Kartoshka somsa (Samusa with potatoes)

I usually made "Kartoshka somsa" as a complementary dish for soups. I'd like to make them bigger and round in shape. This time I used whole wheat flour to make my somsas healthier:)
Ingredients:
For dough:
300 grams of luke warm water
1,5 tsp of salt
Whole wheat flour as needed
150 grams of butter
For the filling:
3-4 potatoes, peeled and cut in small cubes
100 grams of lamb's tail fat, cut in small cubes
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of ground coriander
Half a tsp of ground pepper
Salt to taste
1 egg for brushing
Some of your favorite seeds for sprinkling over
Make medium soft dough out of water, salt and flour. Wrap and set aside for 20 min. Roll up the dough very thinly and grease with melted butter. Let the butter harden a little. Roll up the dough in to long log and put in fridge for 1 hour. Take the dough out of the fridge and cut equal 3 inch pieces.

Roll each piece, putting them on their flat side,making edges slightly thiner than the center. Don't over roll the center (or it won't be puffy). Put 2 tbsp of filling and 4-5 cubes of tail fat, cover with another round pieces and pinch the edges well.



Brush all of the "somsa"s with an egg (beat egg with fork beforehand) and sprinkle some seeds over. Bake in preheated oven until nice and beautiful golden color. Enjoy with your favorite soup!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Qulupnay djemi (Strawberry jam)

In Uzbekistan, in strawberry season, people usually make preserves for winter times. One of them is this strawberry jam, which is perfect sauce for crepes and ice creams, delicious filling for different pies or donuts.
Ingredients:
1 kg of fresh, ripe strawberries
1 kg of sugar (can be reduced to 600 grams, but you will have to cook it longer)
Finely chop up or blend all of the strawberries. Add in all the sugar. Mix well and let it rest for 1 hour. After 1 hour, mix again and bring this mixture to boil over medium heat. Constantly stir until it will start to boil. Then set the heat on low and simmer jam until it is very thick, make sure you're stirring it unceasingly when it will start to thicken. Pour jam into the sterilized hot glass jars and close tightly.
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Kadi gu'mma (Fried small pumpkin pies)

"Kadi gu'mma" mostly made in Khorezm region, but has the varieties in other regions too. In Tashkent we have "Qovoqli varaqi somsa" which is similar to "Kadi gu'mma". The dough for these pies can be made in two different ways- the simple one and the puff one. Simple one is same as in recipe "Horazmcha Gumma (fried small meat pies)", and the second, puffy one is made as in recipe "Qovurma varaqi somsa (Fried puff samusa)", but after greasing and rolling the dough into long log, instead of cutting along the stick, slice the log in equal 1 inch pieces. Put them on their flat side, sprinkle some flour and roll them out.
Ingredients:
The same dough as in recipe "Qovurma varaqi somsa (Fried puff samusa)"
300 grams of pumpkin, peeled and grated
1 big onion, peeled and sliced thinly
40 grams of butter
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of coriander
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste (optional)
For the filling, melt the butter and fry onions until transparent. Add salt, sugar and spices. Take from heat and add in grated pumpkin, mix well and set aside.
Prepare the dough and after rolling out all of the pieces, put 1 tbsp of filling and pinch the edges.

After you done with pinching, cut along the sides with a special knife, just to give the edges beautiful look.

Fry over medium heat until golden and turn. Repeat with the other side.

When "Kadi gu'mma" s are ready, put them on a paper towel for 10 min, just to get rid of that excess oil.
Serve and enjoy!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Barra piyoz sho'rvasi (Soup with spring onions)

I remember my mother making this kind of "sho'rva" in spring, she used to cook it on a wood fire and it tasted heavenly! I loved that soup with smoky flavor. I tried to recreate this soup on a regular gas stove and it turned out to delicious, light and healthy soup. Try to choose meat with some bones, that will give additional flavor to your soup.
Ingredients:
400 grams of beef or lamb
4 bigger spring onions
1 leek
1 medium sized capsicum
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used 3 zucchinis to make soup totally green :))
1 tbsp of fresh ground coriander
1 tsp of cumin seeds
Half a tsp of fresh ground pepper
Salt to taste
Sour cream for serving
Put meat in 2 liters of cold water. Bring to boil and scoop out all of the foam. Set the heat on medium and let it simmer for 1 hour under half closed lid. Stir every 20 min.
Chop up spring onions, leek and capsicum. Cube potatoes or zucchinis.


Put all of the vegetables and spices to the soup and let it simmer for 20 min or until potatoes are soft and cooked. At the end sprinkle salt and take from heat. Serve topping with sour cream. Enjoy this soup with "Qatlama". Mmmm, yummy!
Yoqimli ishataha!!!

Qizilcha sho'rva (Beet tops soup)

"Qizilcha sho'rva" is very healthy, light and useful soup, which will be good cure for anemia. It is made mostly in villages. Usually leaves of young beets are used for this soup, as they are tender and more juicy.
Ingredients:
50 grams of lamb's tail fat or any vegetable oil
300 grams of meat (beef or lamb with bones)
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 medium carrot, peeled and cubed
2 yellow turnips, peeled and quartered
2 tomatoes, peeled and mashed or blend in puree
About 100-150 grams of beet tops/leaves
Salt to taste
1 tbsp of fresh ground coriander
1 tsp of cumin seeds
Half a tsp of ground pepper
Fresh greens, chopped
Melt lamb's tail fat in crock pot over low heat. Take out all of the shrunk fat. If you're using vegetable oil, heat it well. Put in meat and set the heat on high. Brown meat and put in onion and spices. Fry until onions are transparent, then add in carrot and turnip. Fry until carrots are half done. Put in tomato puree and fry until oil will start to separate. Pour in 1 liter of water. Bring to boil, scoop out floating foam and set the heat on medium, so that soup will be simmering. Half cover the lid and simmer for about 1 hour.
Cut beet tops in long strips and add into the soup. Cook for another 10 min and then take from heat. Add in salt to your taste.

Serve sprinkling over fresh chopped greens and enjoy!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Shirin somsa (Sweet samusa)

"Shirin somsa" is a special samsa which is usually made for Navruz celebrations or any other special occasions. It is high in calorie and very nutritious. I like it's naturally sweetness and that they can be made without any sugar. You can use different dried fruits, but usually black raisins, dried figs, 2-3 kinds of nuts are used for the filling. I also like to add dates, as it gives extra taste and helps to join all the ingredients with it's stickiness. As for as nuts, I usually use almonds and walnuts.
Ingredients:
For dough:
200 grams of butter or margarine
200 ml of sour cream
1 tsp of baking soda
Pinch of vanilla
Plain flour as needed
For filling:
100 grams of walnuts
100 grams of black raisins
100 grams of almonds
100 grams of dried figs
100 grams of dates
4 tbsp of honey or 50 grams of sugar (optional)
First of all, prepare dough and refrigerate for an hour. Chop chilled butter with 1 cup of flour until it will resemble bread crumbs. Add in sour cream, vanilla and baking powder and mix well. Start adding plain flour until you will form soft, but not sticky dough. Wrap and refrigerate.
Chop all of the dried fruits and nuts. Add in honey and mix well.

Take out dough from fridge and divide in two. Roll each piece and cut equally.

I like to make "Shirin somsa"s small, but you can make them bigger if you want.
Roll each piece and put 1.5-2 tsp of filling and pinch the edges.

Roll and shape all of your samsas and bake in preheated oven, until nice golden in color. Sprinkle powdered sugar while samsas are hot.
Serve with a nice hot cup of tea and enjoy!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Yog'da qaynagan baliq (Fish "boiled" in oil)

In Uzbekistan fish dishes are more popular in regions which are situated in the basins of rivers Amu Darya, Syr Darya and also around many reservoirs. For example, only in Khorezm region more than 35 species of fish are known, where as you can guess a lot of different ways of coking fish. One of my favorite recipe is deep fried fish. I love the crunchy skin and the soft meat which is juicy and just yummy!
For this yummy dish, it's better to choose smaller fish, that can be fried whole. You will also need deep pan for frying. Fresh fish is preferable.
Ingredients:
1 fish for one person
Freshly ground pepper
10-15 tbsp of lemon juice
Salt to taste
Plain flour, just for coating fish
About 2 liters of oil for deep frying
Finely clean fish and wash all over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut along 3-4 times.

Put fish in deep bowl and pour lemon juice evenly over it. Cover and let it stand for 1 hour.
Finely heat the oil in deep pan. Put fish on cotton towel and finely rub to get rid of any liquid. Roll the fish over flour to cover all over evenly. Now carefully deep in to the oil and fry until fish is nicely cooked.
Serve with fresh vegetables and enjoy!
Yoqimli ishtaha!