Many of our compatriots Uzbek dishes are often perceived as native. And indeed: who at least once in his life did not cook pilaf? Yes, and lagman is a frequent component of Russian lunch. However, this is only a fraction of the delicious delicacies that the cuisine of sunny Uzbekistan can offer us. And today we’ll talk about unfamiliar, but very tasty Uzbek dishes.
Chalop
Far from the Central Asian culinary people do not even suspect how diverse Uzbek dishes. Soup recipes in Uzbekistan - a great variety. Here is one of them related to summer first courses. In essence, it strongly resembles the familiar okroshka, but the taste is radically different. And traditional sausages with potatoes are not included in the chalop - it can be called purely vegetable soup.
To begin with, in any quantity and in any way radish is cut, then fresh cucumbers. If the last seeds are large, they are cleaned, if a rough skin, it is removed. A large amount of cilantro, dill and onion-feather finely crumbles with the addition of several branches of basil. Garlic clove is pressed by the press. Greens and garlic are ground with salt. Both workpieces are mixed in a pan and poured with a skate divorced by a double volume of pure water. Both fluids should be cold. The soup is flavored with lemon juice and pepper, and served similarly to the already mentioned okroshka.
Bayram pilaf
Before exploring unfamiliar Uzbek main dishes, we will prepare the famous pilaf, but not the same as you used to see on your table. For him, chopped onion is fried in ghee in a cauldron; as it turns red, small cubes of a half kilogram of mutton and small cubes of fat tail (a little) are poured. Products are quickly fried and supplemented with carrot straws (take two large root crops). Quince is peeled and cut into quarters, the head of garlic is taken apart into slices and peeled (the bottom film is left). All this is thrown into a cauldron, fried for a couple of minutes, after which water is poured, spices (pepper, salt and a set for pilaf) are introduced, and the dish is left on the stove until it boils. At this moment, two glasses of rice, soaked in a couple of hours soaked in cold water, a spoonful of barberry and a handful of dark raisins are poured into the vessel. Half an hour under the lid, mix and let it brew for about a quarter of an hour.
"Achuchuk": salad for pilaf
Like it or not, pilaf - the food is rather fatty and heavy. However, like many other Uzbek national dishes. To facilitate the work of the stomach, a light vegetable salad is certainly served to the pilaf. And the most popular is Achuchuk. The main thing for him is very current cutting of components. Onions are taken onion, cut into half rings and disassembled by fingers into separate strips. They must be put in cold water for five minutes to remove bitterness, and then strain. It is impossible to use vinegar, traditional for European cuisine, for this purpose! The tomato is cut in almost transparent slices, the hot pepper in thin rings, the purple basil as small as possible. All components are mixed and left for a while to let the juice go. As an accompaniment to pilaf "Achuchuk" is just perfect!
The second Uzbek dishes: recipes with photos
Let's start with the fragrant narkhanga - this is a national dish similar to our stew, but with Uzbek flavor. In a thick-walled and thick-bottomed vessel, lamb is fried to the crust (beef can be put into action), chopped medium-sized. The meat is salted, peppered and flavored with spices (crushed coriander and zira grains) mixed with chopped dill and crushed garlic. Greens and garlic are taken in large quantities. Onion rings are laid out on top , tomato slices on them, followed by carrot sticks. On them are strips of sweet pepper, and the most recent are potato wedges. Each vegetable is seasoned in the same way as meat, with the exception of salt. A glass of water poured into the cauldron along the wall, the container tightly, without cracks, is closed with a lid and placed on a medium-strength fire. After boiling, it is reduced to a minimum, and the dish is stewed a little more than an hour. Ready narkhangi is mixed and generously sprinkled with fresh cilantro.
Dimlyama
What distinguishes Uzbek main dishes? Recipes almost always contain meat and vegetables. So each dish is completely independent and does not need additional side dishes. Dimlyama is very popular among Uzbeks. There are a lot of its options, and it is prepared easily, since it does not require any intermediate processing of the components.
A pound of meat is cut, this time large, and laid out on the bottom of the vessel in which the dish will be prepared. The rather thick rings of two bulbs are laid on it; they are seasoned with salt, spices and pepper. This is followed by two carrots, cut into circles. Plates of two meaty tomatoes are placed on them, then there are mugs of large eggplant, salted and washed from bitter juice. The penultimate ones will be large slices of potatoes (half a kilo), and the finishing touch is a layer of cabbage cut in large flakes. After boiling juices fired with vegetables, the fire tightens, and the cauldron is left on the stove for an hour and a half.
Kuen gusti
Uzbek meat dishes usually involve the use of lamb. In extreme cases - beef. But this dish is made from a rabbit. It is chopped in portions, salted well and fried in a large amount of vegetable oil. Then the pieces are transferred to the smeared form, sprinkled with finely chopped onions and hid in a hot oven for a third of an hour. When finished, the rabbit is generously sprinkled with chopped parsley and laid out on plates.
Buglama kebab
Everyone knows that shish kebab came to our picnics from the Caucasus. However, everyone heard about the kebabs, and almost everyone tried them. But in fact, kebab is the same kebab, only from minced meat and steamed. Uzbek dishes of this kind are prepared with different variations; try making a version called buglama. The meat is preferable to lamb, but beef also will fit - finely chopped. You can not grind, otherwise get a primitive cutlet. The meat is mixed with chopped onions (it should be only slightly smaller than lamb), salt, pepper, grated parsley and vinegar. In this form, it is left for pickling for several hours. Then water is poured into the pan, a dish with minced meat is placed in it, and a large container is tightly closed. Kettle booglama will be 2-3 hours.
Zharkop
This is roast lamb. And this time, replacing it with other meat will not work: the very essence of the dish will be lost. The pulp should be chopped finely (but not crushed), the onion is chopped into small cubes, and the carrots should be cut into strips. The latter requires a lot - half the weight of lamb. All components are loaded into a deep skillet at the same time and fried over high heat until a blush of meat. At this stage, water, tomato paste and spices are added. Stew should be tender until soft, but not until lamb is cooked. Small potato cubes are laid last, and the roast is brought to edibility already in a complete set.
Yupka
All Uzbek dishes, the recipes of which we examined, did not include dough. But this kitchen is famous for including flour products! Everyone knows Samsa, we will not dwell on it, as on well-known manti. It is better to cook a festive dish with the funny name "yupka", which can be described as a multi-layer cake with meat. It is divided into servings, like an ordinary sweet cake, by slicing into triangles.
Cooking Uzbek dishes with dough is quite simple, since a simple yeast-free option is used. A teaspoon of salt is dissolved in a glass of warm water and poured into a bowl. Gradually, with kneading, half a kilogram of flour is added. The dough is brought to medium density, covered with a towel and settled for a quarter of an hour. Then it is divided into small pieces and rolls into flat cakes with a minimum thickness.
The filling according to the rules is made of lamb. However, here you can not strictly observe this condition and take any meat, up to pork or chicken. A third kilo of pulp is chopped or grinded, mixed with chopped two onion heads, peppered, salted and fried until brown. Lumps knead!
Now the construction of the yupka itself. One cake is fried until golden on both sides and laid aside. The second is browned only on one side, turned over and finely laid with minced meat, which is closed with a delayed “pancake”. Minced meat is also spread on it and a raw tortilla is laid. When the bottom dough is fried, the stack is turned over so that the raw one is at the bottom, and the top cake is covered with minced meat and the next layer of dough. Using this technique, the yup turns back and forth, increasing in thickness, until the meat and the minced meat are over. The finished "cake" is moved to a heated dish, covered with a napkin and 10 minutes comes.
If you have never cooked Uzbek dishes, recipes with photos will surely inspire you to experiment. And in the future, you will once again take advantage of the culinary experience of Uzbekistan!