Zhent

Ingredients

The grain

• 400 gmillet
• or 400 g talkan
• ready-roasted ground grain
• or 400 g roasted barley flour

The fat

• 200 gbutter
• softened
• or 200 g clarified butter
• or 150 g melted butter
• and 50 g rendered fat

The sweetening

• 150 gsugar
• or 150 g honey
• or a mixture of both
• a pinch of salt

The additions

• 100 graisins
• or dried apricots, chopped
• 50 gdried curd, crumbled
• kurt, if you can get it
• 50 gwalnuts or almonds
• chopped, optional

To shape

• a lined shallow tray
• or small moulds
• or shaped by hand

Directions

1. Add liquid and it is food immediately. Butter and dried fruit keep as well. That combination recurs because it works. Rinse the millet and drain it well. Then dry it thoroughly on a cloth. Use a medium heat, not a high one. Add the millet in a single layer.
2. Work in batches if you have a lot. Do not walk away at any point. Keep it moving the entire time. They turn golden brown gradually. Tip them out of the pan immediately. Do not leave them in the hot pan. Spread them out on a cold tray. Let the grains cool completely first. Traditionally this is done in a mortar.
3. Work in small batches in a grinder. Grind it down to a coarse flour. Sieve out anything too coarse. Regrind those pieces if you like. Butter is the usual fat used now. It keeps far longer without refrigeration. Butter gives the best result for most cooks. Beat the softened butter until pale.
4. Beat it for two or three minutes. Add the sugar and beat it in well. Add honey now if you are using it. Add the pinch of salt to the pan. Salt sharpens sweetness noticeably. Add it gradually rather than all at once. Mix it in thoroughly after each addition. The mixture will become very stiff.
5. Work it with your hands if a spoon fails. It should hold together when squeezed. Add a little melted butter if it is too dry. Add more grain if it is too soft. Add the raisins or chopped apricots.
6. Add the chopped nuts if using them. Add the crumbled kurt if you have it. They keep for a very long time. Press it down firmly and evenly. Aim for about two centimetres thick. Press it hard so it holds together. Smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
7. Take small handfuls and press them into rounds. Both are done and both are traditional. Chill the tray in the refrigerator. Give it at least two hours to set. Use a large and very sharp knife. Cut it into squares or diamonds.
8. Cut small pieces, since it is very rich. Serve it cool rather than cold. Take it out twenty minutes beforehand. Fridge-cold butter tastes of very little. Serve it on a plate with other sweets. That is exactly what a travelling food needs. Keep it in an airtight container. It keeps considerably longer if made with clarified butter. Wrap it well before you freeze it. Talkan itself keeps for months.

Technique

• Roasting the grain is what makes the dish. Raw ground grain tastes of almost nothing; roasted, it is deeply nutty. The roasted ground grain is called talkan, a Central Asian food in its own right that is also eaten simply mixed with milk or tea.
• Small grains burn in seconds, going from golden to black while you look away. Stir constantly, take them off when they smell strongly nutty, and tip them onto a cold tray — residual heat in the pan keeps toasting them. Burnt grain is bitter and the batch is lost.
• Grind to a coarse flour rather than a fine powder. Some texture is wanted in the finished cake.
• Press it hard into the tray. Loose pressing gives a cake that crumbles apart when cut.
• The butter is what holds it together, so it must be chilled to set and will soften at room temperature. Serve it cool rather than fridge-cold, though — cold butter tastes of very little.
• Ready-made talkan is sold in Central Asian and Russian grocers and saves the roasting and grinding entirely. It is the practical route for most cooks.
• Kurt is dried salted curd, rolled into balls and sun-dried hard. Crumbled into zhent it gives a salty sour tang against the sweetness, which is the point of including it. It is an acquired taste eaten on its own, and not every version of zhent uses it.
• Honey gives a softer set and a rounder flavour; sugar gives a firmer, cleaner one. Many cooks use both.
• Tree nut allergy can be severe and nuts are commonly included. Tell guests, and note the dish works perfectly without them.
• Zhent exists because Kazakh society was historically nomadic and food had to travel and keep. Roasted ground grain stores well and needs no cooking; pressed with fat and dried fruit it becomes compact, energy dense and ready to eat. Clarified butter was traditional precisely because it keeps without refrigeration. Similar grain, fat and dried fruit foods recur in many cultures because the combination works.

Substitutions

• Ready-made talkan from a Central Asian grocer replaces home-roasted and ground grain entirely.
• Roasted barley or wheat flour replaces millet; all three are used.
• Clarified butter replaces fresh butter and keeps far longer, which is the traditional choice.
• Honey replaces sugar for a softer set and a rounder flavour.
• Dried apricots, dried mulberries or dried cherries replace raisins; all are used across the region.
• Kurt can be left out entirely, and many versions have none.
• The nuts are optional and the dish works without them.

Variations

• Talkan eaten simply with milk, tea or sour cream is the everyday form of the same roasted grain.
• A version with far more kurt is noticeably saltier and is preferred in some households.
• Zhent made with sheep tail fat rather than butter is the older and richer version.
• Kyrgyz, Uzbek and Tatar versions of pressed roasted grain sweets exist under their own names.
• Tibetan tsampa is the closest wider relative, roasted barley flour eaten with butter tea.
• Some cooks add cocoa powder, which is a modern addition and quite popular.

History

Toasted millet or talkan pounded with butter, sugar and raisins, then pressed into cakes.

Frequently asked questions

What is Zhent?

Zhent is a dessert from Kazakhstan: roasted millet pressed with butter, sugar and raisins. Toasted millet or talkan pounded with butter, sugar and raisins, then pressed into cakes.

How long does Zhent take to make?

Zhent takes 30 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes, plus setting of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 20 pieces. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Zhent?

Yes, within limits. Ready-made talkan from a Central Asian grocer replaces home-roasted and ground grain entirely. Roasted barley or wheat flour replaces millet; all three are used. Clarified butter replaces fresh butter and keeps far longer, which is the traditional choice. Honey replaces sugar for a softer set and a rounder flavour. Dried apricots, dried mulberries or dried cherries replace raisins; all are used across the region. Kurt can be left out entirely, and many versions have none. The nuts are optional and the dish works without them.

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

Work in batches if you have a lot. Do not walk away at any point. Keep it moving the entire time. They turn golden brown gradually. Tip them out of the pan immediately. Do not leave them in the hot pan. Spread them out on a cold tray. Let the grains cool completely first. Traditionally this is done in a mortar.