Compass Tour Uzbekistan

MANTI - BIG STEAMED MEAT DUMPLINGS

For the dough: 500 g flour, 1 egg, 1 teaspoonful salt, 0.5 glassful water. For the forcemeet: 1kg lamb flesh, 100 g fat tail, 500 g onions, 0.5 glassful salt water, 1 teaspoonful black pepper.

Work up the flour into thick dough, roll to form a ball. Place into a basin, overspread with a napkin and set aside for 10-15 minutes. Cut the dough into balls about the size of a small walnut and roll thin to make round flat cakes. Another way is to roll the entire dough with a long rolling-pin to produce a thin layer and cut into squares (10x10 cm) add tablespoonful of forcemeat and diced fat tail on each square. Fold diagonally and pinch corners and edges so that the manti are oblong in shape. Overspread the uncooked manti to prevent the dough from getting dry and frail. The forcemeat is prepared in the following way: chop the mutton (beef) into small pieces about the size of a small nut or mince with a big grating, add onion chopped or sliced into rings, ground black pepper and salt water. Combine thoroughly and press down with fingers. The manti are steamed. Grease the plate of kettle for steaming and arrange the manti on it so as to have no contact with each other. Splash cold water and steam for 45 minutes. Serve 2-4 manti in a kasa (soup-bowl) per portion, pour broth and sour milk over or remove the manti to a platter and dredge with ground black pepper. Sour milk and vinegar are served separately

BARRA KABOB - LAMB SHASHLIK

1 kg lamb, 200 g fat, 2-3 onions, 1 teaspoonful salt, 1 teaspoonful zira, 2 teaspoonfuls coriander seeds, 1 teaspoonful ground pepper or cayenne, 4 teaspoonfuls vinegar.

Chop the lamb and fatty tail into chunks of 15 - 16 g, dredge with salt, pepper and coriander, add finely chopped onion and vinegar. Blend all together thoroughly. To ensure that the lamb marinades well, put it in an enameled porcelain or glazed earthenware saucepan, press down with a weight, cover with a gauze and set aside in a cool place for a period of from 4 to 24 hours. Then skewer 5 pieces of meat and 1 piece of fat per skewer. Grill the shashlik over a charcoal fire first on one side and then on the other till juice oozes and the meat browns to crustiness. From time to time fan the fire to raise the heat and ensure that it roasts steadily. If the fat trickles down and a flame appears, sprinkle the charcoal with water diluted with white vinegar. Serve the shashlik (2-4 pieces) together with the skewers on a flat cake for one serving. Place a portion or several portions on a platter, garnish with rings of white onion, slices of cucumbers or tomatoes. Fresh vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes) or a salad made of them may be served separately.

📍Samarkand, Uzbekistan

ℹ️Samarkand - is a city in the east-central Uzbekistan that is one of the oldest cities of Central Asia.

Samarkand consists of an old city dating from medieval times and a new section built after the Russian conquest of the area in the 19th century.

Samarkand has several other mausoleums, madrasahs, and mosques dating from the 15th to the 17th century, though they are not as impressive as the structures from Timur's day. The principal features of Samarkand's ancient buildings are their splendid portals, their vast coloured domes, and their remarkable exterior decorations in majolica, mosaic, marble, and gold.

📍Bukhara, Uzbekistan

ℹ️In Sanskrit word, Bukhara signifies "monastery" and this city was once a large commercial center on the Great Silk Road. Bukhara was already considered an important cultural and trade center, which in fact determined the dramatism of the city's historical fate.

The old town still retains much of its former aspect, with its mosques, madaris (Muslim theological schools), flat-roofed houses of sun-dried bricks, and remains of covered bazaars.

Bukhara is one of the most ancient cities in Central Asia. Most of the monuments in this romantic eastern city, which attracts tourists from all over the world, date back to the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, archeological excavations conducted by the Uzbek Academy of Sciences have revealed thick cultural layers, i.e. traces of ancient settlements in location providing suitable conditions of life. It has been established as a fact that Bukhara never changed its site but developed vertically.