Now let’s cook
Kazy. The longest part of the work was done before it reached you: all that is left is to cook it. A little over two hours on a low heat, some patience while it cools, and neat rounds on the platter.
Ingredients
- 1200 g kazya sausage of horse rib meat with its fat, sold raw and simmered whole for 2–2.5 hours before serving (buy it raw, not already cooked)
- 3000 ml waterplain drinking water
- 100 g onionyellow onion, cut into half-rings
- 20 g parsleyfresh parsley, chopped finely and mixed with the onion (coriander leaves work too)
Method
Put the kazy whole into a pot and pour in 3 litres of cold water: the water should cover the sausage completely. Do not salt the water, as the kazy has enough salt of its own.
Bring the water to the boil. As soon as it boils, pierce the casing in several places with a toothpick so that the sausage does not burst while it cooks.
Turn the heat down to low and simmer the kazy for 2–2.5 hours. When it is done, a fork goes in easily and clear juice runs from the hole. The centre of the sausage should reach at least 74 °C.
Lift the sausage out of the pot and leave it to cool completely, about an hour.
Slice the onion into thin half-rings. Chop the parsley finely and mix it with the onion.
Cut the cooled sausage into rounds 1 cm thick, lay them on a platter and put the onion and parsley alongside. Serve as a cold starter.
Where this dish comes from
Kazy is one of the most valued delicacies of Kazakh cuisine, and the Kyrgyz and the Uzbeks count it among their traditional foods too. It is made from the ribs and loin of a horse: the meat and its fat are not chopped but go into the gut in whole pieces. Kazy is simmered slowly, for 2–2.5 hours, and eaten hot or as a cold starter. Honoured guests are served it together with the boiled meat.
