Naryn: Uzbekistan's Cold Dish of Horse Meat and Noodles

On a Tashkent street early in the morning you may see an unusual scene: people at tables in a small cafe, each with a plate piled with thread-thin strips of dough and meat, and a bowl of hot broth beside it. This is naryn, one of the oldest and most respected dishes in Uzbek cuisine. Tourists often skip it, which is a pity: naryn says a lot about how people here eat and host guests.

What naryn is

Naryn is finely sliced boiled meat and homemade noodles mixed with onion and pepper. The key ingredient is horse meat and kazy, a horse sausage of meat and fat in natural casing. Lamb or beef is sometimes added, but classic naryn is made with horse meat.

The main components:

• Meat. Horse meat and kazy are boiled for a long time, cooled and cut into very thin strips.
• Dough. A stiff dough is rolled into thin sheets, boiled in the meat broth, cooled and also cut into ultra-thin strips.
• Onion and spices. Thin rings or half-rings of onion, black pepper, sometimes a little cumin.
• Broth. The rich shurpa in which the meat was cooked, served separately and hot.

One common explanation links the name to a word meaning "thin" or "fine". Indeed, a cook's skill shows in how finely the meat and dough are cut.

How it is made

Naryn is labour-intensive. Cooking takes several hours, and the slicing is an art of its own:

1. Horse meat and kazy are boiled in a large kazan until tender.
2. The meat is taken out and cooled; the broth is kept.
3. While the meat cools, dough is rolled, cut into sheets and boiled in the same broth.
4. Meat and dough are sliced very thinly by hand with a knife, sometimes by several people at once.
5. Everything is mixed with onion and pepper.

In the past naryn was often made by a whole family or neighbourhood for big occasions, and the slicing became a communal job. Cafes have streamlined the process, but good cooks still cut by hand.

How naryn is eaten

The main rule: the naryn is cold and the broth is hot. You get a plate of naryn at room temperature and a bowl of hot shurpa beside it. People eat it differently: some take a spoonful of naryn and sip the broth, others pour broth straight onto the plate. On the table you will find bread, green tea, and sometimes radish or pickled onion.

Naryn is very filling, as horse meat and kazy are rich and calorie-dense. Portions are therefore small, and it is best eaten slowly.

Why in the morning

In Tashkent naryn is traditionally a morning dish, for simple reasons:

• It is filling and gives energy for the whole day, which manual workers valued.
• It is prepared in advance, overnight or at dawn, so by morning it is sliced and cooled.
• A cold dish with hot broth goes down well in the morning, especially in the cool season.
• Horse meat is considered a "warming" meat, so naryn is particularly popular in autumn and winter.

Many naryn houses open early and close by lunchtime or sell out. If you want to try it, go early.

Tashkent and Fergana styles

Tashkent naryn is the classic cold version described above: ultra-fine slicing, broth on the side.

In the Fergana Valley naryn is also loved, but you will find local differences. Often the cut is slightly coarser and the hot broth is poured straight onto the plate, so the dish is warm and closer to a thick soup. The exact serving depends on the family and the place, so in the valley it is worth asking how naryn is served there.

Where to try it

• In Tashkent, look for small morning cafes in the old neighbourhoods and near bazaars. A sign saying "Narin" is a good clue.
• At bazaars such as Chorsu, the meat and snack rows often sell naryn to take away by weight.
• In the Fergana Valley — Kokand, Fergana, Margilan and Andijan — naryn is served in teahouses and breakfast places.
• Kazy can be bought separately in bazaar meat rows if you want to taste the horse sausage on its own.

Prices depend on the city and how much meat is in the portion. Because of the horse meat, naryn is not the cheapest dish, but the portion is small and filling. Check on the spot.

If you are travelling from Tashkent to Kokand

Tashkent to Kokand over the Kamchik Pass takes about 4 hours and covers roughly 230 km. It is convenient to leave early after a naryn breakfast in Tashkent and compare it with the local version over lunch in Kokand. Kokand is interesting in its own right, too: Khudoyar Khan's palace, old mosques and its famous sweets.

A shared ride with Yo'ldosh is an easy way to get there: you book a seat with a verified driver and can pick a morning departure so you have time for naryn and still travel in daylight. Schedules are on the Tashkent — Kokand page.

In short

• Naryn is a cold dish of finely sliced horse meat, kazy and noodles with onion.
• It comes with hot broth and is eaten in the morning, especially in the cold season.
• In the Fergana Valley you will find warm versions with broth poured on the plate.
• Go to naryn houses early, as the dish often runs out by lunch.

Heading to the valley? Find a shared ride on the Tashkent — Kokand route or pick another destination from the list of routes.

Cover photo: Jamshid Nurkulov, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.