Now let’s cook
Sirne. No water invited: the lamb spends three hours braising in its own juices under a blanket of cabbage leaves.
Ingredients
- 3500 g lambboneless lamb from the neck or the breast
- 250 g lamb tail fatfrom the tail of fat-tailed sheep: it lines the bottom of the cold kazan, and the meat braises on it (caul fat can be used instead)
- 1100 g onionyellow onion, cut into half-rings
- 175 g parsleyfresh parsley, chopped finely and mixed with the onion (coriander leaves work too)
- 2000 g potatoordinary potatoes: tubers of a similar size cook evenly
- 850 g carrotpeeled and cut into rounds
- 400 g sweet pepperalso called bell pepper, with the stalk and seeds removed and the flesh cut into large pieces
- 80 g garlicfresh garlic (one clove weighs about 3 g)
- 908 g white cabbagea head of white cabbage, separated into whole leaves that cover the vegetables like a lid
- 15 g allspice berrieswhole dried allspice berries
- 5 bay leavesa dried bay leaf
- 3 g ground black peppersprinkled over the meat with the salt
- 150 g fine saltordinary table salt
Method
Peel the onions and slice them into half-rings. Rinse and dry the parsley, chop it finely and mix it with the onion.
Separate the cabbage into leaves. Peel the potatoes and carrots, and slice the carrots into rounds. Remove the stalks and seeds from the peppers and cut the flesh into large pieces. Break the garlic into cloves and peel them.
Cut the lamb into large pieces. Sprinkle them with about two thirds of the salt and the black pepper, and toss so that every piece gets its share of salt.
Lay thin slices of tail fat over the bottom of a large cold kazan and put the lamb on top. Add the allspice and 5 bay leaves.
Spread the onion and parsley over the meat and sprinkle with a little salt. Then layer the potatoes, carrots, peppers and garlic, and scatter the rest of the salt over them. Cover the vegetables with cabbage leaves so that no gaps remain, press down lightly with your hands and close the kazan tightly with its lid. Do not add water.
Set the kazan over a high heat. Once the meat at the bottom starts to sizzle, turn the heat down as low as it goes and braise for 3–4 hours, until the lamb is soft: young lamb needs 3 hours, older lamb 4. The thickest part of a piece should reach at least 63 °C.
Line a large platter with the cabbage leaves, arrange the potatoes and vegetables around the edge and the lamb in the centre. Serve hot.
Where this dish comes from
Sirne holds a special place in Kazakh hospitality. It is made from the meat of a young lamb: large pieces go into the kazan together with the chopped bones, the lid is closed tightly, and the meat braises for a long time without water, in its own juices and steam. Potatoes and carrots are optional. In this recipe boneless meat braises under a layer of vegetables and cabbage leaves.
