UZBEKISTAN

Care for Khasyp?

With Christmas just around the corner and the big feast to begin soon, we would like to introduce you to an alternative, somewhat unorthodox, dish from Central Asia. 

In Uzbekistan, when slaughtering cattle at home, it is necessary to process all the meat and offal. Thus khasyp – homemade lamb sausage with liver – appeared. Despite its not very attractive appearance, this is a real delicacy!

Khasyp seems to be something complicated. In fact, its culinary recipe is simple:

• Finely chop meat, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, tail fat and onion. 
• Add washed raw rice, spices, a little water, and mix everything thoroughly. 
• Then tie one end of the intestine with a strong thread and start stuffing. 
• After completing the stuffing procedure, place the sausage in a circle in a deep frying pan and pierce with a knife in several places. 
• Fill the pan halfway with water and put it in a preheated oven. 
• With this preparation, khasyp is first boiled, and then fried. 

When the khasyp is ready, it should be cooled, cut into several pieces or slices and sprinkled with onions on top. Khasyp is eaten freshly prepared. The dish is usually served cold, or hot with broth. As a side dish Uzbeks usually serve boiled chickpeas (peas).

If this all seems like too much effort, then why not take a trip to Uzbekistan. You can eat khasyp and lots of other goodies in many local, non-touristy cafes, including the Food Row in Chorsu Bazaar in Tashkent. 

Photo credit: uzbekistan.travel