 |
| Lengmans Noodles from Kazakhstan |
For K today in the Blogging Marathon Around the world in 30 days I have chosen Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan
is located in southern Asia between Russia and Uzbekistan. Approximately 80
percent of the land consists of lowlands, plains, and plateaus. Strong winds
often sweep through these flat lands. The climate in Kazakhstan is varied, and
different plants and animals are found according to region. Parts of Kazakhstan
become extremely cold in the winter and very hot during the summer.
The Kara Kum Desert, the world's fourth largest desert, occupies most
of central Kazakhstan.
For
hundreds of years, Kazakhs were nomadic herders who raised qazaqi
qoy (fat-tailed sheep), cattle, ayïr tüye(Bactrian
camels), and at (horses). Kazakh nomads heavily relied on
their animals for transportation, clothing, and food. They usually ate mutton
(sheep), milk, cheese, and flat bread baked on a griddle. They also
produced goods that they traded for grain, vegetables, and fruits at markets in
the more settled cities of south Kazakhstan. Cone-shaped tents called yurts were
their homes, which were easy to set up, dismantle, and carry.
Traditional
Kazakh foods reflect the nomadic peoples and also Middle Eastern influences.
Middle Eastern methods of preparing and seasoning rice, vegetables, kebabs (skewered
meat), and yogurt have been added. Favorite drinks such as black tea and vodka
are part of Kazakh and Russian custom. Russian food is found in abundance in
northern Kazakhstan and larger cities.
So for my choice it was difficult in fact I was about to just give
up when I chanced on this site. It opened a whole new world of Kazakh foods.
Okay girls please do not be put off with my long long procedure. Try it its well worth the effort.
Lengmans Noodles
Cuisine : Kazakhstan
Serves : 6
Ingredients:
For the Stew:
- 1 tblspn of diced onion
- 200 gram mushrooms, cubed
- 1 medium size potato, thinly sliced
- 3 leaves of cabbage, sliced lengthwise or into cubes
- ¼ cup of bean sprouts
- 1 capsicum, cubed
- 3 tomatoes, diced
- 8 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- ½ cup of diced coriander, chopped
- salt to taste
- 2 tsp of ground cumin
- 2 tblspn of olive oil
For the Dough:
- 2 cups of maida
- A little less than 2/3 cup of water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- olive oil as needed
For boiling
noodles:
- 4 cups of water
- 3/4 to 1 tsp salt
Method:
Let’s mix
the dough:
- Add the salt with flour in a bowl and mix well.
- Add water a little at a time mix as you go.
- Mix with a little force in the beginning and towards the end use less and less water each time. You may not need all the water recommended.
- After mixing the dough smooth the dough by kneading with fists and folding for about 5 min.
- In case you need water to because the dough feels tough dip your hand in the water container .Make sure your dough is completely smooth.
- Spread some oil on the top of dough, cover the dough with plastic wrap first, and then towel on top, let sit for 30 min at room temperature.
As the dough is resting let’s make the
stew:
- Heat the kadhai/wok add oil and heat at high heat.
- Add onion to the cooking pan, stir.
- Add the potato and stir fry often until all sides of potato turns brown.
- Add cumin and mushrooms stir fry for 2 or 3 min.
- Add tomatoes, stir fry for 5 min or until the juice of tomato comes out nicely.
- Add cabbage, stir fry for 2 min.
- Add red pepper, and bean sprouts stir fry for 2 min.
- Add coriander stir.
- Add about ½ cup of water to cover all goodies, add garlic, and allow it to boil for 5-10 min or so. Add salt to taste.
Let’s now
make the noodles:
- Cut the dough into few pieces, roll each piece into long thin band, On top of each layer, brush with plenty of vegetable oil to keep them from sticking to each other.
- Roll each band into long round thinner band and roll onto a plate as below. Start with inner-most layer first then next outer layer.
- Brush the top of circled dough with plenty of oil, cover with plastic wrap, and keep at room temperature for 30 min. If you feel your dough is still a bit hard after 30 min, keep it a bit longer, so it is easier to stretch.
- Meanwhile boil water in a deep pot with salt. Keep the water simmering as you get on with the next steps.
- Pull out the rolling band from one end, stretch it to even thinner (this is to be done in a wooden board but since I don’t have one I did it on the kitchen platform.)
- Actually there are more steps here which I could not manage but in case you are interested you could roll the noodle on hands, press hard on the wooden board, press it few times, and press it till you see some noodle is almost broken. Check here.
- Then toss the stretched noodle in the boiling water.
- It’s very important here is make sure you stir the noodle thoroughly by chopstick or folk. This way your noodle will not stick to each other. Cover the pot, allow it to boil. Open the lid let it continue boiling for 3 more minutes
- Take out the noodle from the pot.
- Toss the noodle into another container with cold water to cool down the noodle a little. Depending on the person you are serving the noodles can be custom served.
- Place one portion as needed on a plate; break the noodle by hand if needed.
- Add about 1/2 cup stew on top and serve.
- Laghman needs to be served to each individual one by one, it tastes great when it is fresh.
Notes:
- If you feel your noodle turned out a bit bland, add some extra salt to the boiling water. So your next batch noodle will turn out better.
- And this water after boiling noodle can also be served as soup.
Enjoy!!!
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44
Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!
