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!!!

Ismaloqli kesma lag'mon (Noodles with spinach)

As I already wrote, I love experimenting in kitchen:) So I decided to make green noodles for lunch:) I used spinach for color and it gave great taste too! For topping, I just fried minced meat and vegetables and serve it with colorful corn, just to give that dramatic and appetizing look for my "Kesma lag'mon" :) Prepare noodles and save some for later use. I usually dry my noodles or just put them in freezer.
Ingredients:
200 ml of spinach juice
2 eggs
1,5 tsp of salt
Plain flour as needed
150 ml of vegetable oil (I used corn oil)
350 gram of minced meat
2 onions, peeled and sliced
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 capsicum, chopped
2 tbsp of tomato puree or paste
Salt to taste
1 tsp of ground coriander
1 tsp of black cumin seeds
Sweet corn and fresh chopped greens for serving
Slightly beat up eggs with spinach juice. Add in salt. Gradually add flour, until you form slightly hard dough, but not too hard. Cover and let it rest for 20 min.
Generously sprinkle the surface with flour, roll out the dough (about 0.5 mm thick) and again sprinkle generously with flour, just to prevent sticking. Let it dry for 5-8 min, then roll around itself forming long log. Start cutting the log in 1/4 inch thick slices.

Open up every slice, hang them over and let them dry for at least 20 min. I use my rolling stick and 2 chairs for drying my noodles:)

While your noodles are drying, prepare the topping: Heat up oil and brown minced meat over medium heat, add in onions and fry until onions are slightly golden in color. Add in capsicum, fry until capsicum is half done. Finally add in tomatoes and tomato paste. Fry until oil will start to separate out. At the end, add in spices and fry for 2 min more. Add in salt and then take from the stove.
Boil 2 liters of water in deep bowl and add in 1 tbsp of salt in it. Add in less then a half of your noodles and cook for about 3-4 min or less, just until noodles are soft and cooked. Drain all water and then serve topping with fried meat and vegetables. Also sprinkle corn and greens for additional color and enjoy your creative and beautiful lunch!!!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Shirgrechka:) (Milk porridge with buckwheat)

Usually I call this meal "Grechkali kasha" which means buckwheat porridge, almost in Russian:) so I decided to call it "Shirgrechka" :) This meal is great for breakfast, as it contains useful elements and calcium, so needed for our bones: I love porridges!!!
Ingredients (for three people):
600 ml of milk (full fat or reduced, but I used full fat, as it is tastier:))
1 cup of buckwheat
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Butter for serving (1, 5 tsp for each bowl)
Finely wash buckwheat and pour in milk. Put on stove and bring to boil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally as at the end it can stick to the bottom. Cook until porridge is thick and buckwheat is finely cooked. At the very end, sprinkle salt and sugar, mix well and serve topping with butter. Your delicious and healthy breakfast is ready to enjoy!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Happy new year!!!

Hi my dearest friends and my lovely followers! Happy new year for everyone!!! I wish you all, that your most precious and brightest dreams come true this coming year! Wish you all, health, happiness, joy, luck and lots of love!!! May you all be happy and joyful all the time!!!
I hope this coming year will be successful for all of us. I love you all and once more a very very Happy New Year!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo!!!!

Loviyali ugra (Noodle soup with black eyed peas)

"Loviyali ugra" is very nourishing and thick soup. Noodles for this soup are usually made at home, just as here: http://uzbekcooking.blogspot.com/2009/12/tovuq-shurvali-ugra-home-made-macaroni.html, but if you want to make it easier, you can use ready made noodles. Ready made noodles won't taste as home made noodles though:) "Loviyali ugra" can be made with meat (lamb, beef) or with chicken. I prefer to use chicken:)
Ingredients:
50 ml of vegetable oil or 50 grams of melted lamb's tail fat
300 grams of meat or chicken, cut in walnut sized chunks
1-2 medium sized onions, peeled and sliced
1 medium capsicum, seeded and cut in small cubes
1-2 medium sized tomatoes, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and cut in medium sized cubes
1 potato (optional) peeled and quartered
1 cup of cooked black eyed peas
Half a cup of peas for serving
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of crushed or grind coriander
Salt to taste
Fresh chopped greens (I use dried basil)
Less than half of a portion of "Ugra" (as given in recipe)
Heat up oil and brown the meat or fry chicken over high heat, until nice golden color (constantly stirring). Add in onions, fry until onions are transparent, then add in capsicum and carrot and fry until they are half done. Add in tomatoes, spices and potato and fry until vegetables are "clear" or when oil will start to separate out. Add in 1.5 liters of water and bring to boil. Lower the heat, scoop out any foam and let it simmer for about 30-40 min. Add in black eyed peas and cook for another 10 minutes. At the end, add in salt and add in noodles. Cook until noodles are soft, for about 2-3 min.
Serve in individual bowls, topping with some peas and greens.
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Tvorogli pechenye (Cottage cheese biscuits)

This biscuits remind me my childhood, we used buy them at school's cafeteria and enjoy during break times:) I don't know about the origin of this recipe, but I decided to post it in this blog, as this recipe is very popular in Uzbekistan. These biscuits are soft inside, a little crunchy outside, flavorful and soo yummy!!!
I made them out of my own cottage cheese, but you can always use ready made cottage cheese from the market. In case, if you are interested in my cottage cheese recipe, it is here.
Ingredients:
200 grams of cottage cheese
200 grams of butter
1 egg
Half a tsp of baking powder or baking soda
Pinch of salt
About 2 cups of plain flour
Sugar
Finely grate cottage cheese, using the smallest eye of the grater. Chop up soft butter with cottage cheese, then add in egg and mix well. Add in baking powder, salt and mix again. Gradually add in flour, just to shape soft, but not sticky dough. I can't tell the exact amount of flour, as it depends on the size of the egg and the texture of the cottage cheese, so just pay attention that dough is soft enough, but not too sticky-it must be comfortable to work with. Wrap the dough and put in fridge for an hour. Then, divide the dough in three-four parts and roll out each piece separately. Cut out circle shapes using cookie cutter or just regular glass. Layer some sugar on a flat plate. You can use white or brown sugar, doesn't matter. In Uzbekistan we mostly use white sugar, but I prefer to use brown sugar. Layer one circle on top of the sugar, softly press with the palm of your hands, then fold the sugary side in, then again fold, again sugar side in, at the end, sprinkle some sugar on top.



Bake in preheated oven, using medium heat, until nice light golden in color. Mmmm, yummy!

Enjoy with your family and friends!
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!!!