How often do we drink tea? Yes, almost constantly! Only for us tea is not just a drink, but a full meal, which is accompanied by the absorption of buns, sweets, sandwiches and even main dishes.
“Drinking tea” means sitting at a table, eating, going to a cafe, where you can order a piece of cake or pizza for a cup of drink. Sometimes we even forget about the tea itself, enjoying a meal. But the Kalmyks have a different way, and tea is very important for them, because it is not only an everyday drink, but also a nutritious dish: two cups of tea with a piece of homemade bread are enough for an adult man all day. Why is Kalmyk tea so unique?
Homeland of tea
It should be noted that the Adyghs often drink Kalmyk tea, who simply borrowed it from the Kalmyks. But this is not the only people who fell under the peculiar charm of the drink. Mongols, Buryats and other kindred peoples adopted the recipe. Kalmyk tea composition is non-standard, because in addition to tea and milk, salt is added to it. The secret recipe was collected literally bit by bit, since tea was taken from the Chinese, and the ancient Mongols added milk to it. The Chinese themselves do not like milk. Some historians believe that this is a sign of their protest against the nomads.
How did tea come to us?
When the ancient Mongols conquered the territory and created their empire, the peoples who became part of the Golden Horde adopted the elements of culture. For example, tea came to Russia from the Golden Horde. But directly the science of how to brew Kalmyk tiled tea was given to Russia hard. Of course, it was convenient for the nomad riders to take tiles with them, rather than a scattering of tea, so they took out heavy bricks from leaves and stems of tea from China. Kalmyks passed on their drinking culture to the Circassians and all kindred peoples - henceforth they drank tea with milk, butter, salt and pepper. But Adygs themselves turned out to be experimenters: they added horse sorrel and healing oregano to the tea leaves to give a light aroma. In the Soviet Union, they drank tea made from recycled tea trash. On the whole, simplifying the procedure for brewing tea was only in the hands of avid teasers, since you can now prepare a drink in different ways.
Cooking process
So, a man who was tired of soda and coffee wanted to drink a nutritious drink. The preparation of Kalmyk tea begins with measuring the desired dose of tea leaves: it is better to take twice as much compared to regular tea drinking. A scattering of tea should be right in the cup, not the teapot, so it is recommended to take a larger cup. Two-thirds of the cup is poured with boiling water and infused for several minutes. Now you need to dilute the tea with hot milk and toss a slice of butter, and then salt and pepper the tea. By the way, hot milk can be poured instead of boiling water. This is a modern way of cooking, but how to brew Kalmyk tea according to old traditions? Indeed, sometimes even the mood itself invites you to join the story. Then you have to brew tea in a cauldron and insist the whole night. At the same time, tonic properties go away completely, but the exciting effect is strengthened. By the way, if Kalmyk tea is prepared on the basis of horse sorrel, then there is no strong stimulating effect, and it is quite possible to insist on the night.
Pros and cons of an ancient drink
But is a modern person worth drinking Kalmyk tea? Its benefits and harms are in doubt. If, for example, we talk about tea on horse sorrel, then the biological and medical properties of the rhizome are known. The upper parts of the plant are to some extent useful, however, the effect will be only from regular consumption of the drink. The taste of horse sorrel infusion seems astringent, which will be unusual for a person who first tasted Kalmyk tea. The benefits and harms of it are not comparable. So, tea lowers blood pressure, improves bile formation and bile secretion. If oregano is added to tea, then anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and analgesic effect is added. So there is only one good around, and harm can be purely in a specific aftertaste, which is very intense, and individual intolerance.
First time treat
When a person who is far from Kalmyk culture tastes a national drink for the first time, the impression may be mixed. Few immediately imbued with love for him, because the combination of tea and oil, salt and milk pushes away. There are certain stereotypes regarding the concept of tea drinking. For a Russian person, tea is an event, it is a hot and sweet drink that warms after frost, soothes and tunes in a positive way. But Kalmyk tea is a fatty, salty and spicy drink that will shock all taste buds. But such tea is just a variation of a traditional drink, moreover, a softened and adapted variation. Kalmyks themselves did not even add butter to it, but melted lamb fat. But the Mongols went even further and brewed their tea with fried pieces of chicken tail and bone marrow of a ram. Maybe Kalmyk tea with milk and butter would be perceived more loyally if it were not declared as tea, but as a nutritious milk drink, soup, or even a means to restore vigor and male strength. In many cafes, by the way, waiters go to this trick and paint the virtues of tea, calling it a tonic, aphrodisiac and wellness.
Adyghe
How to brew Kalmyk tea in the traditions of the Circassians? After all, they contributed a lot to make tea more palatable. Repeating the preparation of the drink is not so difficult if you free some time and stock up with all the necessary ingredients. It is necessary to take several branches of horse sorrel and rinse them well. Now they are laid at the bottom of the pot and poured with water. Horse sorrel is simmered for at least an hour until a saturated color is obtained. The finished broth should still be infused, and then the branches can be deleted. About a third of the resulting volume should be diluted with milk and boil all together. And now it's time for spices: salt and black pepper to taste. On a saucepan you will need a piece of oil from 50 to 100 grams. It is not necessary to drink Kalmyk tea hot, but the taste will be more pleasant. And if you add too much butter or add lamb fat, an unpleasant film may appear on the cooled drink, which will not add appetite. By the way, traditionally they drink tea with national pastries, such as, for example, crevices, guubat and halyuzh.
Tips for housewives
It's a shame to cook such a rarity and be left without praise when the choosy relatives, having seen a cup of tea with butter, decide that the dishes were simply dirty. Therefore, it is best for the first time to cook a meal in the Kalmyk style. Hot meat with spices, grilled on coals, salads and pastries, and serve Kalmyk tea closer to the dessert. The benefits of this drink are incredible, and any man will be glad to hear how much this cup will give him. Imagine nomads. How did they live? How could they tirelessly cross continents? Their strength was great, and under the yoke of the Golden Horde, many folded their heads. So maybe they had a secret? Yes, here it is their secret, wonderful tea. Only cooked in accordance with all the rules with the use of whole branches of horse sorrel. By the way, the integrity of the branches is important not only by aesthetic principles, because the stems help to fix the branches at the bottom of the pot and do not allow to emerge, enriching the taste of tea. You can brew it very quickly if you immediately salt the cold water, and only then pour branches on it. Such a simple trick will save 30-40 minutes of time. When the tea leaves become dark, it makes no sense to boil further, since useful substances will leave. You do not need to salt too much, because the rule of undersalt and oversalt is relevant in all cases. But with spices you can experiment, because tea can be aromatic. Most often cost black pepper, but if desired, you can add red, dried cilantro or basil. By the way, it is not recommended to cook in aluminum pans, as they are oxidized. It is better to take cast iron, enamelled or Teflon-coated. Enameled pans, by the way, are rather capricious, since during boiling tea with milk, burning may occur in them.
Kalmyk
Kalmyks made tea a little differently from Adygs. They pounded tiled tea and poured cold water, after which they boiled until boiling and removed the twigs that appeared. Then heated cream was poured into the tea leaves, salt, pepper and peas, pre-grated nutmeg were poured. Optionally, cloves and bay leaves were added. The almost finished drink was flavored with oil and salt, after which it was allowed to stand for 10 minutes.
And the older generation was not able to switch to the “light” version, and in the tea prepared in this way adds the secret ingredient (flour fried on mutton internal fat).
From the history
An unusual and strange drink, as it turned out, has an equally unusual story. According to one version, tea was invented by the Tibetan lama, who preserved the strength of the monks who did not eat meat. A hearty and tasty drink was like a soup, restored energy and nourished the body. And another version says that the cause of the invention of tea was the disease of a religious reformer who was prescribed it as a medicine. For greater satiety, mutton fat was added to the tea. The drink quickly gained popularity and put the reformer on its feet, and he ordered the students to start the day with a bowl of Kalmyk tea. A rather interesting version of the origin of the drink is based on the fact that Kalmyks only slightly changed the way of brewing, adopted by the Chinese. By all rules, the tea ceremony is a little difficult to conduct in the steppe, and sometimes there is not enough water, but mare and camel milk are abundant. So they began to brew tea in milk, flavoring it with oil and spices for satiety, taste and aroma.
For treatment
The healing effect of tea has already been described, but it turns out that it can be prescribed for serious diseases as a medicine, and not as a preventive measure. In many families, even in our country, parents preserve lamb, which is drowned and added to milk for children. This is a great way to treat respiratory problems, colds, and coughs. Milk and fat soften the throat, warm and have a beneficial effect on the digestion process and the functioning of the digestive tract. Doctors made a logical conclusion and began to recommend tea with butter as a folk remedy. Why torture yourself and your child with an unpleasant fat swill if you can prepare a truly spicy drink? By the way, he has no contraindications and age restrictions. With nursing mothers, when drinking tea, lactation rises, which can not but rejoice a young family and a small person. The only recommendation for this period concerns the number of spices - it is still better to add less.
On holidays
Holidays, which are always expected with such impatience, are fraught with uncontrolled alcohol libations and gluttony. Subsequent weekdays show that the body was dumbfounded by changes in diet and could not recover. And in such cases, Kalmyk tea will help, because it is a powerful tool in the fight against a hangover. No wonder they recommend eating oil before a feast, motivating this by the fact that it envelops the stomach. Kalmyk tea performs the same function and quickly removes alcohol decay products from the body. In addition, he fights against nausea and heartburn, has a positive effect on brain function.
In a modern way
And finally, it is worth discussing the possibility of making an ancient drink at home. The average family would prefer bagged tea to leaf tea, making such a choice easy to prepare and dispose of waste. In fact, there is no need to constantly wash the teapot, monitor its boiling, and the taste of tea is always the same. But Kalmyk tea in bags is still nonsense. After all, the main magic of taste just happens when brewing and boiling a decoction. But you can try to make tea. A few packets of tea should be poured with boiling water and let it brew. Then you can add milk or cream and boil the resulting mixture. By the way, tea is better to take neutral, without flavoring. You need to add spices and oil in accordance with the taste, remembering that after cooling the tea will lose attractiveness.