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Turkmenistan · Main dish
Turkmen Dograma
Local name: Dograma
A hearty Turkmen dish of boiled lamb, hand-cut noodles and onion sauce served with the broth.
- Servings4
- Prep50 min
- Cooking2 h 3 min
- Total time2 h 53 min
- DifficultyMedium
Contains glutenContains dairyContains egg
About this dish
Dograma is a traditional Turkmen dish of boiled meat, chopped small and served with pieces of dough and onions. The name comes from the verb for "chopping". It belongs to the same family as beshbarmak and naryn in Kyrgyz, Kazakh and Uzbek cooking.
In the home version, bone-in lamb is boiled first, and the noodles are cooked in the strained broth. The platter is topped with plenty of onion, black pepper and a little broth, and more broth is served in bowls on the side.
Ingredients
Tick the ingredients off like a shopping list.
Meat and broth
Dough
Onion sauce
Method
Rinse the lamb, put it in a large pot and cover with 2.5 litres of cold water. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam and boil for 15 minutes.
Add the whole onion, bay leaves, peppercorns and some salt. Simmer gently with the lid ajar for 90 minutes, until the meat is tender.
While the meat cooks, mix the flour, eggs, 150 ml water and salt into a stiff dough. Knead for about 10 minutes until smooth.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough out very thin on a floured surface and cut it into 4-5 cm squares or wide strips.
Slice the sauce onions into half rings. Add the black pepper, butter and 100 ml hot broth, and let them soften for 10 minutes.
Lift the meat out of the pot and strain the broth. Remove the meat from the bones and chop it into small pieces.
Bring the strained broth back to a boil and check the salt. Add the dough pieces and boil for 8 minutes, until they float and are cooked through.
Lift the noodles with a slotted spoon onto a large platter. Top with the chopped meat, then the onion sauce.
Sprinkle with dill or parsley. Serve the remaining hot broth in bowls on the side.
💡 Tips
- Start the meat in cold water for a clearer, tastier broth.
- Always rest the dough, or it will spring back and stay thick when rolled.
- The thinner you roll the dough, the lighter the dish.
- Don't overcook the sauce onions; a little bite suits dograma.
- Keep the platter and bowls warm, as the dish cools quickly.
🛒 Can't find it abroad?
- Lamb — Bone-in beef shank works well; extend the cooking time by about 30 minutes.
- Fresh dill — Use fresh parsley or coriander.
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.
