The cuisine of any nation, like nothing else, reflects its culture, history and traditions. A great influence on the gastronomic preferences of a nation has its geographical location. Kazakh cuisine is rightfully considered one of the youngest cuisines in Russia, since it was finally formed only at the turn of the 19-20 centuries with the completion of the transition of the Kazakh people to a sedentary lifestyle. From time immemorial, Kazakhs have been one of the closest neighbors to the Russian state; many Kazakh citizens also live in our country.
Kazakh cuisine is represented mainly by meat and flour dishes. The main daily menu includes beshbarmak, shurpa, kazy, boorsak, koumiss. The traditional drinks of the Kazakhs were always considered mare (koumiss), cow (ayran) and camel (shubat) milk.
Beshbarmak is a combination of large pieces of boiled meat (horse meat or lamb), dough and spices. Translated into Russian, the name of this dish means “five fingers”. Talking about the origin of this name, I think it makes no sense. Beshbarmak decided to eat with his hands! A large role in the life of the Kazakh people is assigned to the family. It observes a clear subordination. An elderly guest of honor during a meal, as a rule, receives a drumstick and pelvic bones, an unmarried young girl is destined for a cervical vertebra, and her breast bone is given to her daughter-in-law or son. The most honored guest is treated with a lamb head, cooked according to a special recipe, divided in accordance with the old local custom. As a supplement to the meal, cakes of various shapes are usually served (it depends on the dishes in which the cakes were baked).
Shurpa - a rich broth from meat borrowed from Uzbeks with the addition of vegetables, herbs and spices. This dish is usually served in a large bowl at the end of the meal, followed by tea and sweets.
Kazakh cuisine is also represented by sausages, which are prepared from various varieties of meat and according to different recipes by the method of smoking, boiling, etc. The most popular types of sausages include: kazy, map, shuzhuk.
Usually dinner or lunch in a Kazakh family ends with tea with sweets. On the table can be served: boorsak (balls made of dough and fried in boiling oil), irimshik (a special kind of cottage cheese or something between cottage cheese and cheese), raisins and kurt (dried cottage cheese).
Dishes of Kazakh cuisine are usually distinguished by a large abundance of meat. The most commonly used horse meat and lamb. Kazakhs do not eat pork as it is forbidden by their religion.
One of the hallmarks of the Kazakh people is its hospitality. Even in ancient times, guests were met here with koumiss and boorsak, they were given the most honorable place at the table (dastarkhan). As already noted, Kazakh National cuisine formed recently, but the existence of the nation has more than one hundred years.
Now, perhaps, almost nowhere is there any way to try real Kazakh shurpa with a cake baked in a tandoor oven. Yes, and on the table of modern citizens of Kazakhstan, you can often find dishes that came to the country from their closest neighbors than national dishes, the recipes of which were passed down from generation to generation. Over time, the traditional cuisine of the Kazakhs, of course, has undergone significant changes. Today, Russians, Uzbeks, Tatars, Chuvashs, Ukrainians, Koreans, etc. are gathering for a friendly dastarkhan. All of these nations for many centuries peacefully existed next to the Kazakhs, having a direct impact on their way of life, everyday life, including cooking. Therefore, it can be absolutely justifiably argued that modern Kazakh cuisine is very multinational.