sprinkled with flour so that they do not stick together, and covered with a towel. The test needs to stand for 5-10 minutes. At this time, the onion is peeled, cut into half rings and lightly crushed so that it does not spread much. You can add a small amount of cumin and cumin.
The dough is rolled out a centimeter thick, since it will be quite difficult to work with a thinner one, especially for novice cooks. The rolled sheet is smeared with oil, a handful of onions are evenly distributed over the surface.
The most complex process follows next – this is the formation of the future fatir. To do this, the dough with the filling is rolled up with an envelope, and then with a roll, then lightly pressed down with the palm of your hand to make it flatter, and turn the cake upside down in layers.
Now the cake needs to stand still for another 5-10 minutes. After that, without the help of a rolling pin, with your hands you need to give the cake a rounded flat shape, and also check whether the thickness of the cake is the same everywhere (no more than 1,5 centimeters).
On the product prepared in this way, punctures are carefully applied with a fork, then it is sprayed with salted water and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The workpiece must be transferred to a slightly wet baking sheet and left before baking for 10 minutes.
Baking lasts about 15 minutes at a temperature of 250 degrees Celsius. You can focus on readiness by appearance – the cake should acquire a golden-red ruddy crust.
The finished product is removed from the baking sheet, sprinkled with water and covered with a clean towel, left to cool.
When breaking off pieces, the dough should exfoliate – this indicator is considered the highest degree of skill of the cook. The main thing at the same time is that the bow does not protrude along the edges – such a fatir would not be approved in the Uzbek family. Although it is not known if this affects the taste of the cake in any way.
There are also recipes for non-layered fatirs, which can be made from unleavened dough, however, judging by the reviews of people who have tried such a cake, it is also worth baking at least once.
For 1 kilogram of flour, take one and a half glasses of vegetable oil, 300 ml of cold water and a pinch of salt. From the listed ingredients, a steep dough of a uniform consistency is kneaded. It is left to “rest” for 15-20 minutes, after which it is divided into 2-3 parts and rolled out. Such a dough, of course, will not be crumbly and puffy, like a classic fatir, but it will turn out to be more dense. The thickness of the rolled cake is about 1,5-2 centimeters. The workpiece is placed on a greased baking sheet, its surface is evenly pierced with an ordinary fork so that the air bubbles that will appear during baking do not spoil its structure and prevent the cake from baking well. At a temperature of 200 degrees, the cake is baked until a golden crust and a characteristic bread smell appear.
The traditional bread of the peoples of the East has many varieties. There are also festive pies, and everyday cakes, and just dishes that you want to pamper your family and friends with. Probably fatir just belongs to the latter category. The cake is made from simple ingredients that every housewife always has at hand, and does not require special efforts in the cooking process. The only moment when you will need to strain your inner cook with all your might is the process of forming the pie itself, since the dough should not tear, the onion should not come out around the edges, and the cake should look thin, even and neat, regular round shape. However, it is enough that it looks like a circle, unless, of course, you are taking an exam for a Tajik wife.
Warm onion fatir can be eaten for dinner with a cup of hot tea, or breakfast with this dish, and at the same time stock up on energy and carbohydrates for the day ahead.