Lozijon (Garlic sauce)

"Lozijon" is a hot sauce made of garlic, oil and grounded red pepper. Usually it is served with meat and some dough type dishes. I myself, also like adding it to some salads. You can use olive oil instead of vegetable oil.
Ingredients:
200 grams of garlic
50 grams of vegetable oil
Half a tsp of red pepper

Clean up garlic and finely chop the cloves (some people like to mash them, I like it chunky). Heat up oil well and then cool up to 50 degrees of Celsius. Add in garlic and again put on a very low heat. Cover the lid and cook for about 5-6 min or until garlic will give it's flavor and juice. Don't over cook and don't let garlic to burn! Take from heat, add in grounded pepper and mix well.

Store in air tight glass dish in a fridge. Enjoy with your favorite meat or fish dish.
Yoqimli ishtaha!

Pishloqli ko'k barak (Spinach and cottage cheese dumplings)

This recipe is great for vegetarians. Cottage cheese and spinach makes this dish nutritious and full of proteins. Use fresh, home made cottage cheese and fresh spinach for the filling.
Ingredients:
Dough is same as for "Yumurtabarak" (http://uzbekcooking.blogspot.com/2009/12/yumurta-barak-dumplings-with-eggs.html)
For the filling
50 grams of butter
1 medium sized onion, peeled and chopped
A big bunch of spinach
150 grams of cottage cheese (pishkloq)
A pinch of fresh ground pepper
Salt to taste
Sour cream for serving
Prepare the dough:Slightly beat up egg and water, add in salt, mix well. Gradually add in flour until you will shape medium hard dough. Cover and let it rest for 15 min. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Melt butter in pan and fry onions until transparent, add in chopped spinach and continue frying until spinach is finely cooked and all juices are evaporated.

Finely grate cottage cheese, add in salt and pepperand mix well with fried spinach. Set aside.

Roll up the dough in big circle. Cut round shapes with a help of some small bowl or with round cutter. If it is hard to roll out all the dough, just divide the dough in small portions and roll up each piece separately.

Put 1 tbsp of filling in the middle and finely pinch edges. Pinch out all of dumplings.

Cook dumplings in hard boiling water until they fill float to the surface. (Cook approximately 10-15 dumplings at once, or they will stick to each other)

Can be served with or without soup.

If you want to serve it with soup, place 4-5 dumplings in individual bowls and pour over 1 ladle of boiling water,where we cooked our dumplings and top with sour cream.
Mmmm, yummy! Enjoy!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Sabzavotli tovuq kabob (Chicken kabobs with vegetables)

This kind of "kabob" is made in ordinary gas oven. Use fresh poultry and vegetables and don't skip marinating part. These "kabob"s are so juicy, tender and finger licking delicious, that now on you will be making them all the time.
Ingredients:
3-4 chicken breasts
2 tomatoes, quartered
1 big capsicum
2 onions, peeled and quartered
1 tbsp of cumin seeds
1 tbsp of mashed coriander seeds
1 tsp of fresh ground pepper
Salt to taste
1 tsp of chili powder
2-3 cloves of garlic, mashed
200 grams of "suzma" or drained yogurt
2-3 tbsp of lemon juice
Prepare all of the spices, lemon juice and drained yogurt and mix well.

Cut out all needed vegetables:

Cut breast in medium chunks and finely rub them with paper towel, just to get rid of excess moisture:

Mix vegetables and breast with yogurt/spice mixture and put in fridge for 2-3 hours:

Soak wooden skewers in water for 20 min, as they tend to burn in oven:

Now, prepare "kabob"s, pinching vegetables and chicken breast by turn:

Finely brush meat and vegetables with oil and cook in preheated oven for about 20 min. After 20 min, take them out and turn, again finely brush the other side with oil and cook for 20 min more (cooking time varies due to the oven, but cater to the color, if it is lightly browned, then it's ready).
One more tip: don't allow "kabob"s touch the bottom of the dish, where you cook them, if you don't have the right dish, then shape two thick logs out of foil and place them on the sides of big pan or tray/salver and place "kabob"s over them.
Don't overcook, it will make "kabob"s dry!

Enjoy your yummy, juicy treat!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Karamli pompoqcha somsa (Samusa with cabbage)

I love that "Karamli pompoqcha somsa" is very moist, a little bit crunchy inside, tasty and of course very nutritious. You can also add in hard boiled eggs to this stuffing if you like. Try to use new and crispy cabbage for this samusa. The dough is same like in recipe "Pompoqcha somsa".
Ingredients:
300 ml of milk
1 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of sugar
1.5 tbsp of dried yeast
30 gr of butter
Plain flour as needed
For the filling:
One small cabbage
1 medium sized carrot
2 onions
1 small beetroot (optional)
Salt to taste
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of coriander powder
Half a tsp of pepper
70 grams of butter or clarified butter
1 egg yolk
Sesame seeds for sprinkling
Warm up the milk and add in butter, stir until butter will dissolve in milk. Add in salt, sugar and yeast. Mix well, then gradually add in flour until you form a soft, but not too sticky dough. Cover and set aside to warm place for rising, approximately for 1.5 hour.
Prepare the filling: shred cabbage thinly, peel out carrot and cut in very thin strips or just grate. Peel onions and slice. Melt butter and fry onions until transparent, add in all spices. Put in carrots and beetroot, fry for 2-3 min, add in cabbage. Continue frying for 5 min more. Set the heat on low, cover the pan and cook until cabbage is almost done, but still a little crunchy. Take from heat and add in salt, mix and set aside.
Divide the dough to 20-25 equal pieces. You can make them bigger or smaller to your taste. Roll out each piece to round shape (they must not be thin, roll out approximately half centimeter thick), put 1-1,5 tbsp of filling and pinch the edges.

Brush "Pompoqcha somsa"s with an egg yolk, sprinkle some pepper or sesame seeds and bake until golden color. Can be served as hot and as cold. Goes well with yogurt-"Qatiq".
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!