Steamed Meloui – Moroccan Style Uzbek Hanum (Khanum)

Today I will share a very innovative recipe with you. I will be making the famous Uzbek Hanum with a Moroccan twist, so I called it Steamed Meloui. Uzbek hanum is aka Özbek hanim börek, Khanum or Xanum. It is a steamed meat or potato roulette made with pasta dough exactly the same as the Moroccan Meloui dough but without the semolina. Another difference is that Moroccan Filled Meloui is typically a thinner roulette that is pan-cooked or put in an oven. Hanum is a much thicker roulette that is steamed on a stove.

Moroccan Meloui Dough VS Uzbek Hanum Dough Method

There is a huge difference in how Moroccan Meloui Dough and Uzbek Hanum Dough are made, yet both of these authentic methods deserve respect and take time to master.

Moroccans don’t roll out the dough with a rolling pin and flour. We use melted fat/butter and oil to spread the dough out thin with our hands. Uzbeks have a skilful rolling technique using a very long rolling pin. You will find both methods intriguing to watch!

The ingredients of the two doughs are the same, however, because Meloui doesn’t need rolling, the dough doesn’t require to be as tough, so we may use a little more water to make the dough softer and more spreadable for Meloui.

What Fillings Can Be Used?

Typically, the Moroccan filling for meloui is minced meat and onion. Traditional Uzbek filling is potato and onion with some minced meat variations. The best part of this recipe is it’s made up, so you can add whatever you want. I would like to try it with chicken bastilla filling!

Steamed Meloui – Moroccan Style Hanum (khanum)

In Morocco we have a tasty bread called Meloui, the dough is made in the same way as the Uzbek hanum. We fill the bread with a meat filling, rolling and twisting it around very similarly to this famous and yummy Central Asian dish called Hanum. The only difference is that we have never steamed it, instead of putting it in a steamer we put it in a bread pan and cook it in the oven. I loved the taste of this dish straight away and it's made itself to be a very popular family favourite.

Being Moroccan myself and knowing how innovative they love to be, I thought this would be a popular one to try out, so if you try it, please let me know how it goes and what you think 😉

Servings 6

Prep Time 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Equipment

• 1 Steamer

Ingredients

For the Filling

• 1 kg minced Lamb or mutton
• 4 large onions peeled, washed & sliced long
• 4-5 carrots peeled, washed and grated
• ½ batch fresh mint washed and chopped
• ½ batch fresh parsley washed and chopped
• ½ batch fresh coriander washed and chopped
• 2-3 tsp Salt to taste
• 2 tsp ground ginger powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp crushed black pepper
• 1 tbsp of whole or crushed cumin
• 1 tbsp whole or crushed coriander seeds
• 3-4 tbsp Olive oil

For The Dough

• 1 kg white all-purpose flour (4 small bowls)
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp Salt to taste
• 1 pint of lukewarm water
• 1 cup vegetable oil with 3 tbsp butter (melted) for use in spreading out and rolling the dough

Instructions

•  Steamed Melwoui – Moroccan-Style Hanum

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Moroccan

Keyword: dough, dumplings, Hanum, Khanum, steamer, Uzbek Recipes