In any national cuisine there are dishes that have been tried for thousands of years, without which not a single festive feast is complete.
Not all residents of Dagestan have comfortable living conditions. There are no supermarkets in the mountains, and the nearest store can be located at a great distance. Therefore, local housewives are forced to cook from products that are available, that is, from flour, meat, cheese, greens. But this does not mean that the Dagestan diet is primitive.
Khinkal
The most popular and easy to prepare national dish is khinkal, which hospitable hosts treat guests. These are pieces of dough that are cooked in meat broth or steamed. When served, boiled meat, khinkal, sauce and broth are served in a separate bowl. Sometimes khinkal is served on the same dish with meat.
Many interesting legends and traditions are associated with this dish. For example, among the peoples of Dagestan there is such a wedding tradition - on a wedding night, a young bride needs to prepare hinkal to the groom's friends. If they like the dish, then the couple’s life will be long and happy.
Depending on the size and method of preparation, Avar khinkal, Dargin, Lak, Lezgin, and Derbent are distinguished.
In this article we will consider the most popular recipes for making puff (Darginsky) khinkal.
Puff khinkal. Recipe number 1
Most often, beef or lamb is used to prepare this dish. To prepare puff khinkal, you need to take 700-800 grams of beef (or other meat), one carrot, two onions, spices for meat, salt, yeast dough.
Beef, cut into large pieces, fried in vegetable oil and spread in a pan. Add carrots chopped into rings and onions and spices, half rings. They put it on a small fire.
At this time, you need to cook the dough. For the test you will need 250 ml of warm water, a tablespoon of dried yeast, a teaspoon of sugar and salt, three tablespoons of vegetable oil, 350-400 g of flour.
Yeast, sugar are dissolved in warm water and left for ten minutes. After that salt, vegetable oil is added, everything is mixed. Pour the liquid into the flour and knead the dough, which is covered with a towel and put in a warm place for half an hour. When the dough is suitable, it is crushed, divided into three or four parts.
Each part is thinly rolled, greased with vegetable oil, sprinkled with chopped walnuts and folded in the form of a roll, which is cut into pieces.
The dough should stand a little. Steam rolls are prepared. A dish such as puff khinkal, a photo of which can be seen below, is served with meat and broth.
Recipe number 2
It takes half a kilogram of beef, a glass of flour, one egg, three to four pieces of potatoes, onion, carrots (1 pc.), Salt, spices, herbs.
The meat is cut into pieces and set to cook over low heat. While the meat is being cooked, you need to peel the potatoes and cut them into slices. For the filling, chop finely the onions and greens, grate the carrots with large holes, mix and salt everything. Some carrots and onions are left for meat.
The finished meat is removed from the broth and sorted into fibers, which are fried in vegetable oil with the addition of onions and carrots.
Knead the dough using flour, egg, salt and water. Roll out into the reservoir, lubricated with vegetable oil, divided into three parts. Having laid the filling on the dough, twist it into a roll, which is cut into slices three centimeters thick.
Then the meat and vegetables are laid out in a pan, covered with a layer of potatoes. Khinkal is put on top, which should be lightly greased with vegetable oil. Again a layer of potatoes and khinkal is laid out. All pour broth, put on a small fire. Puff khinkal with potatoes is cooked for about forty minutes. Served with garlic sauce.
Khinkal with tomato and garlic sauce
The meat (any) is boiled and cut into pieces. Knead the dough from one egg, a glass of warm water, a pack of dried yeast, two glasses of flour. The dough should be soft and elastic. After it fits, roll out into a layer half a centimeter thick, grease it with oil, optionally sprinkle with nuts or spices, roll it into a roll. The resulting tourniquet is cut into pieces of five centimeters and sent to a double boiler or a pressure cooker. Rolls need to be laid down cut and slightly open, giving the shape of a rose. Cook for half an hour.
Three to four tablespoons of tomato paste are put in a sunflower oil preheated in a pan, fried over low heat, then diluted with broth in which the meat was cooked, and a few cloves of garlic are added. The resulting sauce is laid out in a bowl.
Ready-made puff khinkal is served on the table in portioned plates, meat is put on a common dish. In separate bowls, broth and tomato-garlic sauce are served.
Khinkal with chicken
Not always beef or lamb is used for cooking. To prepare puff khinkal with chicken, knead a not very cool dough from a glass of kefir, soda (0.5 tsp), half a glass of water, flour, leave for 20 minutes. Then the dough is divided into two parts, each rolled into a thick layer more than a centimeter, greased with vegetable oil and sprinkled with walnut grass. The dough sheet is rolled up, which is cut into pieces.
For the broth, take the chicken, cut into small pieces and fry in a pan. Then, potatoes cut into cubes are added to it, salt, pepper, pour water and boil until cooked.
Dough rolls are placed in a double boiler and cooked for 40 minutes. Then spread on a dish, chicken and broth are served separately.
Khinkal with dried meat
How to cook puff khinkal according to this recipe? It will take half a kilogram of dried lamb, 700-800 g of potatoes, flour (200 g), vegetable oil, salt, spices.
The meat is washed, chopped into pieces, boiled over high heat until half cooked.
Half of the broth is cast, potato sliced is added.
From flour, water, salt, knead fresh dough, thinly rolled, greased with butter and rolled into a roll. The roll is cut into pieces, which are placed in a pot pan. In this way puff khinkal is steamed.
The finished dish is served with meat and potatoes. If desired, you can submit to him a sauce to taste.
Khinkal with minced meat. Recipe number 1
This recipe uses ground beef (1 kg). The elastic dough of 500 g of flour, 300 ml of hot water, two eggs, salt (1/3 tsp) is kneaded and rolled out in a thin layer. Stuffing stuffed on top, roll the dough roll and cut into slices of three centimeters. Rolls are fried in vegetable oil on both sides, spread in a deep bowl, pour sour cream and stew for about half an hour.
Khinkal with minced meat. Recipe number 2
The dough is kneaded from one egg, a glass of milk, two glasses of flour, two tablespoons of vegetable oil and a pinch of salt, wrapped in a plastic wrap and set aside for half an hour.
At this time, they prepare a filling of 500 g of minced meat, chopped herbs, three cloves of garlic and one onion, add spices to taste.
For frying, three small carrots are grated, two onions are cut into cubes.
The dough is removed from the film and rolled into a thin layer (2-5 mm). On top of the stuffing is stuffed with minced meat. A roll is formed, which is cut into slices five centimeters thick.
A layer of prepared vegetables is put on a preheated pan, khinkal is placed on top, everything is poured with broth. You can put a piece of butter. Stew for 30 minutes, served with sour cream and herbs.
If you want to surprise your guests, prepare a puff khinkal, the recipe of which can be chosen depending on the taste. This delicious and satisfying dish is unlikely to leave anyone indifferent.