Flatbread Recipe with Cheese and Potato Filling – Balkarian Khychin Recipe

Discover how to prepare this delicious and juicy flatbread filled with cheesy mashed potatoes right at home. I guarantee it will quickly become your favorite dish! This cheese and potato-stuffed flatbread features an easy-to-follow recipe, is quick to prepare, and is hearty enough to serve as a standalone evening meal.

Khychiny is a traditional flatbread from Karachay-Balkarian cuisine, and its filling options are delightfully diverse. You can prepare khychins with ingredients like ground meat, offal, beet greens, cabbage, butternut squash, honey, cottage cheese, and various fruits and berries. In fact, there are around 40 different types of khychins. The recipes can vary slightly between the Balkar and Karachay people. Certain types are made for specific occasions, rituals, and holidays, and each filling has its own unique name.

Today, I will share with you the recipe for taba khychins, a dish that you cook by dry frying (without adding oil to the pan). We will use the Karachay recipe for the dough, which includes kefir. If you prefer a simpler dough recipe without kefir, you can combine water with flour. The recommended wet-to-dry ratio is 1 cup of water for every 3 cups of flour, along with a teaspoon of salt.

If you’re unable to find kefir at the store, you can substitute it with an equal amount of plain yogurt. I actually prefer this option because it results in a fluffier and softer flatbread. For the filling, we will be making Gardosh Khychin, which is the most popular variation of flatbread filled with cheese and potatoes.

This recipe has been passed down through generations in my family, and it produces a delightful side dish or lunch option that melts in your mouth. These cheesy potato-stuffed khychins are always a favorite at my picnics and barbecues. They’re a perfect example of how a combination of textures and flavors can be simply amazing.

Here are some other similar options for you to try instead of khychins:

• Georgian Khachapuri Recipe
• Tatar Kystybyj Recipe

Ingredients for Flatbread:

• ½ cup kefir;
• ½ cup water;
• 2 ½ – 3 cups all-purpose flour;
• 1 tsp. salt;
• ½ tsp. baking soda.

Here is the list of great Kefir Substitutes if you could not find it at your local store.

Filling Ingredients:

• 4-5 potatoes;
• 300 g cheese (Adygea soft cheese, grated mozzarella, or farmers cheese);
• Fresh herbs (parsley, dill, etc.), finely chopped;
• Salt to your taste.

How to make flatbread with tasty filling at home:

• Combine kefir with water in a deep bowl. Both ingredients should be at room temperature. Add salt and baking soda. Whisk everything together until combined. When baking soda starts reacting, the mixture should become fluffy.

• Sieve flour and add it to the main mixture. To make the process of kneading easier you can add it in bunches.

• Knead the dough. In the end, you should be not sticky and malleable at the same time. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel (tea towel) and set it aside.

• Boil cubed potato in salted water until fully cooked through and mash it into one smooth texture without any lumps.

• Grate cheese; add it to the mash together with chopped fresh herbs (I have pardley here). If the cheese that you are using is on the plain scale of flavor, now will be a perfect time to add some salt. Feel free to taste while doing it.

• Divide dough into same-sized parts/balls 4-5 cm diameter each. Divide filling into the same amount. Sprinkle some flour on your working surface. Take a ball of dough and roll it into a flat circle. Place the filling in the middle.

• Fold the ends of the dough to the middle, so the filling stays in the middle.

• Roll out the ball with the filling into 5 mm thick flatbread. Be very careful so that the filling won’t stick outside.

• Warm skillet on medium heat. Place a flatbread on a bare not-smeared surface of the skillet and cover it with a lid.

• Wait until the flatbread dough rises and only then you can turn it to the other side.

• Cook on medium heat until both sides are golden and crispy.

• Transfer fried flatbread to the plate and smear with butter. Repeat all the motions for every flatbread.

• Make sure to cover the plate with a kitchen towel to preserve the warmth. Better served warm and with delicious Ayran – a cold savory yogurt-based beverage!

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