Mongolia

Nomadic herders’ cuisine of mutton, flour and dairy; dumplings, salty milk tea and fermented mare’s milk. That is the short version of what Mongolia cooks. Look for Buuz (steamed dumplings of minced mutton and onion, Lunar New Year essential), Khuushuur (deep-fried flat pastries stuffed with seasoned mutton, Naadam festival favorite) and Khorkhog (mutton slow-cooked in a sealed pot with fire-heated stones and vegetables). Eaten by the hundred at Tsagaan Sar, when families fold and freeze thousands outdoors in the weeks before the lunar new year. This atlas has 34 Mongolia dishes catalogued below, from everyday cooking to food kept for festivals and special occasions.