Kyrgyzstan: vegan oromo

Welcome back to the vegan world tour. Today, we find ourselves in Kyrgyzstan where we cook vegan oromo. The oromo is a large dumpling meant for multiple people to share. Filled with pumpkin, onion, and soy mince, the vegan oromo is served with chili oil and plant-based yogurt. Read on to learn a bit about Kyrgyz cuisine and the oromo or jump straight to the recipe.

Kyrgyz cuisine

Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia neighbors China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Our first, and so far only other, stop in Central Asia was in Tajikistan where we made pumpkin-filled sambusa or samosa almost 2 years ago. Kyrgyz cuisine is heavily influenced by its neighbors, as well as Russia, using similar ingredients, cooking methods, and dishes ​[1]​. A large part of the cuisine is based on nomadic, pastoral roots and as such, dairy and sheep play an important part in Kyrgyz cooking ​[1]–[3]​. But there is plenty of room for fresh produce. Vegetables like tomato, cucumber, pumpkin, beets, and carrots grow well in the country, as do fruits and berries like melon, peaches, apples, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries ​[2]​. Most meals are accompanied by rice, noodles, bread or potatoes and tea ​[3]​.

Kyrgyz dishes

Beshbarmak, translated as “five fingers”, is often cited as Kyrgyzstan’s national dish ​[1], [3], [4]​. This noodle dish consists of broad noodles and horse meat in a soup or broth and is meant to be eaten by hand (hence the name). Another popular noodle dish is Chinese-inspired laghman (hand-pulled noodles) where noodles are served stir-fried or with a thick sauce with vegetables and often some meat ​[1], [3], [4]​. Among the rice dishes, plov has a special place ​[3]​. Similar to the Kabuli palau we made when visiting Afghanistan, plov consists f rice cooked with spices, carrots, and lamb or chicken, often with dried fruits as well ​[5]​.

Among the more doughy items you will find different types of bread, like naan baked in clay ovens or deep-fried, bite-size boorsok ​[4]​. Similar to sambusa in Tajikistan, samsa are common in Kyrgyzstan and often filled with meat, potato, or pumpkin ​[1]​. Dumplings are also very popular and go by the name manti ​[1], [3], [4]​. In Kyrgyzstan, manti are often filled with a combination of lamb, cabbage, potato, onion, and pumpkin. The manti are usually steamed and served with sour cream. A very interesting dumpling version, for when you have many guests or not a lot of time, is the oromo, one large, rolled dumpling for multiple people.

Oromo

Have you ever felt like making dumplings but decided not to because of the work involved? Then the oromo might be for you. This Kyrgyz specialty is a large, rolled-up dumpling made to feed several people and the name literally means “roll” ​[6]​. Much easier to make than a large number of bite-size dumplings. Bite-size dumplings called manti are also popular in Kyrgyzstan and sometimes the oromo is referred to as “lazy manti” ​[6]​. While reading, I found an even lazier version where you serve the stuffing and steamed, thin pieces of dough for the guest to make their own dumplings at the table (a bit like tacos in a way) ​[1]​.

Oromo is an everyday dish in Kyrgyzstan, not reserved for any special occasion. In a nomadic, light traveler tradition, the dish is often eaten from a common plate using your hands as the only utensils. Oromo is also popular in other countries in the region, such as Kazakstan where it goes by the name orama and in Russia where it is called khanum or hanum.

How to cook oromo

To make Kyrgyz oromo, you simply roll pasta dough into a large, thin sheet, cover it with your filling, roll it up and steam it. Serve with yogurt ​[6]–[9]​, chili oil or chili sauce ​[7], [9]–[12]​, or a tomato-based sauce ​[6], [9], [13]​. What you fill the oromo with is up to you. The most popular fillings include lamb, pumpkin, and onion ​[6]–[8], [11]​ but other vegetables are common, such as potato ​[9], [11], [13]​, sweet potato, carrot ​[1], [14]​, and cabbage ​[1], [15]​. Rice and bell peppers can also be used ​[6]​. A spring version uses fresh garlic chives and eggs instead ​[10]​. Herbs like parsley are often added to the stuffing as well.

Vegan oromo

In creating this vegan oromo recipe, I decided to not deviate too far from the popular lamb, pumpkin and onion filling and simply replaced the minced lamb with soy mince. I also replaced the egg in the pasta dough with some olive oil. I was contemplating making a version with fried onion and potato as the stuffing, similar to Asian Cuisine’s oromo on Youtube. This sounds delicious but I felt like it would be a bit close to the Burek we made for Serbia, albeit steamed instead of baked.

Serve the vegan oromo with your condiment(s) of choice. Popular options are yogurt or sourcream ​[6]–[9]​, chili oil ​[7], [10]​, chili sauce ​[9], [11], [12]​, fresh tomato sauce ​[6], [13]​ or even ketchup ​[9]​. I decided to serve the vegan oromo with plant-based yogurt and a simple, homemade chili oil based on a Central Asian recipe I found ​[16]​ (included below).

Conclusion

Oromo is such a great idea. Compared to bite-size dumplings, oromo is really easy to make while still preserving the essence of steamed dumplings. I chose a pumpkin-based filling and served the vegan oromo with chili oil. The heat from the chili contrasted very nicely with the sweet pumpkin. The dough texture turned out really well after steaming and it felt like eating dumplings. I am already planning on making an oromo-inspired single dumpling with an East Asian filling. Hopefully it turns out as well as this pumpkin-based oromo.

Next time on our global vegan adventure, we will travel from Central Asia to Southern Europe and cook something exciting. If you don’t want to miss the next stop, you can subscribe to the email list and I’ll send you an alert.

Vegan oromo recipe

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Vegan oromo

The Kyrgyz oromo is a large dumpling meant to be shared between several people. An easy-to-make take on a standard dumpling, this delicious vegan version includes pumpkin, onion, and soy mince. Serve with chili oil and yogurt.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan

Keyword Dumplings, Pasta, pumpkin

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Resting 1 hour hour

Servings 1 oromo

Equipment

• Steaming basket

Ingredients

Dumpling dough

• 200 g all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
• 100 mL water
• Flour for rolling

Filling

• 180 g pumpkin or sweet potato, grated
• 70 g onion, finely chopped
• 90 g soy mince, rehydrated TVP, or another meat substitute
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp black pepper

Chili oil (optional)

• 50 mL dried chili flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp
• 75 mL vegetable oil

Condiments

• Chili oil Store bought or homemade
• plant-based yogurt or sour cream

Instructions

Dough

• Start by preparing the dough. Mix flour with salt and olive oil. Add water a bit at a time and work it in. The dough should be quite firm.
• Cover the dough and let it rest for 1+ h. Can rest overnight. Don't let it dry out.

Chili oil

• If you are making your own chili oil, it can be made days in advance or while the dough is resting.
• Add minced garlic and chili flakes to a heat-proof container. An old glass jar works well in my experience.
• Heat the oil in a pot until it feels hot enough to fry in.
• Pour the oil over the garlic and chili carefully. The garlic will start to sizzle.
• Let the oil cool before using.

Filing

• Prepare the oromo filling by chopping the onion and grating the pumpkin. Chop the parsley.

Assemble the oromo

• If using a wooden steaming basket, place some lightly oiled parchment paper in the bottom. If using a metal steam, lightly oil it.
• Roll out the dough into a large, thin sheet. About 1 mm thick.

  Tip: measure the circumference of your steaming basket and don't make the roll too wide.
• Cover the dough sheet with the pumpkin, onion, soy mince and parsley. Sprinkle some ground pepper on top. Keep the layer thin.
• Roll the dough and filling into a tight roll, as you would cinnamon buns.
• Shape the roll into a horseshoe shape. Bend the roll and place it in your steamer.

Steam the oromo

• Steam the oromo for 30-40 minutes.

Serve straight away

• Serve the oromo straight away with your condiments of choice, such as chili oil and yogurt.

References