Chakka

Ingredients

• Katyk or full-fat kefir1.5 l
• Coriander50 g
• Dill40 g
• Purple basil30 g
• Garlic4 clove
• Spring onion50 g
• Oil40 ml
• Flatbread — to serve4
• Saltto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Line a colander with two layers of close-woven cloth and pour in the katyk.

   8 min

2. 2

   Knot the corners of the cloth and hang the bundle over a bowl somewhere cold.

   6 min

3. 3

   Leave it draining a full day, until the mass is as firm as soft curd.

   10 min

4. 4

   Pound the garlic with a pinch of salt into a smooth paste.

   5 min

5. 5

   Chop the coriander, dill, basil and spring onion as fine as you can.

   12 min

6. 6

   Fold the herbs and garlic into the strained mass with a spatula, without mashing it.

   6 min

7. 7

   Salt it, smooth it in a bowl, press a hollow with a spoon and pour the oil into it.

   5 min

About the dish

The katyk drains in cloth for a full day rather than a couple of hours. Under-strained chakka runs across the plate and will not gather onto bread.

The herbs are chopped by hand and folded in at the end. Blitzed in a blender they release their juices and the chakka turns green and loose.

The salt goes in only before serving. Salted ahead, chakka gives up whey however long it drained beforehand.

Worth knowing

• — Do not throw away the whey. Flatbread is mixed on it or it is drunk cold — in a Tajik house all of it is used.
• — Use close-woven cloth, not a single layer of muslin. Through an open weave the curd itself goes through, not just the whey.
• — Make chakka on the day it is served. By the second day the herbs darken and the garlic turns sharp and drowns everything else.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

220 kcal

Protein

12 g

Fat

14 g

Carbs

10 g

More from Tajikistan

• Qurutob — Flaky fatir bread soaked in reconstituted dried qurut, under fried onion and fresh vegetables.
• Tajik oshi palav — Pilaf with mutton, yellow carrot and a whole head of garlic, recognised by UNESCO as heritage.
• Tushbera — Tajik dumplings in broth with herbs, boiled in thin dough and served in a bowl.