Many people have had moments when they pondered the romance and peacefulness of a nomadic life. Setting up camp each evening somewhere in the Eurasian steppes after tending to herds sounds so peaceful. Mealtime is envisioned as a time to rest and enjoy the mainly meat dishes before beginning travels again the next day to find new pasture land for the livestock. There was a good chance that other travelers would join the diners also, because the nomadic life knew no arbitrary political boundaries, so people wandered from Asia to Europe carrying trade items and sharing their culture.

This picture briefly describes the nomadic life in Central Asia Kazakhstan, which dates back to the first century BC. The ethnic Kazakhs, who have roots in the nomadic tribes, represent approximately 51 percent of the modern nation’s people. The nomadic life began to disappear as time progressed, but fortunately not the cuisine and hospitality. There is a reason for starting a discussion on Kazakhstan food by painting a picture of nomadic life. The traditional Kazakhstan food is based in the history of the land, and that means the main dish ingredient is meat. Pastoral nomads like the Kazakhs either follow herds of wild animals, or move their flocks of domesticated animals to follow the seasonal pastures. They traditionally had to trade for vegetables and grains or gather wild vegetables, plants and herbs, but meat was and is plentiful.

Kazakh cuisine includes much more than nomadic influences, however. In fact, there are a number of cultural influences on Kazakhstan foods because there are actually 100 ethnic groups in the country. That’s why Kazakhs enjoy Russian, Indian, Pakistani, Korean and many other dishes from other countries.

If you were going to eat a traditional Kazakh meal in a Kazakhstan restaurant or home, there are some surprises in store for Westerners. The main staple meats of Kazakh food is horse and mutton (lamb), reflecting the nomadic roots of the country. The meal would begin with family and friends enjoying drinks of mare milk called kumiss, or perhaps shubat, fermented camel’s milk, along with some snacks. A traditional horse, or horse and mutton meat dish, beshbarmak, is paired with wide, boiled dough noodles, and the meat and noodles are served in sorpa or meat broth. Potatoes and onions may be served on the side. Horse meat has low fat content and high protein. Other traditional foods include kazy, horse meat sausage, and shuzhuk, which is smoked horse meat sausage. Manti are meat and onion dumplings, and shashlyk are similar to shish kebabs, with marinated, skewered meat and onions and served with lavash or flatbread. When eating in Kazakhstan restaurants in the country, meat dishes prevail.

Close to Home

It’s not necessary to go to Kazakhstan to try the food, though. There are restaurants opening in the U.S. that serve national and traditional Kazakh foods with some variations. For example, beshbarmak can be made with lamb or beef, which is what you will find as choices in U.S. Kazakh restaurants. The national dish, kuyrdak, is an iron-rich dish of boiled meat pieces made from the organs of animals like sheep or cow and served with onions and a sauce.

The recipes for Kazakhstan foods tend to be fairly simple, once again reflecting cultural influences of a nomadic life. Assorti pie is a savory pastry enjoyed by diners, which is filled with beef, eggs, cheese and tomatoes. Pirozhkiis a dish of Russian dough pockets filled with cabbage and hard cooked eggs and then baked. A popular southern Kazakhstan dish is plov, which is a one pot dish made with meat, rice, carrots and onions.

Meat pies and dumplings may sound delicious, but they are not your only choices. For those who are interested in vegetable dishes and soups, the Kazakhstan cuisine offers a tempting and unusual array. Restaurants may serve beet salad with garlic and walnut oil, and eastern salads made with pickled cabbage and carrots. Carrot salad or eggplant and beet salad are simple and healthy dishes. Diners enjoy grated beet and carrot salads tossed with light sour cream and walnuts, but without the horse meat that would be added in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhs don’t normally use a lot of spices in their foods, but they know how to cook in a way that takes advantage of the flavors in the ingredients used in the dishes. The dishes that include more herbs and spices are probably ethnic dishes like uyghurlagman, which is eaten throughout Central Asia and is a spicy soup with noodles and beef chunks. Vegetable soup with potatoes, cabbage and a variety of other vegetables gets its savory flavor through slow cooking. Chicken soup is creamy because light cream is used instead of cornstarch for thickening.

The good news for those who must have something sweet to end their meal, Kazakh restaurants always offer excellent pastries. Kazakhs enjoy baked and fried sweets that include baursak (fried balls of bread dough) and shelpek (fried flat dough), both of which are sprinkled with sugar. Also served is baked light pastry dough filled with cheese.

Something Different for Comfort Food

The exotic foods of Kazakhstan dish up something quite different compared to many other ethnic foods. That is precisely why diners should visit Kazakhstan, if possible. If not possible, then the next best option is to find the closest local restaurant and enjoy what is invariably going to be a lighter version of the authentic recipes. It’s an experience to enjoy and savor even while remembering the nomads who created these recipes out of need but with a creative and surviving spirit.

If anything in the world is able to bring people together, it is food, and Kazakh food is unique in many ways. The far away transcontinental country with a nomadic history knows how to dish up hearty stomach filling food for travelers. Find a restaurant close to home that serves Kazakh food and make some daring choices from the menu. You’ll soon appreciate the richness of flavors and the satisfying warmth of food designed to keep nomadic people healthy and ready for another day of travels.