Uma chachy - "Food - a Talisman"

Food prepared with love is a gift for the soul and heart. Folk wisdom says: If food is made with soul and good spirits, then a person who tastes this food also gains peace of mind, good mood, and spiritual enrichment.

Protective dishes are not just food that satisfies hunger or fills the stomach, but a symbiosis of physical and spiritual elements. The physical element refers to the food itself and its ingredients, while the spiritual encompasses customs, traditions, rituals, and, in general, the culture of the Kyrgyz people. Only the combined effect of these two factors led to miraculous healings from ailments, provided strength and energy to warriors, and protected women and children from diseases. This food gives a person a good mood and spiritual enrichment.

Uma Chachy

The name of this dish comes from the name Umai-ene, the protector of women and children. It was specially prepared for children. More often, this dish was given to weakened, sick children, as well as to infants who had been weaned from breastfeeding for some reason. While giving this food to the child, the mother would say: “This food is not given by me, but by Umai-ene; this hand is not mine, but the hand of Umai-ene, which takes away your pain” - and she would stroke the child's sore spot, and indeed, after some time, the child would feel better. Uma chachy was a salvation for mothers. During migrations, it was given to small children.

To prepare uma chachy, the flour was ground into small lumps, smaller than grains of rice. Then the ground flour lumps were spread on a clean cloth and allowed to rest. After that, they were fried in a cauldron in melted butter. Some fry it in lamb fat. Usually, lamb fat is used when the child has a cold.

Sometimes, especially for infants, uma chachy is not fried but simply placed in boiling milk and boiled for a few minutes until it reaches a sour cream-like consistency. Then boiled water is added, after a minute milk is added, and it is cooked a little more, salted at the very end, just before it is ready.

KYRGYZ CUISINE