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Chepalgash with cottage cheese and herbs

Chepalgash — Chechen Flatbreads with Cottage Cheese and Herbs

Another wonderful take on stuffed flatbreads! Chepalgash is a traditional Chechen dish — thin, delicious flatbreads filled with cottage cheese and fresh herbs. In Chechen cooking, the finished flatbreads are dipped in hot water to rinse off the excess flour, which is what makes them so soft and tender. Let's give it a try!

Pearl

Recipe author

Chepalgash with cottage cheese and herbs

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Kefir

Flour

320

Baking soda

0.5

Salt

0.5

Cottage cheese

200

Egg

Fresh herbs

Salt

Allspice

Butter

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 23 % 10 g

Fats 16 % 7 g

Carbohydrates 60 % 26 g

207 kcal

GI: 4 / 0 / 96

Cooking method

Cooking time: 40 min

Step 1:

Making these Chechen cottage-cheese flatbreads takes just a simple handful of ingredients. For the dough, get out flour, kefir, salt, and baking soda. For the filling you'll need cottage cheese, an egg, fresh herbs, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Step 2:

Pour room-temperature kefir into a bowl or whatever container is comfortable for kneading the dough. Add the salt and baking soda, stir, and let it sit for 2 minutes.
Step 3:

In that time the baking soda reacts with the kefir, and the mixture turns slightly airy with little bubbles on the surface.
Step 4:

Now start adding the sifted flour to the kefir mixture a little at a time, stirring constantly with a spoon so no lumps form.
Step 5:

Add a little, stir it in, and repeat. You may need slightly more flour or slightly less. The key is that the finished dough shouldn't be too stiff — it should turn out soft and pliable.
Step 6:

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface or a large shallow dish and knead it lightly.
Step 7:

Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a plastic bag and let it rest while you make the filling.
Step 8:

Wash the herbs and chop them finely. If you have green onions, be sure to add them too — they make it noticeably tastier! In a separate bowl, combine the cottage cheese, herbs, egg, and a pinch of salt and pepper. It's best to use very dry cottage cheese; if yours is wet, get rid of the excess liquid by wrapping it in cheesecloth and squeezing out the moisture.
Step 9:

Divide the rested dough into roughly equal pieces. This amount of dough makes about 6 balls.
Step 10:

Roll each ball of dough out thin, dusting with flour as needed.
Step 11:

Spread a thin layer of filling over one half of the round, distributing it evenly, as shown in the photo.
Step 12:

Fold the other half over the top and pinch the edges tightly to seal.
Step 13:

Do the same with the rest of the dough and filling.
Step 14:

Heat a dry skillet on the stove. Cook the flatbreads on both sides until golden spots appear.
Step 15:

Stack the finished flatbreads on top of one another and cover them with a clean towel so they stay warm until all 6 are done.
Step 16:

Melt the butter in a separate pan.
Step 17:

Gently wipe out the skillet you cooked the flatbreads in with dry paper towels, then pour in hot water. Dip the flatbreads into the water one at a time to rinse off the flour.
Step 18:

Immediately transfer each finished chepalgash to a plate and brush it generously with melted butter using a silicone brush.
Step 19:

Stack the flatbreads one on top of the other.
Step 20:

Cut them into wedges and serve with hot tea.