Navat is a national delicacy of many peoples of the Middle East; it is prepared in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and other countries. The traditional dish is crystallized sugar, which, according to an old recipe, is made from grape juice.
Transparent navata crystals
Navat is one of the many oriental delicacies
It is difficult to list all the currently known oriental sweets, their assortment is very wide and varied. They are distinguished by the method of preparation and the raw materials used, as well as structural, mechanical and taste properties. Most oriental sweets have an extremely high nutritional value, because they use a sugar base, a fairly large amount of fats or oils, as well as eggs, nuts, oil-containing kernels and dried fruits. Navat is no exception, the finished product is very high in calories.
Navat, like various types of kozinaks, roasted nuts, feshmak, pandyr shaker, kangalaka and parvarda, refers to hard oriental sweets such as caramel and monpansier. In the dry language of science, navat is a product obtained in the process of recrystallization of sucrose from saturated sugar syrups.
The finished confectionery product is a smooth, transparent or translucent crystals of sucrose, the size of which is varied – from small to large “fragments”. The moisture content of the finished product should be no more than 0,7%. Navat is served on the table, usually beautifully arranged in the form of an irregular pyramid.
The healing properties of sugar crystals – myth or reality?
Among the local population, the opinion is firmly rooted that navat, for the preparation of which, as a rule, only natural dyes and spices are used, has many useful and even medicinal properties. However, representatives of official science do not share this opinion, however, and refute: so far no laboratory studies of this product have been carried out. After all, the fact that no artificial colors and additives are added during the preparation of navat does not yet confirm any of its unique or medicinal properties.
Navat in various national cuisines
In the national cuisines of various countries, Navat is also known under other names – navvot, alarm, nabot, kinwa-shakeri, etc.
Navat also takes its place among the dishes of the Turkmen national cuisine, which is considered rather isolated. Interestingly, in addition to navat, traditionally prepared on the basis of grape juice, similar raw materials are used for other sweets, for example, a sweet dish called bekmes is made from a mixture of watermelon and grape juice. From grape juice, like navat, a Turkmen variety of halva is also prepared, which is a jam-like mass boiled from a mixture of the roots of a local wild cherry plant, mixed with the juice of watermelon, melon and grapes with the addition of various spices.
Thanks to its pleasant taste and rather unusual, but attractive appearance, Navat has been very popular for a long time.
In the national cuisine of Kyrgyzstan, which is also famous for its halva, navat has also been popular for a long time. Traditionally, this delicacy can be seen both on a festive table and during an ordinary homemade tea party. Navat is served with tea, and other oriental sweets are also placed on the table, for example, shimime, parvarda, chaynama, ak pechek, as well as the already mentioned halva.
Making traditional oriental navat requires more than just special knowledge and skills. Also, master pastry chefs (in Kyrgyzstan, for example, they are called shackles) use many special tools. If you have the necessary equipment, you can try to cook sweets at home, but in many localities certain people are engaged in this.
Unlike most oriental sweets, the production of which has already been established at the food industry and public catering enterprises of some Central Asian countries, navat continues to be mainly a handicraft product. Special people are engaged in the manufacture of this delicacy, carefully preserving its ancient recipe.
To obtain 990 g of the finished product you will need:
– granulated sugar – 1 kg; – water or grape juice – 400 ml; – white threads.
Navat: beneficial properties
It is necessary to load granulated sugar and water into an open digester. The volume of liquid should be about 40% of the total weight of the sugar. You can use grape juice instead of water. Gradually boiling down the resulting mass, it is necessary to achieve the formation of sugar syrup with a moisture content of 16 to 18%.
Sometimes only sugar and water are used to prepare this exotic oriental delicacy.
After that, the resulting solution must be loaded into a special boiler. In conditions of thermal insulation, while maintaining a constant temperature, the crystallization process will take place in it. Then you need to pull a few white threads, forming 3-4 parallel rows.
The finished sugar syrup, after it has been strained through a sieve (a sieve with 1,5×1,5 mm cells is suitable for this), must be poured into the kettle and left. The sugar crystallization process takes 72 hours. After this stage is completed, the remaining sugar syrup must be removed from the boiler. Then the crystals formed must be left to dry for a while, after which their threads are cut. The final step in preparing nawat is to very carefully remove the resulting clusters of sugar crystals.
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