Inga Kazancheva – 12 Recipes of Adyghe Cuisine (страница 2)

Tip

As Boris Kubatiev used to say, “People who wash their dishes immediately after use can cook without helpers.” A good habit indeed!

Sauce (Shyps)

Ingredients

Onion – 1 head Clarified butter – 50 g Wheat flour (or corn flour) – 50 g Chicken broth – 500 g Salt – to taste Ground red pepper – to taste Paprika powder – to taste

Preparation

Chop the onion very finely. Heat clarified butter in a dry pan. Add the chopped onion and roast it, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula, until fragrant. It will take less than one minute. Add wheat or corn flour to thicken the sauce. Fry, stirring continuously for a couple more minutes. Season with pepper. Then add paprika powder and keep stirring for another one minute. Paprika powder adds a pleasant flavor, a delicate taste, and a beautiful color to the sauce.

To avoid lumps, add the chicken broth gradually and stir vigorously between each addition. Cook the sauce over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it thickens. Make sure that the onions in the sauce become transparent. “The Adyghe shyps should be thick and the onions translucent,” explained the chef.

Tip

Adyghe shyps tastes better when you cook it in a cast-iron pan.

Serving

Djedlibzhe consists of boiled chicken and sauce. It is served with warm pasta, which you can prepare using the recipe in the next chapter.

Serve all dishes simultaneously but in separate containers. Place the chicken on one plate, the warm pasta on another plate, and pour the shyps into a shallow bowl. And now break off a bite-sized piece of pasta with your fingers and then dip it in the sauce. Mmm… The taste is divine! Enjoy it as a delicious accompaniment to the chicken. A five-star recipe for sure!

From the Stories about Hodja:

I’m not Tired

One day Hodja was a guest in another village. Nobody offered him anything to eat, but the people asked him many questions. “Hodja, why do people yawn?” was one of the questions. “There are two reasons: one of them is tiredness, the other is hunger,” replied Hodja. Then he yawned for a while and added: “I’m not tired.”

Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people get together to eat.

Chapter 2. A Grain of Joy

Salt and pasta deserve respect.

Anyone who hears the word ‘pasta’ automatically thinks of Italian cuisine. However, the Adyghe people also have pasta. It replaces bread in their diet. They pair it with a wide variety of dishes. The unique Adyghe pasta is made from millet.

Millet is one of the world’s oldest cultivated grains. It has been consumed by humans for thousands of years. People ate small millet grains for its health benefits. In the Middle Ages, millet was called the ‘grain of joy’ because it could help with depression.

Since ancient times, millet has been highly valued by the Adyghe people. Murat Umetov, a doctor and professor at the Kabardino-Balkarian State University, explains the secrets of Adyghe longevity through the prism of centuries-old traditions. Dr. Umetov is convinced that, along with applying the principles of the Adyghe moral and legal code “Adyghe Khabze”, physical activity, traditional clothing, and nutrition play an important role in longevity. The traditional diet of the Adyghe people is characterized by moderation, balance, low salt intake, and using natural products. The basis of the Adyghe diet is millet pasta.

In Russian culture, guests are greeted with bread and salt. Instead of the Russian expression “to share bread and salt”, Adyghe people say “to share salt and pasta”. The tradition of sharing salt and pasta is a gesture of welcome and hospitality. The Adyghe people call salt and pasta any food. A simple way to express gratitude for a meal is: “May your salt and pasta multiply.”

The Adyghe people are very hospitable. They want to make their guests feel comfortable. The host tries to feed the guests to their heart’s content. And it might be fair to say that the best recipes are recipes from Grandma’s kitchen, especially millet pasta! The Adyghe pasta is a culinary heritage, a cultural symbol that reflects the history and traditions of the Adyghe people.

What is so great about pasta? Let me show you how to do it!

Millet Pasta

Ingredients

Millet – 100 g Water – 500 g

Preparation

Pour water into a cast-iron pot and bring it to a boil. Meanwhile, place the millet in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse it under cold running water until the water runs clear, then rinse it with boiling water. Add your millet to the pot with boiling water. Bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spatula. Cook the millet uncovered for a few minutes to skim off the foam. Then reduce the heat and simmer it covered for about 10—15 minutes.

Make sure that the millet becomes very tender. Once it is tender and there is some water that has not been absorbed, mix and stir it vigorously, scraping the bottom of the pot, so the grains do not stick to the bottom.

Allow the millet to absorb any remaining water, stirring and fluffing it with a wooden spatula. Fluffing releases excess moisture and prevents your millet pasta from becoming sticky. A poorly made pasta sticks to the palate, and you can feel the grains while chewing. A well-made one melts in your mouth. Continue to fry until your pasta is dry and leaves the sides of the pot. If you are happy with its taste and consistency, remove the pot from the heat.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

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