The Mongolian Way

The harsh terrains of Mongolia have compelled people living there to live off on meat and dairy products. Cattle is reared in large numbers for their milk, meat and fur. However, despite the scarcity of vegetables , Mongolians have churned out the most mouth-watering dishes with what they have.

One such dish is the Boodog, often called the ' Mongolian Barbeque' which is made with a goat or marmot,the former being more popular due to lack of potential health hazards.

To make a Boodog , typically a large male goat is chosen. The head is partially sundered from the body . The skin and meat from the head area is cut off and the head pulled out. The front legs are then broken followed by the ribs.

The animal is gutted using bare hands only through the neck opening. The butcher feels through the inside of the animal to pull out the meat , bones and organs. Some organs like the liver are considered important for seasoning and are not thrown away.

The skin sack is turned inside out for easier extraction of meat. A large portion of the skin is also cut off for faster cooking.

The extracted meat is then cleaned thoroughly. It is not uncommon to find meat being cleaned with dough in Mongolian households as it supposedly cleans better .

But before all of this is done, one should keep the main ingredient at hand - smooth, black stones collected from streams . The stones are used to lend a special smokey flavor to the meat.

The next step is to warm the stones on a bunch of twigs for about an hour.

The skin sack is turned into it's original form and gradually the warm stones are added , followed by potatoes, onions and spices and the same thing is repeated until the sack is full.

The neck is stitched shut and is makes it ready for cooking.

One might not be familiar with the concept of using a barbequing with a blowtorch, but Mongolian gastronomy is anything but clichéd. The blowtorch is used to burn away the fur and cook the meat. When the neck of the animal is dripping with fat, it is ready to be eaten. The skin is scraped off of any burnt residue and thoroughly washed to be served.

Cooking Boodog is a tiring job taking about six hours to prepare. However, it is worth waiting for , making it ideal for celebrations.