Beef azu: recipe with photo

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Does your family make up a wonderful tandem in which you like to cook delicious and unusual dishes, and the rest do not refuse to have a hearty snack? In this case, you should definitely master the beef azu recipe. On the one hand, this is a very refined and refined dish. On the other hand, it is quite easy and fast to prepare. But first, let's find out where the beef azu with pickles came from on our table.

History of the dish

Today it is impossible to say where this dish was first prepared. Even its name is highly controversial. Some experts argue that the word "azu" is translated from Persian as "pieces of meat." Others are sure that it comes from the Tatar word "azdyk" - "food". But it migrated to Russian cuisine along with the Tatars. It is no coincidence that many culinary experts are interested in how to prepare Tatar azu from beef with pickles.

You can use a variety of meats to make it. Although in the classic recipe it is recommended to take lamb or even horse meat, today chefs diversify it tounrecognizability. Most often, beef is used - it is not as fatty as pork, but it is easier to obtain than lamb. In addition, cow meat is much more familiar to our compatriots than horses.

They also cook it with chicken or turkey - a fairly budget option. Some Orthodox, in order not to break the fast, even manage to replace meat with fish, thus obtaining not just a dietary, but a completely lean dish.

But below we will consider exactly the cooking option with beef - as the most common and familiar to most culinary specialists.

Dish Benefits

First of all, you can advise the basics of beef to lovers of spicy cuisine. Indeed, according to all surviving recipes, a large number of seasonings are included in the dish. But still, be careful - not everything that is tasty is also he althy.

Also, some people claim they don't like vegetables. But if the azu is cooked correctly, then each of the ingredients, whether it be potatoes, pickles or onions, has simply great taste. Therefore, even a very picky gourmet will not be disappointed if you treat him to such a dish.

Finally, if some methods of preparing beef and potato azu take quite a long time, others are simple. So, let's start cooking!

Classic dish

First, let's try to cook a classic beef azu. To do this, you will need the following products:

• 700g beef.
• 7potatoes.
• 1 onion.
• Vegetable oil.
• Half a head of garlic.
• 2 pickled cucumbers.
• 3 tbsp. l. tomato paste.
• S alt, pepper.

All the necessary ingredients are there. You can start cooking:

1. Peel the onion, cut into small cubes. Fry in vegetable oil until it becomes transparent.
2. Add tomato paste to the onion, fry, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes.
3. Cut the beef into small pieces. Put on a well-heated, oiled cauldron or roasting pan. Fry briefly, just to form a gray crust that does not allow the meat juices to come out.
4. Add onion with tomato paste and seasonings to the meat. Now pour boiling water so that it completely covers the beef. Simmer covered over low heat for 90-100 minutes.
5. Peel the potatoes, cut into small slices. Grease a non-stick frying pan with oil, put potatoes in it, s alt and put in the oven, preheating to 220 degrees. Take out and stir occasionally. Cook until no longer crispy.
6. Cut cucumbers into half rings. Fry in a greased pan for 20 minutes - until excess moisture is gone.
7. Peel and finely chop the garlic.
8. When the meat is ready, put the cucumbers and garlic in the same place, add all the potatoes, mix thoroughly, simmer for 7 minutes. Leave on a hot stove so that everything is soaked in the general juice.

If desired before servingyou can decorate with chopped herbs - it will look better, and the taste will improve. Now you know how to cook beef azu, and no gourmet at your table will be disappointed.

Azu in the slow cooker

Do you want to cook a delicious dish, but there is not enough time? In this case, the multicooker will come to the rescue - a great kitchen helper that has allowed housewives to save millions of hours in the kitchen.

For cooking you will need:

• 500g meat;
• 2 pickles;
• 0.5 kg potatoes;
• 1 carrot;
• 1 tbsp l. tomato paste;
• 1 onion;
• vegetable oil;
• s alt, spices.

Surely everything you need is in your refrigerator. So, you can start creating a masterpiece:

1. Meat should be frozen to make it easier to work with. Cut it into pieces.
2. Wash and clean the vegetables. Cut carrots into strips, potatoes into cubes, pickles into circles, and onion into half rings.
3. Pour a little vegetable oil into the multicooker bowl, transfer the meat there and start the "Frying" mode for 10 minutes.
4. Add tomato paste and prepared vegetables to the meat. Run for another 5 minutes.
5. Peel the potatoes and cut into circles. Rinse the bay leaf.
6. Put potatoes with bay leaf in a bowl, s alt, pour two glasses of water. Run in "Stew" (or "Soup") mode for half an hour.
7. Turn off andleave the dish for 10-20 minutes to dry thoroughly.

As you can see, the slow cooker does all the work for you, and in the meantime you can relax or do other things. The resulting dish is not only tasty, but also visually attractive. Illustrating the basics of beef Tatar in the photos attached to the article perfectly show this.

Cooking in a frying pan

Now let's try to cook a familiar dish in a pan. To diversify the diet, let's try to change the composition a little:

• 700g beef.
• 1 processed cheese.
• 4 tbsp. l. sour cream.
• 3 pickles.
• 500 ml stock.
• Tkemali - 3 tbsp. l. (Regular tomato paste will also work.)
• Parsley, s alt, vegetable oil.

As you can see, there are no vegetables here - only meat with spices. Therefore, it is worth preparing a side dish separately. Suitable rice, mashed potatoes, stewed vegetables or small pasta. Now get to work:

1. Cut cucumbers into circles, and meat into small slices.
2. Mix sour cream with tkemali sauce in a small bowl.
3. Fry the meat in a deep frying pan or in a cauldron - not hard enough to form a crust, no more than 5 minutes.
4. Pour it with the resulting sauce and broth. Stir, cover, simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Cut the cheese into cubes and add to the pan along with the cucumber. S alt, simmer for another 10 minutes.

That's it. Sophisticated and simple dinner is ready.

Using pots

Someexperts say that since beef azu is a Tatar dish, it is best to cook it in pots. So let's talk about this recipe. To bring it to life, take:

• 400g meat.
• 6 pickles.
• 8 potatoes.
• 3 medium onions.
• 150 grams of cheese.
• 1 carrot.
• 3 tbsp. l. tomato paste.
• Bay leaf, s alt and black pepper.

When all the ingredients are collected, you can start to master a new dish:

1. Cut the meat into narrow strips, fry in vegetable oil, adding pepper and s alt. Not too long, literally 5 minutes for a slight grip.
2. Cut cucumbers or grate. Lay on the bottom of the washed pots.
3. Put the meat on top of the cucumbers. Add a bay leaf.
4. Peel and cut vegetables - onions in half rings, and carrots on a coarse grater. Saute until carrots are soft and onions are golden. Arrange in pots.
5. Cut the potatoes into large cubes. Pepper and s alt, fry in a pan to form a golden crust. Add to other ingredients.
6. Dilute the tomato paste with water to the consistency of the broth and distribute among the pots.
7. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Put the pots in it for 40 minutes.
8. Sprinkle the finished dish with grated cheese and serve.

As the photos illustrating the basics of beef show, it looks great in pots.

Azuin the microwave

Separately, let's talk about cooking in the microwave. Prepare these ingredients:

• 400 g of meat (Beef is better, but poultry or pork can also be used).
• 2 pickles.
• 1 onion.
• 1 carrot.
• 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste.
• Sugar, s alt, spices.

In this case, you also cook the meat base - the side dish will have to be picked up separately. Getting Started:

1. Peel the carrots with onions, cut and mix. Put in a glass pan greased with vegetable oil. Microwave for 5 minutes at maximum power.
2. Cut the meat into slices, and the cucumbers into half rings. Add along with tomato paste, s alt, sugar and spices to vegetables.
3. Stir, pour 2 cups of broth or boiling water.
4. Microwave for 15 minutes.
5. Take it out, mix it up and put another 10.

This recipe illustrates that you can cook azu in the shortest possible time, and the taste will not suffer from this.

Conclusion

After reading the article, you learned not only the history of this exquisite exotic dish, but also different ways of preparing it. Now you have the opportunity to choose the most suitable one and please your loved ones with a delicious dinner.