This dish came to our cuisines from Central Asia. There he is called kuurdak or kuardak. In Russian transcription, the word kavardak, consonant with him, but more understandable to our ears, has taken root. However, in its preparation, confusion is still not welcome.
This thick and hearty dish successfully replaces the soup and the second. By consistency, the confusion resembles stew. Russian cuisine knows its own recipes - it’s reminiscent of okroshka by the method of preparation, but unlike it, it is served hot. We advise you to try to make a mess. The recipes selected for this article are not very difficult. They can be implemented even by an inexperienced cook.
Uzbek version
In Uzbekistan, kavardak is a dish from the giblets of a young ram. The heart, liver, kidneys, lungs and tail fat should be fresh, just taken out of the carcass. The kidneys must first be thoroughly soaked in several waters.
Fat tail fat should be melted in a cauldron, heart, kidneys and lungs should be cut into small pieces and dipped in boiling fat. Chop two onions and send there. Fry, stirring constantly. After 15 minutes, when the onion becomes invisible, grind the liver and put in a cauldron. Salt and sprinkle some ground pepper. Stir well. Pour one glass of boiling water into the cauldron. Once it boils, toss the bay leaf. Reduce the fire to a minimum and obscure for about 10 minutes. Serve hot.
Since the dish is fat, it will be very tasty and not too sugary if you serve fried rice as a side dish. Buckwheat porridge is no less good with such a mess. If there is no lamb offal, do not despair! Take the beef. You can also make a real mess of them. The recipe in this case will be exactly the same. In Asia, mess is made even of horsemeat. Turmeric fat will successfully replace unrefined vegetable oil.
Tondurma Kuurdak
This "stew" of nomads can be considered a preparation for various soups and main dishes. If you need to quickly cook a dish of vegetables and meat, then Tondurma Kuurdyk will be an ideal base for it. Tondurma Kuurdyk is a kind of preservation, which can be stored in a cold place for as long as you like and used in a variety of dishes as needed.
You need to take five kilograms of good, not very fatty meat. Best if it is lamb. Melt two or three kilograms of tail fat, and remove the greaves. For flavor, fry onions and garlic in the same fat. They also need to be removed. Cut the meat into small cubes and dip in fat. Salt and pepper. Simmer for about an hour. You can pour boiling water from time to time, just a little bit. Transfer the prepared meat with fat into jars and close tightly. Keep refrigerated.
Everyone likes a vegetable or cereal dish flavored with such a mess.
Russian variant
There are a great many Russian variants of the mess. In different areas you will be told how to cook a mess of fresh or dried fish, millet porridge or rye crackers. In the Tambov region, a drink made from beer, honey and water is called a mess.
The most popular is meat and vegetable mess. The recipe is simple. The dish consists of beef, potatoes, carrots, onions and favorite seasonings. Beef must be cut very finely and sautéed over high heat. When it is browned, mix it with chopped onions and carrots. After about five minutes, put potatoes in the same pot. Pour in two or three glasses of boiling water. As soon as the water boils, reduce the fire, salt the dish, pepper, add the bay leaf and leave to simmer until the potatoes are completely boiled, that is, for about an hour. It turns out very tasty, and most importantly, simple.
Eggplant Kavardak
The rich composition of this dish suggests that the hostess has enough free time, so we recommend that you try it on the weekend. Having prepared a mess with eggplant only once, you will forever love this original and mouth-watering dish.
In addition to meat (it is better to take lean pork), you will need potatoes, bell peppers, cabbage, carrots, onions, spicy greens and, of course, eggplant. Eggplant should be cut into pieces and pour salted boiling water. Then send them under the press to glass the water with bitterness. Cabbage also needs to be cut, put in a colander and immersed in boiling water for several minutes. This will make it more tender and relieve unpleasant aftertaste.
The meat should be cut into pieces the size of a large gooseberry, put in a pan with a thick bottom and fry over high heat. Cut onion and fry it with meat. Grate carrots on a coarse grater and send it to the same pan. Potatoes, eggplant and cabbage are also put in meat. Pour boiling water. Stir well, and as soon as it boils, salt, pepper, add cardamom grain and bay leaf. Leave the dish to stew until the meat and potatoes are fully softened . At the very end of cooking, put finely chopped bell pepper, crushed garlic and herbs into the pan. Bring the dish to a boil and immediately turn off the heat under it. After 20 minutes, when the mess is saturated with the aromas of the last ingredients and cools down a bit, it can be served.
Cavardac with tomatoes
Chicken mess is no less tasty. The recipe for its preparation is not very difficult. It includes boneless chicken, pumpkin, tomatoes, onions, garlic, bell peppers, dill, parsley, cilantro and spices. Boil the whole chicken carcass until it is easily separated from the bones. In the broth put salt, pepper and bay leaf. When the chicken is soft enough, you need to remove it from the pan, and strain the broth. Cut the meat with the skin into small pieces and set aside. Boil potatoes and pumpkin in chicken stock. Dip tomatoes in boiling water, peel, knead and put in the broth. Once the potatoes and pumpkin are boiled, add chopped herbs, garlic and bell pepper to them. Switch off immediately after boiling. Arrange the meat in plates, and carefully pour the thick chicken stock along with vegetables onto it.
Sturgeon Chef
Boil sturgeon in water with a little salt and pepper. Strain the broth. Cut the fish into small pieces, and boil the potatoes in the broth. When it becomes soft enough, it should be kneaded - the broth will become thick and uniform.
In a frying pan in vegetable oil, you need to fry the carrots and onions. At the very end, put there a few tomatoes without peels and seeds. Darken everything together for about seven minutes.
Serving the dish on the table, put the pieces of fish in the plates, vegetable frying on them, and carefully pour a thick fish stock with potatoes on top.
Sturgeon is good and cold. It can be replaced with any other fatty and low-bone fish.