About measuring...

Hi everyone!!! Happy December to you all! I believe everything is fine with your side. Today, I want to talk about one disadvantage with my 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 flaw. 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. In the beginning, the dough is very runny but gets thicker each time as I add flour. Usually, I make a 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 the time you will see it, you will also stop measuring the flour:)

In the meantime, I will try to do the measuring for my upcoming recipes. 

Thank you for your support and patience! 

Kartoshka burma

Hi everyone! I am so glad that I finally found some time for posting a recipe:) I tried out new dish and wanted to share it with you. Do you guys remember the recipe "Qovoq burma" , this is almost the same thing, just the filling is different. Instead of pumpkin, I used boiled and mashed potatoes and I loved the result! It is perfect with light soups! Surely try it:)
Ingredients:
Same dough as for "Qovoq burma"
For the filling:
2-3 medium sized potatoes
4-5 tbsp of hot milk (or more, just to make it easier for mashing)
50 grams of butter
1 medium sized onion, peeled ans sliced
Salt to taste
Pinch of fresh grounded pepper
Guys, how do you cook potatoes for your mashed potatoes:) ? I prefer cooking them with skin, putting them in already boiling water,I think that will help to keep most of important minerals and vitamins, again who knows:)So, I take out them when they are fully cooked and peel of their skin. All potatoes go in to the deep bowl. Then go salt, pepper and milk in there:) Mash, mash, mash until smooth.
In separate pan, melt the butter and fry onions until transparent.
Add onions in to the mashed potatoes and finely mix them up:)
Now roll out the dough and divide in four, grease a little bit with oil or clarified butter and spread out the filling evenly all over the piece,

roll each piece around itself forming a log, then roll in to "snail":) Now your snail shaped "burma"s are ready for frying!
Fry each side as described in "Qovoq burma".
Now enjoy your "Kartoshka burma" and surely share with your loved ones! And not loved ones also:) I recommend loving everyone:) Be positive in everything!

Yoqimli ishtaha!!!
I love you all!!!

Pishloqli chuchvara (Cottage cheese Dumplings )

I learned this dish from my mother-in-law (she also cooked it very rarely). I liked this dish at that times, but I almost forgot about it:) Recently I was thinking about to cook some vegetarian dish and I remembered about this meal. Although my mother-in-law made them same as regular "chuchvara"s (I mean the shape), I decided to make them bigger, in rectangle shape, to make my work easier (as I am a big Lazy girl). "Pishloqli chuchvara" is very good source of protein and calcium. Cheese that I used, in Uzbekistan is usually called "tvorog" which is similar to cottage cheese, ricotta cheese or even paneer. Try to use fresh, thick and non sour cheese.
Ingredients:
Same dough as for "chuchvara"
200 grams of cottage cheese
1 big egg
1 tbsp of clarified butter
Salt to taste
Half a tsp of fresh ground pepper
Fresh sour cream for serving
Make the dough, cover and let it rest. Prepare filling: finely mash cottage cheese with eggs, salt, pepper and butter. Set aside.
Roll out the dough and cut 2X2 inch squares. Put in 1 tsp of filling and finely pinch the edges.

Continue pinching, until you will use up filling or dough:)
In separate bowl, boil about1.5 liters of water and bring to boil. Add in 1.5 tsp of salt and 1 tbsp of any vegetable oil. Put "pishloqli chuchvara"s in boiling water, about 10-15 at once. Ready dumplings will float to the surface, but still you need to cook them 1 min more, to be sure, that filling is cooked well.
Cook as many dumplings as you need and keep the rest in your freezer.
Serve dumplings with sour cream and enjoy!!!


Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Besh barmoq (Squared noodles with meat)

"Besh barmoq" is very popular and loved dish in all Central Asian countries. Especially it is popular among Kazakh people, who also claim that "Besh barmoq" is their national dish. I would like to mention that, this dish is also famous among Uzbek people too. I think Kazakhs and Uzbeks are closely connected to each other with common history and culture.
"Besh barmoq" is usually made of fresh lamb and horse meat sausages (or with horse meat). My version is cooked without horse meat sausages, as it is not found, where I live.
Ingredients:
600 grams of meat, lamb/mutton, (preferable fatty and bony parts)
2-3 medium sized onions, peeled and sliced
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of fresh crushed coriander seeds
1 tsp of fresh ground pepper
2-3 bay leaves
Salt to taste
For dough:
2 eggs
60 ml of water
1 tsp of salt
Plain flour as needed
1-2 onions, peeled and sliced, for serving
Put meat in deep pan with 2 liters of cold water and bring to boil over high heat. Scoop out all of the foam, lower the heat and let it simmer for at least 3 hours. Then, add in onions and spices, simmer for another half hour. At the end, add in salt. If you are using horse meat, it must be cooked together with lamb, if you are using horse meat sausages, they must be cooked beforehand and are served at the end, just slice and put on top of cooked dough, along with meat.
While soup is simmering, prepare your dough.Whisk eggs with water ans salt. Gradually add in flour, until you will get medium hard dough. Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 20 min. Roll out the dough and then cut it in medium sized squares, you can see the technique here. Open up all squares and let them dry for a while.
When soup is ready, take out all of the meat and set aside. Set the heat on high and cook squared dough pieces in this soup, for about 4-5 min or until soft. Put half of the given portion of dough at once. Take out cooked dough and layer in big plate. Put meat pieces on top and sprinkle with fresh sliced onions. Serve and enjoy!
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!!!

Hamirli dimlama (Stew with home made noodles)

This yummy recipe was given by Ziyoda opa, and has been told me by my French teacher Fayzulla aka, who used to teach us at the University. Thanks to Ziyoda opa for this delicious recipe! This was the original picture of this dish, cooked by Ziyoda opa:

I loved the recipe, as it turned out to be fast, delicious and easy meal!
Ingredients:
130 ml of vegetable oil
300 grams of meat (beef or lamb) cubed or chopped
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 big carrot (in original recipe yellow carrot must be used, but I couldn't find it) peeled, half cubed, half cut in long thin strips
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 small capsicum, seeded and cut in long thin strips
1 potatoes, peeled and cubed in big pieces
Salt to taste
1 tsp of cumin seeds
Half a tsp of ground pepper
For dough;
60 ml of water
1 tsp of salt
Plain flour as needed
First of all prepare the dough, as it has to be dried for a while. Mix salt in warm water and start adding flour until you will form slightly hard dough. Wrap it and set aside for 15-20 min. Open up, knead a little and start rolling up. Roll up the dough in medium thickness, approximately in 1/4 inches.

Sprinkle finely all over the dough with flour to prevent sticking and then fold it up with a help of a long stick, cut along 3 inch pieces. Now unfold each strip and put one on top of another. Cut all along in 1/4 inch strips.

After you done with cutting, open up noodles with you hands, gently shaking up in the air. Let noodles dry for a while. Now you can start to cook the base.

Heat up oil in crock pot and brown the meat over high heat. While meat is browning cut all the vegetables,don't forget stirring the meat time by time.

When meat is nicely browned, add in onions, fry until onions are transparent and then add in carrots and capsicum. Fry until carrots are half done. Add in tomatoes, fry until oil will start to separate out, add in potatoes. Now pour in enough water only to cover the vegetables, like this:
,
Add in salt, spices and let simmer for 10 min, then set the heat on very low, put all of the noodles over the vegetables and meat like in this picture (finely sift noodles before cooking to get rid off excess flour):

Now, cover the pot and let it cook until noodles are soft and nicely cooked. When noodles are ready, serve on deep and big dish with some fresh vegetables aside. Enjoy!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!
I am posting a video on how to fold the dough with a help of a long stick and cutting out the noodles. Hope you will understand the process. Video was taken by my little 5 years old girl and that's why sorry for any inconvenience:) By the way she was telling me to explain what am I doing, but I think it is understandable without any explanation:)

Norin (Small noodles with horse meat sausages)

"Norin" is a famous meal in Uzbekistan and is made mostly in Tashkent. Winter is the perfect time for making "Norin", as meat must be air dried beforehand in cool temperatures. Usually horse meat is used, but it can be substituted with beef or lamb. Air dried meat will give special taste to "Norin", so, don't skip this part.

Ingredients:
1 kg of beef
A lot of coarse salt
1 tbsp of cumin
1 tsp of pepper
For the dough:
2 eggs
350 ml of water
1 flat tbsp of salt
Plain flour as needed
200 -250 ml of cottonseed oil/vegetable or olive oil
2 tbsp of ground coriander
1 stick of  "Qazi"  (optional)

A week or 5 days before you plan to cook "Norin", buy fresh meat and cut it in thin, flat pieces, just to make it easier to hang.Usually it is hanged over the rope, but I use my old oven rack for this purpose. Finely season meat with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper, rubbing them nicely all over each of meat piece.



Cover meat with clean cheese cloth.

Everyday turn meat on the other side, letting it dry evenly. Remember that temperature of the room must be cold enough. I usually open up my window slightly.
After 5-6 days meat will be ready, it will look like this:

Wash meat finely and put in a cold water enough to cover meat, about 2.5 liters. Bring water to boil, scoop out all the foam and let it simmer for about 2-2,5 hours. Take out all the meat. Usually meat is chopped or julienned thinly with a very sharp knife, but as a lazy lady who seeks easy ways, I prefer grinding it in food processor. I am thankful for my husband who gave me such a great idea!









Now prepare noodles. Slightly beat up eggs and mix well with water and salt. Gradually add in flour until you will form medium hard dough. (Not too soft and not too hard). Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 min. Divide the dough in two parts and roll out separately. Roll out the dough in 2.5- 3 mm thickness. (Meanwhile, put 3 liters of water to boil). Cut out approximately 7x7 inch squares. For making it easier, after you done with the rolling, fold the dough and horizontally cut out 7 inch pieces, then unfold this strips putting one piece on to another and again horizontally cut out 7 inch pieces.







Cook all of squares, putting 3-4 pieces in to the boiling water at a time. Cook for 3-4 min and then put them on to the clean, cotton tablecloth, just to get rid of that excess water.After some time,flip over, so that they can be dried properly.

When all these dough pieces dried well, gather them on a big flat plate, greasing each layer generously with oil.

Let it rest for 15 min, then start cutting. Take one square at a time and cut in 2 inch strips, put them one on top of another and cut as thinly as you can.








 When you done cutting all the pieces, sprinkle some fresh ground coriander and mix well with chopped meat.
Serve "Qazi" with thinly sliced horse meat sausages and enjoy!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Manpar

Today is the first anniversary of my blog!!! It's been a year that I started blogging and I am so happy with that! Whenever I get a comment with appreciation for my work, I feel happy that I am doing something good and useful for people. It's so nice that I have my own followers and viewers! Thank you!
"Manpar" is originated from Uighur cuisine as well as "Lag'mon". But in Uzbek cuisine it is cooked with lamb's tail fat. However I sometimes substitute it with vegetable oil, usually with corn oil. Also it can be mixed 50/50 of vegetable oil and lamb's tail fat. I have to mention that in original recipe, special Uzbek radish is used, we call it "Turp" it is green in color and juicy, but it is very hard to find it in anywhere else, so I used white, fresh juicy daikon instead of it. I am posting this recipe by wish of one of my viewers:)
Ingredients:
30 gr of lamb's tail fat (melted)
40 gr of vegetable oil
300 gr of meat, cut in long strips (It will be easier to cut, if you put your meat in to freezer for 3-4 hours.)
2 medium sized onions, peeled and sliced
150 gr of peeled and julienned daikon
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tbsp of tomato paste
Salt to taste
1 tsp of ground coriander
1 tsp of cumin seeds
For the dough:
1 small egg
60 ml of warm water
1 tsp of salt
Plain flour as needed
3 tbsp of butter
3 eggs
Some oil for frying egg crepes
Fresh chopped coriander leaves
First of all make the dough mixing together egg, water, salt and gradually adding in flour until you form medium hard dough. Knead well, cover it and let it stand for 20 min. Knead the dough once more before working. Divide the dough in 3-4 handful pieces.

Now tear up each piece with your hands, in small pieces. Don't worry if they are not same in size.

After you done with tearing "manpar", boil 2 liters of water and add some salt. Put in "manpar" - teared pieces of dough, all at one time. When they will float to the surface, boil for 3 min and then drain well.

Add in butter and mix well. Set aside.
Heat up cubed lamb's fat until they will give their oil and then add in vegetable oil. Heat well and put in meat. Fry on a high heat until meat will start to brown and then add in onions and spices, continue frying until onions are transparent, add in tomato paste and garlic.

Fry for 2-3 min, add in daikon.

Fry for 2 min and then add in about half a liter of cold water. Water should cover all the ingredients.
Bring water to boil, scoop out a little foam that will float to the surface and then lower the heat. Let it simmer for 30 min, then add in salt.
Prepare egg crepes by beating one egg at a time and frying both sides over well heated pan with a little oil, then roll around itself forming a log and cut out thin strips. Slightly fluff it with hands just to open up the strips.

Serve in individual bowls, putting 4-5 tbsp of "manpar" and pouring some soup on it, sprinkle with egg strips and fresh chopped coriander leaves and enjoy this yummy dish!
Yoqimli ishtaha!

Tugrama manti

The difference of "Tugrama manti" from ordinary "Manti" is in the shape of the meat. The meat is not grounded, but cut in small pieces. You surely must use fat of lamb's tail, as it gives special juice and flavor to "Manti". Use if possible fresh meat and not the frozen one. If it is a meat of young lamb, that would be perfect!
Ingredients:
300 gr of meat cut in small pieces (I use lamb)
3 onions, peeled and sliced
1 tsp of ground pepper
1 tsp of cumin seeds
Salt to taste
60 gr of lamb's tail fat
1 egg
70 ml of water
1.5 tsp of salt
Plain flour as needed
First of all make the dough: slightly beat up water and egg and add in salt. Gradually start adding flour until you will form medium hard dough. Cover it and let it rest for 20 min.
Prepare the filling combine meat, onion and all the spices and salt. Mix well with hands until onions will give some juice.

Roll out the dough very thinly and cut the 3.5X3.5 inch squares. Put 1 tbsp of filling to each one and pinch the edges twice.

Place all of your "Tugrama manti"s on a steamers sheet(they should be greased with oil beforehand)and place the sheets on a boiling water. Cook for about 40-45 min.
Take from the heat and serve with a yogurt and sour cream, you can sprinkle some greens on top. Enjoy this juicy, delicious, gorgeous meal!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Lagmonlik kifta (Meat rolls with dough)

To tell the truth I invented this dish by myself:) But I use classic "Lagmon" and "Kifta" for this recipe, so it is truly Uzbek dish. I like inventing some interesting and pretty meals:) It is fun and it's not boring. For me it seems boring to eat same dishes everyday, so I try to make some different things:) I hope you will like it.
Ingredients:
350 gr meat
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 small potato
30 gr of butter
Salt to taste
1 tsp of ground coriander
1 tsp of cumin seeds
For lagmon:
1 small egg
50 ml of water
1 tsp of salt
Plain flour as needed
Oil for greasing
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of baking soda
First you have to make dough, beat slightly egg and add sugar and water, gradually add in flour to make medium hard dough. Cover it and let it rest for 15 min.

I usually use sea salt as it is more healthier than regular salt. Mix in small bowl 1 tsp of salt ans 1 tsp of soda with 100 ml of water. After 15 min, rinse your hands in salty and soda water and punch the dough, repeat 2 more times and knead it for 2 min. Again cover the dough and let it rest for 15 min. Repeat this punching thing for 3 times more.
Now divide the dough in 6 equal pieces and form small logs from them, grease them with oil, cover with cotton towel and let it rest for 10 min.

After 10 min roll out each piece into the longer logs, and again cover with towel and leave for 10 min. You will see how it will be easier each time to rolling them.

This time try to make long and thiner logs and roll them in flat plate. Grease the plate with oil beforehand. Grease the logs also to prevent sticking to each other.

Now cover them and leave for 15 min. While they are resting make "Kifta"s.
Ground meat, onion, potato, melted butter, salt, spices all together in food processor. If you don't have food processor, them mix minced meat with grated potatoes and add melted butter, salt and spices.
Form slightly long logs from meat and roll them in a flour. You will get 12 logs.

Set them aside. Now take rested "Lagmon" noodles one by one and again try to roll thinner logs and after that, take meat logs one by one and roll noodles around them. Try to work quickly as the noodles will get thinner with each time.
After you finished, place them on greased steamer sheets and cook for 45-50 min. Boil the steamer water beforehand.

After your "Lagmonlik kifta" is ready, fry them on a little oil for giving them more pretty look, or if you don't want just skip frying. I do both:)
Serve them with some side dish and enjoy this pretty and tasty meal! I cooked mashed potato for the side dish today.
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!