Small Group Workshop: 3 Essential Central Asian Flatbreads with Anna Ansari

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What’s on the Menu:
Chvishtari (Cheesy Georgian Cornbread)
Fatir / Feseli / Katama (Central Asian Layered & Fried Flatbreads)
A Central Asian Flatbread for any oven

Laobing. Katlama. Cong youbing. Fatir. If we asked you what kind of dishes these are, would you know? If not, then you need to join returning teacher Anna Ansari, author of the recent book “Silk Roads,”, for a small group workshop all about the flatbreads—and a couple of not-entirely-flat breads—of Central Asia. Anna is a true encyclopedia of knowledge about the legacies of exchange, adaptation and invention in this richly diverse part of the world. The three breads you’ll learn to make with her illuminate these patterns—and also happen to taste great and teach you transferable lessons about doughs of all kinds. You’ll make an unleavened, pan-fried flatbread that Anna describes as a spiritual cousin of parathi and roti and which you can fill with anything from just ghee to herbs to spiced meat and more. We’ll review the basics of working with yeast as you make the most universal of all Central Asian breads, one that would typically be baked in the kind of super-hot outdoor oven you might find in Urumqi, Khiva or Ashgabat...but has been carefully adapted to work well in a run-of-the-mill home oven, too. Finally, we take our taste buds to the country of Georgia, in the region where cornmeal is king. You’ll learn the defining difference between your mchadi and your chvishtari and draw a line from these to the johnnycakes of the Americas—because that kind of nuanced cultural connection is Anna’s specialty. If you love flatbreads, join her for an extraordinary workshop.

Get 10% off Anna’s recent cookbook, “Silk Roads,” with code MILK2025 here.

About Anna: Anna Ansari is an Iranian-American food writer whose debut cookbook, “Silk Roads: A Flavor Odyssey with Recipes from Baku to Beijing,” takes us on a culinary, historical, and personal odyssey across the most storied trade routes in history with 90 showstopping but accessible recipes. Meera Sodha praises her as “a rare kind of home cook who is able to turn the simplest ingredients into pure magic [and] one of the best writers I know.” A Detroit native now based in London, Anna’s background is in Asian Studies, with degrees from both Barnard College and Yale University. Her writing explores the intersections of food, family, and history, with a focus on migration and the ways ingredients and flavors move across borders, carried in the memories and pockets of travelers and transplants.

Our small-group Workshops are capped at just 25 attendees and are distinct from our livestream Classes. As such, they are NOT included with Insider membership.

Want to give this class as a gift? You can purchase gift cards here.

Immediately after registering, you will get a confirmation email that contains the Zoom meeting log-in information. One week prior to the class (or within 48 hours, if you register less than one week in advance), you will receive instructions on how to prepare ingredients and equipment in order to cook along with us.

After class, you will receive a recording of the event, as well as a packet with recipes and resources that we discuss during the event. If you have any questions about this class, please don't hesitate to get in touch via cookingschool@177milkstreet.com.

This event has limited spots, and you must register in advance via Eventbrite. One sign-up covers one device. Closed Captioning is available for this event.

Payments for Milk Street livestream workshops are non-refundable. If you find yourself unable to attend, you may transfer the ticket to someone else, but we are unable to refund fees and all payments are final.

Bonus: All attendees of this class will receive a one-time 20% off coupon to the Milk Street Store after class.