Today we will talk to you about a dish, most of the components of which are steamed. Exactly the components that you see in the photo. Do you like it? Do they cause allergies? If not, read on!
At first glance, it seems that a cauldron and steaming are two incompatible things, unless you use special devices in the form of grates, stands, and the like. But don’t get ahead of yourself, let’s instead turn to the recipe for one of the simplest Uzbek dishes. It turns out delicious for anyone who undertakes to prepare it and does not argue with the proportions. And the proportions here are:

Mandatory ingredients: Meat 1 kg (lamb or beef, you can have bones or fat), potatoes 700 g, carrots 350 g, onions 1 kg, medium head of cabbage (700 grams), salt, of course.
And optional ones, if there are any, then we’ll put them in, but if not, don’t: 3-4 tomatoes, 1-2 eggplants, 2-3 bell peppers, red beets, 1-2 hot capsicums, a little beans in pods , 1-2 quinces, hard green apples, 2-3 cucumbers, various greens.
Spices: cumin, coriander and dry herbs as desired.

Place a layer of meat in a cold cauldron, fat side down. If there is tail fat separately, then, of course, we give preference to it, finely chopped. We line the bottom of the cauldron with lard. If the meat has bones, then place boneless pieces of meat measuring 2*2cm on top of the bones. Let's add salt to this layer and sprinkle it with cumin, and if we want to sprinkle it with coriander, then you only need a little of it here. Cut the onion into rings, or the way you like, and place it on top of the meat layer. If, despite all my warnings, you still take less onion, then add 100 grams of broth, but keep in mind: you will seriously lose the taste! If we are cooking with tomatoes, now is the time to cut them into large pieces, first removing the skin if it is rough, and place it on top of the onion, adding salt again.

After the tomatoes, place a layer of peeled carrots, cut into large slices or circles. Place potatoes on top of the carrots, whole or, if they are very large, cut into two or four pieces so that it would be convenient to eat later. Let's add salt to the potatoes and carrots. Now we cut everything that we still have left into small pieces and lay it on top of the potatoes so that it looks beautiful. We peel the garlic from the top peel and roots and lay it in whole; in no case do we cut the hot pepper, but lay it in whole. Greens can be put in whole sprigs. Salt again and sprinkle with cumin.
The cabbage crowns everything - we chop it into large pieces from the middle, removing the stalk, and the petals are separated from the surface entirely. Rub those large pieces with salt and cumin, arrange them in a mound, and cover everything with several whole leaves of cabbage. It is very desirable that we get a cauldron full of products and even with a slide, because now we need to press down all the products and close the cauldron very tightly. It is best to do this with an enamel bowl, which we will press down, support it with a weight and put this entire structure on the fire.

Why do you need to press down? This is because the name of this dish comes, as I think, from the Turkic verb “Bos”, “Bosish” - to press, squeeze. At the same time, some believe that to execute this dish it is enough to press the lid onto the cauldron, but I believe that you must also press down the food - then this dish will turn out as it should.

At the beginning, set the fire to medium position. As soon as the lid heats up and it becomes clear that everything is already boiling inside (usually 15 minutes is enough for this), then reduce the heat to low and leave to simmer for another 45-60 minutes.

Sometimes it happens that after waiting the allotted time, they open the basma, and the food in it is still half raw. This may happen due to the fact that after the fire was reduced, the boiling stopped in the cauldron. Do you know how you can determine whether a cauldron is boiling inside? We must listen! It gurgles, it means everything is ok.

The cooking time depends on the quality of the meat and the amount of food added, but you can unmistakably understand whether it’s ready or not by the smell - as soon as it starts to smell unbearably delicious, open it!
You must open it carefully - jets of very hot steam will escape, which can burn your hands. We beautifully place large cabbage leaves on a large flat dish. Let's put the garlic and capsicum aside for now, carefully finding them so as not to accidentally damage them. Next, we take everything out one by one - in reverse order, the meat will be at the very top. Place garlic and pepper on top of the resulting mound. At the bottom of the cauldron, perhaps to the surprise of many, we will find quite a lot of broth - pour it over the entire dish, and with part of the broth you can fill a bowl, which you will offer to a particularly honored guest or keep for yourself, by right of the head of the family.

By the way, one of the Emirs of Bukhara was once cooked with one ram every day. The lamb was cooked in onion juice until exactly one cassa (large bowl) of broth remained at the bottom of the cauldron, and this was served to the Emir, and he distributed the meat to his entourage. There are legends that that Emir had about forty wives and he visited each one during one night!

photo clickable

In any case, the main secret of the “deliciousness” of this dish is that the meat was cooked in onion juice, and all other products - vegetables - were steamed. Usually there is little left of basma “for tomorrow” and this is correct, because this dish is delicious when it is just prepared, but when heated it significantly loses its taste and aroma.

Advice and Reminder:
You can cook it in the same way in a pot (in pots), then you need to close the mouth of the pots with dough, as is usually done, and cook everything in the oven. However, in this case, the cooking time must be increased to 2.5-4 hours - depending on the size of the pot.
As mentioned earlier, it is very important not to argue with proportions when preparing this dish. Some may say: we don’t like onions, they eat spicy food and a lot of onions, but we don’t need that much. Then this dish will definitely not work! Once it is said - a kilogram, it means a kilogram. However, as you have already seen from the list of ingredients, this dish already assumes sufficient freedom in the choice of products; You can practically cook from what you have in the refrigerator, and the more vegetables you put in, the better it will turn out. You can even cook it with pork, it will be very tasty if you take the meat from pork on ribs or fillet...

PS I know some people think this dish is dummies.

I almost forgot! Today is a meeting with readers, autograph session, sale of the new book "Mangal"!

Address: New Arbat, building 8.

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Carefully cut off the large top leaves from the head of cabbage. We chop the remaining head of cabbage, take coarse (in my case sea) salt and crush the cabbage until it is somewhat pliable. Nowadays, cabbage is young and tender, so we don’t go crazy :)) This procedure is still necessary to reduce its volume, otherwise nothing will fit in the cauldron anymore :)) As a person born on the “land with white wings,” cabbage without I don’t perceive cumin, so I added a generous pinch to it, as well as pieces of paprika, ground paprika and red Tabasco pepper (this is for extreme lovers, the rest can limit themselves to hot red or even just paprika). Place the cabbage in a cauldron.

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The name of the dish, “basma,” comes from the verb “to press down.” Accordingly, we need to press down our vegetables with something. I found a baking dish of a suitable size, you can take a plate. The main thing is that the cauldron is sealed absolutely hermetically. I lined the edges of the mold with linen napkins as tightly as possible.

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The cauldron is closed. But for maximum insulation of steam, I did this - I placed the bread pan upside down on the lid, placed a cast iron grill pan on the resulting platform, and in it a saucepan filled to the top with water. Later I regretted that I didn’t think of capturing this Tower of Babel :))) First, put the cauldron on medium heat. Listen when the contents boil. I also check by feeling the lid - as soon as it becomes warm, you can reduce the heat to the quietest. Everything will be cooked, depending on the quality of the meat and the volume of vegetables, for 1.5-2-2.5-3 hours. My cauldron stood on the fire for 2.5 hours. There should be no boiling in the cauldron during cooking! A single “gurgle” is the maximum that is acceptable. How do you know what's ready? The smell will be mind-blowing:))

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Unfortunately, my old cauldron does not live with us, and I did not have time to get a new, correct one. I'll cook in a lightweight aluminum alloy with God knows what.

For this we will need:

-1 kg of meat - you can have beef or lamb, you can also have fat and bones.

I ended up with 600 grams of sirloin with layers of fat.

500 grams per bone

400 grams of fat. My family members categorically refused to eat fat tail, so use our native “fat gold”;).

700 grams of potatoes.

350g carrots;

2-4 tomatoes

1-2 eggplants;

2 bell peppers

1-2 hot peppers

A pair of green apples

2-3 cucumbers

Greens. I used parsley, because no one but me likes cilantro.

spices: cumin, coriander (just a little), black pepper.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Garlic. 1 whole head

And chili, one beautiful whole pepper. Without holes or openings.

So, we sorted out the products.

Take the lard and cut it into slices.

We take out our cold cauldron and put lard on the bottom

Cut the meat into large cubes and place in lard.

First come the bone-in pieces, then the fillets.

Add salt to the entire meat layer and sprinkle with cumin. Now, in my opinion, the main thing is the onion. We cut the whole onion and place it on the meat. The point is to cook the meat in onion juice.

Scald the tomatoes with boiling water and remove the skin. Cut it and place it on the onion. Add some salt.

We cut the carrots into circles and place them beautifully and neatly on the carrots.

We put potatoes on the carrots and add salt to the whole thing.

Cut cucumber coarsely

Cutting apples

We cut the peppers, freeing them from seeds.

Add salt to everything that was placed in the cauldron and add all the other ingredients.

Add some salt on top again, sprinkle with cumin and lay in the garlic. After stripping it from the top peel, simply place the chili side by side.

Wash the greens, dry them and place them directly in the branches. Carefully so that everything looks soulful and still life)

So. Almost everything. Place the cabbage on top. Shred it into large strips. Rub large pieces with salt and cumin. Place them in a mound. Cover everything with whole cabbage leaves on top.

I advise you to get a full cauldron, even with a slide. Fortunately, that’s exactly what happened to me. I didn’t expect it, honestly.

We cover the whole thing with a bowl and, for extra confidence, put a press on top.

At the bottom of the cauldron there remains a fairly decent amount of broth, which I did not hesitate to pour into bowls. It is still tasty. By the way, it is very good to periodically pour this broth over the dish. Thick, rich. and the salt is just right. I liked the broth. I regretted that I didn’t have thick pita bread on hand

That's it, comrades, bon appetit.

Brahman from Odessa....................,

Basma recipe

A bright, aromatic, hearty dish of Uzbek cuisine – basma – it couldn’t be easier to prepare. All you need to do is put the ingredients in a cauldron and put it on low heat to get an appetizing dish in an hour and a half!

The composition of basma is a little similar to our summer stew: all kinds of vegetables are successfully combined with meat. But the special technology for preparing basma gives the same products a completely new, original taste and flavor.

Ingredients for Uzbek basma:

Any meat: lamb, pork, beef, even fatty chicken will do! By the way, the presence of fat is a prerequisite, therefore, if the meat is lean, take a little lard;
- vegetables:
- onion;
- carrot;
- tomatoes;
- eggplants, they’re blue;
- zucchini;
- potato;
- cabbage;
- bell pepper;
- greens: everything that grows in the garden and that you personally like the taste and aroma (cilantro, for example, is not an acquired taste!):
- dill;
- parsley;
- celery;
- green onions;
We will also need:
- garlic;
- Red Hot Chili Pepper;
- spices – just as in the case of herbs, those that you love! This recipe used coriander, Iranian cumin and a mixture of Provençal herbs;
- and, of course, salt!

Phew, that's a lot!!! To carry so many ingredients from the market, you need a durable, high-quality bag whose handles won’t come off! Therefore, we advise you not to buy a bag on the same market, but to purchase a really good thing through a reputable online store that delivers women's bags. Then your products for basma will be safe :)

Preparation of Uzbek basma:

As can be seen from the set of ingredients, basma is a true summer dish, the quintessence of everything that this generous season gives us, a real holiday of taste and color!

Now we need to correctly place all the products in the cauldron, because the peculiarity of basma is that everything is put in at once: both meat and vegetables. And, despite the fact that the cooking time for meat is much longer than for vegetables, everything will be ready at the same time!

We arrange the ingredients according to the principle: what takes the longest to cook is at the bottom, we gradually move on to lighter products, and what cooks the fastest will be on top.

So,
1st layer – pieces of fatty meat or lard.

2nd layer – pieces of meat.

Be sure to add salt and season with spices.

3rd layer – onion, cut into half rings, of which there is never too much in basma! Even if you add a whole kilogram of onions on Stalik Khankishiev’s advice, it won’t be too much. During the cooking process, the onions, adjacent to the meat, form a delicious gravy!

4th layer – onion’s faithful friend – carrot! Cut it into circles and salt.

5th layer – tomatoes cut into slices.

6th layer – blue (eggplant) cut into circles.

7th layer – eggplant’s brother – zucchini, also cut into circles. Take young zucchini: they have delicate skin and small seeds.

Sprinkle the vegetables with seasonings and, of course, salt!

8th layer – lay out the peeled potatoes... in their entirety! Don't worry, it will cook perfectly.

We also salt the potatoes and sprinkle with an aromatic mixture of Provençal herbs.

9th layer. Well, that is, it’s not even a layer - 2-3 heads of garlic will be enough, which we place on top of the vegetables... also whole! You don't even need to peel the garlic. Once cooked whole, it acquires an interesting taste and adds a delightful aroma to the dish.

Then add a whole pod of hot red pepper to the vegetable company.

10th layer – cut into strips, juicy and aromatic, sweet bell pepper.

11th layer – shredded cabbage. Having chopped it, you need to sprinkle it with coarse salt and crush it with your hands so that the juice comes out, and then crush it evenly on top of the pepper.
We'll leave the top leaves, we'll need them later.

12th layer – place washed fresh herbs on top of the cabbage. There is no need to chop it, just put it just like that - in a whole bunch!

The 13th layer is whole cabbage leaves, so they came in handy - in order to tightly close the contents of the cauldron, preventing steam from escaping.

Now you need to press it all down - for example - with a wide, flat, heat-resistant dish. After all, the lid does not fit as tightly to the contents as necessary. But abs in the form of a dish are just that.

Then you can cover it with a lid.

But this is not enough for Basma to prepare according to the rules. Now, if you also put a press on the lid, then everything will work out as it should!
We put the cauldron on the fire - and go about our business! What’s so great about basma is that you don’t need to constantly monitor the cooking, stir, or look in - there’s no need for that, and it would be difficult to disassemble the entire complex system every now and then!

About an hour and a half has passed, and a delicious aroma is wafting from the kitchen? Basma is ready!

We can dismantle our structure!

Remove cabbage leaves...

We move aside the greens, which have already fulfilled their function, giving all their aroma to the dish.
Finally we got to the delicious stuff!

We beautifully place the basma on a dish and enjoy while it’s hot!

Bon appetit!

You can also watch the video recipe for making Basma from Stalik Khankishiev

This easy-to-prepare dish is considered traditional among the Uzbeks and some other peoples of Central Asia. A hearty meal with a lot of meat and a variety of vegetables is designed for several people at once.

In the homeland of this dish, basma is prepared in a cauldron and only from lamb, beef, and fresh vegetables. The main technological feature of the dish is the layer-by-layer placement of ingredients in a cast iron cauldron. The total cooking time is determined by the volume of the cauldron, the quality, quantity of meat and other products.

The readiness of basma, according to the “luminary of the genre” Stalik Khankishiev, is determined simply: “by the unbearably tasty smell.”

Required Ingredients

If with meat everything is more or less clear: it is better to take lamb with bones and beef pulp, then with vegetables everything is even simpler. Absolutely any of them will do, anything that grows in the garden, including zucchini, pumpkin, and cabbage. The Uzbeks themselves often add fruits to basma, for example, quince.

Meat and vegetables are mandatory components for real basma

For a standard recipe you will need the following products:

• tail fat;
• 1 kg lamb on the bone;
• 2 kg beef;
• several onions;
• a few carrots;
• a couple of eggplants;
• 1 kg of potatoes;
• head of cabbage;
• several tomatoes;
• a couple of heads of garlic;
• three, or preferably four bell peppers (ideally multi-colored);
• chili pepper;
• fresh herbs (cilantro, dill, parsley, basil);
• spices (cumin, black peppercorns, suneli hops, sweet paprika, dried onions).

Cooking technique

To obtain the final positive result, it is important to follow the sequence of laying out the layers in the cauldron.

1. As in the case of pilaf, pieces of fat tail fat are placed in the first layer on the bottom of the cauldron. It is “responsible” for the juiciness of the dish and will prevent other ingredients from burning. If you plan to use only beef in basma, you can add more fat. If there is lamb, less fat will be needed.
2. The next stage is laying out the meat. It is customary to lean good pieces of lamb with the fatty part against the walls of the cauldron. It is better to place beef pieces in the middle part. It is important not to forget to salt the meat and sprinkle with crushed black peppercorns using the flat side of a knife. Grind the zira between your palms into a cauldron, add a teaspoon of khmeli-suneli and other spices.
3. Cut the onion into half rings and place in an even layer on the meat.
4. Cut the carrots into slices, like pilaf, and place in the next layer.
5. After the carrots comes the turn of the tomatoes, which are best cut into slices of small thickness. Tomatoes can be additionally salted.
6. Eggplants are cut into similar circles and placed on top of the tomatoes. They also need to be salted and seasoned with sweet paprika powder.
7. Next comes a layer of potatoes. It is better to choose small tubers that can be cooked whole.
8. It is important not to forget about garlic and chili pepper. The garlic heads do not need to be divided into cloves; it is enough to put them whole, just like hot peppers. For lovers of bright spiciness, we can advise putting two or more pods in a cauldron.
9. Next comes a layer of bell pepper: it needs to be cut into rings or half rings.
10. The last layer will be cabbage. A few large leaves should be set aside in advance for the final touch. Chop the remaining head of cabbage into strips, add salt, and mash a little with your hands to release the juice. Place shredded cabbage on a layer of bell peppers; it can be additionally seasoned with crushed black pepper.
11. Place bunches of dill, parsley, and other herbs on top of the cabbage.
12. The final chord is to completely cover all this “charm” with prepared cabbage leaves.
13. Before closing the cauldron with a lid, it is important not to forget to cover its contents with some large flat plate to seal it.

Freshly prepared basma is laid out on plates, preferably deep enough to accommodate enough meat, vegetables and sauce to boot.

Then the culinary “prose” begins. Basma is cooked in a closed cauldron on a fire or stove for about two hours. At the same time, it is important not to open the lid of the boiler under any pretext, no matter what interesting processes occur in it. Real “pros,” on the contrary, advise adding additional “load” to the lid of the cauldron. You can use a brick if the process takes place outdoors or any container with water.

The main “trick” of basma is that meat and vegetables, which are cooked separately over different periods of time, in this dish with this cooking method reach “condition” at the same time.

It is important to cook the dish for about half an hour over higher heat, then the intensity can be reduced (in nature, you can leave the boiler only on coals).

As soon as “the simply delicious smell becomes unbearable,” and this happens towards the end of the second hour, the basma can be considered completely ready. Steamed vegetables will release their juice, and a fantastically tasty vegetable sauce will form in the lower part of the cauldron.

The cabbage leaves that served as the covering for the dish can be discarded or lined with serving plates. Bunches of greenery just need to be removed.

The dish is decorated with finely chopped herbs and served immediately.