Nauryz Köje — Kazakh Seven-Ingredient Grain Soup

Place the meat in 3 liters of cold water and bring it to a boil. Skim off all the foam, then simmer over low heat for 90 minutes with the lid ajar. It is ready when the meat begins to separate from the bone.

Remove the meat from the pot, pull it from the bones, and cut it into chickpea-size cubes. Strain the broth; you should have 2 liters. If there is less, add hot water to make up the difference.

Drain the soaked wheat and add it to the boiling meat broth. Simmer over low heat for 40 minutes, until the grains split and soften. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Rinse the millet and rice several times, then add them and cook for 20 minutes more. The soup should thicken and flow slowly from a spoon. Millet settles on the bottom, so stir often during cooking.

Render the lamb tail fat in a small skillet, remove the crisp bits, and pour the melted fat into the soup.

Add the milk, bring the soup to a boil once, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring so it does not stick. Add the salt and turn off the heat. Since the kurut is also salty, it is best for the soup to be slightly under-salted at this point.

In a bowl, mash the kurut with some of the ayran until dissolved. Once the soup has cooled slightly, gradually stir in the ayran and dissolved kurut, then return the diced meat to the pot. The mixture should combine smoothly without the ayran curdling.