Crimean laghman
Description
The soup is simple and quick to prepare. I think it's worth trying to make Crimean lagman at home at least once. This delicious and aromatic dish features tender homemade noodles. Lagman is often referred to as a truly manly meal—it's very filling, quite spicy, and extremely tasty. However, if you prepare lagman with fewer spicy spices, even children will happily enjoy it. The recipe for Crimean lagman is quite simple; the only difficulty might arise when making the special noodles. But if you don't like working with dough, store-bought egg-rich noodles will work just fine. So, let's begin preparing Crimean lagman. 1. I start cooking by preparing the noodle dough, as it needs to rest and mature for at least half an hour. Thoroughly mix eggs and 1.5 cups of water in a bowl. Add flour and knead into a firm dough. Leave the dough on the table and cover it. 2. Pour vegetable oil into a kazan (cauldron) and heat over high heat. 3. Peel and chop garlic, then lightly fry in the heated oil until nicely browned. 4. Wash the meat, dry it, and cut into small cubes. Add the meat to the kazan, season with pepper, and fry. 5. Peel the onion, carrots, and pepper. Cut into cubes or strips and add to the meat. Sprinkle with salt and spices, then simmer covered over low heat for 15–20 minutes. 6. Blanch the tomatoes, peel them, and cut into cubes. 7. Peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Add potatoes and tomatoes to the kazan. 8. Five to seven minutes after adding the potatoes, pour in enough water to cover the meat and vegetables by about 2–3 cm. Simmer for 20–25 minutes. 9. Now we need to prepare a special solution: dissolve baking soda and salt in 0.5 cup of water. 10. Moisten your hands with the solution and knead the dough with it. Repeat until the solution is used up. 11. Divide the dough into small pieces and roll them into pencil-sized ropes. 12. Oil your hands and coat each rope with oil. Arrange the ropes in a spiral on a large plate. 13. Once all the dough is shaped into ropes, begin stretching them to make noodles. Take a rope by both ends with your hands and start twisting it like a jump rope, gradually stretching it outward. When the rope becomes too long to handle comfortably, fold it in half and continue the process until the noodles become thin. 14. Bring a large amount of water to boil for cooking the noodles—there should be plenty so the noodles can float freely in the pot. Don't forget to salt the water. Once boiling, add the noodles one by one and cook no more than 5 minutes after the water returns to a boil. Drain the cooked noodles in a colander. Experts recommend not discarding the noodle-cooking water—it can be drunk as broth or used to dilute the meat and vegetables. 15. Place noodles into bowls, pour the meat and vegetables over them, and sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs. Serve the soup hot.