Beshbarmak — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Wide flat noodle sheets topped with tender boiled lamb and caramelized onions, eaten traditionally with the hands from a shared platter, drenched in rich broth.

Ingredients

1kg lamb shoulder on bone
400g all-purpose flour
2 eggs
150ml water
1 tsp salt for dough
3 large onions, sliced into rings
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
Salt to taste
2L water for boiling
Fresh dill and parsley

Instructions

1 Boil lamb shoulder in salted water for two to three hours until tender, skimming foam, then reserve the rich golden broth for later.
2 Make a firm dough from flour, eggs, water, and salt, rest for thirty minutes, then roll out thin and cut into large diamond shapes.
3 Cook the noodle diamonds in the reserved lamb broth for five minutes until just tender, then remove with a slotted spoon carefully.
4 Sauté sliced onion rings in lamb fat until golden and sweet, season with black pepper and cumin to create the onion topping.
5 Arrange noodle diamonds on a large platter, layer with sliced lamb and caramelized onions, then ladle hot broth generously over everything.
6 Serve communally — traditionally eaten with the hands, hence the name beshbarmak meaning five fingers in Turkic languages.

Did You Know?

The eldest person at the table receives the choicest cuts of meat in beshbarmak, a tradition reflecting deep respect for elders in Uzbek culture.