Turkish Pide /Turkish Pizza/ Turkish Flatbread/ Pide

Turkish Pide /Turkish Pizza/ Turkish Flatbread/ Pide

Turkish Pide / Turkish Pizza is nothing but a special flatbread from Turkish cuisine, prepared with a variety of toppings like ground meat, spinach, Mushrooms and cheese. It is pronounced as “Pee- Deh” and it is the Turkish version of Pizza. Another Turkish Pizza version is known as ‘Lahmacun’, which is quite different from Turkish Pide and has a thinner round base; whereas Turkish Pide is thicker and boat shaped. Pide is a common food prepared during the Holy month of Ramadan/ Ramazan in Turkey.

I wanted to prepare something special for my Muslim friends and as I was hard pressed for time with the school opening, thought I will post one of my favourite, easy recipes. Hope you all will like this as much as we do. Well, being an Indian, it is very hard for me to avoid spices and herbs, so pardon me for tweaking the recipe a bit. You will not be disappointed as it tasted amazing with dainty flavours. However, you can check the notes and avoid the alterations if you are keen to try the traditional version.

All kids love Pizzas and this variety Pizza – Turkish Pide, is sure going to delight the little faces at home. I have prepared the toppings with ground Mutton/ Mutton Keema, Tomatoes, Onion and Bell Pepper. You can customize your toppings as you like – mix and match Olives, mushroom, chicken, corn, Beef, Mutton keema, tomato, jalapenos, paneer etc. If you like Pizza and Bread varieties check my Paneer Pizza, Vegetable Au Gratin, Crescent rolls, Burger Buns, Vegetable Pizza, Chicken tikka Pizza, Whole wheat Pizza, stuffed Garlic Bread etc.

This Turkish Pide is crispy on the outside and chewy inside. Bell peppers, ground black pepper, chilli flakes etc. add more zing and flavors to the Pide, making it delectably yummy. Lime and cumin is mixed with the ingredients to make it more enticing. It is a perfect snack for Ramadan celebrations, along with soups, Arabic sweet dumplings, Vegetable salad, Grilled meat, Chicken Biryani /Mutton Biryani /Fish Biryani. Check my festive menu to pep up your celebrations. Choose from starters, Chicken varieties, Rice/ Bread and Sweets to make it special. So, enjoy my Ramadan special recipe for you – Turkish Pide. God bless!

Ingredients for Turkish Bread:

Ingredients for Toppings:

Method:

In a mixing bowl add flour, salt, olive oil. In a cup, add yeast, sugar Luke-warm water and mix well. Keep aside for 5 – 10 minutes. Pour the yeast mix to the flour and gently combine. Add more lukewarm water till you get a smooth dough. Knead for some time, till you can feel that the dough is smooth and soft. Rub little olive oil in your hands and dab on the dough; cover nicely and keep for 1 -2 hours, till the dough is double the size.

Meanwhile, chop the onion and garlic finely, cut the green chillies into thin rounds and make small cubes of tomatoes and capsicum. In a pan, heat the butter and sauté the chopped onion, garlic and green chillies. Once it is limp add ginger garlic paste (optional) and fry. Next add pepper powder, chilli flakes (or Paprika) and cumin powder. Then add the Mutton Keema and salt and combine well. Put on low flame, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook till they are soft. Mix in the capsicum/ Bell Pepper and fry for another minute. Adjust salt, switch off the flame, add chopped parsley,Tomato ketchup, lime juice and mix well.

Divide the dough into four equal portions. Take one portion, dust with flour, then with the help of a roller, roll and stretch to oval shape, of almost half inch thickness. Transfer to the greased baking tray. slightly dust the bread to avoid getting soggy. Grate the cheese and sprinkle on the middle of the flattened bread. top it with the meat mix.

Now, fold in the sides and shape the bread like a boat. You can add cherry tomatoes on top (optional).  Beat the egg and brush the sides of the bread.

Bake in a preheated oven @ 180^o C, for 15 to 20 minutes. Take it out when done and cut into 3 – 4 pieces and serve hot. Yum!!

Tips:

• You can choose your toppings of vegetables as per your liking.
• Mozzarella cheese or Cheddar cheese can be used for Turkish Pide.
• Instant dry yeast is used in this recipe. Mix with lukewarm water, sugar and keep for 5 minutes to rise.
• Only Lukewarm water should be used to knead. If the water is too hot, it will spoil the texture.
• Avoid Ginger Garlic paste if you are looking for authentic recipe.
• Adjust the spices as per your spice level.
• If you don’t have Paprika powder, use chilli flakes or even Chilli powder.
• Try different coloured capsicum/ Bell Pepper to make it colorful.

If your like this recipe for Turkish Pide, let me know through comments below the post or share with your friends using the share buttons below. It would encourage me to do more. Hope to hear from you. Thanks and God Bless!!