What is Ordubad qayğanaq? How is it made?
Not an omelette, but a honeyed sweet that resembles a pie. The finer points of a recipe passed from mother to daughter.
Ordubad qayğanaq is one of the town's most famous and irreplaceable sweets. Don't be misled by the name: this is not the omelette we are used to. Served on a plate, finished qayğanaq looks more like a pie — compact and simple from the outside, with a soft, delicate flavour.
The secret of the recipe lies in how simple ingredients — eggs, butter and honey — complement one another. The recipe is passed down in families from mother to daughter, and making it is like a ritual with its own finer points. Knowing the recipe is half the work: the real skill is keeping the heat right and turning the qayğanaq at the right moment.
Ingredients: 1–1.5 kg of melted butter, 12 eggs, 1 teaspoon of flour, a pinch of salt. For the syrup: 3–4 spoons of honey (or 10 spoons of caster sugar) and 1 glass of water.
Beat the eggs well until pale, add the salt and flour and mix again. Heat the butter over a low flame in a medium-sized pan; pour half of it into a separate small pan and keep it hot.
When the butter in the main pan is hot, add the eggs, stirring with a rolling pin, and pour over them, little by little, the butter from the small pan. As the butter is added, the qayğanaq puffs up and turns golden. When one side is ready, turn it carefully and repeat the process for the other side, then transfer it to a plate and leave to cool.
For the syrup, add the honey or sugar to the water, boil until it thickens and leave to cool. Pour the syrup over the cooled qayğanaq — it gradually soaks it up and softens. In Ordubad they cut a slice, wrap it in lavash and serve it with tea. Enjoy!
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