Lahma means meat, ajin means dough. Go figure!
«Lahm» means meat and «ajin» means dough. Not much can go wrong with this combination. Lahmajoun is part of a treasured childhood memory. Whenever my mom brought home these spicy, meaty flatbreads, my sister and I would leap with joy. Years later, my sister and I decided to learn how to make them ourselves. Armenians use mostly beef mince, while Turks use lamb. We used a combination of the two and it worked very well. However the key ingredient to this fantastic dish is sweet red pepper paste. This paste is not very easy to find but its very easy to make. Check out my recipe for red pepper paste if you feel like making some. You don’t have to, if you haven’ t got the time, but this paste adds «magic». While they bake, slice a lot of lemons. As soon as they are out of the oven, let them cool a little, then squeeze some lemon, wrap, eat, repeat.
Lahmajoun – Armenian Flatbreads with Meat
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 kg unbleeched flour
- 3 tsp instant yeast ganules 11 grams
- 2 tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 cups water
For the vegan version, replace the minced meat with the following
- 1 can of 400 grams of red beans
- 150 grams of portobello mushrooms
For the topping
- 200 grams minced lamb
- 300 grams minced beef alternatively you can use 500 gr minced beef and ommit the lamb
- 5 large tomatoes pureed in a blender (approx. 750 grams)
- 1 cup finely chopped parsley
- 1 red pepper capsicum very finely chopped
- 1 green pepper very finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 large onions very finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp each red pepper paste and tomato paste or 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp paprica
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Put all ingredients for the topping in a large bowl. Mix very well with your hands. Mixture will not be too thick but that’s ok. Put mince mixture in the fridge until needed. It’s actually better if you do this the night before. Prepare the dough. In a large bowl (or in a mixer bowl fitted with the dough hook) put the flour with the yeast. Mix briefly and add the salt. Mix again. You do this, so as not to let the salt come in direct contact with the yeast, as it will kill it. Make a well in the centre and add the water and olive oil. Mix everything together until a soft dough forms. If it’s too sticky add some more flour. Slightly oil a large bowl and put in the dough. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise slightly for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 250° C fan (480 F). Divide dough in to small balls (approx. 50 grams each). Take 4 balls. Roll each ball into a thin circle, about the size of a dessert plate. Spread each circle with a full tablespoon (60-70 grams) of the topping, using the back of the spoon to press down lightly. Repeat until you have four «Lahmajoun». Put the «Lahmajoun» on a baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-9 minutes. Stack them, alternating one meat side up and one meat side down. Repeat the process until you use up all the ingredients. This dose makes approximately 35 «lahmajoun». Serve warm or at room temperature with generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
