Modern Chechen cuisine has its roots going back far into the times when Chechens were forced to eat the products they produced themselves. Despite the rather limited choice of products, the Vainakhs (as the Chechens and Ingush call themselves) were able to create varied and very nutritious dishes that still delight many today.
Features of national cuisine
Many decades ago, this country used only those products that people could get themselves. First of all, it was a variety of herbs and meat. Men went hunting and brought the catch home, and women prepared all kinds of dishes from it with the addition of a large number of spices.
This nuance was determined by the flora in this region. Then the Chechens began to raise livestock and poultry themselves, which somewhat expanded the range of possible dishes.
Due to the Muslim faith in the country, the use of pork in food is strictly prohibited, so people mainly eat lamb, beef and chicken. Chechens are very fond of a variety of dough products.
In national cuisine, corn flour is used more. Yeast is practically not used in baking. Chechen cuisine is famous for its aromatic sauces and broths.
Culinary traditions
Vainakhs love nutritious and healthy food, full of natural ingredients and exuding spicy aromas. Chechen cuisine widely uses lamb, beef, and poultry. Eating greens in the East is simply elevated to a cult! Chechen women add cilantro and basil, nettle and thyme to their food, and they also love wild garlic. The common belief that the national cuisines of the peoples of the Caucasus use a lot of very hot seasonings is not a myth at all.
It boasts Chechen national cuisine and baked goods. Chechen women bake a variety of pies with savory and sweet fillings and make bread from many types of flour.
Those who have tried Chechen delicacies in oriental restaurants certainly cannot forget their unique taste. A few simple recipes will add to the collection of any housewife.
Zhizhig galnash
The combination of meat and flour products is very popular in this country. One of these dishes is zhizhig galnash. To prepare it you need to prepare:
- 500 g corn flour;
- 250 ml water;
- 1 tsp. salt;
- egg;
- 600 g of any meat except pork.
Separately, you will need to set aside the ingredients for the sauce:
- 1 head of garlic;
- 60 g broth;
- salt;
- thyme and black pepper.
First of all, you need to set the broth to boil. To do this, place the meat in a pan of water and put it on low heat. After boiling, the foam is removed and it is salted.
At this time, flour is poured into a bowl and a depression is made in it. An egg, salt, and water are placed here. Steep dough is kneaded and two equal parts are formed.
From one piece, roll out a layer 1 cm wide using a rolling pin and divide it with a knife into thin strips of 2 cm. Each of them is cut into pieces of 1 cm. They need to be slightly stretched in length with your fingers. Then the galnysh is boiled in boiling salted water until cooked.
For the sauce, you need to pass the garlic through a press and place it in small deep plates. Pour broth into each and add spices to taste. The galnysh is laid out on a large plate and the meat is cut into large pieces on top. If desired, guests can wash down the dish with broth. The meat is dipped in the sauce.
Eastern sweet halva
The Vainakhs are very fond of all kinds of sweets. One of the most popular is halva. It is prepared not only from seeds, but also from many other things. For example, there are such recipes.
Nut kernels (600 g) need to be fried, poured into boiling honey, and stirred. Pour the mixture into a tray, smooth it out, and let it cool. Using a large knife, cut into portions.
A mixture of flour (corn and wheat) is fried in hot oil along with sugar, forming a thick porridge-like mass. After hardening, the halva is cut into diamonds.
Zhizhigan chorpa
This dish is served as the main dish in Chechen cuisine. It has a rich and bright taste. To prepare it you need to prepare:
- 200 g meat;
- 20 g tomato paste;
- 10 g fat;
- 10 g flour;
- 3 large onions;
- 2-3 medium potatoes;
- 1 head of garlic;
- 2 tomatoes.
It should be remembered that pork cannot be used in this recipe for Chechen cuisine, as in any other. This nuance is associated with faith in the state.
The meat must be washed well and cut into small cubes. They are fried until golden brown and filled with broth or water. The onion is cut into half rings or large cubes and sautéed.
Tomato paste, tomatoes and frying are added to the broth with meat. This mass is boiled for 20-30 minutes. Then the broth is drained, and a sauce is prepared on its basis with the addition of flour sautéed until brown.
The potatoes need to be fried. It is added to the sauce along with pressed garlic and meat. All this is boiled for 15 minutes. When serving, chopped herbs and other spices are added to each bowl.
Potato
Photo: AIF/Maria Tikhmeneva
Potatoes are grown here in the mountains. And apparently that’s why it’s so delicious. This is noticeable even in soups. The taste is special, rich, interesting. It’s strange to say this in relation to potatoes, it seems that there could be something so special about them, but nevertheless, Chechen mountain potatoes are simply an excellent thing; in central Russia it’s rare to find something so tasty.
Recipes of Chechen cuisine from dried meat
It became a tradition that people prepared the necessary food products for the winter. This includes meat. Considering that there was nowhere to store fresh food, we had to dry it. Nowadays such a product is also used with pleasure in recipes of national Chechen cuisine.
Bean soup with dried meat will please any gourmet. It is very nutritious and has rich shades. To prepare it, you need to prepare in advance:
- 1.5 liters of water;
- 1 cup beans;
- 1 large onion;
- dried meat 300 g.
First, wash the beans and put them on the fire. After boiling, after 15 minutes, it is placed in a colander and washed. Then it is put back on the fire in cold water and cooked along with the dried meat.
Sautéed onions and all the necessary spices are also added there. Cook the soup for about 1 hour. When serving, chopped greens are added to the plate.
Potato soup with dried homemade sausage can satisfy a person for half a day. It has a very rich taste. To prepare it you will need:
- 300 g dried sausage;
- 1 tbsp. spoon of tomato paste;
- 1 onion;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- 3 potatoes;
- homemade or store-bought noodles;
- greenery.
Dried sausage is cut into small pieces and fried along with onion, tomato and garlic for 15 minutes. Then the whole mass is poured with boiling water and cooked together with finely chopped potatoes until they are ready.
At this time, noodles and herbs are added to the soup and boiled for another 15 minutes. It is served in small deep bowls.
Kebabs
Article on the topic
Sunflower oil and kiwi. How to make real Caucasian shish kebab The Caucasus is the place where you need to eat shish kebabs and grilled meat. As we have already said, there is excellent lamb, in fact, this is everything that a good kebab needs, excellent meat. One of the most common recipes is marinating in sunflower oil, salt, pepper and mountain herbs.
Evgeny Telegin, brand chef of the Kupol restaurant, Grozny: “It’s important to get good lamb here. Our lamb is special. Animals graze in the mountains, on mountain meadows, there is excellent grazing, wonderful air - so our lamb does not have any extra smell (which, by the way, people often don’t like in lamb, you just haven’t tried good lamb). Our lamb does not need special marinades: a little mountain herbs (basil, oregano), onions, salt and pepper. This is all. We apparently marinated the lamb on a spit, also with mountain herbs and a pesto-like sauce made from our herbs and walnuts.
Chechen chicken
In the traditional cuisine of this country, a special place is given to this type of meat in the menu. Basically, recipes for Chechen cuisine using chicken have a mild taste.
To prepare you will need:
- meat 500 g;
- milk 250 ml;
- onion (1 pc);
- corn flour 100 g;
- egg.
The chicken is boiled and cut into small pieces. The broth is not poured out, it will come in handy later. The onion is sautéed in a frying pan and added to the meat. This mixture is poured with milk and put on fire to simmer.
At this time, dough for dumplings is prepared from flour and eggs. They are made in the shape of diamonds and boiled in broth. Pieces of chicken and dumplings are placed on a plate. Separately, broth is poured into bowls and diluted with milk.
Water
Photo: AiF/Maria Tikhmeneva
Local residents say that beautiful and tasty water flows from their taps. Maybe. But it’s true that bottled water sold in stores tastes great. Clean, fresh and delicious. So don’t choose the usual “Holy Spring”, try local brands.
In addition, if you go on an excursion to the mountains, almost every village has its own spring. The water there is very cold, the kind that makes your teeth ache, but it’s delicious. The guides will be happy to tell you a lot of stories about how it is also healing. Quite possible.
Ramson with cottage cheese
This plant grows in large quantities in the region, so using it in your cuisine is considered mandatory for the Chechen people. Ramson is used in many dishes. One of them is a simple and quick snack.
To prepare it, you need to take 300 g of homemade cottage cheese and a bunch of different greens. Also included as an appetizer is one fresh cucumber and salt and black pepper to taste.
You need to finely chop the washed greens in advance. The cucumber and peel are grated. All ingredients are blended with a blender until smooth. It is placed in the refrigerator for an hour.
You can serve the appetizer in a bowl or spread it on toast as a pate. Each piece is decorated with a sprig of greenery. Bon appetit!
Chepalg
It's hard to imagine Chechen cuisine without baking. Mostly, residents of the republic prepare yeast-free dough. They love to bake a variety of flatbreads and pies. For the chepalg you will need:
- 450 g flour;
- 500 ml kefir;
- 1 tsp. salt;
- 1 tsp. soda;
- 250 g cottage cheese;
- 1 egg;
- 200 g butter.
First, mix the egg and cottage cheese very thoroughly using a fork. Salt and soda are added to kefir. This mixture is poured into flour and a very soft dough is kneaded. It is divided into 10 parts.
Each one is given the appearance of a ball. Use your hands to form small circles out of them and place one tablespoon of filling inside. The dough is collected from the edges to the center and pinched. Each chepalg is pressed down a little with the palms.
One part of the dough is rolled out to the required thickness with a rolling pin. The dimensions will depend on the chosen shape. This layer is baked in a dry frying pan on both sides.
When turning the cake, pierce it in several places with a knife so that a large air pocket does not form. The finished products are covered with a towel. Then the butter is melted and the sediment is drained from it. It must be poured onto a large dish.
The flatbreads are dipped in boiling water and then in melted butter. Separately, boil the filled products in salted water for 20 minutes. The dish can be served together or cooked separately. Flatbreads are perfect as an addition to soups.
Miracle
Many gourmets claim that this dish is akin to dumplings. Perhaps this is true. What is known for certain is that miracles are one of the oldest dishes that Chechen cuisine has been proud of for many centuries. Recipes for dough dishes, so beloved by the Vainakhs, are passed down from mouth to mouth, and today you can treat yourself to a miracle not only in the Caucasus, but also in many restaurants of oriental cuisine. To prepare this delicacy, use a knife to finely chop a piece of beef and a piece of lamb, weighing a total of half a kilo. Add onion, grated or chopped in any other way, to the minced meat. Add some salt and pepper and let it brew for a bit.
We will prepare the dough like this: pour flour in a heap, make a depression in the middle, add salt, soda, kefir and melted butter. We knead a not very stiff dough, divide it into pieces, and shape them into balls. Let's start creating the miracle. Roll the balls into flat cakes of 2-3 mm. Place minced meat on one flatbread, cover with the second, and pinch the edges. We put it in a greased form, and make cross-shaped cuts on the tops of the miracle. Place in a hot oven for 10 minutes.
Add a piece of butter to the cuts and serve. The Vainakhs miraculously drink healing tea made from oregano and thyme.
Hingalash: pumpkin roll
Chechen cuisine is distinguished by its unusual combination of flavors. For example, desserts are served with salty sauces. Such dishes of Chechen cuisine include khingalash.
To prepare it you will need:
- 500 ml kefir;
- 2 cups of flour;
- 20 g yeast;
- 300 g pumpkin;
- 3 tbsp. spoons of sugar;
- 200 g sour cream;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- greenery;
- salt, black pepper.
This amount of ingredients will make 10 servings. First you need to prepare the filling so that it has time to cool. To do this, the pumpkin is peeled and cut into small cubes. The vegetable is boiled and removed from boiling water with a slotted spoon. Sugar and salt are added to it. Then the mass is ground into puree.
To prepare the dough, you need to mix kefir and yeast. A pinch of salt and slaked soda are added here. Gradually add flour and knead the dough. He needs to rest for 20 minutes.
Then it is divided into two even parts. Roll each one out into a thin flat cake. The filling is laid out on them and the rolls are rolled. The edges need to be pinched well.
Place the roll in a horseshoe-shaped frying pan and fry on each side for 10-15 minutes. Then they are baked in the oven for the same amount of time. They need to be cut into portions after they have cooled completely.
The sauce is prepared quite quickly and simply. The greens are finely chopped and added to the sour cream. Squeeze the garlic here and mix well.
Prices
Quite acceptable, especially for residents of the two capitals. Even in central cafes and restaurants, zhizhig-galnash will cost you 300 rubles. A portion of barbecue on South Street will cost the same, although you will have to buy pita bread and salads separately, but there is quite a lot of meat, you can eat enough. Coffee in mobile coffee shops costs around 100 rubles.
For breakfast, bread with a quarter of a circle of cheese can be bought for 100 rubles, and this is enough for at least two, and maybe three. The price of vegetables, fruits and herbs depends on the season. But, unfortunately, although the prices for them are noticeably lower than in Moscow, vegetables do not cost a penny here; a considerable part of them is brought from Krasnodar.
Corn pudding
Another delicious Chechen dessert is prepared very simply, and any housewife can implement its recipe. To prepare it you need to take the following:
- 200 g corn on the cob;
- semolina 20 g;
- milk 50 g;
- sugar 20 g;
- margarine 5 g;
- egg;
- 10 g each butter and crushed crackers;
- 1 g cinnamon.
Separate the corn kernels and boil them. Then grind in a meat grinder. This mixture is diluted with milk and allowed to boil. Add semolina here and boil for another 5 minutes. Sugar and cinnamon are added during the process.
Then the mixture is cooled to 500, and the yolk and whipped white are added to it. The resulting mass is placed on a greased baking sheet and baked in the oven until cooked.
Dolma
Probably, none of the national cuisines of the Caucasus can do without dolma! Chechen cuisine was no exception. Vainakhs wrap the filling of lamb, tail fat, rice and onions in cabbage or grape leaves. Each housewife selects the proportions of products at her own discretion. Some people put boiled rice in the dolma, while others prefer to stuff the leaves raw - after all, during the long stewing process they will be steamed until cooked.
Chechen dolma is stewed in large cauldrons, topped with tomato sauce, stewed carrots, and fried onions. Sometimes sour cream or homemade cream is added to the sauce.
