Krygyztan Krygyz food and drink we tried 2013

Kymyz / Kumis

This lightly fermented mare's milk is the national drink of Kyrgyzstan. Kymyz are offered to guest as a sign of hospitality. This drink is also said to have a long list of health benefits.

We had a taste of kymyz at Chong Kemin Valley on 5 Aug 2013. We were camping near a local family's yurt and the lady of the house came over and offered us some kymyz. Kymyz is light, not as creamy as cow's milk, with a tangy / soury taste and a little salty too. It doesn't go down very easily and it is definitely an acquired taste. Nevertheless, we still drank the entire glass.



Barrel of mare's milk at Kochkor Bazaar on 10 Aug 2013.

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Kurut

This highly nutritious snack is a staple of the nomads in Kyrgyzstan. High in protein and low in fat content, these dried cheese balls can last for years. Nomadic herders carry it with them as food and snack when they travel long distances with their herd.

Kurut are added into various Kyrgyz dishes such as soups and stews. They are even added to Kymyz, the Kyrgyz national drink made from mare's milk.





Having a taste of Kurut at Chychkan Valley. These calcium bombs are a little smaller than a ping pong ball, super hard to bite into. Once we managed to scratch a small bit off, the dried cheese balls have a strong but quite nice flavour.. They are very salty though.

Click here to see how Kurut are made.

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Borsok

Dough cut up into small squares and fried, leaving them airy on the inside.
Borsok is prepared on special occasions such as weddings and holidays. It is served to guest as a sign of welcome.
It is also used as part of funeral rites and as offerings to the deceased.



Borsok was served together with our dinner on our stay at a yurt camp at Tash Rabat on 13 Aug 2013. We had the borsok with some homemade jam.

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Kuurdak

One of the main and oldest Kyrgyz dishes, this is a one pot meal of meat, fats, potatoes and onions.

Kuurdak was one of the dishes served for our dinner at a yurt camp at Tash Rabat on 13 Aug 2013.
This was mutton with potatoes, carrots, onions and cabbage. This dish is very filling and could be eaten on its own.

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Shorpo

Soup with meat and vegetables

The shorpo we had at a yurt camp at Tash Rabat (13 Aug 2013) with pieces of mutton, wheat / barley, potatoes and vegetables.

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Manti

Manti are dumplings filled with meat and chunks of fats and onions.

The manti we ordered for lunch at Uzgen. These were piping hot and as soon as you bite into them, hot juice squirts out. Found it safer to cut them into two on the plate first. Except for the chunks of fats (see the yellow blobs in the photo) which we did not like, the manti were tasty.

We ordered manti several times as we travelled through Kyrgyzstan and noticed that in some places, the fat chunks in the manti can be more than the amount of meat and onions combined. We eventually stopped ordering manti when the fats got too much.

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Shashlik

Shashlik are similar to kebab. These are meat skewered and barbecued on a charcoal grill. Shashlik are usually served with onions and cucumber.

Chicken shashlik with paloo we had for dinner at Kochkor Ata (about 50km west of Jalal Abad on the A010)

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Paloo

Paloo is a rice dish with meat, vegetable, onion and herbs. Paloo is similar to plov.

The Paloo we had at Balykchy town, western edge of Lake Issyk-Kul.

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Laghman

Noodle in a spicy salty soup with meat, vegetables and herbs.

The laghman we had at Balykchy town on the western edge of Issyk-Kul Lake.



Laghman for lunch at Naryn on 13 Aug 2013.



Enjoying our hot bowl of laghman for lunch with hot tea and some bread. Just nice as it was a cold day.

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Wild berries and local fruit jam

Black currants and buckthorn berries sold in large buckets / jars at Balykchy town on the western edge of Issyk Kul Lake. These are usually made into jams.



Homemade jam served at dinner and breakfast during our yurt stay at Tash Rabat.

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Local fruits

Apricots, plums and apples are abundant in summer.
We had loads as we travelled through Kyrgyzstan.



Apricots are also made into jams. We bought a bottle of apricot jam at Tash Rabat.

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Typical meal in Kyrgyzstan are served with non (bread) and salad (cucumber and tomatoes typically), sweets, jam and tea.