Что такое Кюкю? Готовим, как для Шаха! Сталик Ханкишиев

You cannot even imagine how many faces this uncomplicated dish is. Let's start with the fact that it is distributed almost throughout the East, in one form or another, it exists among almost all peoples, from North Africa to almost India. It is cooked with chicken, eggplant, beans, garlic, green peas, meat or minced meat, with potatoes and spinach, add katyk (yogurt), almonds and pistachios, honey and a variety of spices, arrange it in a multi-layer or cost only one herbs, on in the winter they prepare a special greenery - avalik, and in the summer they can cook it with tomatoes or berries. The names of this dish are innumerable, for example, that in Azerbaijan itself in some places a very similar dish is called not kyukyu, but chikhirtma. What are the general principles of cooking this dish? Everything here, just, is very simple, but it is important to disassemble and understand the main points for the following reasons. • Firstly, this dish is typical and easily transformable, that is, it can be prepared from almost anything. • Secondly, this dish often uses foods that require different cooking times or even different cooking principles. • Thirdly, this is a very simple dish, which is convenient for beginners to learn, but there is room for experienced chefs to turn around! Well, let's try to come up with and cook a kyukyu with me, without leaving this place? Look, I wanted to ask you. It so happens that a handful or two of ready-made rice remains of the pilaf or, in general, in some way. What will you do with it - really throw it away? It is not good, and should not be done if the rice is good and fit for consumption. And I’ll also ask. When preparing Azerbaijani pilaf, a special crust is arranged at the bottom of the cauldron, called kazmakh so that the rice does not burn. The rice does not come into contact with the too hot bottom of the cauldron and does not burn, but the crust, on the contrary, is soaked in oil and fried. Sometimes it is made from dough, sometimes from lavash, potatoes or ... from a part of rice. Yes, very simple! Mix a small part of rice with egg yolk, add turmeric, salt, pepper, a couple of tablespoons of katyk (yogurt) and put the resulting thick mixture on the bottom of the cauldron greased with oil. And it just so happens that this crust is almost the most delicious in pilaf, and the children stand by the cauldron when they put the pilaf on a dish, in order not to miss a piece of this ruddy and crispy joy. I am sure that if you have never tried kazmah, then you will love it the first time! You probably know yourself that egg beating is often used in cooking. I think, why not beat eggs for kyukyu before cooking or stirring them into herbs? Yes, this is not an omelet in the traditional sense of the word, because an omelet can be added with greens, but there are so many herbs that the eggs themselves look like just an addition, a small component of this dish. But what happens if you beat it? I think it will be better. Larger volume, lighter and more porous structure, allowing better retention of odors and tastes from herbs. Then, if you beat, it is better to beat the whites separately. Well, and that's the thing, we already have an idea of where to use the yolks! How can we combine all these circumstances to our advantage? It's very simple! We will prepare a two-layer kuku. Let the first layer in contact with the pan be kazmah. As I said above, the simplest kazmakh is prepared very simply: the yolks are mixed with katyk and rice. Need to salt? Necessarily! Even in ordinary fried eggs, I try to salt the yolks more than the whites, because it tastes better. Add turmeric - let the color be beautiful, let the smell be traditional for Azerbaijani cuisine. Now let's go with the main layer, with the greenery. You can take a wide variety of greens. Very often, for example, a combination of dill, cilantro, parsley, onion, spinach and sorrel or some other sour herbs is used. But my passion is how I love green young beans! Boil it in salt water for five to ten minutes, depending on maturity or tenderness, and then pour it with fried onions, garlic, and pour an egg - it's very simple, very laconic and very tasty! Well, why don't we take fresh young beans for our kyukyu, especially since we already imagine how to deal with them! And the leek? Have you ever tried it just baked over coals, whole? Try it! Then you just need to cut it into pieces, pour it with lemon juice and eat it, eat it with meat and a glass of good wine - there is hardly anything simpler and at the same time so harmonious! Let's take the leek too. A little bit from the green part - ten fifteen rings are not very thick, and the same amount from the white one. A couple of cloves of garlic, huh? What do you think of garlic? Be it young and tender spring garlic, then at least a whole shoot, or be it ripe - well, at least a couple of cloves? For appetite? I assure you - there will be no smell like from a person who ate garlic!