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Kuyrdak in Kazakh

Kazakh-style kuyrdak

A tasty, nourishing dish of vegetables and meat. Kazakh-style lamb kuyrdak has an especially aromatic flavor, set off by zira (cumin). It's both a first and a second course in one cauldron — somewhere between a thick, rich soup and stewed potatoes with meat and vegetables.

naniki

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Lamb

500

Potatoes

500

Carrots

200

Onion

100

Sunflower oil

Zira (cumin)

Ground coriander

Salt

Water

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 32 % 6 g

Fats 32 % 6 g

Carbohydrates 37 % 7 g

103 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make kuyrdak? Gather the ingredients on the list. You can choose the spices to your taste, but zira (cumin) is a must — it's what gives the dish its special aroma. Wash the vegetables and meat and pat them dry with paper towels. Peel the vegetables.
Step 2:

Cut the meat into pieces. Set a deep skillet or cauldron on the stove, pour in the vegetable oil, and heat it. Brown the meat in the hot oil, trying to do it evenly and stirring with a spatula.
Step 3:

Cut the peeled onion into half rings and the carrot into large pieces.
Step 4:

Add the vegetables to the browned meat. Add the dry spices and stir. Fry everything together for about 10 minutes, then add a cup of boiling water.
Step 5:

Cut the peeled potatoes into large wedges.
Step 6:

Add the potatoes to the cauldron and pour in water up to the level of the potatoes. Cover the cauldron and cook everything, covered, over low heat until done. Check by simply tasting the vegetables. Salt and pepper to taste. Note that you can adjust the thickness of the dish to your liking by adding water.
Step 7:

Serve the Kazakh-style kuyrdak hot with fresh herbs. Enjoy!

Kuyrdak is a popular braise of meat or offal among the peoples of Central Asia. Connoisseurs say that without zira (cumin) seeds the dish tastes completely different, so do try to find this spice if you want a real sense of what the dish is.
Use an oil with a high smoke point for frying! All oils are good only up to a certain temperature — the smoke point, at which the oil starts to burn and form toxic compounds, including carcinogens. Unrefined oils, with rare exceptions, have a low smoke point. They contain lots of unfiltered organic particles that burn quickly. Refined oils stand up to heat better, and their smoke point is higher. If you're going to cook in the oven, in a skillet, or on the grill, make sure you use an oil with a high smoke point. The most common high-smoke-point oils are refined sunflower, olive, and grapeseed.