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Turkmen

Gutap

Non-vegetarian

Thin half-moon pastries filled with spiced minced lamb and onion, fried until crisp and blistered. A popular Turkmen snack with versions filled with greens or pumpkin.

Gutap is a Turkmen pastry from Turkmenistan, ready in about 1 hour 25 minutes and made with all-purpose flour and ground lamb. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Prep
40 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
20 min
Total
1 h 25 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
597

Ingredients

4 servings (3 pastries each)

Dough

Filling

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Knead the flour, warm water and salt into a smooth dough. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.

    • 8 min
    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Mix the lamb with the onion (opens in a new tab), salt, pepper (opens in a new tab) and cumin (opens in a new tab) until slightly sticky.

    • 5 min

    Food safety: Wash hands after handling raw meat.

  3. Step 3

    Divide the dough into 12 balls and roll each into a thin 15 cm circle. Spread a thin layer of filling over one half, fold over and press the edges firmly to seal.

  4. Step 4

    Heat 1 cm of oil in a frying pan. Fry the gutap two or three at a time until golden and the meat is cooked, 3–4 minutes per side. Drain on paper.

    Food safety: Keep a lid nearby and never leave hot oil unattended. Cook until the filling is no longer pink.

  5. Step 5

    Serve hot with yogurt (opens in a new tab) for spooning over.

    • 1 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Turkmenistan · Commonly attributedRelated to Azerbaijani qutab.More food from Turkmenistan
Dish
Lunch · Snack · Pastries · Street food
Cooking method
Shallow-fried
Taste
savoury, peppery, rich
Diet
No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein
Without the optional extras: Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food · Freezer-friendly
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Ground lamb · Onion · Cumin
Techniques
Shallow-frying · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom yogurt
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

597 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 258 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 14%
  • Carbohydrate 43%
  • Fat 43%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy597 kcal231 kcal
Protein20.9 g8.1 g
Carbohydrate62.7 g24.3 g
Net carbohydrate59.6 g23.1 g
Sugars2.5 g1 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre3.1 g1.2 g
Fat28.4 g11 g
Saturated fat8.8 g3.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol55 mg21 mg
Sodium923 mg358 mg
Salt equivalent2.3 g0.9 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
336 mg
Calcium
44 mg
Iron
5 mg
Magnesium
40 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
0 µg
Vitamin C
4 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
1.7 µg
Folate (DFE)
242 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: yogurt.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Spread the filling thinly so it cooks through before the pastry burns.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving air pockets when sealing — the edges burst open in the hot oil.

Serve with

  • Serve hot with yogurt and green tea.

Storage

  • Keeps 2 days in the fridge; freeze uncooked for up to 1 month.

Reheating

  • Reheat in a dry pan or a 180 °C oven for 8 minutes.

Variations

  • Green gutap: Filled with chopped spinach, spring onion and herbs, and cooked on a dry pan before brushing with butter.
  • Pumpkin gutap: Filled with grated pumpkin and onion, often a little sweet.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in step 5

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 35 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 20 min

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 25 min

    Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.

  4. Start to finish: about 1 h 20 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
All-purpose flourFlour300 g100%
WaterWater160 g53.3%
SaltSalt3 g1%
Total flour
300 g
Hydration
53.3%
With milk, eggs…
53.3%
Wholegrain
0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

  • Stiff dough (under 55% hydration) — firm, easy to roll; typical of bagels, pretzels and many flatbreads.
  • Salt 1% — on the low side (1.8–2.2% is typical for bread).

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Tough or chewy flatbread

    Likely causes

    • Dough too stiff
    • Not rested
    • Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan

    What to do

    • Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
    • Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
    • Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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