Thursday, September 22, 2011

Kazan 1838

The Distortion of Genghis

National Geographic cover 1996
Hollywood Genghis in Action

1971 Zsa Zsa Gabor has a fluffy white dog that she has named, "Genghis Khan".

Ghenghis Khan Pulp Fiction

Golden Horde 1951

Three Crimean Images 1840

Print by - Aubert Paris


Mullah - Bahcesaray 1840

Beautiful Kazan Skyline


Bashkir Cooking Cards on Ebay


I'd probably snap these up in a jiffy if THEY WERE IN BASHKIR and not the Russian Language.
They're pretty cool regardless.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Baron de Tott tours Crimea 1780



"Construction of a Crimean Tatar House"

BARON TOTT 'Memories of the Baron de Tott, on the Turks and the Tartars' 1780

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Le Tatarstan

The perfect book for the pretentious Tatar. When they ask if you're Tatar you'll recite, "Excusez-Moi. Non, Monsieur, Je suis LE Tatar.

More notes on Tatar Cuisine

Tatar cuisine is of particular interest because of the geographical location of Tatarstan, formerly part of the Soviet Union and now a semi-autonomous state within the Russian Federation. With its capital, Kazan, lying about 500 miles directly east of Moscow, it is the northernmost Muslim community.

The Kazan Tatars (so called to distinguish them from several smaller Tatar groups) prepare many familiar Near Eastern dishes such as pilafs and kebabs using cold-climate ingredients, beef or goose often replacing lamb and chicken. They are known for their substantial meat pies, including the large, rectangular belish, the small, round peremech, and the large, round gubadia. Peremech has a distinctive appearance; there is a little circular ‘window’ on the filling, around which the dough is neatly pleated. It is often served with a topping of thick onion soup and a spoonful of yoghurt.

The use of buckwheat, horseradish, and potatoes gives Tatar cuisine a quasi-Russian appearance, and Tatar samosas (sumsa) are made with a puffy dough, like the Russian pirozhki .

Tatars and Russians also subscribe to the same school of hospitality, centering around the samovar and large arrays of buttery pastries. Pekhlewe, the Tatar baklava, is not made with flaky strudel-type dough. It is simply seven or eight layers of noodle paste alternating with layers of sweetened nuts. Chekchek, a sweet consisting of pea-sized balls of fried dough bound into a flat loaf with honey, is also known in Uzbekistan and has affinities still farther east; the same dish is known in China under a Manchu name, saqima (sachima).

"Kosh Tili"


Title: Kosh Tili
Categories: Cookies
Yield: 8 servings

3 1/4 c Sifted flour (or a little more)
6 tb Granulated sugar
1 ts Salt
2 Eggs
3 tb Yogurt
1/2 c Milk
Vanilla or rosewater
Optional
Oil for deep-frying
Powdered sugar
Tatars represent an area officially known as Tatarstan, 500 miles east of Moscow. This is a sweet they prepare on traditional holidays. KOSH TILI means “birds' tongue”, in this case, the birds would have to be pretty big. Sift together flour, granulated sugar and salt. Add eggs,yogurt, milk and optional dash of vanilla or rosewater. Mix well with spoon, then pour out onto lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth. Divide dough into 4 parts. Place 1 piece of dough on floured board and roll out 1/8-inch thick. Using a knife or crimp-edged cutter, cut into strips about 1-1/2 or 2 inches wide and 6-8 inches long. Using knife, cut a 1-1/2-inch slit in middle of each strip. Take 1 end of each strip, fold it through slit and pull out on the other side. Repeat with remaining dough strips. Heat oil for deep-frying. Fry 1 or 2 dough strips at a time, holding under surface of oil until puffed and golden brown. Drain finished fritters in colander, then place on paper towels and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes 8 to 12 servings. NOTE: The recipe gave no frying temperature, so you'll have to FIND the best temp. I guess.

Manty from Kyrgyz Cooking Site


There is, apparently, some dispute as to the origin of Manty – Turkish, Tartar, or ... somewhere in Central Asia. Manty are small, steamed, dumplings with a meat filling. Although manty are traditionally steamed – some recipes suggest boiling them, as with ravioli, but this is how a different dish – pelmeni – is prepared. There is also a version of "baked manty".
A mantyshnitza (steamer) is a special pan for cooking manty. It is like a multi-tiered saucepan in which water is poured into the bottom pan, and the other tiers have holes in the bottom through which the steam rises. They fit one on top of the other and placed over the boiling water – with a lid on the pan which comprises the top tier.
Ingredients: 1 kg of flour; 1 egg; 2 bulbs of garlic; 200 grams of fat; 2 big onions; 1 kg beef or mutton finely chopped or minced; (Pumpkin or potatoes may be added or substituted for meat); ½ teaspoon red pepper; ½ teaspoon black pepper; salt.

Method:

1. Mix the flour, egg, and 2 cups of hot water with one-teaspoon of salt to make the dough. Knead until soft. Leave it to stand, covered with a large bowl, for 30 minutes.
2. Cut the fat into small piece and add to the finely chopped meat. Cut the onions and garlic into small pieces and add to meat mixture. Add peppers. Dissolve 1-tablespoon salt into 2 cups warm water and stir into mixture.

3. Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Roll the dough out onto floured board or table until the dough is thin but won’t break. Cut it into strips, about 10 cm in width. Cut the strips to make squares, about 10cm square. Place one tablespoon of meat mixture on each square. Bring up two diagonal corners of the dough and press them together on top – do the same with the other two corners. Bring two corners next to each other on the sides and press them together. Do the same with the remaining two corners.

4. Oil the trays of the steamer. Place the prepared manty onto the steaming trays so that they don’t touch each other (they will stick together if placed too close). Steam for 40 to 50 minutes.

Prepared manty can then be either baked, or fried. Serve with vinegar.

West Siberian Tatar Names


West Siberian Tatar Names

Much of this research was done around Tomsk and the section with "Pronunciation of Tatar Names" is unique and interesting.

Tatar Baby Names


AbyzbikeTatarlady

AglijamalTatarbeauty

AglijikhanTatarserving to the ...

AglikamalTatarperfect

AglinurTatarshine

AgzamiyaTatarthe greatest

AikashTatarmoon-like eyebrows

AlsouTatarpink water

AlyparslanTatarhuge lion

BagdanurTatarshining ray of light

BaiburaTatarpowerful he-camel

GalimTatarknowledgeable

IldarTatarleader

IlfatTatarfriend of the ...

IlgizTatarstranger

IlshatTatarjoy of the nation

IlsurTatarhorn of the nation

RafikTatarkind

SataiTatarbeloved

TuigunTatarthe white hawk


from here

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Uyghur Folk Music



The Uyghur people are among the furthest East Turkic peoples in Central Asia. They reside in Western China and their culture is in somewhat of a state of panic, being under constant threat of annihilation by Communist China.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Music Concourse - Golden Gate Park

Many people take pics of me while I'm playing in the park.
Some will mouth "thankyou". Some point to the camera first.
The tourbuses pause if I'm playing under a statue.

Thursday, September 8, 2011