Russia is one of the largest and most multinational states on the whole globe. That is why in our country you can meet the most unique culinary traditions. It is very difficult to make a single concept of traditional Russian cuisine. Each of the peoples who inhabit our great lands, for many centuries, formed their own culinary preferences and traditions. The brightest representative is the Tatar cuisine. Let's take a closer look at its unique features.
A little bit about the history of the Tatar cuisine
Since ancient times the Tatar people were considered nomads. They were constantly moving across the steppe of the country with whole families and carrying all their property. Of course, in such conditions, cooking was not at the highest level and food could not surprise with its diversity. But in any case, it must have the necessary energy value for the normal functioning of the human body and be very nutritious.
The basis of the Tatar cuisine has been meat for many centuries. These peoples were forced to carry with them the necessary stock for food. Most often, the Tatars preferred to cook lamb and horse meat. They used beef for food extremely rarely, and for pork, the Muslim peoples in general have a special relationship. That's why they do not use pigs for food.
Tatars prefer to eat stew and boiled meat. His cooking could be done only during parking. For preparation, large boilers were used, which were called kazans. Tatar meat cookers also used fat meat broth as intended.
Well known to everyone, shish kebab is a traditional Tatar dish. Shish kebabs nomadic peoples roasted on skewers over coals. Moreover, Tatars are considered a very resourceful people. They procured the necessary amount of meat for future use, pre-salting, heating, podvyamivaya or drying it. Kyzylkk is a dried sausage made from horse meat. This unique dish is today one of the traditional components of the Tatar cuisine.
Sheep and horses in the steppe besides meat also gave milk. Accordingly, sour-milk and dairy products could play a fundamental role in the formation of the diet of the Tatar people. Tatars were preparing katyk and koumiss, which also for several centuries had become traditional dishes of nomadic peoples.
Those times are in the distant past. The historical way of life of the Tatar peoples has radically changed. They managed to become aboriginal inhabitants of many regions of our country. Moreover, the Tatars began to conduct active economic activities and moved to a settled way of life. This fact once again served as an impetus to the active development and formation of traditions of the Tatar cuisine. They took much from the kitchens of other nations.
Also this people began to actively engage in agriculture, growing rye, wheat, millet, oats and peas. Thanks to this, on their tables they were able to deliver dishes from cereals, various kinds of porridges and unleavened bread. In addition to all this, the Tatar people began to actively use green and black tea. Although you can not say that in their kitchen you can often meet dishes of poultry, but poultry farming has become an integral part of the life of the Tatars.
Modern achievements of the Tatar cuisine
Tatars today densely populated the entire Eurasian continent. Therefore, they mostly try to adhere to the culinary traditions of the regions in which they live. But in the territory of Crimea, Kazakhstan, Astrakhan region, Bashkortostan and, of course, Tatarstan, centuries-old culinary traditions have been observed for many centuries.
Modern Tatar cuisine was able to absorb a huge number of culinary customs of many Russian peoples, Udmurts, Mari, Kazakhs and other territorial neighbors. But its basis has traditionally been cereals and meat dishes, pastries and sour-milk products. Also do not forget about the famous Tatar soup and soup, which are prepared on meat broths and seasoned with cereals and noodles.
Traditional Tatar cuisine largely reflects the oriental culinary traditions. That is why it has a unique feature - almost all dishes have a high fat content. The recipes use different types of fats. It can be both creamy and vegetable oils, as well as animal fats: horse, sheep, poultry, beef and many others. After all, for very long trips through the steppes a person should have good reserves of vital energy.
The dishes listed above make it very difficult to limit the entire diet of Tatar cuisine. These nomadic peoples also love to eat poultry, fish, mushrooms and lots of fruits. But these dishes can not be considered the main components of the Tatar cuisine.