Baursak, the Kazakh pancakes. Central Asian cuisine

 

Happy Nauryz! Today the families of Central Asia celebrate the arrival of spring which, according to the ancient calendar, coincided with the beginning of the new year. The tables are overflowing with dried fruit, cold meat, mare’s and camel’s milk, cheeses of various types, desserts and baursak, fried bread; which today I propose to cook together.

The baursak is the Kazakh pancake, which accompanies parties and celebrations; consumed as an accompaniment to the main courses. Here is the list of ingredients and the preparation step by step.

Ingredients                                                                                             Useful preparation time: 1 hour and a half

700 grams of 00 flour

200 ml of milk

200 ml of water

1 teaspoon and ½ of salt

2 teaspoons of sugar

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 liter of sunflower oil

Preparation

Heat the milk and pour the yeast into it. Let it cool for about ten minutes. Add salt and sugar.

Pour the flour inside a large bowl. Add the water and stir with a spoon. Add slowly the milk, continuing to mix until the ingredients are blended.

Now work the dough with your hands, until it becames compact and soft. Leave it to rest for two hours.

 

 

 

Now roll out the dough until it tapers to a maximum of 5 mm. You can now cut the dough with a glass or in rectangular cuts with a side not longer than 7 cm. With the first one you will get pancakes of circular shape, with the second one of rectangular shape; the choice is up to you.

Prepare a pan with plenty of sunflower oil, heat it to high temperature and put the cut-out kneaded forms to cook. Fry for two or three minutes. You will see that the pancakes will swell, becoming almost balloons, a sign of a good kneading job.

Once fried, let the pancakes rest on kitchen paper for about ten minutes. The baursaks are good both hot and cold and last several days. Ideal for festive breakfasts accompanied with homemade jams. Enjoy your meal!

For other traditional recipes, click here.