History

A southeastern Turkish-Armenian dish from Antep and Mardin, lahmacun reached Istanbul with mid-20th-century migration from the south. The city now has stone-oven specialists like Borsam Taşfırın in Kadıköy, running an unchanged 1968 recipe, alongside neighborhood Antep-rooted operators across Beyoğlu and Üsküdar. The wood-fired bake takes under a minute; the disc is meant to be rolled around lemon, sumac onions and fresh parsley and eaten immediately while the dough is still pliable.

Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 30 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g strong flour
  • 300ml warm water
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 300g minced lamb, around 20 percent fat
  • 1 small onion, very finely chopped
  • 1 long red pepper, very finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1 lemon, in wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Mix flour, yeast, salt and water into a dough, knead 8 minutes, rest covered for 90 minutes until doubled.
  2. Blend the lamb, onion, pepper, tomato paste, Aleppo pepper, cumin and a pinch of salt into a wet paste.
  3. Heat the oven to its hottest setting with a pizza stone or upturned baking tray inside.
  4. Divide the dough into 8 balls, roll each one paper-thin into a disc.
  5. Spread a thin layer of lamb mixture right to the edge, slide onto the hot stone and bake 4 to 6 minutes until the meat is set and the edges crisp.
  6. Sprinkle with parsley, drop a lemon wedge on top, roll up and eat hot.

Tip from the editors. The dough must be thinner than you think. If you can read a newspaper through it, you are close to the Kadıköy version.

Where to eat lahmacun

Lahmacun in Istanbul

More cities are in research. Want lahmacun covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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