Now let’s cook
Balkaimak. Three ingredients and a little patience.
Ingredients
- 750 ml sour cream (10% fat)fresh, of 10% fat, natural if you can
- 3 tbsp honeymelts into the hot sour cream
- 2 tbsp plain wheat flourwhite wheat flour, called all-purpose in the US
Method
Pour the sour cream into a deep, thick-bottomed pan and set it over medium heat. Warm it, stirring all the time, until fat shows on the surface.
Add the honey and stir until it has dissolved.
Sift the flour and work it in a little at a time, stirring well so that no lumps form.
Cook for 10 more minutes over a low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Serve it hot or let it cool.
Where this dish comes from
Balkaimak is a Kazakh sweet made from milk. It is made from kaymak, the cream skimmed from milk, warmed slowly with honey (or sugar) and flour, and an ethnographer’s account has it boiled from camel milk. The recipe here is the home version: sour cream warmed on the fire.
