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Udmurt tabani thin dough cakes

Udmurt Tabani — Thin Fermented Flatbreads

Udmurt tabani are hot, golden, and buttery, like little suns! Tabani are Udmurt flatbreads made from a sourdough-style batter—a bit like Russian blini or fritters. There's a knack to them: traditionally they're baked on a cast-iron skillet in a wood-fired Russian oven, over an open flame. As my friend from Udmurtia put it, the fire should "caress" the tabani. They're eaten hot with zyret—a dedicated sauce for tabani that can be sweet or savory, made from cottage cheese, potato, or eggs and milk.

Not having a Russian oven in my city apartment, I took a chance and made them on the gas stove—still delicious. I used a cast-iron skillet over high heat. You really do need to eat tabani hot; once they cool, they lose their charm. Tabani is a festive dish, made for Maslenitsa (the pre-Lenten pancake week), for special guests, or as a treat for the kids.

Tatiana Maslova

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

All-purpose flour

500

Sugar

Active dry yeast

Vegetable oil

Water (the batter should be thin, so you may need a bit more)

Salt

Butter (for brushing the flatbreads)

Milk

Egg

All-purpose flour

Salt

Butter

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 13 % 4 g

Fats 19 % 6 g

Carbohydrates 69 % 22 g

154 kcal

GI: 5 / 0 / 95

Cooking method

Step 1:

The ingredients for the batter. You'll need about a quart (1 liter) of water, but go by the consistency—the batter should be thin.
Step 2:

Dissolve the yeast in warm water.
Step 3:

Add the sugar.
Step 4:

Add the vegetable oil.
Step 5:

Stir everything together.
Step 6:

Add the flour and mix into a batter.
Step 7:

The batter should look like thin sour cream. It's best to start with 2 cups of water and add more as you mix, bringing it to the right consistency. Set the batter in a warm spot to ferment for 2–3 hours.
Step 8:

Keep an eye on the batter as it ferments, stirring it down from time to time.
Step 9:

Pour the batter onto a very hot cast-iron skillet in a layer about 1/8 inch (3–4 mm) thick.
Step 10:

Cook each tabani on both sides.
Step 11:

Brush each flatbread with a small pat of butter.
Step 12:

You can cut the finished tabani into quarters and dip them in the zyret, or leave them whole, spoon the zyret down the middle, and roll them up.
Step 13:

The ingredients for the zyret.
Step 14:

Beat the egg.
Step 15:

Whisk flour and milk into the beaten egg. Pour the mixture into a stainless-steel saucepan and heat until it thickens and starts to bubble.
Step 16:

Stir the butter and salt into the finished sauce, then let it cool. For a sweet zyret, add 1/4 cup of sugar.
Step 17:

Spoon the zyret down the center of a flatbread, roll it up, and eat—or just dip the tabani into the zyret.