Tatar Cuisine

Tatar cuisine or Volga cuisine is the food culture of the Tatar people(татарлар tatarlar) who mainly live along the Volga River in the Ural region of Russia, also known as the Volga Tatars.

The Tatar people are related to other Turkic people, such as the Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Uyghur people. The cuisines of these people share many similarities. Tatar cuisine and neighboring Russian cuisine have also influenced each other.

Kazan, a city near the Volga River, is somewhat a center of Tatar culture.

Ingredients

Grains are traditional staples. Wheat was historically more difficult to grow, so other grains such as rye have been used more commonly.

Vegetables traditionally used in Tatar cuisine include onion, carrot

Walnut is traditionally used in Tatar cuisine.

The Tatar people have traditionally practiced beekeeping, and honey is enjoyed in various ways.

Meat and dairy have been important foods in Tatar cuisine.

Dishes

• ikmak: leavened bread, usually made with rye flour
• qistibi: unleavened flatbread, sometimes with filling
• toqmas: noodles, often served with broth
• pilman: dumpling served in clear broth
• ocpocmaq: triangular dumpling
• peremech: bun with meat or other filling
• talkish kaleve: cone-shaped sweet usually made from flour, dairy, and honey
• chakchak(чәкчәк): small fried dough balls coated with honey