Learn how to make this delicious juicy flatbread dish with cheesy mash potato filling at home. I promise you that it will become your instant favorite. The dish has a very easy recipe to follow, quick to make, moreover rich and nourishing enough to be a standalone evening dish.
Khychiny is a traditional flatbread recipe for Karachay-Balkarian cuisine. The filling possibilities are deliciously endless. You can make khychins with ground meat, pluck/offal, beet greens, cabbage, butternut squash, honey and cottage cheese, different types of fruits and berries. Simply imagine that there are about 40 types of khychins. There is a slight difference in the recipes of Balkars and Karachay people. Different types are made for different occasions, rituals, and holidays. And, of course, different names for different fillings.
Today, I will share with you the recipe for taba khychins – a type that you cook by dry frying (without smearing the pan with oil). We will use the Karachay recipe of the dough (the one with kefir). You always can switch to the easier recipe of the dough without any kefir: simply combine water with flour. The wet-to-dry ratio should be following 1 cup of water for 3 cups of flour with a teaspoon of salt.
On the other hand, if you were unlucky to find kefir at the store, you can use the same amount of plain yogurt instead. I prefer this dough option as flatbread is fluffier and softer. Finally, as for the filling, we will make Gardosh Khychin – the most popular flatbread variation with cheese and potato filling.
The recipe has been time-tested by generations in my family. You will get a perfect side dish, a lunch option that literally melts in your mouth. They are always a favorite at my picnics and barbecues. Cheese and potato stuffed khychins are a perfect example of how a mix of textures and flavors can be simply perfect.
Here are some other similar options for you to try instead of khychins:
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!
If you liked this Flatbread Recipe with Cheesy Potato Filling, I would appreciate it so much if you would share it on Pinterest or you could give the recipe a star review!
Flatbread Recipe with Cheese and Potato Filling – Balkarian Khychin Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for Flatbread Dough:
- ½ cup kefir
- ½ cup water
- 2 ½ - 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. baking soda
Flatbread 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
Instructions
- 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!
Notes
Do not forget to share your thoughts on the recipe in the comment section below.
