Elite life
Tajikistan (Tajikistan Recipes)
A typical treat of Tajikistan food is a minimum of a four course extravaganza. It usually starts with an appetizer, which is a sweet dish like halwa. The main course of meat and soups follow. The plov, a wonderful preparation of rice and meat shredding with many other garnishing finish forms an exquisite meal. Central Asian delicacies feature prominently in the food of Tajikistan. The lipioshka, an unleavened bread is often served in roadside restaurants and is taken with the shashlyk, a preparation of grilled muttons prepared in a traditional way.
Fruits play a prominent part in the food in Tajikistan. Apricots, plums, persimmons and figs, along with juicy pomegranates are some of the most popular fruits of Tajikistan. Shorpur is an extremely popular vegetable soup.
Ingredients:
1 tbl active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cup lowfat yogurt plain
5 cup whole-wheat flour (5 to 6)
1 tbl salt
4 tsp shallots finely chopped
2 tsp cumin seed
Cooking Instructions:
Dissolve yeast in the water in a large bowl. In a saucepan or microwave oven, heat the yogurt until it feels warm on the inside of your wrist (about 105 F) and stir it into the yeast mixture. Stir in 3 cups of the flour, one cup at a time. Stir 100 times in the same direction to properly develop the gluten. Let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle salt over the dough and stir to mix well. Stir in additional flour until dough will take no more and cannot be stirred. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead, incorporating any flour as necessary until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes (it will remain somewhat sticky). Transfer dough to a large oiled bowl, turn to coat, cover with plastic wrap and let rest until doubled in volume (about 1 1/2 hours). Set an unglazed baking stone or lightly oiled baking sheet on the bottom over rack and preheat oven to 450F. Gently punch down the dough and let rest for another 10 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Lightly flour your palms and flatten each piece; set them aside, covered with a damp towel. Roll out each bread, beginning by spreading 1/2 teaspoon of the shallots and 1/4 teaspoon of the cumin in a 5-inch circle on the work surface. Take a piece of dough and set it on top of the shallots and cumin. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it about 8 inches in diameter. (If it sticks, lightly flour the surface). Turn the rolled-out circle of dough over so the shallots and cumin are on top. With a fork, repeatedly prick the center of the circle, leaving an untouched rim about 3 inches wide. this allows the bread to bake with a slightly higher outside ring, like a pizza crust. Roll out the remaining pieces of dough similarly. Depending on the size of your baking surface, bake 2 or 3 breads at one time. Use your hands or a flour-dusted pizza peel to carefully transfer the prepared dough to the heated baking surface. Bake for only 2 1/2 to 3 minutes - baked through but still quite soft. Remove from the oven and stack immediately and wrap in a clean towel.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tbl dry yeast
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup water
1 tbl sea salt
2 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour unbleached (2 1/2 to 3 1/2) or hard white flour
Topping:
2 tbl shallot finely chopped approximately
1 tsp salt approximately
Water for spritzing
Cooking Instructions:
You will need a large bread bowl, a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, unglazed quarry tiles or a baking stone or one or two baking sheets, to fit on a rack in your oven, a rolling pin, a bread stamp or a fork or a wire whisk, a peel or a long-handled spatula, small spray bottle for spritzing (optional). Place 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl, stir in sugar, then sprinkle on yeast and stir to dissolve. Place yogurt and one cup water in a saucepan, stir to mix, then place over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lukewarm. Add the yogurt mixture to the yeast and water mixture and stir. Add the whole wheat flour one cup at a time, stirring in one direction only as you add the flour. Then stir one hundred times (for about one minute) in the same direction to activate the gluten. Let this sponge stand, covered, for 10 minutes or for as long as 2 hours. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon salt over the sponge, then stir in unbleached flour one cup at a time until dough is too stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, incorporating more unbleached flour as necessary to prevent dough from sticking. Rinse out, wipe and lightly oil your bread bowl. Add the dough, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in volume, approximately 1 1/2 hours. Position a rack in the top third of your oven. Arrange unglazed quarry tiles on it, leaving a 1-inch gap between tiles and the oven walls (to allow air to circulate). Alternatively place a baking stone or baking sheets on the rack. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Gently punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. If you have time, let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Place shallots and remaining salt beside your work surface, together with a bowl of lukewarm water. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Using lightly floured hands, press each piece into a 3 to 4-inch round. Work with one round at a time, leaving the others covered at the back of your work surface. Working on a lightly floured surface, roll out to a 6-inch round. With a fork or bread stamp, or the edge of a wire whisk, stamp a 1 1/2-inch diameter circle at the center of the bread thoroughly, to flatten and pierce it (to prevent it from rising). Sprinkle onto the center approximately 1/2 teaspoon chopped shallot, a pinch of salt, and a sprinkle of water. Quickly roll out and prepare one, two, or three more breads (depending on the size of your oven), then transfer prepared breads to the hot tiles, stone, or baking sheets. Begin shaping your next breads as the first batch is baking. Let bake for approximately 5 minutes, or until lightly golden; you can also let breads brown to a deeper hue by leaving them in for 7 to 8 minutes. Use a long-handled spatula to remove from the oven. Place on a rack to cool, then stack and wrap loosely in a cotton cloth to keep soft and warm. Shape and bake remaining breads in the same way. Yield: 8 breads about 6 inches in diameter, with a soft raised rim and flattened center topped with shallots.
Ingredients:
Rice 0.5 kg
Oil 200 g
Meat 300 g
Onion (1/1)
Carrots
Eggs 4 pc
Quince 2 pc
Garlic 2 pc
Salt 0,20 pc
Water 600 g
Cooking Instructions:
First clean rice, prepare carrots, (potatoes and garlic are -optional) . Except carrots and potatoes , garlics will not be cleaned from its skins.
Cut carrots into small columns.
First prepare your pan - we have the so called "Deg" see Sumalak (Sumalak is cooked in large degs), pour oil and try to see its burning with onions, drop meat, carrots, salt, quince and garlic and cook all in oil. When all becomes red dark red take out garlic and quince and put them on a plate. Then pour water and boil it 10-20 minutes. After that wash rice carefully and put it into deg. Water must cover rice and must be boiled until rice gets all water and appears, then put quince and potatoes back and cover deg with its cover and wait 10 minutes(up to 20 minutes) Be sure not to burn the botton of deg. And keep in mind not to mix oshi palov during your cooking.
