Katama
Also: Qatlama, Katlama, Uzbek layered flatbread
An Uzbek flaky flatbread made by rolling oiled dough into a spiral, flattening it, and shallow- or deep-frying so it separates into crisp onion-scented layers.
Identity criteria
- 1Dough is rolled thin, oiled, and coiled into a spiral to create internal layers
- 2Fried (traditionally in cottonseed oil) rather than baked in a tandoor
- 3Flaky, laminated layers are the defining texture
- 4Typically scented with onion folded into the dough
- 5Round, flat, golden, and crisp on the outside
Components
Technique
- Spiral lamination
- Coiling oiled dough into a spiral creates the separated flaky layers that define katama
- Shallow/deep frying
- Frying crisps the layers and sets the flaky structure, distinct from tandoor-baked non
Form & serving
- Served
- Whole round or torn into wedges
- Temperature
- warm
- Portion
- shared flatbread
- Pairs with
- tea (choy) · soups like shurpa · yogurt · as a bread with plov
Character
Flavour
Texture
crisp flaky layers, tender inside
Eaten
An everyday Uzbek bread and snack, served with tea or soup and at the dastarkhan (spread table), often made for guests and gatherings.
When
all-year
Variations & related
Regional variations
- Onion katama · Uzbekistan
The common savory version with onion
- Plain qatlama · Central Asia
Without onion, eaten as a flaky bread
- Sweet katlama · Pakistan/Afghanistan
Related sweet fried layered bread, sometimes sugared
Related dishes
- sibling Paratha
Shares the laminated-fried-flatbread principle
- sibling Bolani
Other Central/South Asian stuffed/layered flatbreads
- pairs-with Shurpa
Often eaten alongside soup
Substitutions
Cottonseed oil → Sunflower or vegetable oiladmissible
Acceptable; slight change in aroma
Frying → Bakinginadmissible
Loses the crisp fried layers; becomes a different layered bread
Spiral lamination → Single flat discinadmissible
Without coiling there are no flaky layers, so it is not katama
Common mistakes
- Skipping the spiral coil, which eliminates the layers
- Using too little oil between layers so they fuse instead of separating
- Rolling the dough too thick, yielding a dense bread rather than flaky one
- Baking instead of frying
Provenance
A traditional Uzbek (and broader Central Asian) layered fried flatbread, with close relatives across the Turkic and South-Central Asian world under the name qatlama/katlama.
Claimed by: Uzbekistan
References
- 1.Uzbek and Central Asian bread tradition
Confidence: medium