Tag: Kazkahstan

When Veg Barmak met Su Böregi

20 March 2024

To celebrate Navruz this year, KCC has gone for a Kazakh mashup with a loose variation on Kazakhstan’s national dish, Beshbarmak. Lurking at the back of the cupboard was a pack of zhaima, the pasta sheets used in the dish.

Beshbarmak refers to the method of eating this meat and pasta dish, using your hand, or “five fingers.” There are iterations such as “Fishbarmak,” so we decided it was time for a variation on the theme of “Vegbarmak.”

Pasta sheets (zhaima) for Beshbarmak from Kazakhstan

On closer inspection, the pasta sheets looked good for a lasagne-style dish, but the dish that eventually emerged was closer to Turkey’s su böreği. This consists of layers of boiled pastry sheets with a cheesy filling. We used different layers of vegetables and pulses to achieve something between a veg barmak and a su böreği. 

Put a layer of mixed greens on top of the chickpeas that have been covered with pasta sheets
Put another layer of pasta sheets and then top with mashed pumpkin and decorate with pumpkin seeds

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

  • 300 g cooked chickpeas
  • 400 g roasted pumpkin
  • 50 g spinach
  • 50 g rocket
  • 50 g tahini
  • 50 ml chickpea water (aquafaba)
  • 16 pasta sheets (the ones used were 6 cm x 11cm)
  • Sprinkling of pumpkin seeds
  • Three teaspoons dried oregano
  • One teaspoon dried sage
  • One teaspoon cumin seeds

Method

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180 c. Put 150 g of chickpeas in a blender with the tahini, aquafaba and one teaspoon of oregano and blend until smooth. Mix with the remaining chickpeas and then put this mixture into the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Place the pasta sheets in hot water for a minute and then arrange over the chickpea mixture.
  • Put the washed greens on top of the pasta, sprinkle another teaspoon of oregano over the greens and then put another layer of sheets on top of the greens. Mash the pumpkin and mix with the sage and cumin seeds and oregano. Smooth this over the pasta sheets and decorate with pumpkin seeds.
  • Bake in the oven for one hour at 180 c – cover with tinfoil for the first 40 minutes and then cook uncovered for the last 20 minutes. Cut into four slices – it can be served either hot or cold.

Lockdown Lunch: Get Stuffed!

23 April 2020

Nearing four weeks of lockdown in Almaty and supplies are holding up surprisingly well, especially now that spring greens are beginning to come on tap. This week our local veg shop had rocket, celery and sorrel – all the makings of a peppery green salad to perk up the lunch menu.

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Spring greens coming on tap in Almaty

We’re coming to the end of our super-sized cabbage, which was bought in the early days of lockdown, so we decided to use the remaining leaves to make cabbage rolls, a popular dish in eastern and southern Europe.

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KCC’s Stuffed Cabbage Leaf

We stuffed the leaves with some rip-red risotto, a recipe we made a few years back that combines coarse bulgur wheat with beetroot and walnuts (if you want a gluten-free option, you can use arborio rice or pearl barley instead).

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Simmer the stuffed cabbage parcels in a tomato and herb sauce for thirty minutes for a winning lockdown lunch. It makes for a tasty veggie take on that beloved Ukrainian / Russian dish, golubtsi, or ‘little doves’, or dolma as they are dubbed in some parts of the Mediterranean and into the Caucasus.

Ingredients (serves 3-4 people)

  • Four large cabbage leaves or eight smaller ones
  • (See here for the stuffing: rip-red risotto)

For the tomato sauce:

  • Three medium tomatoes
  • Three spring onions
  • Three sprigs of parsley
  • One stick of celery
  • One tablespoon tomato paste
  • One teaspoon mustard seeds
  • two or three basil leaves
  • 25 ml olive oil
  • 100 ml water

Method

  1. Separate the leaves carefully from the cabbage. Place in boiling water for five minutes to soften. Put the leaves in cold water and then drain. Cut out the tough, lower bit of the stalk (about 2-3 cm). Place a tablespoon of filling above the cut and then fold and roll the leaves into cigar shapes.
  2. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the mustard seeds and when they start to pop, add the chopped spring onions, celery and parsley. Cook for five minutes and then add the chopped tomatoes. Add the tomato paste and water , stir well and bring to the boil.
  3. Lay the stuffed leaves in an ovenproof baking dish and pour the hot tomato sauce over them. Cover the dish with tin foil and bake at 200 c for thirty minutes. Sprinkle the cooked cabbage leaves with basil leaves before serving with a green salad.