"Samarqandcha dimlama" (Meat and vegetable stew in clay pot)

This meal is very healthy and tasty, besides it is very easy to make, it takes time but you don't have to watch it:) I use 1.5 liter capacity pot for 3 servings, but you can also cook this dish in individual smaller clay pots. Just divide all the ingredients to 3 and layer in to the pots. I don't like to mess with 3 pots, so I made it in one big pot:) What I like in this dish is it's very healthy as you don't have to use any oil, but it will come out so yummy! But if you want to make it richer you can put some butter at the very end.
Ingredients:
300 gr of meat, cut in small cubes (preferably lamb)
2 onions, peeled and sliced
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 capsicum, chopped
2 turnips (I used one yellow and one white turnip), peeled and cut in medium sized pieces
1 medium sized carrot, peeled and sliced in small pieces
1 medium sized aubergine, peeled and cut in small cubes
100 gr of shredded cabbage
1 cup of chopped celery
150ml of water
Salt to taste
Wash the clay pot. Put meat as a first layer, then layer all listed vegetables by turn and pour water. Close the pot and bake in oven for 3 hours. Well it took me 3 hours in my horrible oven, but it can take less time if you have good oven, just check out every 1 hour. But anyway it takes minimum 2 hours. If you are cooking it in small individual pots, then it will take at least 1.5 hour. At the end sprinkle with salt and bake for another 10 min. Serve and enjoy!!!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Kiftalik mosh ugra (Soup with meatballs, noodles and mungbean)

"Kiftalik mosh ugra" is one of the favorite recipe in Uzbekistan. In different regions the recipe can be different but the base is same - there are always noodles and mung beans in this soup. You can cook this soup with minced beef or lamb, or even with a chicken. You just fry minced meat before putting onion.
Ingredients:
70 ml of oil
250 gr minced meat (beef, lamb or chicken)
2 onions, peeled and sliced
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
100 gr of mung beans, washed
70 gr of dried or fresh prepared noodles ("ugra"s)
Some fresh chopped greens (choose your favorite)
Sour cream for topping
Salt to taste
1 tbsp of ground coriander
Mix minced meat with salt and coriander. Form small balls and set aside.
Heat the oil in a pot and put sliced onions first, fry until golden. Add in chopped tomatoes and fry until oil begins to separate out. Add in 2 liters of cold water and put in mung beans. Bring the soup to boil and scoop out any small foam. Reduce the heat and let it simmer until mung bean is soft. When mung beans are soft put in meat balls and on a high heat again bring to boil, stir occasionally. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 30 min. Then add in noodles and simmer until noodles are soft and ready, add in salt and take from the heat. Serve topping with 1 tbsp of sour cream and some chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy lovely and tasty soup!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

"Yangilik" salati (Salad "Yangilik")

In Uzbekistan we use pickled cucumbers in many different salads and meals. This salad is light and tasty, goes good with soups. Don't skip fresh chopped coriander leaves, as they give main flavor and interesting combination. I would recommend to bake potatoes, rather than boiling them, baked potatoes have more rich flavour, which is important for this salad.
Ingredients:
2 baked potatoes
4 medium sized pickled cucumbers
1 medium onion, peeled
1 can of green beans
1 cup of chopped coriander
2 tbsp of vegetable or olive oil
Salt to taste
Peel baked potatoes and cut in small cubes, slice onions thinly, then mash them with hands and add in to potatoes. Drain all the water from bean can, cut pickled cucumbers in small cubes. Mix all the ingredients together and add salt, chopped coriander and oil, mix once again. Serve and enjoy!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Jizza (Fried fat of lamb's tail)

"Jizza" is favorite snack of Uzbek men. It is crunchy, tasty and very nourishing. High in calorie "jizza" helps to stay strong in cold winter days. It is also good if you have sore throat. While making "jizza" you will see how heated fat will give transparent oil, use this oil to cook different dishes and for greasing breads before cooking. You can also use "jizza" itself as filling for breads. I will later post a recipe of "Jizzali non" which means bread with "jizza".
Ingredients:
300 gr of Lamb's tail fat
Salt to taste (optional)
Heavy crock pot
Cut fat in small squares. Don't cut very big squares, it will take more time to melt them and your oil will just burn.





Heat the crock pot and then put all the fat in it.

Put the heat on medium. You will see how fat will start to melt.

When fat will shrink thrice in size and will become brown, "jizza" is ready! Take it out from oil and sprinkle a little salt on it.

Enjoy "jizza" with some bread and surely drink hot green tea. Avoid drinking cold water or soda!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Qatlama patir non (Layered bread)

This kind of bread is mostly prepared in Samarkand. Whenever you visit Samarkand you can find "Qatlama patir non" and "Samarqand noni" and enjoy these wonderful and tasty breads. You can also prepare them at home. Today I am posting recipe of "Qatlama patir non" which has many layers. If possible surely use fat of lamb's tail, it will give special flavor to the bread. I will put another post on how to melt lamb's tail fat and make "jizza". You will get 2 big "Qatlama patir non" from this recipe.
Ingredients:
500 ml of luke warm water
1 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of sugar
1.5 tbsp of dried yeast
24 tbsp of melted lamb's tail fat or butter (12 tbsp for each bread)
Plain flour as needed
Make medium soft dough from water, salt, sugar, yeast and flour. Cover it and let it rise for 2 hours. Then knead the dough for 5 min and roll it out very very thinly, it must be transparent.


Grease it with oil. use 12 tbsp of oil for each bread. After greasing cut out equal strips and begin to roll first one.

After you finished rolling out the first strip, put it on top of the second strip and again roll it. Repeat with the rest of all strips.





Then put it on flat side and flatten with hands.

Flatten it well and punch it with special stamp "chakich" or a fork.

Bake in on a 230 degrees in preheated oven until golden.

You can see the layers in picture. Mmmm, it's so yummy!!! Surely try it and you will say a big thanks to me:) Enjoy with pleasure!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Horazmcha pahlama

This kind of "pahlama" is prepared in Khorezm region, if you visit this town somehow, you can find it in every restaurant. But you can make it yourself at home, it will take some time, but it is delicious. It is very nourishing, you will be full with a half of one "pahlama".  You will get 4 "pahlama"s from this recipe.
Ingredients:
100 gr of water
1/4 tsp of salt
Plain flour as needed
1.5 cup of walnuts
1/2 cups of sugar
1 egg yolk
4 tbsp of butter
4 tbsp of honey
Make simple dough from water, salt and flour, it must be soft but not very sticky. Cover it and leave for 40 min. While the dough is resting prepare the filling. Ground your walnuts and toast them in heated pan without any oil until this great smell will occur:) then take from the heat and mix it with sugar. Set aside.
Take the dough, knead it well for 5 min, then divide in 32 equal pieces, cover with cotton towel and again leave for 30 min.

Preheat the oven. Grease the baking sheet. Start rolling out the dough pieces, roll one piece and put on baking sheet, spread 1 tsp of filling on top. Then roll out second piece and put on top. Again spread 1 tsp of filling and again put another rolled piece on top, repeat until you get 8 layers.


After you finished with all "pahalama"s, grease them well with an egg yolk. Cut the middle with a sharp knife.

Bake "pahlama"s in preheated oven  for 20 min, then take out and pour 1 tbsp of butter in each and put back in the oven and bake until golden color. Take out and pour heated honey, 1 tbsp for each "pahlama".
Mmmm, yummy! Serve with a hot tea and enjoy!!!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Unli holva

In Uzbek cuisine you can find different types of "Holva"s. I love all of them. This one is soft and tender with a crunchy nuts in it. It is a little bit complicated making "Halva"s, but once you understand how to make it will be easy for you.
Ingredients:
250 gr plain flour
150 gr butter
100 gr of nuts (any nuts you like)
150 gr sugar
75 ml water
70 ml of milk

Toast nuts until golden color, then chop them out. Set aside.







Fry flour in a pan over a medium heat stirring constantly until very light golden and until nutty smell will occurs. (In this stage put your syrup on a heat and let it boil until it is ready, this is how you check it: take one bowl of cold water and put half a tsp of syrup in to it, if it will easily turn to a soft ball in your hands then it is ready, don't over boil the syrup or your "Unli halva" will be sandy and not sticky, if you do over boiled the syrup, then add in more milk at the end). Add in melted butter and continue frying over low heat until all the flour will absorb the butter. Stir constantly. Then gradually add in syrup (you have to cool it until 90 degrees, the temperature of flour mix and syrup must be same)and stir very vigorously. Add in nuts in this stage. Stir together over very very low heat and fry for 2 min. Then take from the heat, and add in heated milk and again stir. It must be sticky. Put ready "Unli holva" in a pan folded with a food wrapper or with a foil and put in to the fridge for 2 hours.

Take out , carefully cut out diamond shapes and serve with hot tea, enjoy this Uzbek sweet:)
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!