Kuyrdak

Ingredients

Offal

• 400 glamb liver
• 400 glamb heart
• 300 glamb kidney
• 200 glamb lung, optional
• milk, for soaking the liver

Fat

• 150 gmutton tail fat, diced

Pot

• 4onions, sliced
• 5potatoes, in chunks
• 2 clovesgarlic
• 1 tspcumin
• 1bay leaf
• salt
• black pepper
• 150 mlwater or broth

To finish

• 1large bunch dill and parsley

To serve

• flatbread
• sorpa broth

Directions

1. Trim the offal carefully: cut the hard white core from the kidneys, the tubes and valves from the heart, and any membrane from the liver.
2. Soak the kidneys in cold salted water for 30 minutes and the liver in milk for 20, then drain and dry both thoroughly. The soaking takes away the sharp metallic edge, and drying afterwards is what lets the pieces sear rather than steam grey.
3. Cut everything into pieces of about 2 cm. Render the tail fat in a heavy pot until the pieces are crisp golden scraps, then lift them out and reserve them.
4. Add the onions between stages and let them soften and colour in the rendered fat. Add the garlic, cumin, bay, salt and pepper. Add the potato chunks and about 150 ml of water, cover, and cook 20 minutes until soft.
5. Keep the liquid minimal. Kuyrdak is a fry rather than a stew and it should finish nearly dry, with fat and a little concentrated juice.
6. Scatter the reserved crisp fat scraps and a great deal of chopped dill and parsley over.
7. Serve very hot with flatbread, and often with a bowl of clear sorpa broth alongside. It is the dish made immediately after a sheep is slaughtered, when the offal must be used the same day and the rest of the animal is still being butchered.

Technique

• Freshness is everything with offal, and this is a dish built around meat that cannot wait.
• It is served at gatherings as a first hot dish while the main meat is still boiling.
• Some households include a little of the fat-tail sausage, kazy, alongside.

Substitutions

• Beef offal in place of lamb.
• Butter or oil if you cannot get mutton tail fat, accepting a milder result.

Variations

• Kuurdak, the Kyrgyz version made with meat rather than offal.
• Without potato, as a pure offal fry.
• With more onion and a splash of broth, served looser.

History

Liver, heart, kidney and lung fried with onion, made on the day an animal is slaughtered.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kuyrdak?

Kuyrdak is a main from Kazakhstan: sizzling fry of liver, kidney and heart with potatoes. Liver, heart, kidney and lung fried with onion, made on the day an animal is slaughtered.

How long does Kuyrdak take to make?

Kuyrdak takes 40 min of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kuyrdak?

Yes, within limits. Beef offal in place of lamb. Butter or oil if you cannot get mutton tail fat, accepting a milder result.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kuyrdak?

Soak the kidneys in cold salted water for 30 minutes and the liver in milk for 20, then drain and dry both thoroughly. The soaking takes away the sharp metallic edge, and drying afterwards is what lets the pieces sear rather than steam grey.