Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Kazakh · Kyrgyz

Kuyrdak

Non-vegetarian

Қуырдақ · Quyrdaq

A rustic fry-up of lamb, liver, onions and potatoes cooked together in one pan until browned and tender. Traditionally made from fresh offal on the day an animal is slaughtered.

Kuyrdak is a Kazakh main course from Kazakhstan, ready in about 1 hour 15 minutes and made with lamb shoulder and lamb liver. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Kuyrdak of fried meat and offal with onions cooking in a large kazan
Photo: Rio Murr from Minsk, Belarus / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-2.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
55 min
Total
1 h 15 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
673

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oil in a heavy pot over high heat. Brown the lamb in two batches, then return it all to the pot.

    Food safety: Keep raw meat and offal separate from ready-to-eat food.

    Meat searing in a hot pan
    How it looks · Photo: Skylar Kang on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Add the onions (opens in a new tab) and cook until they soften and colour, then add the water, cover and simmer until the lamb is nearly tender.

    • 25 min
    • medium-low heat
    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Add the potatoes (opens in a new tab), salt, pepper (opens in a new tab) and cumin (opens in a new tab), stir, cover and cook until the potatoes are soft, stirring now and then.

    • 15 min
    • medium-low heat

  4. Step 4

    Uncover, raise the heat, add the liver and fry for 4–5 minutes, turning, until just cooked and the potatoes (opens in a new tab) catch a little colour. Scatter with dill (opens in a new tab).

    • 5 min
    • medium-high heat

    Food safety: Cook liver until no longer red in the centre.

    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Kazakhstan · Commonly attributedAlso a classic of Kyrgyz cooking, where it is called kuurdak.Also popular in KyrgyzstanMore food from Kazakhstan
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses
Cooking method
Pan-fried, Braised
Taste
savoury, rich, peppery
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Everyday
Cook more with
Lamb shoulder · Onion · Potato
Techniques
Pan-frying · Simmering · Braising

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

673 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 443 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 23%
  • Carbohydrate 20%
  • Fat 57%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy673 kcal152 kcal
Protein39.2 g8.9 g
Carbohydrate33.2 g7.5 g
Net carbohydrate29 g6.6 g
Sugars——
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4.2 g0.9 g
Fat42.8 g9.7 g
Saturated fat14.9 g3.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol353 mg80 mg
Sodium1018 mg230 mg
Salt equivalent2.5 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1283 mg
Calcium
53 mg
Iron
8.2 mg
Magnesium
77 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
5561 µg
Vitamin C
37 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
69.9 µg
Folate (DFE)
—

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: cumin, dill.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Add the liver last — it toughens and turns grainy if cooked as long as the meat.

Common mistakes

  • Crowding the pot when browning — the meat steams grey instead of colouring.
  • Cooking the liver with the meat from the start makes it dry and bitter.

Serve with

  • Serve with flatbread, sliced tomatoes and onions dressed with vinegar, and tea.

Food safety

  • Cook lamb through and liver until no pink remains (70 °C). Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Storage

  • Keeps 2 days in the fridge.

Reheating

  • Reheat in a covered pan with a splash of water.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like

  • Oromo

    Kyrgyz · 1 h 45 min · 691 kcal

  • Baursak

    Kazakh · 1 h 55 min · 386 kcal · Contains egg