Chak-chak is an original honey cake, a national dessert dish of the Tatars, Kazakhs and Bashkirs, which is served with tea and coffee. The main difficulty in cooking is to make a tender, airy dough. Traditionally, ethyl alcohol is used as a baking powder, so chak-chak is prepared with vodka (diluted to 40% alcohol by volume). During the frying process, all the alcohol will evaporate, and the dish turns out to be non-alcoholic, it can be given to children.
If there is a fundamental desire to make chak-chak without vodka, then in the proposed recipe, add 1 tablespoon of baking powder for dough instead of vodka.
Ingredients:
- wheat flour (premium grade) – 500 grams;
- chicken eggs – 5-6 pieces;
- salt – 1 teaspoon;
- vodka (diluted to 40% ethyl alcohol) – 1 tablespoon;
- liquid honey – 200 grams;
- vegetable oil – 350-400 ml (for frying);
- sugar – 100 gram;
- nuts (walnuts or others) – 50-100 grams (optional).
Chak-chak recipe with vodka
1. Beat the eggs cooled in the refrigerator into a deep bowl and beat with a whisk. Add 1 tablespoon (without a slide) of sugar and salt. Pour in vodka. Beat the mixture with a whisk until smooth.
2. Sift the flour on the table or into a wide container. Then scrape the flour with a slide, make a depression in the middle and pour the egg mixture into it. Knead a stiff dough (elastic and does not stick to your hands) – first with a spoon, then with your hands. The optimal mixing time is 10-15 minutes.
3. Put the resulting dough on the table and cover with a bowl (wrap with cling film). Leave for 15-20 minutes at room temperature. Rested dough is easier to roll out – it does not shrink.
4. On a floured surface, roll out the dough with a layer 3 mm thick and leave to dry for 3-5 minutes.
5. Cut the resulting layer into strips 2-3 cm wide. Then grind each strip into pieces 2-3 mm wide.
6. In a saucepan with a thick bottom, a saucepan or a cauldron (optimally), heat the vegetable oil until a slight haze appears.
The hotter the oil, the less it will be absorbed into the finished chak-chak, as a result, the delicacy will not be greasy.
7. Fry the dough until golden brown in 3-4 batches, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon.
8. Put the resulting blanks on a sieve, colander or paper towel to drain the remaining oil.
9. In a separate saucepan, combine honey with sugar. While stirring, bring to a boil over medium heat, let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Heated honey loses its beneficial properties, but remains safe and tasty.
10. Put the fried blanks in a deep bowl. Drizzle evenly with hot honey and sugar mixture. Mix gently, being careful not to break the dough.
11. Put still warm chak-chak on a flat saucer in the form of a slide, pyramid or cake. Press lightly with your hands to keep the dish in shape.
When laying out chak-chak, from time to time you need to wet your hands with cold water so as not to burn yourself.
12. If desired, sprinkle the dessert with nuts (whole or crushed). Remove chak-chak in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. This time is enough for the syrup to solidify, then the delicacy can be cut into pieces and served with tea or coffee. Shelf life in the refrigerator is up to 90 days.
