{{Short description|Traditional fried dough of Central Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines}} {{More citations needed|date=February 2011}} {{Infobox food | name = Boorsok | image = Boortsog.JPG | image_size = 250px | caption = Homemade boortsog | alternate_name = Boorsoq, bauyrsaq, baursak | country = | region = Central Asia, Mongolia | creator = Mongolian people and people of Central Asia | course = Dessert, side dish, appetizer | type = Fried dough | served = | main_ingredient = Butter, salt, milk, yeast, flour | variations = | calories = | other = }}
'''Boortsog''', '''boorsoq''', '''baursak''', '''baursaq''', '''bauyrsaq''', '''borsok''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɔːr|t|s|ɒ|g}}; {{langx|mn|боорцог}} {{IPA|mn|ˈpɔːr̥t͡sɞk|}}; {{langx|ba|бауырһаҡ|bawırhaq}}; {{langx|kk|бауырсақ|bauyrsaq}} {{IPA|kk|bɑwərˈsɑq|}}; {{langx|ky|боорсок|boorsok}} {{IPA|ky|bɔːrˈsɔq|}}; {{langx|tk|пишме|pişme}}; {{langx|uz|boʻgʻirsoq}} {{IPA|uz|bɒʁɨrˈsɒq|}}; {{langx|tr|kabarcık, pişi, bişi, tuzlu lokma, halka}}}} or '''boorsok''' is a fried dough food found in the cuisines of Central Asia, Idel-Ural, Mongolia, and the Middle East.<ref>Waters (2007), 51.</ref>
==Presentation== Boortsog are shaped into triangles or sometimes spheres.<ref>Mayhew and Noble (2007), 112.</ref> The dough consists of flour, yeast, milk, eggs, butter, salt, sugar, and margarine.<ref>Schreiber (2008), 107.</ref> Tajik boortsog are often decorated with a criss-cross pattern by pressing the bottom of a small strainer on the dough before it is fried. It has been adopted by Cossack cuisine as "bursak".{{fact|date=April 2026}}
Boortsog is often eaten as a dessert, with syrup, jam, or honey. They can be thought of as cookies or biscuits; since they are fried, they are sometimes compared to doughnuts. Mongolians and Turkic peoples sometimes dip boortsog in tea. In Central Asia, boorsok is often eaten alongside chorba.<ref>Schreiber (2008), 104.</ref>
Mekitsa ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|бухтички}}, {{IPA|sh|uʃtɪpt͡sɪ|pron}}) are doughnut-like fried dough balls popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia (especially in the Srem District of Vojvodina), and Slovenia (where they are known as "miške").{{fact|date=April 2026}}
==Preparation== Dough for boortsog ranges in ingredients from a simple dough to a sweeter, crispier dough. For example, a typical Kyrgyz recipe calls for one part butter, seven parts salt water, and six parts milk, along with yeast and flour, while more complex recipes add eggs and sugar. Also, the dough could be made with kaymak.{{fact|date=April 2026}}
Boortsog are made by cutting the flattened dough into pieces. While not usually done in Central Asia, these pieces may be bent and knotted into various shapes before being deep-fried. This is especially common among Mongolians. The dough is deep-fried golden brown. Mutton fat is traditionally used by Mongolians to give the boortsog extra flavor, but vegetable oil may be substituted.<ref name="bo">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mongolfood.info/en/recipes/boortsog.html|title=Boortsog - Deep Fried Butter Cookies - Mongolian Recipes|website=www.mongolfood.info}}</ref><ref name="bor">{{Cite web|url=https://shardsofmongolia.blogspot.com/2005/09/recipe-for-boortsog.html|title=Recipe for Boortsog}}</ref><ref name="boos">{{Cite web|url=https://www.e-mongol.com/mongolia_culture_cooking-recipes.htm|title=e-Mongol.com - Culture of Mongolia : cooking recipes|website=www.e-mongol.com|access-date=2021-03-15|archive-date=2006-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060507133232/https://www.e-mongol.com/mongolia_culture_cooking-recipes.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="bos">{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRpz2htay9Q|title=Жене жана боорсок|date=2007-09-05 |via=www.youtube.com}}</ref>
== World records == On {{start date and age|2014|4|20|paren=y}}, the largest boorsok ever, weighing in at {{cvt|179|kg}}, was cooked in Ufa, Russia. Its preparation used 1,006 eggs (about {{cvt|60|kg}} worth), {{cvt|25|kg}} of sugar, {{cvt|70|kg}} of flour, and {{cvt|50|kg}} of Bashkir honey.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bashinform.ru/news/624065/?sphrase_id=247955|title=В Уфе на изготовление самого большого баурсака России потратили 1006 яиц // ОБЩЕСТВО {{!}} новости башинформ.рф|website=www.bashinform.ru|access-date=2016-09-08}}</ref>
On {{start date and age|2014|9|7|paren=y}}, during the celebration of Mother's Day, a Guinness record was made in Almaty, when {{convert|856|kg|spell=us}} of baursaks were cooked in one place in one day. The celebration was held in the form of a culinary battle between teams of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. Seven teams participated in the competition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tengrinews.kz/strange_news/novyiy-rekord-ginnessa-ustanovili-v-almatyi-v-den-materi-261380/|title=Новый рекорд Гиннесса установили в Алматы в День Матери - Фрагменты жизни в Казахстане и мире – интересные истории {{!}} Tengrinews|website=Tengrinews.kz|date=2014-09-07 |access-date=2016-09-08}}</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery mode="packed" heights="150"> File:Frying boorsoq.jpg|Kyrgyz boorsoq being fried in a stove-top qazan File:BaursakKZ.JPG|Kazakh baursaks File:Kazakh Baursak.jpg|Kazakh baursaks with kaymak File:İkrama hazır pişi.jpg|Turkish pişi </gallery>
==See also== {{portal|Food}} * Chak-chak * Frybread * List of doughnut varieties * List of fried dough varieties * List of quick breads * Lokma * Shelpek * Uštipci * Youtiao
==Notes== {{Notelist|1}}
==References== {{Reflist|1}}
==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|last=Mayhew|first=Bradley|author2=John Noble|title=Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan|publisher=Lonely Planet|date=2007|series=Multi Country Guide|isbn=978-1-74104-614-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DwX-UTmC1GwC&pg=PA112 |access-date=2009-11-12 }} *{{cite book|last=Schreiber|first=Dagmar|title=Kasachstan: Auf Nomadenwegen zwischen Kaspischen Meer und Altaj|publisher=Trescher Verlag|date=2008|edition=3rd|language=de|isbn=978-3-89794-137-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ibfRE8w3KzQC&pg=PA106 |access-date=2009-11-12 }} *{{cite book|last=Waters|first=Bella|title=Kazakhstan in Pictures|publisher=Twenty-First Century Books|date=2007|edition=2nd|series=Visual Geography|isbn=978-0-8225-6588-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8rd4LRKrdUC&pg=PT52 |access-date=2009-11-12 }} {{refend}}
==External links== {{commons category|Bagirsaq}} *[http://www.mongolfood.info/en/recipes/boortsog.html Recipe] *[https://shardsofmongolia.blogspot.com/2005/09/recipe-for-boortsog.html Recipe] *[http://www.e-mongol.com/mongolia_culture_cooking-recipes.htm#Boortsog Recipe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517161117/http://www.e-mongol.com/mongolia_culture_cooking-recipes.htm#Boortsog |date=2019-05-17 }} *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRpz2htay9Q Kyrgyz frying boorsoq]
{{Doughnut}}{{Oirat topics}}{{Cuisine of Turkey}}
Category:Doughnuts Category:Buryat cuisine Category:Bashkir cuisine Category:Kalmyk cuisine Category:Kazakh cuisine Category:Kyrgyz cuisine Category:Mongolian cuisine Category:Russian cuisine Category:Soviet cuisine Category:Tajik cuisine Category:Tatar cuisine Category:Turkmen cuisine Category:Tuvan cuisine Category:Uzbekistani cuisine Category:Yeast breads Category:Milk dishes Category:Turkish breads Category:Central Asian desserts