A Traditional Dish

I’d like to talk about sumalak, which is a very traditional Uzbek dish, although it’s quite different from what most foreigners would expect. It’s a thick, sweet, brown paste made from sprouted wheat, and remarkably, it contains no sugar at all — the sweetness comes naturally from the sprouted grains. Making it is a long process. About a week beforehand, women soak wheat grains until they sprout, then crush them to make a liquid. This is cooked with flour and oil in a huge cauldron over a fire for around twenty-four hours, and it has to be stirred constantly so it doesn’t burn. People also put small stones in the bottom of the pot, which supposedly prevents sticking. Sumalak is eaten only once a year, during Navruz, the spring festival. What makes it so important is not really the taste, but the process. Traditionally, the women of a neighbourhood gather to cook it together through the night, taking turns to stir and singing songs. It’s seen as a symbol of renewal and abundance, and people make wishes while stirring. In a sense, it’s less a dish than a social event — it brings communities together in a way few other things do.

Taomni tushuntiring + jarayon + vaqt + madaniy ahamiyat (oxirgisi eng muhim).