Uzbek Cuisine

The fruit in Uzbekistan is very fresh, better than what you can buy at most American grocery stores. One way Uzbeks get their fresh fruit is by growing fruit trees and vines around their houses. Not only so they get fresh fruit, it looks beautiful and keeps the houses cool in the summer.

Do these look about right? Here they are in the kazan getting ready to be cooked. Here is the recipe.

I got this very easy recipe from the book, Please to the Table. It sort of like a samsa.

2 Containers Buttermilk Biscuits
1 Pound Ground Beef
1 Large Onion Chopped
1/4 Cup of Parsley or Dill, whatever is cheaper I guess
1/3 Cup Ice Water
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Oil

Open biscuits and let stand for 15 minutes. In large bowl, combine meat, onion, parsley, and water. Mix well and season with pepper. Heat oil in a large pan to 375 degrees. Pat biscuits flat, place 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of each and fold over. Make sure the seals are tight so they won’t leak into the pies. Fry the pies until golden brown.

I have made something like this using tortilla mix. I made the homemade tortillas, filled them with the meat and herbs and fried them. I also put them in the oven. It is not traditional I guess, but we love it. The tortilla mix is available in any grocery store.

When my mother-in-law comes to visit, she always makes golubtsi, or stuffed cabbage rolls for us. Great to make if you have leftover rice.

One head of cabbage
Boiling salted water
1 onion chopped
2 Tablespoons of oil
2 pounds of ground beef
1 1/2 cups of cooked rice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cans of condensed tomato soup
2 1/2 cups of water

Remove core from cabbage. Place whole head ina large pot (kazan) filled with boiling salted water. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Remove softened leaves and repeat until all of the leaves are pulled out. Cut thick denter stem from each leaf. Chop remaining cabbage.

Saute onion in oil. Add meat, rice, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Place a heaping tablespoonful of meat mixture on each leaf. Tuck sides over filling while rolling leaf around the filling.

Place half of the chopped cabbage on bottom of a large pot. Fill with layers of the cabbage rolls. Cover with remaining chopped cabbage.

Combine tomato soup with water. Mix until smooth. Pour over cabbage rolls. Cover and bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours.

Serve cabbage rolls with the sauce

15 servings.

This is not exactly an Uzbek dish, but still popular throughout the former Soviet Union.

1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
2 Tablespons of butter
3/4 Cup cooked rice
1 pound ground meat
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 whole head of cabbage
Boiling Water
2 cups of beef broth
1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup

Saute the onion and garlic in butter or vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add rice, meat, salt, and pepper. Stir fry just enough to mix well. Remove from heat.

Remove core from cabbage. This is a very important step. I learned this the hard way. Place the whole head of cabbage in a pot filled with boiling water. Cover the pot and cook the cabbage in the boiling water for three minutes. Remove the soft outer leaves. Repeat until all of the leavesare softened and have been removed. Another important thing to do is to cut off the thick stem from each leaf.

Taking one large leaf at a time, spoon about 1 rounded tablespoon full of meat mixture in center of leaf. Cover with a small leaf. Tuck ends up and just over the edge of the filling. Place one end of leaf fillinf and roll up loosely, Repeat until all filling and leaves are used. Palce cabbage rolls in a large casserole. Do not make more than 2 layers.

Combine beef broth and cream of mushroom soup. Pour over cabbage rolls.

Bake at 350 degrees F about 1 1/2 hours.

Makes 8 servings

From Polish Cookbook by The Culinary Arts Institute

When I asked how to cook Uzbek food, mastava was the first dish I was taught how to cook. It is simple and tasty.

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound beef cut into 1/4 inch cubes (it just tastes better than using ground beef)
1 small onion chopped
1 large carrot peeled and diced
1 large potato peeled and diced
1 stalk of celery chopped
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
6 cups of water
salt and pepper
3/4 cup rice
sour cream

Heat oil until very hot. Fry onion add tomato paste and fry. Add beef and fry until browned. Add carrot and celery. Reduce heat to medium and stir constantly until the vegetables are soft.

Pour in the water. Raise the heat until the water boils. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add potato and rice.

Lower heat and cover, simmer for 20 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Serve in a bowl and put some sour cream in it.

Easy, cheap, and tasty. The best introduction to Uzbek cooking.

The Hunzacots live in Hunza Valley in Northern Pakistan and are known for their health and longetivity. They eat a very healthy diet, and their bread is all over the internet promising good health.

From tedmontgomery.com

Hunza Diet Breat has a taste that is very satisfying and chewy all on its own, but you also may add, if desired, apricots, raisins, chopped walnuts or almonds, and/or sliced dates to the above ingredients. Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Grease and lightly flour cooking pan(s). Ideally, use baking trays with about 1-inch-high sides. Pour the batter in pan(s) ½-inch thick over the base.

Bake at about 300° F for 1 hour. After cooking, dry the bread in the oven for about 2 hours at a very low heat—about 90° F. (If your oven temperature does not go below 90° F, try turning it as low as possible and leaving the oven door open until the bread becomes dry.) After it is cooled, tip it out and cut it into approximately 2″×2″ squares.

Store the bread wrapped in cloth in a container. You may need to repeat the baking depending on the size of your baking pan and oven until all the mixture is used.

Hunza Diet Bread is made from natural buckwheat or millet flour. It is rich is phosphorous, potassium, iron, calcium, manganese, and other minerals, as nothing has been destroyed in the preparation of the wheat. Thus it contains the essential nourishment of the grain. This is why you must use only natural buckwheat or millet flour to make your own Hunza Diet Bread.

This is ishleki, the Turkmen version of “pizza”. I was unable to find a good recipe that was clear. Just a bad Russian translation of one. It is similar to lahmajoon. Looking at this picture makes me wish I had a tandoori oven. Whenever I get my own home, I would like to get one so as to get the perfect flavor.

I think you mix some milk, eggs, salt, oil and some flour for the dough. The filling consists of a pound of beef or lamb, tomatoes, and onions. You layer the dough like lahmajoon.

Here is the recipe in Russian.
I got the picture from the website as well. Doesn’t it look delicious? Looks sort of like Chorek, Turkmenistan’s bread.

I ate this once at a Middle Eastern market in Chattanooga, TN. They sell them frozen so that you can heat them up at home. The one I ate was very garlicky, yet delicious. I am sure they have frozen ones available in other local Middle Eastern stores. (or the local halal store) I can’t wait to try this recipe.

Dough:
1 packet dry active yeast
1 cup warm water, 110 degrees F
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup vegetable oilBloom the yeast in the warm water for 5 minutes until foam appears. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, then add the sugar and salt, mix with a spatula. Create a well in the center and pour in the oil and the bloomed yeast. Fold together all ingredients until combined.

Rub hands with a little vegetable oil and knead the dough thoroughly for about 10 minutes the dough should be smooth and thick. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough proof for 2 1/2 hours.

Once risen, punch it down, divide the dough into 13 egg-sized balls, and roll each by hand. Roll each ball with a rolling pin into 7 or 8-inch diameter cakes, about 1/8 of an inch thick. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Meat Topping:
1 pound lean ground beef
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon dried mint
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped green bell pepper
1 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 (14-ounce) can seedless chopped tomatoes, well drained and rinsed

Lemon wedges and plain yogurt, for garnish

For the meat topping: combine meat, tomato paste, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, mint, and allspice in a bowl.

In a food processor, pulse onion and fresh garlic until it has a thick-chunky texture, then add to meat mixture. Next add the bell pepper, jalapeno, and parsley to the food processor and pulse just until fine, then add to meat and onion mixture.

Lastly, add the tomatoes to the food processor, puree, and then add to meat mixture. Mix well by hand or spatula. Let mixture marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for 2 hours.

Spread a thin layer of the meat mixture, about 2 ounces, on to each cake and place on a lightly oiled sheet pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and edges of dough start to brown. To serve, stack the cakes on top of each other in a tower. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice on top, followed by a dollop of plain yogurt, roll up like a wrap and eat. Repeat with remaining cakes.

May individually layer each cake on waxed paper and seal in a plastic freezer bag for future use.

From foodnetwork.com

You have Uzbek guests coming over to visit. You are unsure about cooking Uzbek food, and you know that your friends (or in-laws!!) do not like American food. Well, surprise them with Korean food. Remember, Koreans are a minority in Uzbekistan, brought there by Stalin. Korean food, especially the salads, are popular. I had the fortune of living in Korea so I know how to make Korean food. My mother-in-law loved it! Let me pass on this easy and delicious recipe.

First, you need to go to a Korean store and get dangmyun. (myun means noodles in Korean) These are clear noodles made from sweet potato. You can ask the people in the store for “chop chae noodles”. They will understand and help you. You also need soy sauce, sesame oil and dried shiitake mushrooms.

The package of chop chae noodles is huge so I use about half of the package of noodles.

You need very thin beef. This is called bulgogi beef. The korean store usually has it. You can also buy sirloin steak and slice as thin as you can. Marinate 1lb of beef in about a half a cup of soy sauce, teaspoon of sesame oil and a teaspoon of sugar. Do this ahead of time.

Take out a handful of dried shiitake mushrooms and soak in water.

Chop up in thin slices, 2 stalks of celery, 1 medium onion, and 2 carrots. Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large nonstick frying pan and stir fry each vegetable, one kind at a time. (The Uzbeks who watched me cook thought the method weird)

Boil the noodles according to the directions about 10 minutes. Drain and chop up Korean way, with cooking scissors. Then boil some spinach. After the spinach is done, drain.

Stir fry the beef on high heat until cooked. Then lower the heat a little and add the vegetables. Drain the mushrooms, cut them up and then add them. Then add the spinach, and the noodles. Stir fry them all, you may want to add some soy sauce. The noodles should be brown. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

Serve on top of short grain rice and kim chi.

This is my own recipe that was a success (well a Korean taught me) It got an ochen vkusno rating!!!