Mongolians, as you saw in the main article, eat mainly meat and dairy products and wheat flour is seldom used – which is why  a really good Mongolian biscuit is rare. If you think about it, Mongolians of old probably didn’t have too much time to spend afternoons baking cookies. Thanks to their culinary history, though,  the cuisine of today does provide us with these gems –  Boortsog – which are traditional Mongolian biscuits with no particular shape, absolutely morish and deep-fried in hot oil. The Mongolians use fat left over from cooking meat builloin but we suggest that you use use vegetable oil.

Ingredients

• 1,5 kg flour, well sifted
• 250 g sugar
• 500 g butter
• A pinch of salt
• 950 ml warm boiled water (some extra in case you need it – you’ll see the minute the flour is added

Method

• Dissolve the salt, the sugar and the butter in the warm boiled water and mix it until the sugar and butter are completely dissolved and a smooth homogenous mixture is formed.
• Add the flour and knead into smooth soft dough.
• The kneading process is vital for boortsog and may require the strength and energy of a male or strong woman because the dough must be kneaded until absolutely no air remains in it (we suggest that you knead it and allow it to rest about three times).
• As soon as the dough is ready, roll out until it is about 1 ½ cm thick and then cut it into any shapes you like – use a variety of cookie cutters or use your own imagination (Mongolians cut it into squares and triangles with a sharp knife.
• Using the knife, make two little cut-like lines on each piece in order to allow any remaining air to escape and is quite a pretty decoration.
• Preheat the oil to medium heat and then place the boortsog, a few at a time in the oil and fry until they are golden brown.
• Remove with a sieve if you aren’t using a fryer.
• They are delicious with jam and butter topped with cheese.