Çäkçäk
Çäkçäk, frequently anglicized as chak-chak, is a Tatar sweet. It is particularly popular in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, and is recognized as Tatarstan's national sweet in Russia.
Çäkçäk is made from unleavened dough cut and rolled into hazelnut-sized balls, which are then deep-fried in oil. Optionally hazelnuts or dried fruits are added to the mixture. The fried balls are stacked in a mound in a special mold and drenched with hot honey. After cooling and hardening, çäkçäk may be optionally decorated with hazelnuts and dried fruits.
Traditional wedding çäkçäk is of bigger size and is often covered with candies and dragées. The biggest çäkçäk was prepared on 29 August 2005 during Kazan's millennium celebration.Types
- If the dough is fried as noodles, çäkçäk is called Boxara käläwäse.
- Kazakh shek-shek is similar to Boxara käläwäse.
- Uzbek chakchak comes in half rounded balls, noodles and flakes types.
- Tajik chakchak comes in both types, as balls and as noodles.
