The many-sided and multinational Caucasian cuisine is able to amaze even the most sophisticated gourmets. After all, it is the dishes served at the feasts of the Caucasus that include unusual combinations of meat, vegetables and spices richly seasoned with aromatic red wine. As a rule, the most popular dishes of Caucasian cuisine can always boast of calorie content and satiety. Even meat delicacies, which are considered an integral part of any feast, meet these requirements.
One of the most famous dishes of Caucasian cuisine is traditional basturma, which always adorns the festive table. And if we are talking about the Armenian delicacy, then I want to get to know him better even more. Indeed, this country, like no other, delights its guests with incredibly tasty, juicy and aromatic dishes, which are definitely worth a try.
A bit about the dish
The recipe for Armenian basturma became famous many decades ago. Thinly sliced jerky delicacies are usually served as cold snacks. The Armenian basturma, the cost of which is quite high, from a daily dish gradually turned into a festive delicacy, put on the table in the event of a solemn event.
The cutting itself is jerky lamb or beef, generously seasoned with all kinds of spices. The recipe for Armenian basturma originated in the rather hot climate of the Caucasus in those days when there were no refrigerators. In such conditions, meat had to be stored by drying or salting - that is how the traditional Caucasian dish called basturma came about.
Gourmet History
Now there are several versions of how exactly people managed to make such a luxurious dish. According to the simplest among them, beef was prepared by the best chefs on the orders of the Armenian ruler Tigran the Great. There is nothing remarkable in this story: the cooks simply mixed several varieties of spices, rubbed them with meat and hung them to dry in the open air.
The second legend sounds a little different. According to the stories, during the transportation of meat, seasonings and salt in bags, an accident occurred in which the delicacy got dirty in spices. It was slightly cleaned, transferred to bags and brought to the destination already in a prepared form.
But the third version of the origin of basturma, although very exotic, looks the most truthful. Nomads on the territory of the Ottoman Empire from time immemorial ate horse meat. They cut the meat into pieces, which were then tied under a saddle bag. So the food was saturated with salt horse sweat and dried in the wind. And the rider’s weight gradually squeezed out excess liquid from the meat. So the first basturma arose, the name of which in translation from the Turkic language sounds like “crushed”.
How to cook
However, no matter how it was in reality, the dish fell in love not only with the Turks, but also with those peoples on whose lands the Ottoman Empire was founded, among which were the Armenians. Nowadays, basturma is rightfully considered a traditional delicacy, without which no triumph in the Caucasus is complete. Despite the fact that today basturma is prepared from various varieties of meat, the beef dish is still considered the most popular and delicious.
How to make Armenian basturma? Although the name of the delicacy sounds intricate, the process of its preparation is actually quite simple, even novice housewives can cope with it. A simple recipe will help you successfully cook Armenian beef basturma at home.
Required Components
To prepare Armenian basturma at home, you will need several essential ingredients:
- 1 kg of beef tenderloin, devoid of veins and fat;
- liter of homemade red wine;
- head of garlic;
- 2 teaspoons of salt and red pepper;
- the same amount of sumac and chaman;
- dry pomegranate seeds;
- a teaspoon of fenugreek or ground nut grass.
Armenian basturma is prepared according to the recipe, brought to perfection. Desiring to get a truly unique jerky, the culinary specialists of Armenia tried with all their might to achieve the finest aroma and divine taste of their dish.
Recipe
This recipe became exceptional due to the fact that before pickling the meat is soaked in red wine, best homemade. And just the wine is the basis for mixing seasonings. To make basturma, you should stock up on the best beef meat - tenderloin from the back without veins and fat. As a rule, it is cut into pieces half a meter in length, 6-7 cm in thickness and 10 cm in width.
After that, you can proceed to the preparation of the marinade, in which the future basturma will be steeped for at least a week. In the wine you need to add pepper, salt, garlic, pomegranate and fenugreek, which will give the delicacy a pleasant nutty flavor. The meat in the marinade should be put under oppression on the shelf of the refrigerator.
Cured meat
After a week, the meat should be removed from the cold and left for a while, so that it is glass. Then the tenderloin should again be put under oppression and left for about half a day. And after the meat dries, it should be spread with spices mixed with wine until the consistency of sour cream. Lubricate the tenderloin for several days in a row, after which it should be left to dry. After this, the meat should be hung on a thread in a cool, dry place that is well ventilated, leaving it there for at least a week. During this time, the meat is perfectly saturated with spices and dries. The finished basturma in terms of stiffness should turn out to be about the same as ordinary sausage.
As you can see, the process of making Armenian basturma is a rather lengthy process. It is the duration of the preparation that affects the quality of the product as a result.
How to serve Armenian basturma
Proper serving of this delicacy involves cutting the jerky into thin slices, the thickness of which will not exceed two millimeters. Sliced basturma should literally shine through. This is the only way to achieve the treasured effect of melting meat in the mouth. And taking into account the fact that due to the use of a large number of spices during cooking, the delicacy is not only stored longer, but also has a specific spicy taste, it is simply uncomfortable to eat thick pieces of meat. Sliced in the form of a fan, slices of Armenian beef basturma in combination with bright bunches of greens become a real decoration of the table dedicated to the solemn event.
Features of Basturma
Of course, this delicacy is prepared not only in Armenia, however, it cannot be said that each nation has its own recipe for cooking. Indeed, in reality, the principle of making basturma is the same, the differences are only in the choice of spices and the duration of the drying process. Although wine is not used for marinade, too, often the tenderloin is aged in an ordinary mixture of salt and seasoning. Maybe that’s why the Armenian basturma has a colorful aroma and unique taste, for which, in fact, it is so highly valued.
Often, traditional basturma is confused with pastoral. Although in reality these are completely different dishes. As you can see from the recipe, basturma is a dried tenderloin, aged under the press, and pickled smoked meat is called pastor. According to the cooking process, beef sausages with spices are considered similar to basturma, the recipe of which can also be found among dishes of Caucasian cuisine. By the way, they are called "sudzhuk". Among other things, basturma is regularly used as an additional component for the manufacture of other Caucasian dishes.