Spice Mix For Kazakh And Uzbek Recipes

KUYRDAK FROM KAZAKHSTAN

Steps:

• Cut meat into serving sized pieces and fry with chopped onions. Make balls with bread dough. Add broth, bread dough, spice mix, chopped tomatoes, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then stew about an hour or until tender.
• Meanwhile, fry garlic and spring onions until golden, then add all other sauce ingredients except yogurt and fry another minute or so. Set aside.
• When ready to serve Kuyrdak, add yogurt to sauce and stir well. Remove bay leaves, spoon meat onto a bed of rice and serve sauce on the side, as people will prefer different amounts.
• Variation: Skip the yogurt and oil. Do not cook greens, just sprinkle them over the Kuyrdak. This is how it is served when yogurt is not available.

MANTY FROM KAZAKHSTAN

Steps:

• Place bay leaves and peppercorns in just over 1/3 cup water and boil breifly. Remove leaves and peppercorns, set aside.
• Slowly fry onions until golden. Half way through the cooking, add spice mix, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat.
• In a bowl, mix ground meat, onion mixture, and the boiled water. Set aside.
• Mix dough ingredients and kneed well. Shape dough into balls the size of walnuts. Flatten these, and add 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture. Fold dough around the meat to form triangles. Normally, these are steamed, but if you prefer to bake them, add oil or butter to the dough.
• While they are cooking, mix the yogurt with grated garlic and crushed mint, stir well. When manty are ready, place them on a serving platter and cover them with the yogurt sauce. Serve hot.

LAGMAN (UZBEK NOODLE SOUP)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook and stir onion in the hot oil until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in beef strips, cumin, and black pepper; cook until beef is browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Stir carrot into the pot; cook until coated with tomato paste, 2 to 3 minutes. Add green bell pepper; cook for 1 minute. Add potatoes and celery; cook for 5 minutes. Pour in water; bring to a boil. Season water with salt. Reduce heat to low and simmer soup until potatoes are soft, about 40 minutes.
• Stir parsley and garlic into the soup. Simmer until garlic is soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, 3 to 5 minutes. Rinse and drain well. Divide among serving bowls. Ladle hot soup over noodles.

SPICE MIX FOR KAZAKH AND UZBEK RECIPES

Steps:

• Mix well and store in an air-tight container.