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Gubadia
Gubadia (губадия): tall Tatar festive pie layered with rice, sweet kort curd, raisins and egg
RussianWeddings, Eid and the arrival of honoured guests in Tatarstan call for gubadia, a high round pie that is cut at the table like a cake and served with tea. Inside sit neat layers of buttery rice, kort – Tatar curd cooked down until rosy and fudge-sweet – raisins and chopped hard-boiled egg, under a domed lid of soft yeast dough. Many families add a layer of minced meat with onion; this is the meat-free version, as many sweet tea-table gubadias are. Kort is hard to buy outside the region, so you make it here from tvorog (check the label if you need it rennet-free). Where most people go wrong is a dry pie: every layer needs its share of melted butter. Chef's tip: let the baked pie stand for twenty minutes before cutting so the layers settle and come away in clean wedges.
- Total time
- 180 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 ¼ cups whole milklukewarm
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 ⅓ lb plain flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 2 ⅞ oz unsalted buttermelted
For the kort
- 14 oz tvorog (farmer's cheese)
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 ⅞ oz caster sugar
- ⅔ oz unsalted butter
For the layers
- 7 oz long-grain rice
- 1 ¾ cups water
- ½ tsp salt
- 5 ½ oz raisins
- 4 eggs
- 3 ½ oz unsalted buttermelted
- 1 egg yolkbeaten, for glazing
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Method
0/11 doneStep 1: Stir the ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast and 2 tbsp caster sugar into the warm 1 ¼ cups whole milk and leave for 10 minutes, until foamy.
10 minStep 2: Add the 1 ⅓ lb plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 egg and 2 ⅞ oz unsalted butter and knead for 8 minutes into a soft, smooth dough. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour, until doubled.
68 minStep 3: For the kort, put the 14 oz tvorog (farmer's cheese), ½ cup whole milk, 2 ⅞ oz caster sugar and ⅔ oz unsalted butter in a heavy non-stick pan over a low heat. Stir often for 30–40 minutes, until the liquid has gone and the curd is crumbly and a rosy caramel colour. Cool.
40 minStep 4: Rinse the 7 oz long-grain rice, then simmer it covered in the 1 ¾ cups water with the ½ tsp salt for 12 minutes and leave to stand off the heat for 10 minutes. Spread out to cool.
22 minStep 5: Cover the 5 ½ oz raisins with boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and dry them.
5 minStep 6: Cook the 4 eggs in boiling water for 10 minutes, cool in cold water, peel and chop.
12 minStep 7: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Brush a 24 cm deep cake tin with a little of the ⅓ oz unsalted butter. Roll two-thirds of the dough into a 40 cm round and line the tin, leaving the edges hanging over.
10 minStep 8: Layer in the kort, then half the rice, the raisins, the eggs and the rest of the rice, drizzling most of the 2 ⅞ oz unsalted butter between the layers.
8 minStep 9: Roll out the rest of the dough, lay it over the top, fold the overhang up and pinch to seal. Cut a small steam hole and prove for 20 minutes.
20 minStep 10: Brush with the 1 egg yolk and bake for 50–60 minutes, until deep golden; cover loosely with foil if it browns too fast.
55 minStep 11: Brush the hot crust with the last ⅓ oz unsalted butter, rest for 20 minutes, then unmould and cut into wedges.
20 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 17 g
- Carbs
- 74 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does gubadia take?
- About 180 minutes in total: 90 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 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 whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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