Çäkçäk

Çäkçäk (right) and Boxara käläwäse (left)

The title of this article contains the characters ç, and ä. Where they are unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Cakcak.

Çäkçäk (pronounced [ɕækˈɕæk], Janalif: Cəkcək, Tatar Cyrillic: Чәкчәк^[1] or чәк-чәк, çäk-çäk; Tajik: чақчақ, chaqchaq; Russian: чак-чак, chak-chak; Bashkir: сәк-сәк, säk-säk, kazakh "шек-шек" (shek-shek)), frequently anglicized as chak-chak (IPA: /tʃækˈtʃæk/), is a Tatar sweet. It is particularly popular in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, and is recognized as Tatarstan's national sweet in Russia.

Çäkçäk is made from unleavened dough cut and rolled into hazelnut-sized balls, which are then deep-fried in oil. Optionally hazelnuts or dried fruits are added to the mixture. The fried balls are stacked in a mound in a special mold and drenched with hot honey. After cooling and hardening, çäkçäk may be optionally decorated with hazelnuts and dried fruits.

Traditional wedding çäkçäk is of bigger size and is often covered with candies and dragées. The biggest çäkçäk (1,000 kg) was prepared on 29 August 2005 during Kazan's millennium celebration.^[2]

Types

• If the dough is fried as noodles, çäkçäk is called Boxara käläwäse (Бохара кәләвәсе, [bɔxɑˈrɑ kælæwæˈse], i.e. Bukharan käläwä ).^[1]
• Kazakh shek-shek is similar to Boxara käläwäse.
• Tajik chakchak comes in both types, as balls and as noodles.

See also

• Tatar culture
• Tatar cuisine
• Lokma (a similar dish originating in Turkey)
• Struffoli
• Sachima (a similar dish in Manchu cuisine)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} (Tatar) "Чәкчәк". Tatar Encyclopedia. Kazan: Tatarstan Republic Academy of Sciences Institution of the Tatar Encyclopaedia. 2002. 
2. ^ (Russian) Chak-chak record in Kazan