Today - khinkal! Avars are one of the peoples of Dagestan with a unique history, traditional culture and their own national cuisine. The guest of this episode of the “Kitchen with an Accent” program, Yolanta Rabadanova, reveals the secrets of preparing such a popular dish in Dagestan as Avar khinkal .
Khinkal is a very common dish in Dagestan and each nation has its own recipe for preparing khinkal; the Avars also prepare it. For Avar khinkal we need the following ingredients:
- beef meat, preferably meat on the bone, so that the broth is rich;
- flour;
- soda;
- salt;
- egg;
- 2 glasses of kefir.
Not everyone can cook Avar khinkal the first time, but by watching our video you will learn all the secrets of the Avar khinkal recipe!
Step-by-step recipe for Avar khinkal
Let the meat cook in cold water to make the broth richer. You don’t have to cut the meat, but put it in large pieces. The meat will cook for at least 2 hours.
Recipe for making sauce for Avar khinkal
While the meat is cooking, you can make a sauce for the meat from tomatoes - tuzluk. We need to prepare the dough 30 minutes before the end of cooking the meat.
Tomato sauce recipe
The sauce requires tomatoes and vegetable oil. Grate the tomatoes. Dagestanis love spicy things and garlic, so Dagestanis often make khinkal with garlic, tomato sauce, or sour cream with garlic. We will prepare two types of sauce: tomato and garlic. After we have grated the tomatoes, put a frying pan on the fire and pour vegetable oil into it so that it spreads over the frying pan, pour in the tomato and heat the frying pan thoroughly, along with the tomato paste, which should be stewed. After the tomato is stewed in the frying pan, you need to add salt and you can remove the frying pan from the heat. Peel the garlic and squeeze it into the tomato sauce.
Sauce with sour cream and garlic
Garlic is usually crushed with a mortar, but you can also squeeze it out. Add 2 tablespoons of sour cream to the garlic mass and mix well.
Preparing the dough
Now let's make the dough for the Avar khinkal. You will need the following ingredients: two glasses of kefir, flour, salt according to the eye. For each glass of kefir, add a level teaspoon of soda. Knead the dough well. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Next, the dough is divided into parts, rolled out into sausages and cut into diamonds like in the video:
?t=12m33s. You can also cut it into squares, as you wish.
Avar khinkal is fluffy, so a thick dough is rolled out, which during cooking swells a little more due to soda. Thin khinkal is a Kumyk khinkal, the dough is taken ordinary, from water, salt and egg, rolled out thinly, cut into diamonds or squares and boiled in the broth in which the meat was cooked, in addition to the table, boiled potatoes are also served. Khinkal is also prepared not only from beef and lamb, but also from dried meat. Preparation from dried sausage is also common. Khinkal soup is a Lak khinkal, prepared from ordinary dough, which is rolled into thin sausages and cut into small squares from which shells are molded. When this khinkal is boiled, it is served with broth along with it. The finished dough can be completely rolled out with a rolling pin and cut into diamonds.
Perhaps, at a time when God gave people languages, Caucasians received books with recipes.
The air of Dagestan carries around the area the aromas of alpine meadows and the alluring smells of local cuisine... While traveling around Dagestan, you will see all sorts of wonders, wherever you look. And for those who like to try national delicacies, this is a paradise. Khinkal is one of the most beloved and traditional dishes of Dagestan.
Newcomers will ask, what kind of animal is this and why can you offend the locals by calling a khinkal a khinkali? Yes, because khinkal is a national Avar dish; it is prepared from flour and kefir, with meat and various sauces.
What about Georgian khinkali? They are made from the same ingredients, but the philosophy is different.
Puffed khinkal
In each of the multinational regions of Dagestan, you will definitely be offered khinkal, amazingly tasty, uniquely aromatic and always subtly different from the previous ones. For example, to prepare Avar khinkal you will need 500 ml. kefir, a couple of eggs, salt and soda. The dough is whipped fluffy, like for pies.
For the broth, take lamb or beef and cook until tender.
As a seasoning, onions are fried with tomatoes until it becomes a tomato paste, and then salt and a little black pepper are added. To add some piquancy to the dish, add a couple of cloves of crushed garlic. The dough is rolled out into a thick sausage and cut into pieces 1 cm thick and about 6 cm long, piercing each piece with a fork on both sides. The resulting flat cakes are thrown into boiling salted meat broth and cooked until they float to the surface. Place it on the table in large bowls, pouring broth over it. Meat and sauce are served separately.
Every woman in Dagestan must be able to cook khinkal, otherwise she will not see marriage until the end of time.
Khinkal Darginsky
According to tradition, a young wife, immediately after the wedding and in the morning after the wedding night, independently prepares a traditional dish for all her husband’s friends. If there are a lot of guests, and this is usually the case at Caucasian weddings, the bride has to stand at the stove all night.
Did your friends like the dish? The lovers will be happy all their lives.
Dargin khinkal is considered the most exquisite in Dagestan - the thinnest dough rolled into a roll and cut into small snails. Khinkalins are steamed, greased with oil and generously sprinkled with nut herbs and other spices. At first glance, this khinkal resembles oriental sweets.
It was not for nothing that overseas guests confused Dargin khinkal with dessert and ate a whole pan of them, dipping them in raspberry jam. The scandal was avoided only thanks to the high status of the guests.
Sweet Dagestan khinkal
Separately, we can say about the army khinkal. This is the only sweet type of khinkal in Dagestan; it is prepared before sending off your son to the army. They make army khinkal without water and meat, but with added sugar. Wheat dough is traditionally kneaded with milk, eggs and butter. The difference between army khinkal and others is the addition of black cumin and hemp seeds.
In the original recipe, Dagestani mothers squeezed the prepared sausages in their palms to obtain a clear fingerprint. As a result, each housewife got her own unique shape.
Then the khinkalins are fried in a large amount of boiling oil until golden brown. Place the hot pieces on paper to remove excess oil. If desired, you can sprinkle the finished treat with powdered sugar. This dessert stays fresh for a long time, and your son will definitely never forget about his home, where his favorite delicacy awaits him.
Having tasted another Caucasian masterpiece, it seems that it is impossible to come up with anything more delicious. But no, Dagestan housewives surprise you with new delights every time, and it seems they have countless delicious recipes.
Secrets and crucial moment in preparing Avar khinkal
As soon as the dough is ready, you need to remove the meat and add boiling water and salt. Next, the broth is cooked over high heat, wait until the water boils and throw the khinkal into the boiling broth. A crucial moment in preparation: do not skip cooking the dough. The donuts that are placed in the boiling broth are timed and cooked for about 3-4 minutes. Close the lid of the pan after mixing the chopped pieces of dough. The secret and trick of the Avar khinkal is that when the boiled diamonds are pulled out, you need to quickly pierce them with a toothpick or some kind of stick - each khinkal, so that the cooked crumpets release the air and remain as fluffy as they were when cooking, see how this is done in our video recipe:
?t=17m42s, otherwise khinkal won’t work!
How to understand that Avar khinkal is ready? We will see that it rises from the broth, but to be absolutely sure, we need to test it personally, and then very quickly pull it out of the broth. If it is overcooked, it becomes gray in color and very thin. They say that if the khinkal is ready, it bounces on the colander like a ball or hangs on a toothpick.
Cooking khinkali can be divided into two parts by placing one portion into the boiling broth at the beginning, and then the other.
Preparation
Avar khinkal is prepared in four stages:
- Cook the broth.
- Prepare and cook the dough.
- Mix the sauces.
- We serve the dish.
Step 1: Making the broth
Throw the meat into cold water, add salt, pepper, bay leaf to taste and bring it all to a boil. Cook over medium heat for 35-40 minutes, remembering to remove the foam. Then we take out the meat and wrap it in foil to keep it warm. Strain the broth and pour it back into the container.
Step 2: preparing the dough
- Mix flour with water and kefir and stir.
- Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.
- The result should be a dense lump that will not “spread”.
- Roll out honestly into a thin layer.
- Cut it into small diamonds, up to 3-4 cm long.
- Transfer the ready-made dough diamonds into the pre-prepared broth and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Be sure to stir the dough, otherwise it will quickly stick together.
- Cook khinkal for 3-5 minutes over high heat.
- Remove the dough with a slotted spoon and prick it with a toothpick to prevent the dough from swelling.
Step 3: Roll out the dough into a thin layer, about half a centimeter thick. Cut it into small pieces (diamonds) of 3-4 centimeters.
Step 4: Heat the broth to a boil and throw the dough into it, cook over high heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Step 5: Take out the khinkal and pierce it with a toothpick so that they do not swell.
Step 6: Prepare the tomato sauce. Grind the peeled tomatoes in a blender or on a grater, add salt and pepper to taste. Place the crushed mass in a frying pan heated with oil, fry and add a little water. Cook until pureed and turn off.
Step 7: Squeeze the garlic, add salt and sugar to taste and mix.
Step 8: Prepare the sour cream and garlic sauce. Chop the garlic and parsley, mix it all with sour cream. Salt and pepper to taste.
Step 9: Serve the dish!
Types of Dagestan khinkali
In Dagestan, each nation has its own recipe for the national Dagestan khinkal - Kumyk, Lak, Dargin. Lak and Kumyk khinkal are prepared using unleavened dough: salt, water, egg, Dargin khinkal is prepared with yeast, using yeast dough and wrapping it in a roll. Avarsky is prepared with kefir or sour milk with soda. The recipe for Avar khinkal is one of the most complex of all other types of Dagestan khinkal; its difficulty lies in cooking it correctly and pulling it out in time.
More than 30 nationalities live in Dagestan, their languages are very different, and national dishes are also different, but at the same time, Dagestanis cook all Dagestan dishes: both the Lak family prepares Avar khinkals and the Avar family prepares Lak khinkals. Dagestanis are very hospitable and invite each other to visit for ready-made khinkal.
All about miracles
A thin Dagestan pie, a flatbread made from unleavened dough with various fillings, is a miracle. Every house had a cast-iron frying pan on which thin miracles were fried; The southern Lezgins have afarars with vegetables and herbs, the Laks have burkiv with potatoes with cottage cheese (usually “sloughed” ones were used), and the Avars have botishel based on cottage cheese. There are miracles with pumpkin and, of course, with meat. This is a simple folk food that has been passed down from generation to generation. The Dargin miracle is prepared in the oven on thinly rolled yeast dough with minced meat, thinly sliced potatoes, onions, dill seeds and cumin. Lak boat-shaped kachi pies are made on unleavened dough, also with minced meat, but whey is added to the filling, which gives a piquant and sour taste.
What do Dagestanis cook for the holidays?
On the holidays of Eid al-Adha and Kurban Bayram, Dagestanis mainly prepare dishes from lamb, kurze, miracle, khinkal, a lot of sweets and pies. Dagestanis put a lot of pepper and garlic in their food, they love spicy dishes. And Dagestanis like to eat almost all their food with cheese. They also use all sorts of spices, seasonings, herbs: cilantro, bay leaves, black cumin, which is very often used in Dagestan cuisine. They also often prepare dishes with dough, for example, burchak shurpa - bean soup, which is often prepared from dried meat, beans and homemade noodles.
How to prepare Kumyk khinkal
1. Wash the chicken, gut it if necessary, and cut it into pieces. Let it cook in salted water until done.
2. Knead the dough. Sift the flour onto a flat surface. Let's add a little salt. Make a depression in the center of the flour mound. We beat the eggs in there. Pour in a glass of water. Knead the dough with your hands. Roll it out and cut into squares.
3. Take out the cooked chicken and place it on a plate. Pour off part of the broth (1-2 ladles). We will still need it. Throw the dough squares into the remaining broth and cook until tender.
4. Peel the garlic and either pass it through a press or crush it with a knife and chop it finely. Pour sour cream (200 grams) into one bowl. Add half the garlic to it. Add the second half to the poured broth (also a bowl).
Serve in portions: add chicken and khinkali. We eat, dipping in sauces. Bon appetit!
What national dishes do Dagestanis cook?
First of all, one of the main dishes of Dagestan cuisine is khinkal. Also chudu - flat cakes with filling, with the same unleavened dough, which is rolled out very thin, and the filling is placed inside, which can be meat or cottage cheese, maybe with herbs. Dagestanis are very fond of greens, both in kurza and in miracles with nettles and halta. Previously, in Dagestan they prepared dishes that were convenient to take with them, for example, shepherds took flat cakes with them, including khinkali. It was believed that if a girl wants to get married successfully, then she had to cook a delicious khinkal, and even now during a wedding, according to one of the traditions, the bride must cook a delicious khinkal in her wedding dress.
Khinkal is the hallmark of Dagestan cuisine and every girl simply must be able to cook it. Most often, it is women who prepare khinkal. Dagestanis also love kurze - the same dumplings, only they are molded in a braid, they are prepared in the same way as dumplings, with the same filling, only they are molded differently. The filling can be meat, cottage cheese or potatoes and even eggs.
