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Kazakhstan · Main dish
Kazakh Kuyrdak
Local name: Қуырдақ
A Kazakh fried lamb and liver dish with plenty of onions and golden potatoes.
- Servings4
- Prep20 min
- Cooking1 h 6 min
- Total time1 h 26 min
- DifficultyEasy
About this dish
Kuyrdak is a Central Asian dish of fried meat and offal, its name coming from a word meaning "frying". In Kazakhstan it is cooked for everyday meals and for guests, especially when a sheep has just been slaughtered.
The Kazakh version softens the meat with onions and a little water, and the potatoes are usually fried separately and added at the end. It was once cooked mainly in animal fat; today tail fat is combined with a little vegetable oil, and it is served with fresh dill and bread.
Ingredients
Tick the ingredients off like a shopping list.
Meat and offal
Vegetables and seasoning
Method
Cut the meat into 2 cm cubes, the liver into slightly larger pieces and the tail fat into small cubes. Slice the onions into half rings and chop the garlic.
Render the tail fat in a wide, heavy pot or kazan over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Turn the heat up, add the meat and fry, stirring now and then, for about 12 minutes until well browned.
Add half of the onions and cook for about 8 minutes until soft and golden.
Add salt, pepper and 100 ml hot water. Cover and simmer on low heat for 25 minutes.
While the meat simmers, heat the vegetable oil in a separate pan and fry the potatoes for about 15 minutes until golden, then salt them.
Add the liver and the remaining onions to the meat, raise the heat and fry for 6 minutes without overcooking the liver.
Add the fried potatoes and garlic, stir gently, cover and let steam for 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat, stir in the dill and rest for 5 minutes.
Serve hot with fresh bread and pickles or a tomato salad.
💡 Tips
- Add the liver last; cooked too long it turns tough and dry.
- Do not overcrowd the pot or the meat will boil instead of brown; fry in two batches if needed.
- Frying the potatoes separately keeps them crisp outside and stops them breaking up.
- Plenty of onion gives the dish its sweetness, so do not reduce it.
- Use fatty lamb; lean meat makes the dish dry.
🛒 Can't find it abroad?
- Tail fat — Use lamb suet or 2 tbsp vegetable oil instead.
- Lamb liver — Use beef liver or leave it out and use only meat; cut beef liver a little smaller.
- Lamb meat — Use fatty beef and add 15 minutes to the simmering time.
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.
