Chechen recipe: chepalgash. Features of cooking, types, fillings

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Caucasian cuisine is rich in recipes for all kinds of cakes, pies and pies, prepared on the basis of unleavened or yeast dough with various fillings inside. These are khychins, and kutabs, and delicious Ossetian pies. And today, everyone who likes Caucasian cuisine can replenish their collection of culinary recipes with another dish from the North Caucasus, which is called chepalgash.

What is chepalgash?

Chepalgash is a national dish of the Chechen-Ingush cuisine, one of the oldest in the Caucasus. However, in Dagestan they love it no less and use the same recipe in the cooking process. Chepalgash is thin cakes made of unleavened dough with a filling inside (most often potato or cottage cheese). In Chechnya they are even sometimes called pancakes, they are so tender.

Mountain peoples have many traditions and rituals associated with chepalgash, there are references to it in songs and fairy tales. Thin cakes with pumpkin were always baked on the day when the child took his first steps. They made them immediately in large quantities, treatingrelatives, friends and acquaintances.

There is also a wedding ritual associated with the chepalgash cake. On the third day after the wedding, a needle was pulled out of the hem of the bride's dress, stuck in the center of the cake and thrown into the water. Then the chepalgash was shot, thereby driving away evil spirits from the woman. After that, she could collect water from the river and bring it into the house without fear for her he alth.

Types of stuffing for Chechen chepalgash

The whole taste of chepalgash cakes lies in the filling, although sometimes they are cooked without it, just like thin pancakes. They also turn out quite tasty.

Traditionally, chepalgash is cooked with cottage cheese. But other types of filling can be used:

• pumpkin;
• potato;
• s alty cheese;
• minced meat.

In general, the filling for chepalgash is the basis for experiments. No less tasty will be cakes cooked with herbs, wild garlic and other ingredients.

Chepalgash: cooking secrets

Like any dish of national cuisine, chepalgash also has its own cooking characteristics:

1. Fry cakes only on a hot dry frying pan. Ready chepalgash are transferred to a plate, after which they are generously smeared with melted butter.
2. The unique technology of making chepalgash lies in the fact that the finished cakes must be dipped in clean boiling water for a few seconds. In this way, flour and soot are washed off the surface of the cake, and it itself becomes unusually soft and tender. Only experienced housewives can cope with such a “ritual”, therefore, in order to simplify their task, many simply sprinkle chepalgash with hot water.
3. Chepalgash is always stacked, then the cakes are well saturated with ghee on both sides. After the stack is tall enough, it is cut from top to bottom into 5-6 pieces.
4. Chepalgash, the recipe for which is passed down from generation to generation in every family, is made exclusively in a round shape and rolled out as thinly as possible.
5. Chechen cakes are served with hot tea or milk drinks.

Preparing dough for chepalgash

According to the traditional recipe, chepalgash is made from unleavened dough. For it, you will need kefir and flour, taken in a 1: 1 ratio, as well as a teaspoon of s alt and soda.

Cooking sequence:

1. Sift flour (600 g) into a deep bowl, add s alt, soda, mix with your hands and pour in 600 ml of kefir (you can replace homemade yogurt).
2. The dough is thoroughly kneaded, adding flour if necessary (an additional 50 g may be needed). The result should be a soft and elastic dough that sticks to your hands a little (when rolling, you will need to add more flour).
3. The bowl with the kneaded dough is covered with a lid or a towel and left on the table to "rest" for 15-20 minutes.
4. After the specified time, the dough is kneaded again on the table, adding flour if necessary (approximately 70 g more). It is important not to overdo it here.otherwise, the cakes will turn out to be too hard, and it will be very difficult to roll them out. Transfer the dough to a bowl and leave under the towel for another 15 minutes.
5. After the dough has “rested”, due to the swollen gluten it is made homogeneous and as elastic as possible, it stretches very well, which means that chepalgash, the culinary recipe of which is presented here, will not tear when rolled out.

The dough is ready, you can start forming the cake.

How to form a chepalgash cake

After the dough has rested enough, and the filling is prepared, you can start rolling out the cake. To do this, a piece weighing no more than 250 g is cut (or torn off) from the total volume of the dough. Experienced chefs recommend forming three cakes at once, since they are fried very quickly.

From each piece of dough you need to form an elastic ball. It can be sprinkled with flour if necessary, so that when rolling out the cake does not stick to the table. The ball of dough is gradually stretched by hand until it is about 10 mm thick. Then put the prepared cake on the table and continue to roll out with a rolling pin (up to 3-5 mm). Strive for the edges of the circle to be thinner than its middle.

A cold filling is laid out on each rolled cake. In terms of volume, it should be the same as the test. The same ball is formed from it, which is then laid out in the center of the cake. Next, you need to blind (connect) the edges of the dough so that the filling is completely closed. To do this, use the methodfrom edge to center.

To roll out the cake, lay it seam down on a floured table. Its thickness in finished form should be no more than 4 mm. The cake is rolled out mainly in the center, constantly turning and rotating in different directions. Be careful not to make the edges too thin.

When three cakes are rolled out, you can start frying chepalgash with potatoes, the recipe of which is presented below, or with other ingredients. You need to heat up the pan. Fry the tortillas on both sides until golden brown. Then wipe the chepalgash with a dry towel to remove excess flour, dip alternately in boiling water or sprinkle with hot water. Put the finished cakes on a plate in a pile, lubricating them with butter.

Let's start preparing the filling.

Chepalgash with potatoes

For the potato filling you will need about 800 g of potatoes boiled in their skins. It is this method of preparation that is recommended, since this way the filling will turn out to be drier, which means that the cake will be easier to roll out, will not get wet and will not tear.

Cooked potatoes need to be peeled, mashed well, add s alt, pepper and other spices to taste. You can additionally fry finely chopped onions. This will be a recipe for chepalgash with potatoes and onions. After the filling has cooled, you can form a cake.

How to cook chepalgash with cottage cheese

Such a filling for chepalgash cakes is considered a classic. In general, cheese is very popular.a product of all Caucasian peoples and is often used as a filling for various pastries.

For the amount of dough that is obtained from 500 ml of kefir, you will need about 1 kg of dry cottage cheese. You need to add 1-2 eggs to it (depending on the moisture content of the cottage cheese), green onions and s alt to taste. The filling should not be too wet. Otherwise, the cake will tear when rolled out. The recipe for chepalgash with cottage cheese can be adjusted to your liking. Anyone who does not like onions can replace them with other herbs or remove them from the recipe altogether.

Chepalgash with pumpkin

Chechen cakes with pumpkin filling are very tasty and juicy. Difficulty in their preparation may arise when rolling.

For the filling, the pumpkin is peeled and baked in the oven for 40 minutes or cooked until done on the stove. After that, the pumpkin needs to be mashed to a puree state. It should be noted that when choosing the second cooking option, the filling is drier. Optionally, fried onions or fresh green onions are added to the pumpkin puree.

This is how chepalgash is made with pumpkin. The recipe for these cakes is not at all complicated. But be sure to follow the cooking technology.

Recipe for Chechen chepalgash made from cornmeal

The classic recipe for making Chechen cakes uses not wheat, but corn flour, which is considered more useful. But such chepalgash have a specific flavor that not everyone likes. Therefore, ina modern interpretation of the chepalgash recipe with cornmeal is used occasionally.

However, for those who want to taste old-fashioned tortillas, you need to know that the proportions for the dough remain the same.