How to Make Lahmacun (Meat Pie) | Nana's Kitchen

Hello everyone, here is the recipe for lahmacun. Lahmacun consists of thin rolled dough covered in a mixture of ground beef, tomatoes, onions, garlic and spices. It's delicious anytime and Nana hopes you'll enjoy! 

Ingredients: 

For the dough: 

• 1 tbsp yeast 
• 1/2 cup warm water 
• 1 tbsp sugar  
• 2 tbsps plain yogurt 
• 1 1/2 tbsp salt 
• 11 tbsps hot milk (not too hot though or else you might kill your yeast)
• 4 tbsps of canola oil 
• another 1/2 cup of water
• 6 cups of flour 
• extra flour for rolling out the dough 

For the meat mixture: 

• 1 medium sized pepper of your choice (Nana used a sweet red bell pepper)
• 2 green chili peppers (optional)
• 4 small onions, or 2 large ones 
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 green onions
• about a 1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley 
• 2 roma tomatoes 
• 4 tbsps olive oil 
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper 
• red pepper flakes (add to your liking)
• 1 1/2 tsps paprika 
• 1/2 kilo of fatty ground beef 
• 1/2 cup of tomato paste
• 2 1/2 tsps salt
• 1 1/2 cups of water

Instructions: 

1. First put your yeast, sugar and warm water in a bowl and give it a quick stir. Let sit until the yeast has activated; you'll know it's ready once the top looks frothy/foamy. 
2. Add your plain yogurt, hot milk, and salt to the yeast mixture and give it a good stir. Then add your oil, water and flour. You may need to add more water or flour; the amount you add can differ from Nana depending on the humidity of your kitchen and other factors. Start kneading your dough. Stop kneading once it starts looking smoother and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (Tip: Use a spoon to get the excess dough off your hands). You can see how Nana's dough looks here: https://youtu.be/yjoovl57NG4?t=192
3. Lightly oil the sides of your bowl. Cover the bowl and let sit in a warm area for about half an hour or until it doubles in size. 
4. Work on the meat mixture while your dough rests. Roughly chop your peppers and onions then put into a food processor until they are finely chopped (you can do this by hand as well). Add them into a bowl with finely chopped parsley. 
5. Roughly chop 2 roma tomatoes and put them into a food processor. Pulse until your tomatoes are very liquidy with small chunks. Add into the bowl with your peppers, onions and parsley. Add in about 4 tbsps of olive oil. 
6. Add in your spices to the mixture. You can adjust the amount of spices and onions/peppers/parsley added to suit your tastes, this is just how Nana likes it. 
7. Add in your ground beef to the bowl; make sure it is fatty and not lean. Add in your tomato paste and salt. Also add in a cup of water, we're looking for a liquidy mixture. Place your mixture into the fridge until its needed. You can see how Nana's mixture looks here: https://youtu.be/yjoovl57NG4?t=548
8. Preheat your oven to 400℉ (about 204℃)
9. Get your dough and divide it into small balls. Place them onto a tray sprinkled with flour. Cover them with some plastic wrap or a tea towel to keep them from drying. 
10. Sprinkle your counter and rolling pin with some flour to keep the dough from sticking. Take a ball and use your fingers to flatten it a bit then use a rolling pin to roll it into a circle of your desired thickness. Nana rolled it out thin because our family prefers like that. 
11. Dust off the excess flour from your dough and transfer it to a tray lined with parchment paper. Take your meat mixture out of the fridge and spoon some onto your rolled dough. The amount you add will depend on your preference, just make sure that it is evenly spread on the dough. 
12. Place them into your 400℉ oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the meat is cooked and your dough is golden brown. Check your lahmacun every 5 to 10 minutes to make sure they haven't burned, especially if your dough has been rolled out thin. 
13. Once baked, squeeze some lemon juice onto your lahmacun and enjoy! 

You can watch how Nana makes it here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjoovl57NG4