These Mini Lahmadjo, a sort of Armenian ‘Pizza’, are topped with Cumin, Coriander and Chili spiced Beef, along with Tomato and Green Pepper.
I first came across a recipe for Lahamdjo in a Russian cookery book. Lahmadjo is actually Armenian in origin, sometimes called ‘Armenian Pizza’), and it was included in a section of the book devoted to recipes from several ex-Soviet republics.
Like the more traditional pizza, Lahmadjo can come in a variety of shapes and sizes and with all sorts of toppings. The one essential is ground meat (typically lamb, beef, or a combination of the two), but, beyond that, almost anything goes, even cheese in some instances. Traditionally, the ‘pizza’ is based on the Armenian unleavened flat-bread known as ‘Lavash’, but any simple bread dough will suffice.
Ingredient Notes
You can follow any bread dough recipe you like, or do as I have done and use frozen Pizza dough from the Supermarket. For this recipe, you need a lump about the size of a Baby’s head, or roughly the amount need for a small to medium Pizza.
How to make Lahmadjo
First, mix together all the ingredients (except the dough, of course). Allow the mix to sit for about 30 minutes or so to let the flavors blend.
Roll out your dough into one or more rounds and then top with a little of the meat mixture by flattening out small balls and pressing it into the dough. I have departed from the traditional a little bit by making my crust thicker than usual, and given it a bit of a raised edge Pizza-style. Naturally, you can make as many Lahmadjo as you want from the dough and make them as thick or as thin as you like. Indeed, as I was making these, it occurred to me that you could make ‘cocktail’ size ones using muffin tins…
Pop the Lahmadjo into a 450-degree Fahrenheit oven and bake until the dough is browned and the filling is cooked through. In the above picture, mine have been in the oven for about 5 minutes and only a further 5 was required. The length of time will naturally vary depending on the thickness of the dough and filling. You can serve them piping hot from the oven but these are also very nice cold.
Your Recipe Card:
Mini Lahmadjo
Ingredients
- 1 recipe of Bread Dough suitable for a small pizza;
- 1/2 lb lean ground Beef;
- ½ cup Red Onion chopped moderately fine;
- ½ cup Green Pepper chopped;
- 1 small Tomato chopped;
- 1 cup chopped fresh Parsley;
- 1 tsp. Salt I used Garlic Salt;
- 1 tsp. ground Black Pepper;
- 1 Tbsp. Cumin ground;
- 1 Tbsp. Coriander Seed ground;
- 1 – 2 tsp. Red Chili Flakes.
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients except the dough and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough into as many rounds as desired and top with some of the topping mix.
- Bake in a 450-degree Fahrenheit oven and bake until the dough is browned and the filling is cooked through.
- Serve hot, or cold.