Tatar Pies

While in Kazan for a week and a half, I've been exploring Tatar food again. Tatar food includes elements of Russian and Central Asian cuisine, as well as unique regional dishes.

One of my favorite aspects of Tatar food are the many pastries. I've already written about gubadiya, which is a pie filled with rice, kort (a curd cheese), and raisins. I've also written about kystybyy, which are like tortillas filled with potatoes. In addition, there are pastries filled with chicken and rice and other assorted elements.

For an American, however, one of the most exciting elements of Tatar cuisine is that there are pastries that look like American pies! The slice above is from a pie made with dried lemons, apricots, and prunes. The tartness of the lemons mixes with the sweetness of the apricots and prunes for a sharp but sweet dessert. Delicious! There are also pies made with sour cream (and sometimes cranberries) that look and even taste somewhat like cheesecake.

Tatar Dairy Products

As you can tell, I'm a big fan of dairy products of all types. In Tatarstan, I've tried a few dairy products than are different from the products in other parts of Russia. One is Katyk (pictures above), and the other is kort (below).

I first became familiar with katyk in Uzbekistan, where it is called qatiq. I thought that qatiq was simply the Uzbek word for kefir, but now I have learned that the two products are actually different. In Tatarstan, kefir and katyk are sold side-by-side but are not the same. Kefir has a much more bitter, sharp flavor, while katyk is milder and is basically like plain yogurt. Like kefir, however, it is usually drunk rather than eaten with a spoon.

I have been unable to figure out exactly the difference in how kefir and katyk are made and why they taste different. If anyone has the answer, please let me know! I think that katyk is simply a less sharp version of kefir more like yogurt.

Another interesting Tatar dairy product is kort, which I also heard of in Central Asia but do not remember having tried. Kort is similar to tvorog and but is cooked. It is a curd cheese that is drier than tvorog and a little less sweet. One explanation I have found for how kort is made is that a starter culture is added to milk as it is boiled down to form kort, which is darker in color than tvorog, probably because it has been cooked. It's flavor is very mild, and it is traditionally mixed with butter, baked with honey, and eaten with tea. As I explained in an earlier post, it is also baked into pastries like gudabiya.

Chak-Chak

A traditional Tatar dessert that is also popular in other parts of Russia and in nearby countries is Chak-Chak. In some ways, I can liken it to a giant rice-krispie treat. The dessert is made with a dough of flour, sugar, milk, and eggs that is cut into small pieces and then fried. Next the pieces are coated with a honey/sugar mixture and formed into a shape. Here in Tatarstan, you can find different shapes of chak-chak sold as gifts and party desserts. Usually they come in the form of large pyramids wrapped in festive paper with bows.

The picture below shows a less festive square-shaped mass of chak-chak. Although it may appear that you could eat the pieces of chak-chak individually, in fact, they are all bound together by the honey/sugar mixture, much as the rice krispies in a rice-krispie treat are bound together with marshmellow. To eat chak-chak, you need to pull off a piece or cut it with a knife. The flavor is pleasantly sugary and doughy without being sickeningly sweet.

For a recipe, see this link.

Tatar Cuisine: Kystybyy & "Nauruz"

This week I am visiting Tatarstan and as a result have the chance to taste some traditional Tatar foods. A few foods I will not be taste-testing because they have meat in them, but they sound interesting:

- Duslyk: A cold appetizer of smoked horsemeat topped with boiled potatoes and pickled onions.

- Elesh: a small pot-pie like dish filled with chicken and potatoes

- Ech-pochmak -- a triange of dough stuff with beef, potato, onion, and butter


I have tried several other foods, however. One of these is kystybyy, which I have had several times and enjoy very much. They half-moon-shaped fried pastries made with unleavened dough not unlike a tortilla and stuffed with mashed potatoes. I have had them with melted butter and a little salt sprinkled on top for a very delicious warm appetizer or a main dish.


Another dish I have tried and enjoyed was simply called "Appetizer Nauruz." Nauruz is the Central Asian New Year celebration held in March. I'm not sure whether this dish is usually eaten at Nauruz or not, but it is quite good. It's a cold appetizer of raw tomatoes stuffed with thinly sliced apples, shredded cheese, and walnuts in a mayonnaise sauce. I am usually not a particular fan of raw tomotoes, but the slight sweetness of the apples combined with the acidity of the tomato mixes extremely well.


There are a few other Tatar dishes I hope to have the chance to try while here. One of these is Gubadiya "Uyenchek," which is supposed to be a pie of unleavened dough not too different from kystybyy but stuffed with rice, raisins, dried apricots, kort (a dairy product similar to tvorog), egg, and butter. I have not been able to find a place that is serving this, however.