posted by CA 02-24-101 5:16 AM
Laghman from Kyrgyzstan
Noodles: Make dough by stirring together 1 kilo of flour, 2 eggs, 2 tsp of salt and about 125 grams of water. Make a stiff noodle dough, roll out thin, roll up like a jelly roll and slice across to make narrow noodles about 4 or 5 mm thick. Drop into boiling salted water and cook until done. Drain.
Gravy: 500 g meat (traditionally lamb), 300 g fat (traditionally tail fat), 300 g cabbage, 3-4 onions, 3-4 potatoes, 1-2 carrots, 3-4 tomatoes, 5-6 cloves of garlic, 2 Bulgarian peppers, salt and pepper to taste.
NOTE: Bulgariana peppers are used a lot in central Asian cooking. They are long and look sort of like a banana pepper. They are not hot but are a little more tangy than a bland bell pepper. They stay really crisp. If you use a bell pepper, you might want to add a radish or 2 to add some tang.
Cut the meat, fat and potatoes into small cubes. Cut the radish, cabbage and pepper in thin slices. Cut the onion in rings, the tomato in wedges and chop the garlic. Now melt the fat and saute the onion. Add the meat and brown well. Then add garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, pepper and carrots, stir well and cook until about half-done. Add a little more water than is necessary to cover the meat and veggies and add salt, peppper, cabbage and radish, if any. Cook over a low heat until thoroughly cooked -- abouit an hour, more or less.
Reheat the noodles by briefly dropping them in boiling water. Drain well so the gravy will soak in. Place noodles on a large plate and top with the meat and veggie gravy. The gravy should soak into the noodles and the meat and veggies stand up on top. You can put a second layer on top of the first. Best served on a large plate for everyone to serve him or herself.
This is a traditional Kyrgyz dish and laghman shops are popular sources of good, cheap food.