Kazakh cuisine: from nomadic dairy traditions to modern fusion and festive feasts

euronews (in English)

In this episode of Modern Nomads, we explore Kazakh cuisine—how ancient dairy-based traditions evolved into hearty meat dishes and modern fusion meals shaped by history, customs and innovation.

Transcript

00:00Kitchens and cuisines tell a lot about a nation's tradition and culture.

00:06What is the story of the culinary legacy of the Central Asian nomads?

00:10Join me as I explore the cooking traditions in Kazakhstan

00:14and how they transformed into modern cuisine.

00:17Welcome to Modern Nomads.

00:22Originating from nomad herdsmen,

00:24Kazakh cuisine is not exactly cut out for the vegetarians amongst us.

00:28Even though vegetables are now very much part of it,

00:31you'll be served meat in almost every meal.

00:34Beef, lamb or highly valued horse meat,

00:37a taboo in some other parts of the world.

00:39But those who really know Kazakh ways insist that the really traditional Kazakh diet

00:44primarily consists of different dairy products, including camel and horse milk.

00:49Because meat is seasonal.

00:51It is usually a time of winter, winter, late.

00:55And then in the winter they are used.

00:58And in the winter they are not eating meat.

01:00Because in the winter they have to eat meat.

01:03Meat, meat, body, body,

01:05so that they can be used in the winter,

01:08in the winter, in the winter.

01:10It was very rare.

01:11Sunduk is one of the most famous ethno-style restaurants

01:14in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.

01:16It's a perfect place to explore nomad tradition,

01:19but also see how it meets modern-day cuisine.

01:22Manas admits that his ancestors would be a bit bewildered

01:39by his versions of traditional dishes,

01:41but would still recognize them.

01:43Whenever we have a time of food for our fathers,

01:49we create the ingredients.

01:50In other places we add materials, ingredients,

01:52then we get your food,

01:53and we are getting their food.

01:54We use the time and of fusion style to their families.

01:59We use the products for foods.

02:01We are coming from frozen foods.

02:03We are coming from fruits,

02:05we are coming from the Zoos and family.

02:06We are coming from fizics.

02:08We're coming from choking.

02:10For us, it is lamb heart in milk cream, fried lamb liver, roast beef with potatoes, beef bone marrow, lamb paté on crackers and pastries.

02:22But for Kazakhs, it's so much more than food.

02:25The food in Kazakh cooking is not simple.

02:29For example, there is such a food called apisut, apisut, apisut, apisut.

02:33They prepared this food to be able to make peace, for example, this food tunkirme is made from jared psalis.

02:43There is Kazakh tradition of jared psalis, when a woman is born in the womb, and when a woman is born in the womb,

02:49and when she eats tunkirme, she comes with milk and strength.

02:57Every food has its own history.

03:00There is a whole tradition of a wedding ritual, when they come to the house to marry a wife,

03:06they always bring this food to the back of power.

03:10But it is only after you visit a real family or social gathering that all these meanings begin to sink in, in all their complexity.

03:17As the only foreigner at the Spring Festival in Western Kazakhstan, I was the guest of honor,

03:22a status that brings a roast sheep's head and the duty to distribute it, according to detailed rules, to the other guests.

03:29I did it all wrong, of course.

03:30Now, this is the most famous dish in the Kazakh cuisine.

03:33It's called beshbarmak, which means five fingers, for a reason.

03:37Now, I had the goat head for myself, which means that I should start eating it first.

03:42Containing boiled flat noodles, meat, and optionally potatoes and onion, this dish, for special occasions,

03:49is supposed to be eaten with fingers from a common dish and has several versions throughout Central Asia.

03:55Not all Kazakh food is rooted in the country's ancient past.

03:58International cuisine, global brand, and local street restaurants are in abundance and bring new ways of preparing and serving food.

04:05Some of them are reshaping traditional Kazakh dishes so that they are available to go for people who live a fast urban life.

04:12We started to try to eat shawarma.

04:16In general, it all went into more and more and more.

04:19And there was more and more assortments.

04:21That is, and shawarma, and burgers, and pizza, and sushi.

04:25And this is the Western cuisine, which is similar to our traditional cuisine.

04:30So, this is our mix of fast food, restaurants, and clean fast food.

04:37Most restaurants are much more modern than this, but I just happen to love to end the day with a meal in the old nomadic dwelling, the yurt.

04:51Join us in the next episode of The Modern Nomads.

Category

Transcript

Recommended