— Written in collaboration with Dr. Zulfiya Tursunova, Rushana Rakhimova, and Gerry Lor
For the third part of Food Storytelling Collective’s “Cooking for Peace” Recipe series, we’ll be sharing a Tatar recipe for Zur Belish, provided by Rushana Rakhimova. Rushana was born in Tatarstan. She is a nurse who honors her culture, language, and traditions by passing them onto her three-year old son, Abraham.
During the Cooking for Peace event, Rushana and Abraham walked us through a step by step process for making this Tatar meat and potato pie. Rushana also shared stories about what it was like moving to the US from Tatarstan, some history of her hometown, and some book recommendations! To watch the full event, scroll down to the bottom of this post.
Zur Belish Ingredients
Pie Crust
- ⅔ cup of warm milk
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 tsp of salt
- 2 ½ – 3 cups of flour, sifted
Pie Stuffing
- 3 ½ cups peeled gold potatoes, diced in large pieces
- (amount) lamb or beef, cut into medium pieces
- 1 onion, slices
- 1 Tbsp of salt
- 1 tsp of ground black pepper
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 sliced carrots (optional)
- ⅓ cup of beef broth
Directions
- Begin with the pie crust. In a large bowl whisk the milk and eggs. Add the melted butter, salt, and flour, and mix until homogeneous.
- Knead the dough by hand for about a minute, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Make the stuffing. Mix all the ingredients besides the butter and flour together in a large bowl.
- Take about 3/4 of the pie crust, and roll it into a large circle. Transfer to a greased tart pan.
- Add the stuffing to the tart pan. Pour the broth and dice the butter on top.
- Fold the edges of the crust inward over the filling. Roll the rest of the pie crust into a medium circle, and place on top of the pie. Pinch the top and bottom crust to crimp it and seal the pie.
- Bake at 350F for 90 minutes.
This series is organized by the Food Storytelling Collective, which is here to inspire conversations on traditional dishes and their rich legacies. Together, we’ll learn how to make traditional dishes, learn more about our food systems, and celebrate the resilience of different communities through family stories. This project is run by Dr. Zulfiya Tursunova, associate professor at Guilford College, and is sponsored by NCAAT. You can reach her via email at tursunovaz@guilford.edu if you have any questions.
