What is the taste of Kazakhstan? A detailed guide

When first encountering Kazakh cuisine, few people can immediately figure out what's what and where to begin. A meal among Kazakhs is a whole ritual, during which specific rules are observed regarding the meal itself, the seating of guests, and the order in which dishes are served. All of this is extremely interesting and unusual, so we will try to tell you as much about it as possible.

A Bit of History as an Appetizer

To understand the cuisine of another people, you need to grasp what influenced it and how, shaping it into what it is today. Every dish has its own history and often comes about not at the chef's whim, but out of necessity. This is precisely what characterizes Kazakh cuisine – almost all the recipes here are very ancient and were invented by nomads hundreds of years ago, based on accumulated survival experience.

Believe it or not, there weren't many opportunities for culinary refinement in the harsh steppe. People cooked with what was available: meat, milk, and a very limited selection of grains and vegetables. Constant migration made settled farming impossible, so during winter, the Kazakh diet consisted almost entirely of semi-finished meat and dairy products prepared in the summer. But despite this, the variety of cooking methods and bold combinations of ingredients have made Kazakh cuisine one of the most recognizable and exotic in Central Asia!

Meat Dishes That Will Make You Terrifyingly… Curious!

Kazakh cuisine is not about tiny portions and delicate plating. It’s about hearty, quite fatty, and almost always meat-based dishes that have, since time immemorial, served one single purpose: to keep a person full for a long time. This is why their robust appearance can sometimes be a bit intimidating, but rest assured, once you try them, you're bound to fall in love with Kazakh cuisine. So, let's go through the most surprising and interesting ones:

• Sirne – this is perhaps the most tender and delicious dish you could ever try. It is made from lamb meat that is first aged in milk and cream, giving it a creamy flavor and making it even more tender. After long simmering over a fire, it literally melts in your mouth.

• Qoi-bas – yes, this is that dish made from a boiled sheep's head, the photos of which flood the internet when you search for "Kazakh cuisine" and which people love to use to scare foreigners. But for Kazakhs, this tasty and nutritious dish plays a sacred role: during celebratory feasts, the head is divided and distributed among the guests in a specific order, accompanied by special blessings. Don't be afraid to try it – it is truly delicious!

• Qazy – this is incomparable Kazakh classic: a boiled sausage made from a special cut of horsemeat taken from the ribs, because that's where it's most tender and fatty. Combined with a specific set of spices, qazy acquires an amazing taste and aroma. It's impossible to stop eating it, especially while the dish is hot and juicy.

• The most important dish, without which no Kazakh feast is complete, is beshbarmak. Pieces of freshly boiled meat, often several types, laid out on layers of special homemade pasta (kespe), and drizzled with aromatic broth and onions – this is the quintessence of simplicity and flavor. Incidentally, this dish is prepared differently in all regions of Kazakhstan: in the west, fish is sometimes used instead of meat, while in the east, rice replaces the pasta.

Exotic Drinks of the Nomads

Since time immemorial, milk has served as the primary source of calcium and the basis for most drinks in the Kazakh land. There are quite a few types – cow's, sheep's, mare's, goat's, camel's – and consequently, many products were made from it.

We will list the main ones that are definitely worth tasting! But we warn you in advance: don't rush to conclusions after the first sip; Kazakh fermented milk drinks need to be savored properly to reveal all their creamy richness and multifaceted flavor. So:

Qatyq. You can start your tasting with this, as it has a pleasant, slightly sweet taste, is quite thick in consistency, does an excellent job of quenching thirst, and, oddly enough, hunger too.

Ayran. You can find this already prepared in "on-the-go" bottles in any local supermarket. The sourish, refreshing milky taste of ayran is perfect for washing down hearty national dishes and aids in quick digestion.

Kumys (Koumiss). This drink made from mare's milk is widely known outside of Kazakhstan, largely due to its extensive list of health benefits (so you've likely heard of it). The taste of kumys can seem quite sharp at first, but after a few sips, you'll notice sweet and sour notes, and you might even compare it to beer or kvass. Overall, it's a very refreshing drink, often with a slight alcohol content.

Shubat. Camel's milk is fattier than mare's milk, and the drink made from it is thicker, softer, and creamier in taste.

In addition to drinks, a huge number of fermented milk products are made from milk, many of which are quite familiar: sour cream, cottage cheese, butter, cheese, etc. The only difference is that often, these were turned into long-lasting semi-finished products by drying them in the sun or dehydrating them in warmth.

Unlike Any Other: What Makes Kazakh Cuisine Special?

The answer is simple – its uniqueness. It emerged as a consequence of a nomadic lifestyle and was created to help people survive in harsh conditions. It lacks the delicate sophistication of European cuisine, where each ingredient in a dish requires a specific ritual before being assembled into a beautiful still life.

Kazakhs can prepare almost everything using a qazan (cauldron), in which they fried, stewed, and boiled food thousands of years ago and still do today. You also won't find the spicy, pungent, or sweet-and-sour notes of the East and Asia, nor seafood or a wide variety of vegetables and fruits. However, you will find combinations of meat, offal, dairy, and flour products that you could never even have imagined!

It's incredibly tasty, juicy, creamy, tender, and hearty – that's roughly how you could describe nearly every second dish in Kazakh cuisine. Centuries later, all the recipes remain relevant and regularly appear at modern feasts, delighting not only Kazakhs themselves but also foreign tourists, many of whom come to Kazakhstan specifically for gastronomic adventures.