Culinary traditions of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz cuisine
is the cuisine of the
Kyrgyz
, who comprise a majority of the population of
Kyrgyzstan
. The cuisine is similar in many aspects to that of their neighbors.
Traditional Kyrgyz food revolves around
mutton
,
beef
and
horse meat
, as well as various
dairy products
. The preparation techniques and major ingredients have been strongly influenced by the nation's historically nomadic way of life. Thus, many cooking techniques are conducive to the long-term preservation of food. Mutton and beef are the favorite meats, although in modern times many Kyrgyz are unable to afford them regularly.
Kyrgyzstan is home to many different nationalities and their various cuisines. In larger cities, such as
Bishkek
,
Osh
,
Jalal-Abad
, and
Karakol
, various national and international cuisines can be found. Non-Kyrgyz cuisines that are particularly common and popular in Kyrgyzstan include
Uyghur
,
Dungan
,
Uzbek
, and
Turkish
cuisines, representing the largest minorities in the country.
Meat dishes
[
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Meat in various forms has always been an essential part of Kyrgyz cuisine. Among the most popular meat dishes are horse-meat sausages (
kazy
or
chuchuk
), roasted sheep's liver,
beshbarmak
(a dish containing boiled and shredded meat with thin noodles), and various other delicacies made from horse meat.
Beshbarmak is the Kyrgyz national dish, although it is also common in
Kazakhstan
and in
Xinjiang
(where it is called
narin
). It consists of horse meat (or mutton/beef) boiled in its own broth for several hours and served over homemade noodles sprinkled with parsley.
Beshbarmak
means "five fingers" in the
Kyrgyz language
, and is so called probably because the dish is typically eaten with the hands. Beshbarmak is most often made during a feast to celebrate the birth of a new child, an important birthday, or to mourn a death in the family, either at a funeral or on an anniversary. If mutton is used instead of horse meat, a boiled sheep's head is placed on the table in front of the most honored guest, who cuts bits and parts from the head and offers them around to the other guests at the table.
[1]
Dimlama is a stew consisting of meat, potatoes, onions, vegetables and fruits.
Kuurdak is one of the main meat dishes.
Skewered chunks of mutton grilled over smoking
coals
that come with raw sliced onions, is served in restaurants and often sold on the street. The meat is usually marinated for hours before cooking. Shashlyk can also be made from beef, chicken, and fish. Each shashlik typically has a fat-to-meat ratio of one-to-one.
Shorpo (or
sorpo
) is a meat soup.
Laghman is a dish consisting of meat, vegetables and pulled noodles.
Paloo
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Paloo
(
Kyrgyz
:
палоо
or к?р?ч/аш) is the Kyrgyz version of what is generally referred to as
plov
in
Central Asian cuisine
. It consists of pieces of meat (generally mutton or beef, but sometimes chicken) fried in a large
qazan
(a cast-iron cauldron) and mixed with fried shredded carrots,
jiucai
(garlic chives) and cooked rice. The dish is garnished with whole fried garlic cloves and hot red peppers.
Uzgen paloo
is made with locally grown rice from the southern
Uzgen District
of Kyrgyzstan.
Shirin paloo
, a close relative of
shirin plov
in Azerbaijani cuisine,
[
citation needed
]
is a vegetarian dish in which meat is replaced with dried fruits, such as prunes, apricots, and raisins.
Paloo is the Kyrgyzified form of the Persian word
polow
or
polo
, related in etymology to pilaf. In Russian the dish is called
plov
(
Russian
:
плов
), in Turkish
pilav
, in
Turkic languages
ash
, and in
Tajik
osh
.
Noodles and dumplings
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Manty
are steamed dumplings filled with ground meat and onions.
Samsa
are little pockets with meat and vegetables wrapped in flaky pastry or bread, very similar to Indian samosas. They are most often stuffed with mutton and fat, but are also made with chicken, cheese, cabbage, beef, and even pumpkin. They can be bought in most bazaars or on street corners in larger cities.
Lagman
(or
laghman
) is a very popular noodle dish. It consists of thick noodles created by stretching a very simple flour dough, then covered in chopped peppers and other vegetables and served in a spicy vinegary sauce. Lagman is served everywhere in Kyrgyzstan, but is considered a
Dungan
or
Uyghur
dish.
Bread and tea
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Common types of bread (
Kyrgyz
:
нан
[
n?n
]) available in Kyrgyzstan include
Central Asian
flat bread
(
nan
), and thick, sturdy
Turkish
breads. Central Asian flat bread is cooked over coals in
tandoori
(
Kyrgyz
:
тандыр
[
t?nd?r
]) ovens, and is round and relatively flat.
More traditional bread products include
qattama
and
boorsoq
, two types of fried bread.
The Kyrgyz often eat various breads by dipping it in jam,
kaymak
, butter (or
sary may
), etc. Boorsoq is sometimes eaten suspended in tea, or dipped in honey.
Bread is valued as sacred in Kyrgyz culture, and a good host always offers a guest bread at the very least (often with tea), even if the guest is only staying for a few moments.
Beverages
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A popular Kyrgyz beverage is
kymyz
(
Kyrgyz
:
кымыз
[q?m?z]
), a slightly alcoholic drink made by fermenting
mare's milk
. This drink is considered to be the signature drink of Euroasian nomadic culture, as it is also consumed in Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Fresh kymyz is only available in the summer, from about May until August, when it can commonly be purchased by the roadside in mountainous areas.
There are many beverages that could be described as traditional Kyrgyz drinks. One such popular non-alcoholic beverage, especially in the summer, is
maksym
, a slightly fizzy drink made by fermenting grains. Maksym was traditionally made in small quantities by women for family consumption; however, this drink was introduced as a commercial product in Bishkek by the company '
Shoro
', after which it became widely available all over Kyrgyzstan. Maksym is usually made from malt, but other types of grains may be used in its preparation. There are different methods and recipes for it that vary by region. It is prepared by boiling ground malt or other type of cereals in water. After reaching a certain state of readiness this substance is cooled and undergoes a fermentation process caused by yeast. Maksym is usually consumed chilled.
[
citation needed
]
Jarma
is a similar drink derived from ground cereals. It is made in almost the same way as
maksym
, except that instead of being fermented, it is mixed with
ayran
to make it slightly fizzy.
[
citation needed
]
Another fizzy drink made from ayran is
chalap
(sometimes marketed as Tan). Other traditional drinks are sheep's milk and its products (such as
qurut
) and camel's milk. The two primary companies that commercially produce Kyrgyz national drinks are
Shoro
and
Enesay
.
Bozo
is a slightly alcoholic drink prepared from wheat.
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References
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External links
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