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Ichlekli

Name: Ichlekli
Total time: 120 min
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Turkmenistan
Ingredients: 500g All-purpose flour; 250ml Water; 2 tsp Salt; 500g Lamb; 3 Onion; 30g Butter; 1 tsp Black Pepper; 1/2 tsp Cumin powder

Main Dish

⏱ 120 min

👥 Serves 6

Difficulty ⭐⭐

Lamb and onion wrapped in dough and baked — a large meat pie handed down by Turkmen nomads.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Ichlekli means 'stuffed inside,' a traditional Turkmen meat pie. Lamb, onion, and sheep fat are wrapped in a round of dough, and it was once baked buried in sand under embers. Born of nomadic life, it's now baked in an oven or tandoor and sliced at celebrations.

🌆 Where it's eaten: In a desert settlement in Turkmenistan, a big round pie is dug out of the embers, brushed off, and cut in front of the family.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 6)

All-purpose flour 500g
Water 250ml
Salt 2 tsp
Lamb 500g
Onion 3
Butter 30g
Black Pepper 1 tsp
Cumin powder 1/2 tsp

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Knead the flour, water, and 1 tsp salt and rest 30 minutes.
Cut the lamb into small dice and mix with the sliced onion, salt, pepper, and cumin.
Roll the dough into 2 large rounds, line a pan with one, and add the filling.
Cover with the other, twist the edges to seal, and cut a small hole in the center.
Bake at 180°C for 1 hour 20 minutes and brush with butter while hot.

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