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Qurutob
Qurutob: Tajik torn flatbread soaked in qurut sauce, with onion and tomato
TajikQurutob is the national dish of Tajikistan, eaten from one big wooden bowl in Dushanbe teahouses and village homes: layers of torn fatir flatbread soaked in a tangy sauce made from qurut, dried salty yogurt balls dissolved in water, then topped with onions fried in oil, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, chilli and herbs. Everyone eats with their right hand. Qurut is sold in Central Asian shops; strained yogurt thinned with water and salted makes a fair stand-in. A common mistake is pouring the sauce on and serving at once; the bread needs a few minutes to soak. Chef's tip: soak the qurut overnight and rub it through a sieve; a smooth, sour sauce is the soul of the dish.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 5 ½ oz qurut (dried yogurt balls)soaked overnight in 600 ml warm water, or 500 g strained yogurt mixed with 200 ml water
- ½ tsp salt
For the bowl
- 14 oz fatir or flaky flatbreadtorn into pieces
- 5 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 onionssliced
- 3 tomatoeschopped
- 1 cucumberchopped
- 1 green chillisliced
- 1 oz fresh coriander, dill and basilchopped
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Mash the soaked 5 ½ oz qurut (dried yogurt balls) in its water and rub through a sieve into a smooth, thin sauce like single cream. Season with ½ tsp salt. Common mistake: lumpy qurut; strain it well.
Step 2: Fry 2 onions in 5 tbsp sunflower oil over a medium heat for 12 minutes, until golden.
12 minStep 3: Spread 14 oz fatir or flaky flatbread in a wide, deep dish. Pour over the sauce and leave for 5 minutes, until soft but not falling apart.
5 minStep 4: Spoon over the onions and their hot oil, then top with 3 tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 1 green chilli and 1 oz fresh coriander, dill and basil. Serve at once.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does qurutob take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 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 onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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