Glossary B
Boortsog refer to one of Mongolia's famous pastries. They are deep-fried butter cookies, simply made from white flour, butter, sugar and salt mixed with water and oil for deep-frying.
In Mongolia mutton fat is traditionally used for deep frying, but nowadays also increasingly vegetable oil.
Boortsog are eaten as sweets or as a snack. Butter, honey or cheese can be used as topping for Boortsog, depending on how much sugar is used in cooking. Very often they are taken with tea by dipping them into the tea before eating.
Industrial-made Boortsog can be purchased in most shops in Mongolia.
Bhaji is the collective name given to side dishes usually of vegetables, which are served as an accompaniment to Cury as the main course. Bhaji is often mildly spiced and sauceless and appear in different varieties in a restuarant menu or in mobile street food stalls and tea shops, such as
Pav Bhaji, Vangya Chi Bhaji, Spinach Bhaji, Sai Bhaji, and Onion Bhaji.
Byaslag refer to the Mongolian cheese from the milk of cattle, yaks, goats, or sheep. However, the milk of yak and cattle is most commonly used to make Byaslag.
The overall taste of Mongolian cheese is somewhat bland compared to other European cheeses as it does not get to ripen. In Mongolia, fresh slices of cheeses are eaten as a snack. Cheeses which became hard is often soaked in tea and is also added to soups.
To make a Byaslag, boil the milk, and add a small amount of Kefir. After the milk has curdled, lift out the solid components with a large cloth. Let most of the remaining liquid drip off, and when no more liquid remains, press the solid mass between some wooden boards with a weight.
In a nomadic household like the Mongolians, it is not possible to let the cheese ripen as it is done in the other cheese making traditions, like storing, turning, salting, and other procedures to have a good tasting cheese. To preserve their cheese, they are cut into slices and then dried.