How to cook Kumyk hinkal: secrets of national cuisine

Each people has its own traditions, and they concern not only public or practical life. For example, people living in the same territory often combine common eating habits. So, in the Caucasus, hinkal is considered one of the most famous and popular dishes. It is prepared not only on weekdays, but also on holidays, decorating the table with favorite dishes. This dish has several varieties. There is Hinkal Lezghian, Dagestan, Avar, Chaban, Lak, Kumyk and Chechen. Each of them is good in its own way. For example, you can consider what the Kumyk hinkal is, how it is cooked and how it is served to the table.

Classic Edition

Kumyks are the most ancient indigenous people of Dagestan, which, according to some scholars, is a direct descendant of the Khazars. Perhaps this kinship somehow influenced the formation of its national cuisine. Kumyk hinkal - a dish that is popularly called "beshbarmak". For its preparation, it is necessary to have four main ingredients:

• Lamb;
• salt;
• Flour;
• Water.

Over time, the recipe of food gradually changed. Today, in order to make a real Kumyk hinkal, the owner will need the following products:

0.5 kilograms of flour, egg, 1 kilogram of lamb, a glass of water, salt, 50 grams of garlic and 250 grams of sour cream (it can be substituted for 100 grams of tomato or 300 grams of curdled milk).

Preparing the dish is very simple:

1. First, the meat should be put in a saucepan, and then pour with water and cook for a long time on low heat, remembering to periodically remove the foam.
2. Upon its readiness, it must be separated from the bones, put in a separate bowl and covered with a lid.
3. Add salt, water and egg to the flour, knead a thick dough. For ripening, it should lie for at least half an hour.
4. Ready dough neatly rolled into a layer thickness of not more than 1 millimeter, and then cut it into squares measuring 3 centimeters.
5. Billets boil in the broth left of the meat.
6. Separately prepare garlic dressing. To do this, you can use one of the components (curdled milk, tomato or sour cream). Only crushed garlic should be added to it.

On the table, this dish is served in three plates. In one there is meat, in the other - boiled dough, and in the third - refueling. In the Caucasus, almost all residents are very fond of and respect this dish.

Simplified version

In fact, Kumyk hinkal - this is the dough, which is usually eaten with a fragrant dressing. It is not necessary to feed meat to it. That's why sometimes khinkal is prepared in a simplified version. For such a case, a minimum set of products will be required:

200 grams of garlic clove and 100 grams of tomato paste.

The cooking process is as follows:

1. Flour should be poured with water and kneaded sufficiently hard dough. And it is not necessary to salt it.
2. The finished semi-finished product should be rolled into a thin layer, and then carefully cut it into small pieces. They are usually rectangular in shape.
3. Boil the billets in salt water. Ideally, in this case it is better to use meat broth.
4. To prepare the dressing, the pasta must first be diluted with water, and then boiled, adding a little salt.
5. In the cooled mass to enter chopped garlic.

This hinkal is suitable even for vegetarians. Delicate and fragrant, it will be an excellent option for an easy dinner.

Quick and easy

By changing a little technology of cooking, you can make no less delicious Kumyk hinkal. The recipe is practically unchanged. The only difference is that the billets from the dough are cooked with meat this time. It is very convenient and much reduces the total time that is spent on cooking. For such an option, products will be required in the following relationship:

For 500 grams of flour, as much lamb, 200 grams of water, 3 cloves of garlic, 5 grams of salt, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and 20 grams of sunflower oil.

To cook such a hinkal is even easier:

1. First, the meat should be rinsed well, and then pour it with cold water and put it on the stove. Cook for at least an hour on low heat under the lid.
2. In the water, dilute the salt, and then combine it with flour and knead the dough. It should be put in a bag and leave to ripen for 40 minutes.
3. Tomato paste diluted with broth to the state of gruel.
4. Heat oil in a frying pan. After that, you need to add tomato mass to it, bring it to a boil and immediately turn off the fire. After cooling to the mixture, you need to add garlic, passed through a special press.
5. The dough is rolled into very thin layers, which are then divided into flat rectangles with a sharp knife.
6. Billets send in a saucepan, where the meat is cooked. As soon as they come up, they can be caught with a noise and put in a deep plate.

All components of the dish should be served separately.

National Khinkal Avar

In the Caucasus, almost every dish includes either meat or dough products. Avar hinkal is very similar to Kumyk. The difference is only how the boiled dough looks. To prepare this dish, the local housewives usually use:

Beef pulp, water, salt, bay leaf, pepper peas, flour, kefir, soda, garlic, tomatoes, butter and fresh herbs.

Preparation of this dish includes three main stages:

1. First, the meat should be poured with water, and then cook it for at least half an hour, adding salt and a little spices. When ready, the product needs to be wrapped in food foil so that it does not cool off so quickly.
2. In Avars, Hinkal is prepared in the form of rectangular cakes. Cooking is not difficult. First, the flour must be poured onto the table with a slide. Then, making a groove in the middle, add soda and salt, and then, gradually introducing kefir, knead a soft enough dough.
3. Roll out the semi-finished product into a layer 5-6 millimeters thick, cut it into rectangles with a side no more than 4 centimeters.
4. Brew the test billets in the broth. This will take 3-4 minutes. Products should increase in volume.
5. Each piece must be pierced with a fork, otherwise after cooling it will become stiff and completely unattractive.
6. To prepare the sauce, the first thing to do is to warm up the oil. And then, adding salt, tomatoes and pepper to it, stew for about 20 minutes.
7. Enter chopped greens and stew the mixture for another 10 minutes.
8. In conclusion, add crushed garlic, diluted with water, mix and let the sauce stand for a while.

The rule of serving a meal to the table can be arbitrary. True, this time instead of the usual thin plates on the plate will be delicate and lush cakes.