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Azu in a slow cooker in Tatar

Azu, Tatar-Style, in a Slow Cooker

Distinctive, tangy, appetizing, and downright delicious! Azu, Tatar-style, in a slow cooker is one of the best-known dishes of Tatar cuisine. It's a stew of beef and potatoes with pickled cucumbers, and it's those pickles that give azu its tang and its one-of-a-kind flavor.

Maria

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Beef

400

Beef broth (or water)

250

Potatoes

Dill pickles (or 3-4 if using gherkins)

Garlic

Tomato paste

Vegetable oil

Dill

Bay leaf

Ground black pepper

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 35 % 7 g

Fats 20 % 4 g

Carbohydrates 45 % 9 g

93 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make azu, Tatar-style, in a slow cooker? Gather the ingredients. Azu is made with beef, ideally a lean cut—tenderloin, chuck, or neck. Wash the potatoes well and pat them dry.
Step 2:

Rinse and dry the beef. Cut it into long strips across the grain—cutting this way helps keep the meat tender.
Step 3:

Set the slow cooker to the "Fry/Sauté" setting—or whatever setting lets you brown food in yours; it depends on the model. Pour in the vegetable oil and heat it. Sear the beef for about 10 minutes, stirring, until it's nicely browned.
Step 4:

Cut the pickles into long strips. If you're using small gherkins, use more of them.
Step 5:

Peel the garlic and slice it into thin rounds as well.
Step 6:

Add the pickles, garlic, tomato paste, and bay leaves to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and stir everything together.
Step 7:

Pour the beef broth or hot water into the slow cooker.
Step 8:

Cook the azu on the "Stew" program (or another setting suited to braising) for 1 hour and 20 minutes. The exact time depends on your setting and the cooker model.
Step 9:

Peel the potatoes and cut them into strips. Forty minutes into the cooking time, add the potatoes to the pot. Continue cooking for the remaining 40 minutes, until the potatoes are done and the meat is tender.
Step 10:

Sprinkle the finished azu with chopped dill and serve. Enjoy!

Today I made azu for the very first time. It still amazes me how many delicious, well-known dishes I've never cooked—especially since I cook beef all the time and prefer it to any other meat. Azu just never made it onto my list. And it's so good! But in Tatar cuisine it couldn't be otherwise—it's a wonderfully distinctive tradition.
Every oil is good only up to a certain temperature—its smoke point—beyond which it starts to burn and forms harmful compounds, including carcinogens. Choose an oil suited to the heat you're cooking at.
You can swap the tomato paste for canned tomatoes in their own juice, fresh tomatoes, or ketchup.
Keep in mind that the cooking time and setting here are approximate. Every slow cooker behaves a little differently—even identical models from the same maker can have their quirks. Before making a new dish in yours, read the manual, then start with dishes you already know before moving on to new ones, dialing in the setting and time for your own machine.