Dried apricots were previously used to make porridge. It had to be cooked in advance and rubbed through a sieve. However, nowadays you can speed up the cooking process and make porridge from apricot juice. At the same time, the taste of the modern dish remains exactly the same as in the traditional version.
is a Dagestan paste, which is prepared from ground flax seeds, apricot kernels or other seeds, nuts and some other components.
Try it and love it
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
Khanzadai says that in her native village of Ochlo, Khunzakh region, the dish is always prepared for women after childbirth. And this is not just like that: it contains many useful substances, and it helps the mother’s body to recover. In the first three days, porridge will definitely be on her menu. But they prepared it not only for special occasions. There weren't many sweets in the mountains - and apricot porridge replaced dessert.
— From the very first spoon, this porridge becomes a favorite among many. I associate it with childhood. When I went to the village to visit my grandmother, I really liked it when they cooked it. Apricots do not grow in our village. But they always stocked up on them or dried apricots for future use. I even remember how at the godekan in the village there was an exchange: from neighboring villages they brought their goods, ours offered theirs.
Godekan is a gathering place in Dagestan villages, where men gathered every day to discuss news. Handazai held her own godekan - but only for women. Her establishment operates in the format of an anti-cafe: you can treat yourself and spend time profitably.
— I specially installed shelves where everyone can leave what they have, or, conversely, find something for themselves. We have preserved the tradition of exchanging on the godekan in a modern way. We conduct trainings and master classes, including on Dagestan folk crafts, such as pottery modeling. We are planning the same ones using Kaitag embroidery. Here we will teach you how to cook porridge.
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
To actually prepare porridge the way they did it in the old days, you need to use dried apricots, boil them and grind them through a sieve, the girl explains.
— During the harvest season, we also cooked from apricots, but dried apricots were always on hand. If you wanted to do it faster, you soaked the drying first. My grandmother did not do this and even cleaned dried apricots in an amazing way: she blew into it and only washed it lightly so that it would in no case lose its taste.
Today, porridge is prepared in a less labor-intensive way - using apricot juice. But the taste of such porridge is in no way inferior to grandma’s.
The benefits and harms of pasta
Apricot kernels included in the product contain vitamins (A, E, C, and group B), minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, iodine and others), unsaturated fatty acids (palmitic, oleic, linoleic), proteins, carbohydrates and fiber.
Important! Amygdalin, contained in apricot kernels, is broken down in the gastrointestinal tract into hydrocyanic acid and its salts - cyanides, which can cause severe poisoning if consumed in excess.
- This complex of substances has a beneficial effect on the human body and brings tangible health benefits:
- has a strong anti-cancer effect, comparable in power to medication;
- protects cells from premature aging and improves skin condition;
- helps with respiratory diseases;
- cleanses the body of toxins and improves metabolism;
- improves memory and concentration;
- increases performance and activates the body's defenses.
Urbech is useful for intense sports activities, heavy physical work and during the recovery period after illness. But, like any potent drug, it should be taken with caution. The recommended amount for a healthy adult should not exceed 2-3 tsp. in a day. Overdose may be harmful and cause headache, nausea, and amygdalin toxicity.
When losing weight
Due to the properties of the natural components of the paste, urbech is included in part of diets to normalize metabolism and reduce weight. For these purposes, use pure pasta without additives, each calorie of which saturates the body with energy, suppresses the feeling of hunger for a long time and does not remain in the body as fat deposits.
Maximum effectiveness is obtained from taking the product in the morning during breakfast in the amount of 1-2 tsp.
During pregnancy and breastfeeding
During pregnancy and subsequent feeding of the baby with breast milk, you should constantly monitor how many new biologically active products can be consumed so as not to cause eating disorders or allergic reactions in the nursing mother and child.
In the absence of intolerance, a pregnant woman can take Urbech in the usual amount. During the lactation period, it is advisable to refrain from eating pasta for the first six months, and then you can gradually introduce it into the diet. This will have a positive effect on milk production, strengthen hair and nails, improve skin condition and saturate the body with useful substances.
For children
According to the general recommendations of pediatricians, children under 3 years of age should not be given any types of nuts and seeds, including apricot urbech. The child’s body is not yet ready to digest such heavy food, and the vegetable protein of nuts can act as a strong allergen. Upon reaching the age of three, after conducting allergy tests, you can gradually introduce the paste into the child’s diet.
You should start with a small amount, a pea-sized piece will be enough. If there are no undesirable reactions to apricot kernels, honey and other components of Urbech, you can offer the product to the child 1-2 times a week, 0.5–1 tsp.
How to cook Apricot porridge with urbech recipe step by step
1. In the summer, during the apricot season, I prepare apricot
jam
, so that later you can cook porridge from it. I dilute the jam with water one to one, as you see in the video. But if you don’t have such jam, you can buy natural apricot juice and make porridge from it; you don’t need to dilute the juice with water.
2. Pour the juice into a saucepan and place on low heat. Add sugar to taste. Gradually add all the flour, stirring continuously with a whisk. You can beat the flour lumps with a blender. Cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes without ceasing to stir, otherwise the porridge will stick to the bottom of the pan.
3. Cooking
sauce
. Place the melted butter in a small iron ladle and place it on low heat. As soon as the butter melts, turn off the heat. Add urbech to the oil and mix until smooth. If you want it sweeter, you can add 1 tbsp to this mixture. l honey.
Contraindications for use
If you have an individual intolerance or food allergy to apricot kernels or other components of urbech, you should stop using it. The paste is also not recommended for diseases of the gallbladder, pancreas, or hormonal imbalances. If you are obese, it is not advisable to take the drug due to its high calorie content.
Did you know? There are two types of apricot kernels: sweet and bitter. Bitter varieties have stronger antitumor properties.
Apricot porridge. / Dagestan cuisine.
It is prepared by all the peoples of Dagestan: Dargins, Avars, Kumyks, etc. This is a very healthy and nutritious porridge. Many mothers bring it to the maternity hospital because it helps contract the uterus. This is how I do it.
I take 1.5 liters of apricot juice (good) 400 ml of water 350 grams of flour (I sift it) And urbech to taste. I like it with almond or apricot
So let's get started. Take a pan, pour the juice into it and put it on the fire. In another bowl, mix flour and water. Mix so that there are no lumps and the consistency resembles liquid sour cream. At this time, the juice begins to boil and we add our mixture of flour and water and mix thoroughly. It will become cloudy at first. And so we stir it for 10-15 minutes, continuously! Then put it on low heat and cook for another 25 minutes. Our porridge will become lighter and more liquid. Here she is ready. Serve with urbech) Sent by Umm Umar
Is it possible to make urbech from apricot kernels?
Originally consisting of flax, today Urbech is prepared from all kinds of seeds, nuts and seeds: sesame, pumpkin, hemp, coconut, pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds and many others. You can find a variety of multi-component mixtures with the addition of honey, butter or maple syrup.
Important! You should trust only a trusted manufacturer who uses high-quality raw materials that do not undergo heat or chemical treatment during production.
Apricot kernel paste is unique in its composition, has medicinal properties and, judging by reviews, has the best taste among all Urbich. Urbech made from coconut pulp and apricot kernels is also especially popular.
It is impossible to make urbech yourself using a coffee grinder or blender. In this way, the kernels are crushed into regular nut powder. The real paste is prepared by grinding the seeds on stone millstones to release the oil they contain.
A similar effect can be achieved using a mortar and pestle, but to obtain a minimum amount of product you will have to spend too much effort and time. Due to such difficulties, it is recommended to purchase ready-made urbech.
Apricot juice with pulp for the winter
Apricot juice with pulp at home is a simple and proven way to prepare a very aromatic and natural drink. The taste is rich, and the color is bright and sunny. This drink will delight you on winter days and create a summer mood!
Servings: 5-6 cans
Cooking time: hour
Tip: Absolutely any fruit is suitable for making juice. You can safely take overripe ones, or mix them with unripe ones. The juice will still be delicious.
Apricots 2 kg Water 2.5 l. Granulated sugar 500 gr.
Cooking process
We wash the apricots and cut them into halves, remove the pits, and place the apricots in an enamel pan.
Pour cold water into the pan so that the apricots are 2-3 cm deep in the water.
We put our pan on high heat.
Cover the pan and cook until it boils, stirring occasionally so that the fruits do not stick to the bottom. We do not remove the foam; it will gradually disappear on its own.
Reduce heat and cook for another 5-10 minutes until the apricots soften a little. If the apricots are very ripe, you can reduce the cooking time.
Turn off the stove and remove the pan.
Let the juice cool until slightly warm.
We prepare another container (it can be a bucket or a large pan) and a colander.
Portionally pour the juice with apricots into a colander.
When the water has drained, grind the apricots with a spatula or just with your hands.
Grind until the apricots turn into a mushy mass.
And put the resulting mass into a separate bowl.
We continue to pour the juice in portions and grind the fruit until it runs out.
Now we have two containers with juice and mushy apricots.
Pour cold water over the apricot mixture and stir.
We put it on the stove and bring it to a boil, and then continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
Remove and repeat the procedure with a colander. We only throw what we squeeze out into the trash.
Place the pan with the juice on the fire and boil.
Add granulated sugar; if the juice is very sweet, you can add a little lemon.
After boiling, continue cooking for about 10 minutes. A small foam may form during the process; it can be removed or left.
We put the finished juice into jars and roll them up. Turn the jars upside down and cover to keep warm.
Ready! Bon appetit!
Let's move on to the process of preparing apricot porridge:
- Pour the juice into an aluminum pan and place on low heat.
- While the juice comes to a boil, pour flour into a separate bowl, pour water into it and stir with a stirrer until a homogeneous mass without lumps is obtained. The consistency should be similar to pancake batter, like liquid sour cream.
- When the juice begins to boil in the pan, pour the batter into the pan with the juice, while vigorously stirring the resulting mass.
- After stirring, the mixture will become homogeneous and slightly cloudy.
- Stir without stopping for the first 15 minutes! After 15 minutes have passed, leave the porridge on low heat for another 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, the porridge will become more liquid than it was at the beginning of cooking, and the porridge will take on a glassy, more transparent appearance. The porridge is ready!
Apricot porridge recipe
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
Ingredients:
Apricot juice – 1 liter
Water - 1 glass
Flour - by eye
Urbech - 3-4 tablespoons
Butter - 50 g (or sunflower - 3-4 tablespoons)
Sugar or honey - to taste
Place a saucepan with juice on low heat. Pour a glass of water into a separate bowl and add flour little by little, whisking the mixture with a whisk or spoon until it has the consistency of sour cream.
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
— Previously, again, grandmothers added flour directly to the pan, after cooling it a little, because if you add flour to a hot mass, you definitely won’t get by without lumps. To make cooking easier, this method is now used, although it cannot protect against the appearance of lumps, explains Khanzadai.
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
Check again to see if there is any unmixed flour left in the mixture. The mixture should resemble pancake batter.
After the juice in the pan boils, add sugar to it. A liter of juice will take 3-4 tablespoons - but here, of course, it all depends on taste preferences.
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
Then slowly pour the mixture of flour and water into the pan, stirring constantly. Here the most important stage begins: stir continuously, with a spoon or whisk, like semolina porridge; the main thing is that no lumps form.
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
After we have stirred the porridge well, leave it on low heat and let it simmer. Gradually it will become darker and more liquid - this is normal. In the meantime, let's start preparing the urbech.
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
Urbech is a Dagestan paste made from ground flax seeds, apricot kernels or the fruits of other plants. The product, which is gradually gaining popularity, can already be found on store shelves in major Russian cities.
We will need 3-4 tablespoons of this paste. Add the same amount of sunflower oil and a little boiled water to it. You can also use butter by melting 50 grams in a steam bath.
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
Now add a little honey or sugar to the mass - to taste. Some people also add ground nuts.
If you don’t have urbech, try replacing it with chocolate icing, Khandazai suggests, but then adds:
“But I can’t imagine this dish without urbech; its viscosity and the soft taste of porridge complement each other.
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
Remove the porridge from the heat - approximately 25 minutes should pass from the moment we put the pan with the juice on the stove.
“I was taught this: porridge is ready when the taste of flour is not felt in it.” And here you need to be careful, because undercooked porridge does not have a very good effect on your well-being, warns Khanzadai.
Pour the delicacy into plates.
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
“In my grandmother’s house, as in all Dagestani houses in the old days, porridge was poured into one large tray, a depression was made in the middle for urbech, spoons were placed around this tray and everyone ate it together,” recalls Khanzadai. - This made the porridge seem even more delicious.
We make holes in the plates and pour urbech into them. The porridge can be consumed within two days. It is good to eat both hot and cold. If you keep it in the refrigerator, you will get a kind of dessert.
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
Magidat Abakarova
What is Urbech?
A traditional Dagestan dish is a viscous paste made from flax seeds ground on stone millstones. The product was used by mountaineers on hikes to quickly restore strength and energy.
Important! If you make urbech from roasted nuts and seeds, its taste will become better, but the product will lose its medicinal properties.
A natural high-calorie concentrate of proteins (18%), fats (45%) and carbohydrates (37%) served as a source of food, a small amount of which could quickly satisfy hunger and restore strength after prolonged physical exertion in mountain treks.
Today, urbech is valued as an energy supplement to dietary nutrition, rich in B vitamins, magnesium, calcium and other macro- and microelements. The paste consists of raw ingredients of natural origin, does not contain artificial impurities and does not undergo heat treatment. This is a real “live” product, tasty and healthy.
Comments
thanks for the detailed recipe, but it’s better not to dilute the urbech so much, it shouldn’t turn so pale, they drown it so that it becomes a little thinner
Photo: Evgeny Kostin
— My grandmother Patimat taught me how to cook apricot porridge. In her house, this dish was made when you wanted something sweet and light. In my native village there is no person who doesn’t love her,” says Khanzadai Abdurazakova.
Today she often treats visitors to her ethnic cafe “Women’s Godekan” in Makhachkala with this dish. The girl is engaged in popularizing the culture of the peoples of Dagestan and really loves the national cuisine.
— I have been preparing this porridge since I was 12 years old. And now I make sure to do it at home several times a month. It is difficult to replace a taste like our porridge with anything. And even when I am very busy, my body requires this joy. In stressful situations, chocolate helps some people, but apricot porridge helps me.
Description of preparation:
This is a great recipe that doesn't require any special cooking knowledge.
Everything is extremely simple. Rice must be washed in seven waters. This is what yogis think. For them (and not only for them), the number 7 is generally magical. I don’t know about yogis, but well-washed rice is the key to properly cooked porridge. And if it also contains dried apricots, then it’s just a storehouse of potassium. This moderately sweet porridge is enjoyed by both children and adults. An excellent addition to it is baked milk, which can be added immediately before serving if desired. Then rice porridge with dried apricots becomes incredibly tasty. Purpose: For breakfast / Afternoon snack Main ingredient: Fruits / Dried fruits / Dried apricots / Cereals Dish: Hot dishes / Porridge
