Beshbarmak Recipe from Kazakhstan
Beshbarmak is a traditional Kazakhstan dish made with tender lamb and a flavorful onion broth served over a bed of noodles. It’s a great meal for a casual weeknight or a unique dinner party!
Servings 6
Calories 527kcal
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Platter
- Pot(s)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lb lamb shoulder bone-in and cut into smaller pieces
- 3 tbsp distilled white vinegar to clean the lamb
- Water
- 3 yellow onions 2 cut into thin rings & 1 diced
- 18 oz lasagna noodles I use oven-ready lasagna
- Fresh Ground Black Pepper to Taste to taste
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh dill
- 2 bay leaves
- Parsley Dill, and Scallion for topping, optional (I used all 3)
Instructions
- Place the 2 ½ lb lamb shoulder in a large bowl and drizzle with 3 tbsp distilled white vinegar. Make sure the vinegar coats the outside of the lamb, then fill the bowl with cold water. Pour out the water, then rinse the lamb in more cold water.
- In a medium pot, place the lamb meat and fill the rest of the pot with water. Bring the water to a boil, skimming the foam off the top of the water as it is cooking. Boil for 10 minutes.
- When the lamb is done being boiled, pour out the water. Rinse the lamb in water again.
- Then place the lamb in an instant pot and fill the pot the rest of the way with water (about 12 cups in a 6 quart pot. If you can fit 16 cups in your 8 quart pot, that is even better!).
- Place the lid on the pot and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes, ending with an Instant Pressure release. If you are cooking the lamb on the stovetop, cook the lamb in a large pot with 16 cups of water. Cook with the lid on for about 2-3 hours, until it is fall-off-the-bone tender.
- When the lamb is done cooking, remove it from the liquid and set the remaining broth aside. Remove the lamb from the bone and set the meat aside.
- Pour the reserved broth into a large pot and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add the 2 onions sliced into rings into the broth and allow them to cook until soft (about 15 minutes). Remove from the broth and set aside.
- Salt the broth lightly (remember you will still be eating it, so do not oversalt!). Then add the 18 oz lasagna noodles into the boiling water and cook until soft. Remove from the broth.
- Run the pasta under water until it cools. Then cut the lasagna noodles into thirds to make smaller squares. Set aside.
- Remove about 2 cups of broth from the pot and set aside the remainder.
- Finally, make the chyk sauce. To do so, place the reserved two cups of broth in a smaller pot. Add the third chopped onion, 2 bay leaves, salt, and pepper to taste. Bring this to a boil until the onions are tender, about 5-8 minutes.
- Time to serve! To prepare your platter, pile the pasta squares onto a large platter. Then add the cooked onions on top of the pasta, then the lamb meat on top of the onions. Pour your chyk sauce (the 2 cups of broth) over the platter. Sprinkle with parsley, chives, and dill if desired.
- Divide the larger portion of brothinto four serving bowls. Sprinkle each serving bowl with fresh dill. The platter goes in the center of the table and each person gets their own bowl of broth!
Notes
Recipe adapted from Ingmar App.
Copyright The Foreign Fork. For educational or personal use only
- Lamb Shoulder: Lamb is the most authentic choice, but you could also use beef. Any cut of beef will work. If you can get your hands on it and are feeling adventurous, horse meat is the truly authentic ingredient in this dish!
- Yellow Onions: Yellow onions provide the best flavor for this recipe without being overwhelming.
- Lasagna Noodles: I used oven-ready noodles but you could also use regular lasagna noodles. Most recipes for this meal call for making your pasta from scratch. You can certainly do this instead! Check out this article for a recipe for homemade pasta.
- Herbs: Fresh dill, bay leaves
- Parsley, Dill, and Scallion for Topping: These are all optional but I used all three
- Traditionally this dish is made with only onions but I have seen people add potatoes, mushrooms, and carrots to the dish for a heartier meal.
- Cooking the onions in the broth is the traditional way to prepare this dish, but you could also caramelize the onions until golden brown which would provide excellent flavor to the meat.
- Removing the foam as the lamb cooks will keep your stock clear and the taste more delicious.
- The best way to tell your meat is done is whenever it is falling apart. The meat in this dish should be tender, not mushy or dry. If you can use your tongs to easily pull the meat off of the bone, it is ready!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 527kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 101mg | Potassium: 729mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 9IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 4mg