Turkmen Holiday Dishes

Although it is commonly understood that Central Asian people regard pilaf as the ultimate festive food, this is not entirely true. In addition to pilaf, the Turkmen have been preparing many other celebratory dishes for generations. To be a guest at holidays and special events is a unique and special opportunity. Should you find yourself at such a gathering in Turkmenistan, here are some of the delectable Turkmen holiday dishes you might be served:

Kazanlama

This dish is so ancient it is nearly impossible to prepare in modern city conditions, yet shepherds still cook this special Turkmen food in the countryside where there are lots of saxaul trees and sand. To prepare, they cut a lamb carcass into 7 or 8 large pieces and marinate it in salt, garlic and paprika before leaving it to soak until the saxaul turns to coals.

The shepherds then remove a thin layer of ashes and put the marinated meat directly onto the heated coals. When all of the chunks are in place, the fire is covered with a huge pot which in turn is buried in damp, firmly packed sand. They wait for about an hour and remove the pot to reveal golden, juicy chunks of lamb. It is impossible to convey in words the fragrant smell of the meat cooked on the saxaul coals - in fact, saxaul is the only tree which emits not an acrid but a pleasant-smelling smoke that gives the food a delectable taste.

Dzhazhyly Bukche

To make this unusual Turkmenistan recipe, sheep kidneys, liver, lungs and heart are carefully washed, cut in strips and fried in tail fat before being salted and partially cooked. Eggplants, onions, radishes, tomatoes, bell peppers and potatoes are cut into small cubes and added to the pot, followed by finely chopped garlic and cayenne peppers. While the fragrant mixture cools down, there is time to knead the dough.

The stiff, fermented dough is rolled into 15-centimeter circles. On each circle a portion of the cooled vegetable mixture is placed. The dough is formed into little pouches which are placed into boiling oil and fried until they have a uniform golden crust.

Turkmen Pilaf

According to the Turkmen, the best meat for true pilaf is fatty mutton. The meat is cut into small pieces and fried in a small amount of oil (preferably cotton oil, which gives a unique flavor). Once the meat has acquired an appealing golden-brown tint, chopped onions and later thinly chopped carrots are added. When all of the moisture has evaporated, you know that the onions and carrots are fully cooked. Hot, salty water is poured on top and the mixture cooks for another 5-10 minutes. Finally the rice is added so that it evenly covers the meat. The heat is then cranked up and after the water has been fully absorbed by the rice, the top layer is carefully flipped as the dish continues to cook on low heat.

When the rice has turned a rich yellow, the pot is removed from the fire and left to sit, covered, for another 10 minutes. The host then dishes the meal onto a large plate, with the carrots and juicy meat on top. Turkmenistan’s rice pilaf is traditionally eaten with the right hand.

Dograma

Dograma is an original dish which is rarely found in the cuisines of neighboring countries. An ancient food, it is actually honored by the Turkmen and was once considered an integral part of sacrificial rituals. Today it remains one of the most delicious Turkmen holiday dishes.

To cook dograma you only need fresh mutton, onions and bread. Women begin by baking a traditional unleavened flatbread called chorek. The flatbread prepared for dograma is different in appearance from everyday Turkmen bread. While the bread is baked and cooled, mutton is cooked on the stove along with salt and a few fresh tomatoes. The mutton should be boiled thoroughly to ensure that the meat easily separates from the bone. The cooked meat is then taken out of the broth and left to cool. 

The final steps for making dograma require help from the entire family and sometimes even the neighbours! The bread is crumbled by hand into small pieces. Onions are very finely chopped and mixed with the crumbled chorek. Afterward the mixture is wrapped in gauze and left to sit. The boiled mutton is separated into filaments and mixed with the onion and bread crumbs, which quickly absorb the flavor of the meat and onion. Dograma is served in a bowl with hot mutton broth and black pepper.