Kazakhstani recipe
How to make Shelpek
Шелпек (şelpek)
All of Kazakhstan
A thin, round flatbread fried in oil in a shallow pan, soft and slightly chewy. It is eaten with tea and is also made for gatherings in memory of the dead.
Ingredients
- 300 g plain flour
- 180 ml milk or water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for frying
- 1 teaspoon sugar and a pinch of salt
- Half a teaspoon of baking powder
Method
- Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt, add the milk and a tablespoon of oil, and knead to a soft dough. Rest it for 10 minutes.
- Divide into 7 balls and roll each into a very thin round, about 20 cm across.
- Heat 1 cm of oil in a wide frying pan. Fry each round for about 1 minute on each side until golden with a few bubbles. Hot oil is dangerous: never leave the pan.
- Drain on kitchen paper and stack them. Serve warm with tea, butter or honey.
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Families often fry seven shelpek, 'jeti nan', on Thursdays to remember their ancestors, one for each. It is said that the smell of frying bread feeds their spirits.
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