A Turkmen cooking adventure that calls for beef but is also customarily made with lamb.
Chop the onions, fairly small but not minced. Cut the carrots into slivers, about 3 inches long and only 1/8 of an inch wide. If you have some type of slicer, go for it! The important thing is that there are no big chunks of carrots, just thin slices. Cut the beef into 1 - 2 inch cubes.
Now for the fun part. Put on an old shirt or an apron. Find a big, heavy pan or pot. An 8 quart cast iron or hard anodized dutch oven works well. Turkmen use a heavy pot called a cazan.
Now you must heat the oil in the pot. The amount of oil you use will depend on the size of the pan you use. The oil should be about 1 centimeter, or 1/2 of an inch deep. It will seem excessive, but go ahead and pour it in. Drop a little piece of onion into the cool oil and turn the burner to medium. When the onion turns BLACK, remove it with a fork. Now your oil is hot enough to cook with.
Add the meat and the whole garlic cloves. Turkmen people often throw in the whole garlic head, skins and all. You can do that, or peel the cloves. If you don't cook much with garlic, don't worry about it being too spicy - garlic sweetens as you cook it. Cook the meat and garlic until the meat starts to turn a nice roasted-looking brown.
Add the onions to the meat and oil. Cook, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots to the mixture and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Add a couple teaspoons of salt, or you can add the salt later to taste.
Now here is where I deviate from the traditional method. My appologies to purists. At this point, Turkmen would add rice and water into the pot with the meat. This method requires a lot of quesswork, so I recommend the following alternative.
Cook as much rice as you think will fit into the rest of the pot. according to the directions on the package of rice. For an 8 quart pot I make about 7 Cups of rice (7 Cups cooked rice - that's about 3 1/2 Cups dry rice). Just use your best judgement as to the amount. When the rice has finished cooking, add it to the meat/ onions/ carrots mixture in the big pot. Mix it well and serve it hot. It can be reheated as needed.
Don't be suprized if when you are finished eating there is oil left on your plate. If you've got that, your Turkmen adventure has been sucessful!
This a fabulous dish full of color and flavor that we discovered while hosting a foreign exchange student from Uzbekistan for a year. The rice can easily be prepared seperately and then added to the pot of beef. Our guest told us that he had always had it made with lamb, but marbled beef is fine.
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Serving Size: 1 Serving (286g) | ||
Recipe Makes: 4 | ||
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Calories: 239 | ||
Calories from Fat: 97 (41%) | ||
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Amt Per Serving | % DV | |
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Total Fat 10.7g | 14 % | |
Saturated Fat 4.2g | 21 % | |
Monounsaturated Fat 4.5g | ||
Polyunsanturated Fat 0.5g | ||
Cholesterol 37.4mg | 12 % | |
Sodium 115.3mg | 4 % | |
Potassium 722.7mg | 19 % | |
Total Carbohydrate 23.5g | 7 % | |
Dietary Fiber 5.2g | 21 % | |
Sugars, other 18.4g | ||
Protein 13.3g | 19 % | |
Powered by: USDA Nutrition Database Disclaimer: Nutrition facts are derived from linked ingredients (shown at left in colored bullets) and may or may not be complete. Always consult a licensed nutritionist or doctor if you have a nutrition-related medical condition. |
Calories per serving: 239
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