Uighur nan

I was very lucky to travel to the most western parts of China along the Pakistan and Afghani borders a few years ago. Areas that are now closed to foreigners due to terror concerns. The Uighur people who inhabit this part of China are far more like their neighboring Asian cultures than they are Chinese. They are descended from Kyrghyz, Tajik, Turkmeni, and Uzbek people and their faces, food, music, and culture reflect this. One of the most ubiquitous street foods in this region, which is still largely populated by farmers and shepherds, is their Nan. It's different from Indian Naan. It's a flatbread, cooked in a Tandoor oven, but it is pricked all over by an instrument called a durtlik before baking, both to keep the bread from puffing up, and as a decorative measure. It's also seasoned lightly with cumin and sea salt, although rosemary is very nice too. It's basically pizza dough without the oil, and it's made the same way. You could mix things like other herbs into the dough as well. It's the perfect thing to tuck in your backpack for a long hike like we did, or to wrap in a cloth with some fruit and dried meats - as the locals do working in the fields or tending herds. The Tandoor oven gives is a nice charcoal bottom, but you can make them on a pizza stone at home. Enjoy the photos I took. This dish is the perfect compliment to another popular Uighur street food - kebobs and pulao. I posted those recipes here: http://www.food52.com/recipes/12358_uighur_lamb_kebobs_and_pulao
0
13
0
Comments