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Kazakhstan · Main dish
Kazakh Beshbarmak
Local name: Бешбармақ
Boiled lamb on the bone, thin hand-rolled noodles and onion sauce, the best-known meat dish of Kazakh hospitality.
- Servings4
- Prep45 min
- Cooking2 h 6 min
- Total time2 h 51 min
- DifficultyMedium
Contains glutenContains egg
About this dish
Beshbarmak, meaning "five fingers", is a dish of boiled meat, thin noodle sheets and onions, traditionally eaten by hand from a large communal platter. It is usually preceded by bowls of the meat broth (shorpa).
In Kazakhstan it is served to guests and on festive occasions such as weddings and holidays, and the cuts of meat are traditionally handed out according to age and respect. The Kazakh version is made with bone-in meat, noodles cooked in the strained broth, and plenty of soft onions on top.
Ingredients
Tick the ingredients off like a shopping list.
Meat and broth
Dough
Onion sauce
Method
Rinse the meat, put it in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and skim off the foam thoroughly.
Add the whole onion, bay leaves and peppercorns; simmer gently, partly covered, for 90 minutes. Salt the broth during the last 30 minutes.
While the meat cooks, put the flour in a bowl, add the eggs, salt and lukewarm water, and knead a firm dough.
Cover the dough and rest it for 40 minutes.
Roll the dough out very thinly on a floured surface and cut into 5 x 5 cm squares or wide strips.
Put the sliced onions in a pan with a ladle (150 ml) of hot broth and cook for 10 minutes until soft; season with pepper and salt.
Lift the meat out and rest it for 10 minutes; strain the broth, return it to the pot and keep it hot.
Cut the meat off the bones and chop it into small pieces.
Bring the strained broth to the boil (add a little water if needed), drop in the noodles and cook for 6 minutes; lift them out.
Spread the noodles on a large platter, top with the meat and then the onions, and finish with black pepper and herbs.
Serve the remaining hot broth in bowls alongside and eat the beshbarmak while hot.
💡 Tips
- Use bone-in meat; it gives a far tastier broth.
- Roll the dough as thin as you can and dust the surface generously with flour.
- Cooking the noodles in the broth adds flavor, so don't over-reduce or over-salt it.
- Chop the meat while it's hot and moisten it with a few ladles of broth so it doesn't dry out.
🛒 Can't find it abroad?
- Lamb — Beef shank or short ribs work; add about 30 minutes to the simmering time.
- Dill — Fresh flat-leaf parsley works well.
This recipe was prepared with the help of AI, following the traditional home-style method; quantities, times and steps were checked automatically for consistency. Ovens and stoves differ, so check doneness by eye.
