Tatarians are often thought of as the best culinary specialists in Russia and one of the most skillful in the world. Tatar cuisine is one of the eldest and the most creative. Traditions and recipes were being collected by Tatarians for centuries. Tatarstan Republic is situated in the heart of Russia and it is surrounded by international neighbors. They are Mari El, Chuvashia, Udmurtia, Bashkortostan, Kirov and Orenburg regions. The neighborhood appeared to be quite useful for Tatar cuisine. Tatars borrowed some recipes from their neighbors which are Uzbek plov, Chinese pelmeni and tea, Tadjik pehleve. However they manage to save their own national collection of dishes. Our viewers are invited to the House of Tatar Cuisune where cooks try to cook strictly in accordance with national traditions. This is also one of the few places where Tatar deserts are cooked. One of the most complicated out of them is honey pyramids «talkysh-kaleve». And, of course, we didn't forget about the main Tatar sweet thing «chak-chak» which is basically a souvenir as well. You'll have a great chance to get to know the recipes and later to cook them at home.

 

Recipe «Chak-chak»

Recipe «Gubadia»  

 

Chak-chak*

recipe serves 3 persons; preparation time ~ 30 minutes
Ingredients:
2,5 cups of lour, 2 eggs, 3 tablespoon milk, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 pinch of salt.

Melted butter for frying fat

For caramel: 1 cup of honey, ½ cup of sugar.

Directions:

Break eggs and blend with milk. Pour flour in a form of a hill, make a deepening in it and pour milk with eggs into it. Add salt and pepper and knead a stiff dough.

Divide dough into several parts, roll out and shred it.
Fry shreds for 2-3 minutes in frying pan until crisp crust.

Put dough off with a skimmer and put on a sieve to make spare fat stream down.

Then put into seep dish.

Prepare caramel. Put honey and sugar into a pan and boil over medium heat until not very thick smooth.

Pour the dough with caramel and blend immediately to make caramel spread evenly among dough slices.
Stick the formed chack-chack a pyramid, cool off and serve.

*Chak-chak is a Tatar sweet made from unleavened dough cut and rolled into hazelnut-sized balls, which are then deep-fried in oil

Gubadia

recipe serves 4-5 persons; preparation time ~ 25 minutes; cooking time ~ 55 minutes
Ingredients:

For dough: 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon yeast, Salt, sugar, OR, 700-800 g. baker's dough.

For stuffing: ¾ cups rice, 250 g. raisins, 3 boiled eggs.

For kort: ½ kg. cottage cheese, 200 ml. milk, 200 g. sugar, 100 g. melted butter (or just butter).

For creamy crumb: 100 g. sugar, 150 g. butter.

Directions:

Prepare kort. Blend cottage cheese with sugar and milk and boil over medium heat, stirring continuously. When mass is red, add butter and continue boiling until smooth.

Prepare creamy crumb. Cut butter in dice, then blend sugar with butter and spread butter until crumb.

Boil rice. Watch it over to make it soft and crumbly, but not overcooked. When it's ready divide into three parts.

Boil eggs and grate it finely.

Knead dough and divide into two unequal parts. Roll out the largest one and put into mould for baking.

Create 5 layers and lay out them into a mould.

The 1st - ⅓ boiled rice
The 2nd - kort
The 3rd - the rest ⅔ of boiled rice
The 4th - raisins
The 5th - boiled grated egg

Cover the pie with the second part of dough, join sides tightly and make several holes with a knife to make spare moisture vaporize.

Sprinkle the gubadia with creamy crumb and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.