Tea Time in Turkistan
Turkistan 2016
A Kazakh woman serves tea from a samovar at the end of a delightful meal in her home. The influence of Russia, which has had a presence in Kazakhstan since the 14th century, is evident in the woman’s clothing and in the use of the samovar.
Kazakh food was delicious. Everything was made in the home including the preserves made from wild strawberries that you see in the cut glass bowl. The flavor of the fruit was intense. I used to put a spoonful in my tea, a Russian custom I’d read about. Try it, but only with the best quality jam!
The family had served us a prized Kazakh delicacy called “five fingers” … you use your five fingers to get the food to your mouth. It is a dish of meat and wide noodles served in large wooden platters. Our meat was horsemeat which is prized. I dreaded eating it as did we all, but I took two small pieces. And although I am crazy about noodles, I couldn’t bring myself to eat any of the noodles because they were bathed in the horsemeat juices.
We were also served horse milk. I really dreaded that because I don’t like milk. But sometimes you must! I drank all of mine. The Kazakhs make it mildly alcoholic so it had a tart taste. That made it easier to drink. But I didn’t ask for seconds.