Olma va olhu'ri sharbati (Compote with apples and plums)

Hi everyone! Long time no posting:) as always I am so sorry guys for my "holiday out":) Time is just amazing thing, you won't look up and bumps! - three or four month are passed just like a second... But thankfully it is passed with a lot of fun and love! Hope you are also having a good time and trying to see good in everything..
Summer is coming, hot days are expected, so that means a lot of drinking:) I love compotes, because they are natural, healthy and tasty! It is better not to drink those soft drinks, because they are full of chemicals and preservatives, sugar free soft drinks have aspartame which is not good for health, so it is better to make your own drink:)
Usually I make compotes out of different fruits like apples, plums, apricots, pears, cherry's, berry's and so on. So today's post is about  apple and plump compote:) Enjoy and have fun making it!

Ingredients:

500 grams of apples, quartered and cleaned from seeds

500 grams of hard plums, washed carefully

Sugar to taste

  Boil 1.5 liters of water. When water starts boiling, put in apples and plums, set the heat on smaller then medium and simmer for 20 min. At the end add in sugar for your taste.  Take from heat and let it cool down completely. Put in fridge and serve chilled.

Yoqimli ishtaha!

About measuring...

Hi everyone!!! Happy December to you all! I believe everything is fine and fun with you. Today, I want to talk about one mistake in giving recipes, I hope you don't mind:)
Many people ask me, why I don't give exact measurements for the flour to my dough related dishes. I agree that it is my biggest mistake. I decided from now on, whenever I cook that type of the dishes, I will carefully measure the amount of flour. I never measured the amount of the flour, as I always concentrate on the softness or hardness of the dough. I add flour gradually, more at the beginning, less at the end, mixing and kneading it each time with my hands. At the beginning, the dough is very runny, but gets thicker each time as I add flour. Usually I make medium hard dough, which means it is not sticky, not too soft and not too hard. You can easily press your finger in it, but it's not sticky. I understand it is hard for beginners, but by time you will see, you will also stop measuring the flour:)
This, not measuring thing, is giving me a big problem with my book also, as now, I have to cook all those dishes once again, just to make sure that the recipe is exact. It is easier with dough dishes, as most of them have the same dough recipe, which is usually water, salt and egg.  I am concerned with breads!!! They are all different, which makes my husband happy:) I have about 20 -25 different bread recipe to bake. Ooouuff, my poor figure:) so many calories are awaiting for you:) Otherwise I can't put that unperfect recipes to my book. Wish me luck, oh no no, wish me patience with my plan!!!  I am so hoping that one day I will finally hold my book in my arms...

Behi palov (Pilaf with quinces)

Hi there everyone!!! Hope everything is just fine and positive on your side:)  Life is full of joy, happiness and fun, just  we have to SEE it, wish to everyone find the way:)  Open your hearts and accept everything-be grateful! I understood that, being grateful is one of the most important secrets to happiness...

So, I am grateful that, today I finally find some time to post a recipe for you guys:)

So today's special is pilaf with quinces:) As soon as they are available in the markets, I get them to cook this dish for my loved ones! Pilaf with quinces has special and unique taste, besides it is very useful for health, especially if you have some problem with your lungs as cough and colds. If you wish to make it vegetarian dish, you can always cook it without meat, just skip the meat part and continue the rest. So the recipe:

Ingredients:

150 ml of clarified butter

400 grams of meat, cut in medium chunks (ribs will go fine)

2 big onions, cleaned and sliced

3-4 big carrots, peeled and cut in thin long strips or flaked (as I like)

3-4 fresh and ripe, but not soft quinces

2,5 cups of rice, (I used basmati, if you're using another type of rice, you can put a little more, as basmati tends to double/triple in size)

Tablespoon of ground coriander

Teaspoon of black cumin seeds

Salt to taste

Heat up butter, then put in meat, fry on a medium heat until beautiful light brown color. Put in all of the flaked/cut in thin strips carrot and onion. Set the fire on low. Put quinces at top of vegetables and cover the lid. (it helps to soften the quinces, so you won't hurt your hand while cutting them)

Let it cook for 20 min. Then open up the lid, take out quinces and cut them in half or quarter, if they are big.

Again put them back on top of the vegetables and cover the lid. Let them cook for about an hour.(Check up every 20 min,  slightly moving the bottom, sometimes, if the carrot is not juicy and fresh enough, it tends to stick to the bottom of the pan, in that case,add in some water-about half cup and continue cooking)

After an hour, carefully take out quinces out of the pot. Add in some salt, spices and finely mix everything. Put quinces back. Layer the rice (finely washed for at least three times) on top of meat and vegetables evenly, helping yourself with a spoon. Carefully add in water to cover the rice for about an inch, set the fire on high and let all the water completely evaporate. Check for saltiness. At the end, carefully mix only the top of the rice with a spoon. Set the fire on low (lowest you have), cover the lid and cook for about 15 min.

Open up the lid, again mix only the rice and put the lid back. Cook for another 15 min or more until rice is finely cooked.
When your pilaf is done, take out quinces and all the meat chunks, finely mix everything. Serve your pilaf and enjoy:)
As always it goes good with "Achchiq chuchuk" -salad with tomatoes and onions, yey!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!! 

Kulchatoylar (Baby bread)

When I was a child, my mum used to bake me these kind of "kulcha" breads:) I loved them! I missed those baby breads and decided to make some for my sweety too.  These "kulcha"s are so fun to make with your child! And they are great for school snacks! Just cut them in half horizontally and put some filling inside. They are surely better then shop made buns:)
Ingredients:
300 ml of milk
50 grams of butter (or melted lamb's tail fat as in original recipe)
1.5 tbsp of yeast
1 tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
Plain flour as needed
1 egg for greasing
Poppy seeds or sesame seeds for sprinkling
Warm up milk and add in butter or fat, mix until dissolved completely, take from stove and add in salt and sugar. Let it cool down a bit and then add in yeast. Mix and then gradually start adding flour. Make soft and a little bit sticky dough (but not too sticky though). Grease it with oil, cover and let it rest for 1.5 hours.
When the dough is ready to work, divide it in about 15 or more (depending on how small you want to make them) pieces. Shape out your "kulcha"s in small circular breads with thinner center and thicker edges. Put them directly on your baking tray, cover and let them rest for 10 min.
Grease all of "kulcha"s with whisked egg and sprinkle the top with your favorite seeds. Bake in medium heat until nice golden in color.
Mmmmm, that heavenly smell!!!!
Enjoy your baby breads!!!

Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Qovurilgan yosh kartoshka (Fried baby potatoes)

Hi there everyone! I am so sorry for my long break, as always, I have so much to do! This time it's even more work, as somehow, most of my food photos are lost (don't know how????!!!!) and I have to cook all those dishes again! I need that photos for my book (I have to work on it a little bit more...). I suspect that maybe my daughter accidentally had deleted them... For the other side, maybe it's for my sake, as now I have better camera and my photos are much more beautiful!!!
Let me share with you one of my mother in law's favorite snack (photo is taken with my old camera, I have some more photos and recipes, I have to post them soon:))
 As soon as young baby potatoes are available at the market, my mother in law gets them, for cooking her favorite snack:) Though it is a little bit time taking, but still the taste worth the work:) Besides, nothing like eating those fresh, crunchy and delicious baby potatoes!
Ingredients:
500 grams of baby potatoes
half a liter of clarified butter
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Cook/boil  baby potatoes with their skin. When they are ready, drain the hot water and wash with cold water. Start peeling out their skin, and yeah it will take some time:)
Heat butter well and then deep fry potatoes in it. Fry half of all potatoes at a time, that will make them  crunchier. At the end, sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Goes well with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers:)
Enjoy that crunchy babies!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Gu'ja (Cold soup with wheat and corn)

"Gu'ja" is very popular and great cold soup for summer. This soup is so easy to cook, yet so yummy and nourishing! In Uzbekistan there are some special places, where you can enjoy this dish and have chat with your friends. There are different recipes for this soup and they all taste just yummy! This recipe is the simplest one!
Ingredients:
 Half cup of wheat
 Half cup of white corn
 Salt to taste
 Plain yogurt
 Pepper and red chili to taste (optional)
 You can also add in yellow corn kennels and mungbeans to this recipe if you wish

 "Gu'ja" needs special kind of corn, which is white in color and has small kennels.

Mix corn and wheat in a bowl, add in enough water to cover them for about 4 inches. Bring to boil on a high heat. When it comes to boil, lower the heat and let it simmer until wheat is soft and completely cooked. At the end, add in salt. Serve with plenty of fresh plain yogurt. I also like to sprinkle some basil on top:)
 Enjoy your hearty summer dish!
 Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Tandir non (Bread baked in a special clay oven)

Hi my dears! How are you? Hope everything is fine and your life is full of happiness and joy! Sorry for such a long break, as always I was busy with many other things. But, I always remember you and my blog and feel so guilty the day I didn't post anything. I had a great experience with baking bread in a clay oven - "Tandir" or "Tandur":)A lot of thanks to my friend Malika opa, who showed me the process. She shared with me some secrets of "tandir". She also showed me how they love to eat fresh and hot baked bread, greasing garlic and tomato on top of it. I must tell it's really yummy! Bread is soaked with tomato juice and garlic gives specific flavor to it! Here is the photo:

So, the next day, I wanted to try it on my own, well actually not on my own-with my husband:) I prepared the dough and he prepared the oven. It was fun, but a little bit stressy, as I was afraid if I could make it right:) I had to try it, or it will not be me:) I decided to make my bread without adding any yeast.
 So, here is the recipe of my bread:
 1.5 liters of full fat milk
 5 tbsp of olive oil (or any vegetable oil)
 1.5 tbsp of salt
 1 tbsp of sugar
 1 cup of toasted sesame seeds
 You can also add 1 full tsp of baking soda if you want, but that is optional
 4 cups of all purpose white flour
 Whole wheat flour as needed
 Heat up milk and add in oil, sugar, salt. Stir well, until sugar and salt dissolved completely. Take milk from heat and add in toasted sesame seeds. Add in 4 cups of white flour and soda, finally mix everything. Now slowly add in whole wheat flour, until you will form soft, but not sticky dough. At the end, oil your hands and work you dough for about 5 min. Cover and let it rest for 1 hour. Meanwhile, prepare clay oven. Fire the wood and let it fire a while. At the beginning, oven will be dark inside. You have to wait until it will be light. Divide the dough for about 10 pieces or more, depending to the size of the bread you want to bake. I made them small, so I divided in 14 pieces. Divide and work them into smooth balls, prepare your tools:

When oven is ready to bake, start shaping out your breads:

You will need a special tool called "rapida" to put your bread on it and stick it into the walls of the oven. Before sticking the bread, you have to grease the back of it with a little bit of water, just to make it sticky enough.

Now, stick it to the oven's wall:

When bread is golden-brown in color, it is ready. You will have to take it carefully. Always keep your face out or you can burn out your eyelashes:) Also take care of your hands, wear something with long sleeves and wear also cotton gloves. Believe me it is fun and great experience, one must have in his/her life:)! Oh, I forgot to tell you about potatoes! After we were done with our breads, we buried some potatoes in that remaining coal, waited a while and then enjoyed delicious and flavorful potatoes!!!

Enjoy your the most tasty breads ever!!!