Yağlama is a delicious and important specialty from Kayseri, central Anatolia. This lovely dish consists of layering the soft flat breads, with a juicy meat sauce between each layer. Once stacked on top of another, it is quartered and served with garlic yoghurt. It makes an impressive and delicious meal share with friends and family.
I love making my own soft flatbreads for yağlama (see my recipe here if you like to make your own flat breads) when I can, but when pressed with time, I make this quick, cheat’s version, using tortilla wraps. Some folks also use thin, round lavash breads at home. It makes a delicious, comforting meal to share, fast. Yağlama requires a nice and juicy sauce, to soften the flatbreads, and the garlic yoghurt is a must to serve; one of our favourite family meals.
Many one pot wonders, easy Lahmacun using tortilla wraps (along with homemade dough), as well as over 50 vegetarian recipes are included in my new cookbook ISTANBUL, Delicious Recipes from the Heart of the City; dishes you can prepare ahead and freeze too (please note that yağlama is not included in this book). You can get a copy here worldwide.
I hope you enjoy this delicious and made easy yağlama feast,
Afiyet olsun,
Ozlem x
- 8 flour tortilla wraps (24cm in diameter)
- 750g/1lb 10 oz minced (ground) lamb or beef (15 % fat)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp double concentrated tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Turkish pepper paste (optional, replace with tomato paste if you wish)
- ½ tsp pul biber
- 400g/14 oz a can of finely chopped tomatoes
- 85 g sivri biber or padron peppers, deseeded and finely chopped
- 425ml/15fl oz water
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped (reserve 1 tbsp for decoration)
- For the garlic yoghurt:
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 400g yoghurt (full fat if you can)
- Combine the garlic with yoghurt, season to taste, set aside to bring to room temperature.
- Place the minced meat on a wide pan, and saute for 8 minutes over medium to high heat, stirring and breaking into small parts, until browned. Pour the olive oil and stir in the butter to the pan and add the onions, saute for a further 7 minutes; the onions will soften.
- Add the peppers and saute for another 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato and pepper paste, give everything a good mix. Add the chopped tomatoes, combine well. Pour the water, season with salt, pepper, pul biber, combine and bring to boil. Simmer for 10 minutes over low to medium heat. Add parsley, mix and keep the heat on lowest setting.
- Fold a tortilla wrap in half and fold again, then dip the edges into the juicy meat sauce. Place this tortilla wrap flat on a large serving plate or a dish, ideally with 5cm height, so the sauce dribbling at the sides can stay in. Generously spread about 4 tbsps of the meat sauce over, leaving about 1cm around the edges filling free. Working fast, continue this way, wetting the edges of each tortilla and spreading the meat mixture over and layering on top of each other. Spread the remaining sauce over the final tortilla and scatter reserved parsley over. Turn the heat off the sauce.
- Cut the yağlama stack in the quarters and serve immediately, with garlic yoghurt. We place a ½ tbsp of garlic yoghurt over each yağlama wedge, then roll and enjoy – you will need paper napkins! Afiyet olsun.
