Which of the moviegoers does not remember the phrase of Ivan the Terrible from the film “The Diamond Arm”: “Kazan took.” It contains an important part of the history of the Tatar city. Until 1552, the Bulgarian fortress Kazan was the capital of the Kazan Khanate, and after the conquest by Ivan the Terrible, it became part of Russia.
The Tatar capital amazes every tourist with the irresistible beauty of the streets, avenues, architectural and religious monuments. What is the value of the Kazan Kremlin alone – a true architectural masterpiece of the oriental style.
Kazanians, tremulously observing ancient traditions, Muslim customs, have created a wonderful national culture. It is reflected in many household items, food products and souvenirs. Deciding what to bring from Kazan as a gift is not difficult – the choice of items is huge.
Chuck-chuck
This confectionery product is almost the main symbol of Tatarstan, without which almost no event in the republic and in the capital can do. As the Russian “bread and salt” expresses hospitality, so chak-chak is a sign of cordiality and warmth of the heart. “Honey delicacy” is met by any guests, from the most ordinary citizens to top-ranking leaders.
Also, this delicious dessert served as an attribute of matchmaking, when the parents of the future newlyweds presented them to each other when they met. Not a single festive feast is complete in Tatar families without chak-chak. Nowadays, chak-chak has lost the status of a festive dish, but has remained just as popular in many families, especially in the provinces.
You can buy it everywhere: in large supermarkets and small shops, in cafes and restaurants. In different regions, it is given a different shape: oblong sticks, round balls, squares. Chak-chak dough is made from premium flour, eggs and milk.
After frying in hot oil, the product is poured with sweet syrup from a mixture of sugar and honey. A delicious delicacy is very high in calories, so you can quickly get enough of it.
Baursak
Another kind of Tatar dessert – the national dish baursak is always present on the festive table. This type of dough product is prepared by all Turkic peoples, whose ancestors led a nomadic lifestyle. The speed of preparation, long-term preservation of the product, excellent taste and calorie content have made this type of bread very popular.
Each nationality has its own recipe for making baursak, which differs only in some nuances. Some prepare yeast dough, others – unleavened, with and without cottage cheese. In fact, these are round or square donuts fried in boiling oil and most often sprinkled with honey syrup. Since ancient times, the round baursak symbolized the sun, happiness and joy of life.
According to Tatar customs, it is served with tea not only on holidays, but also on weekdays. Crumbly, crispy dough literally melts in your mouth. The favorite delicacy of many families today is prepared at confectionery factories, it can be freely bought at any grocery store. A beautifully packaged delicacy will be a wonderful gift for children and adults.
Talk about rubbing salt in my wounds – d'oh!
The national Tatar delicacy with a complex name has a short history of origin: it began to be cooked in Kazan at the end of the 19th century. The recipe for an amazing dessert was brought from Turkish captivity by the Tatar Borhan, who worked in a confectionery and learned the method of making sweets. Talkysh kaleve – a dish with Turkish roots became very popular in the 90s of the 20th century.
Borkhan's great-grandson Niyaz Saifullin remembered how his grandmother cooked talkysh kaleve, and how this dessert helped their family. Sayfullin's signature sweetness has become a hallmark of Kazan, and the confectioner himself has become a respected person in the republic. The recipe for the Saifulli dessert is included in Y. Akhmetzyanov's classic culinary book “Tatar Dishes”.
Sweet pyramids are sold in the stores of the famous Bahetle chain and in all souvenir shops in the city. Cooking a sweet is not so easy, it requires a lot of time, patience and physical strength to make an airy product that melts in your mouth.
Honey
Entire treatises have been written about the benefits of honey, and the honey of Tataria is doubly useful. Vitamins, zinc, polyphenols contained in it make this gift of nature a valuable tool for improving health. The apiaries of Tatar beekeepers are located in ecologically clean places, far from roads, so the honey sold on the shelves of Kazan is of high quality.
Linden honey is in high demand as a remedy for colds. And there are a great many lindens in Tatarstan, so the bees have where to collect linden nectar. And flower honey, collected in June, is a storehouse of all natural nutrients and trace elements. All the best honey plants grow on the territory of Tatarstan.
It is no coincidence that the May harvest of honey products is very much appreciated by local residents, but also by tourists visiting Kazan. A jar of such honey will be a wonderful gift for a family and especially for children. The stores sell jars of sweet nectar packed in beautiful boxes, which will be a pleasant surprise.
Judgment
This is the name of a meat product that was previously prepared only at home. In other words, this is horse meat sausage, a delicious delicacy that can now be bought in stores. Kazylyk is of 2 types: boiled sausage and dried sausage. When young horses were slaughtered for meat in the villages, both types of kyzylak were prepared in every family.
Boiled was eaten quickly, and smoked was harvested for future use. To prepare kyzylyk, large pieces of horse meat and fat, cleaned of films, were marinated in salt and spices for several days. Then cleaned and washed intestines were stuffed with them and dried, hanging in a cool, dry room. Outwardly, this almost black sausage does not look very appetizing, but it is very tasty.
Home-made kyzylyk is fatter than that prepared at meat processing plants. Tourists especially like to buy Podkovka sausage with a delicate buttery taste, very soft and tasty. “Horseshoe” is made in 2 versions – classic sausage and spicy.
Fill in the blanks
A variety of meat delicacy, known in Tatarstan for a long time, still remains one of the most beloved family dishes.
Tutyrma are small soft and juicy sausages, unusually tasty. They are prepared using pork or beef intestines. The intestines are well cleaned, washed thoroughly and then stuffed with pieces of meat mixed with various cereals.
Buckwheat, rice, millet are boiled until half cooked, lightly fried with bacon, onions, spices, mixed with meat, and the intestines are stuffed with this mixture. The semi-finished product rolled into rings is placed in circles and boiled in a cauldron or baked in the oven.
For everyday consumption, sausages are prepared from beef offal with the addition of millet or buckwheat. And tutyrma for a festive feast is most often made from tongue and rice. Today, the Bakhetle culinary chain offers customers many types of tutyrma for every taste and budget.
Masters strive to cook it according to old recipes, from quality products, preserving the unique taste of the national dish.
Argamak
Today Tatarstan is one of the few places where horses are raised for meat. Horse meat is highly rated in the meat consumer market. Many residents of Kazan prefer horse meat products to beef and lamb. Argamak is a popular delicacy appreciated by true gourmets. According to the method of preparation and taste, it can be compared with the Spanish product jamon.
A piece of young colt is first boiled in salted water, then tied tightly with ropes to give the meat density. Then it is suspended and smoked over the smoke of green branches of willow, cherry, currant for 5 days.
If you travel home from Kazan for 3-4 days, then you are unlikely to bring an argamak in an edible state. It is worth buying if you fly by plane. Then your relatives will definitely taste the exclusive fresh delicacy.
Kosh Tele
Anyone who has tried at least once a crispy Tatar dessert melting in your mouth called “kosh tele” became his fan. This is an analogue of the popular pastry – brushwood, also known in Russian cuisine. Cooking kosh tele has its own nuances. In addition to egg yolks and a tablespoon of vodka, added to flour when making brushwood, milk, sour cream, and soda are poured into the Tatar dessert.
The dough is rolled out into thin, thin layers, cut into short diamond-shaped strips with a knife with carved edges and fried in melted butter. Thin dough instantly becomes airy and golden. After cooling, the product is sprinkled with powdered sugar, stacked in a vase and served on the table for tea.
Kosh tele is a festive dessert at a wedding feast, birthdays and other family celebrations. This delicacy is loved by both children and adults. In chain stores and confectioneries in Kazan, kosh tele is sold in vacuum packs, which prolongs its shelf life.
Honeysuckle
Everyone remembers the obligatory proverb in Russian folk tales: “And I was there, drinking honey-beer” … This meant an old Slavic drink made from honey by fermentation. Recipes for its manufacture can be found in the ancient chronicles of Kievan Rus.
The fermentation process of honey was lengthy – it was placed in oak barrels, filled with spring water and kept there for 20 years, without adding any hops or yeast. Now mead is not as popular as before, but not in Tatarstan.
Here and today this wonderful drink is made both at home and industrially. Of course, the fermentation of honey is accelerated by the addition of yeast, and this often happens not in oak barrels. But still, mead remains a tasty and healthy drink.
It is offered in cafes and restaurants in Kazan, as well as in all grocery stores and large supermarkets. You can buy ingredients for making mead at home: special yeast, malt concentrate, and a special container.
Tinctures, balms
Tatarstan is also famous for the production of its own brands of alcoholic beverages, in particular, tinctures and balms. Branch Tatspirtprom produces alcoholic beverages using fruits, berries, medicinal herbs, nuts.
For example, the well-known 40-degree tincture on bitter herbs “Timerkhan” has gained popularity not only among Kazan citizens, but also among tourists. It has been produced by the Usad distillery since 2015 on the basis of high-quality edible alcohol.
Melilot medicinal, wormwood, linden flowers, coriander seeds, anise – this is the composition of herbs in a unique tincture. In addition to them, honey is added, which makes a useful contribution to the drink. “Timerkhan” has high organoleptic and preventive properties due to the preservation of the biologically active substances of the ingredients. A popular brand among balms is Bugulma, whose taste and medicinal qualities have been appreciated by many.
The drink of the Kazan distillery, which has a bright spicy taste, is made on the basis of herbs and a complex of berry fruit drinks, with the addition of honey. It has a rich cognac color. It can be added to tea or diluted with vodka in a ratio of 2:1.
It is sold in 250-gram and half-liter bottles with a beautiful label. According to consumers, “Bugulma” is a great drink for a small friendly company, especially on cold winter evenings. It warms well, soothes, fights insomnia, and will be a good gift for family and friends.
Vodka in a bottle in the form of a gun
In addition to tinctures and balms, Tatarspirtprom produces branded vodka using modern equipment from well-refined grain alcohol. The elite brand of vodka products is called “Old Kazan”. It began to be produced in honor of the 1000th anniversary of Kazan.
Popular with guests of the city is this drink, bottled in the form of a gun. A custom-made glass bottle with a capacity of 0.75 liters, molded in the shape of an old gun.
For authenticity, the trigger is even cast on the side of the vessel. The original shape of the bottle is not the main advantage of a strong drink. The quality of vodka, its mild taste are positively evaluated by tourists visiting the Tatar capital. Many people consider vodka in a “gun” to be an obligatory food souvenir purchased here as a gift.
The label, decorated with views of the ancient Kazan Kremlin, gives a detailed description of the drink: composition, recipe, filtration method, bottling date. All details of the enterprise, expiration date, recommendations for use are indicated.
Tableware
What certainly will not be a problem with the choice in Kazan is with dishes. It is presented here in the widest assortment in a number of company stores. The chain stores Aura of BOHEMIA, Fissman, the Status tableware salon, the Rue royale store are by no means a complete list of trade establishments selling all kinds of tableware and souvenirs.
Magnificent porcelain items: table and tea sets, decorative vases are presented in huge quantities. Various kitchen utensils please the eye with beautiful design and high quality materials. On the shelves you can see many original souvenir items of practical importance.
For example, an excellent gift for a young mother and for all women will be an electronic measuring spoon-scale with an electronic display.
A set of 4 stacks made in the form of a skull is suitable for a man. Now, more than ever, it has become fashionable to bring decorative plates and mugs as a gift. Kazan stores have a rich assortment of similar products with beautiful paintings, views of the main sights of the city. These are real works of art.
wooden spoons
An excellent gift is wooden spoons, which are becoming more and more popular in the home. They are beautiful, practical, do not oxidize, like stainless steel, do not contain chromium and nickel. It is customary to mix sour foods with a wooden, not a metal spoon. And if the spoons are made, for example, from juniper, they smell good.
Therefore, it will not hurt to have a couple of wooden spoons in your kitchen. Kazan stores have a stunning selection of these products with an ancient history. After all, in ancient times the whole world used them, and in Russian villages they served for a very long time. But spoons are not only cutlery. And today you can see them as a musical instrument in an orchestra, or as a shoe shovel.
There is a wide range of wooden materials used to make spoons sold in Kazan. Tea, table, dessert, salad spoons made of bamboo, juniper, birch, linden, cedar, cherry decorate shop windows and counters with charming colors and patterns.
A 6-piece Khokhloma dinner set is a true work of art and will make a delightful gift for any family. And the “Raznotsvetye” teaspoons will please the kids with their bright beauty.
Kazan
If the name of the Tatar capital, according to history, came from the Kazanka River, then the name of the dish is very popular among its inhabitants – cauldron comes from the Turkic word “kaz”. “Kaz” is translated as “scrape, scrape”. The suffix “an” added to it gave the name to the vessel with a rounded “scraped” bottom. Nomadic Turkic tribes cooked food on a fire, hanging a cauldron on a tripod. The flame covered the entire spherical container at once, quickly heated it, and the food did not cook for long.
Although those times have long sunk into oblivion, the cauldron has not lost its everyday relevance. It is indispensable in the country, picnics, hiking and fishing. Dishes cooked in it are much tastier, more appetizing, healthier. Only in a cauldron pilaf turns out crumbly, pieces of meat are softer and more tender.
Cast iron, aluminum, stainless steel cauldrons can be selected at any utensil store in the city. The most different volume and design, from 1-liter to 25-liter, for every taste and budget.
Piala
Tea drinking in Tatar families is a special ritual, which is treated with respectful reverence. Black or herbal tea is always present on the tables of the Tatars, they drink it slowly, inhaling the aroma and enjoying the taste of the drink. According to the traditions of the Turkic peoples, milk is added to tea and a sweet dessert is served with it.
Tea utensils in the national style – a bowl, which is another hallmark of Kazan. Without this vessel in the form of a wide cone, a tea ceremony in the East is not conceivable. The bowl has become the main Kazan souvenir. Crockery and souvenir shops have a huge selection of porcelain and ceramic bowls of various sizes and designs.
It is impossible not to admire the tea set of 6 bowls, a teapot and a dish – the motifs of oriental tales are reflected in amazing patterns. The bowls “Scandinavia”, “Fish in the Pond”, “Rainbow”, “Classic”, etc. are very beautiful. Porcelain vessels captivate with fine porcelain and tenderness of patterns.
Particularly good bowls are “Lily” with a different color of the flower, “Kazan” with the image of the architectural symbols of Kazan. Each of them is an excellent memorable gift.
religious products
Like many centuries ago, Muslim religious customs are sacredly revered in Kazan. An example is the strict observance of Ramadan – a Muslim fast by many Kazan citizens and the celebration of the day of breaking the fast Uraza-Bayram. Prayer is still considered important for many citizens. These rituals are reflected in souvenirs with religious themes.
The main place of active trade in such products is souvenir shops located near the famous Kazan mosque Kul Sharif. Pilgrims and just tourists come here to take some religious symbol with them.
Many choose the main book of Muslims – the Koran in a beautifully executed design. Elaborately woven prayer rugs and other cult items can be purchased.
Тюбетейка
It is probably difficult to imagine a true Muslim in a hat or a fashionable cap. It is more common to see a round-shaped headdress on his head – a skullcap. All men who come to the mosque are required to wear a round hat in black or green. This is a mandatory national attribute for every believing Muslim.
Maxim Gorky preferred the skullcap as a convenient type of headdress, not being a believer. Is it worth buying such a souvenir for the Orthodox? If you have Muslim friends, a skullcap embroidered with gold on velvet will be an indispensable gift for them. But even such a modest hat made of inexpensive fabric will be to your taste and will be worn with gratitude.
traditional robe
In pre-revolutionary Russia, clothing was an expressive identifier of a particular nationality. By what was worn on a person, it was possible to determine his nationality, social status, aesthetic taste.
Today in Tatarstan, although they do not wear national clothes on a daily basis, they have not forgotten about it. An example is the traditional dressing gown, samples of which are already sold in Kazan shops as souvenirs.
Over the dress, women and men usually wore beautifully embroidered sleeveless camisoles, and on top – dressing gowns made of cotton or silk fabric. For women, they were tight-fitting at the waist (chapan), for men they were spacious and wide, with a shawl collar (dzhilyan).
Djilyan was sewn from plain or striped fabric. It was customary to go to the mosque and other public institutions in it. Until now, elderly Tatars in some villages wear this demi-season clothing.
National Tatar shoes
Tatar shoes, like clothes, have their own national characteristics. In the old days, it was made from bast, felted wool and leather. Preference was given to leather shoes with hard and soft soles. Ichigi – high boots made of soft leather – yuft, morocco.
These are very comfortable, comfortable shoes for long walking or horseback riding. When going out into the street, they put on leather shoes with hard soles. Women's ichigi were decorated with intricate ornaments made of multi-colored pieces of leather.
Now elegant bright boots of an authentic look continue to be made and sold in the souvenir shops of the city. The spring-summer copy of the shoe is presented in 2 options – shoes without backs (shoes) and with backs (ballet flats).
Shoes were embroidered with gold and silver thread, beads and pearls. In the villages, you can still meet women in such painted shoes or ichigas. Anyone can still buy a pair of colorful shoes in a shoe or gift shop today.
Shamail
The symbol of the Muslim religion – a picture made with ink, oil, rhinestones on glass or canvas, is called “shamail”. This is an important part of Muslim culture, a reflection of their religious consciousness and aesthetic tastes.
In Arabic, “shamail” means “dignity, quality”, and in Persian – “sacred image”. In fact, this is a panel depicting mosques, quotations from the Koran, from poems, aphorisms. In almost every Tatar house you can see at least one shamail on the wall.
Nowadays, they continue to be made by hand and by printing. Souvenir shops sell various copies of religious paintings with a variety of subjects, in beautiful frames.
Mecca, Medina, Constantinople, Kazan mosques, the tree of life, the sandals of the Prophet Muhammad, sacred sayings are depicted on shamils. They have become not only a symbol of religiosity, but also a real work of art, a good gift for friends and family.
Kazan cat
Among the national Tatar souvenirs, the Kazan cat breaks all records of popularity among the guests of the capital. The legendary animal has been depicted on ancient popular prints since the 12th century in various versions. Especially famous was the popular print with the comic plot “How the mice buried the cat.” The Kazan cat is a special breed of large, wide-faced cats with large eyes and fluffy whiskers.
Kazan cats, possessing remarkable intelligence and resourcefulness, were excellent mousers. There is a legend about the rescue of the Tatar Khan by his cat, who sensed enemies and woke up the owner with a loud meow. During the reign of Elizabeth in St. Petersburg, cats were brought from Kazan to fight the invasion of mice. They adequately coped with the function entrusted to them, having rid the palaces of mice.
Under Catherine II, who did not like cats too much, 30 unique Kazan mousers were brought to the Hermitage, protecting priceless paintings. In 2009, a monument to a well-deserved cat was erected in the capital of Tatarstan. The sculpture, made of tinted aluminum by master I. Bashmakov, presents to the public a well-fed, contented cat, imposingly lounging on the bed. At the bottom, a round rug is engraved with words of praise for the famous animal.
Zilant
A mythological creature that came from Tatar legends and fairy tales – Zilant – is similar to the Slavic Serpent Gorynych. But unlike him, the zilant became a heraldic sign among the Tatars. His image appeared on the emblem of Kazan (1672), in 1781 – on the emblem of the Kazan province. Today, Zilant is a symbol of the Rubin football club, Kazan University, it is depicted on the emblems of some cities of the republic.
The image of the mythological character is presented on decorative lattices, facades of buildings in Kazan, installed on the spire of the tower of the Kazan railway station in Moscow. Even the festival of role-playing games is called Zilantcon.
A monument was erected to the winged serpent in the form of a forged metal sculpture, quite elegant and beautiful. The crown on his head, like the individual scales, is gilded. In the shops you can buy various goods and souvenirs with the image of Zilant.
Figurines of Tukay's fairy tales
In honor of the great Tatar poet and writer in Kazan, a square and a metro station are named, and in the village of Sharanbash-Knyaz there is a street named after him. Monuments to him were erected in the city of Uralsk and St. Petersburg. The biography of Gabdulla Tukay formed the basis of R. Akhiyarova's opera “The Love of a Poet”. His name was awarded the State Prize, which is awarded to artists of Tatarstan.
The poet, based on Tatar folk tales, created expressive literary works that became very popular among the people. It is not surprising that the heroes of the fairy tales of the talented storyteller are reflected in various Kazan souvenirs. Fairy-tale characters are imprinted on bags, T-shirts, panama hats, and in many figurines.
The most colorful figurine of Shurale – the spirit of the forest from Tukay's poem. It is made of material stylized as bronze and depicts a forest monster leaning on a log. Figurines of dzhigit and Su-anasa (heroes of the same poem), lovers of Takhir and Zukhra are well made. Figurines of animal characters are made: Goat, Sheep, Akbay's puppy, kitten, etc. All of them are sold in souvenir shops and shops.
Shawls and down scarves
Ancient folk crafts are actively developing in Tatarstan: lace weaving, gold embroidery, carpet weaving, leather mosaics, wood carving, etc. For a long time, local craftswomen have been knitting downy shawls and scarves. Almost every village family kept downy goats of the Orenburg breed.
From thin soft fluff yarn was woven, from which wonderful openwork shawls and gossamer shawls were knitted. The quality of finished things was checked by a ring: if a folded scarf was threaded into a ring, then it was highly valued. And today the eye is pleased with a rich selection of elegant head products that adorn and warm any woman.
Even such celebrities as Caballe, Girardot, Deneuve considered gossamer scarves to be the most elegant headdress. White, gray, blue shawls and scarves with intricate lace, intricate patterns, made by hand, find their fans. Some of the down products cost more than 10 thousand rubles. Although objectively the work of virtuoso knitters is truly priceless.
Cosmetics factory “Mustela”
When Alexander Devyatayev, Associate Professor of the Department of Pathphysiology of the Kazan Medical Institute, created a pharmaceutical company, he did not imagine how much the Mustela brand cosmetic products would be in demand. It took more than 5 years to create the now known cosmetic products with mink oil.
Unique creams and ointments are produced under the same strict control as pharmaceuticals. First, their effects were tested on animals, in particular on white mice. Before mass production, Mustela products were tested by dermatologists, allergists, dentists, pediatricians and oncologists and received the approval of specialists.
Even 20 years ago, in the manufacture of creams, nanoparticles-conductors were used, which contribute to the rapid absorption of the emulsion under the skin. Mustela natural cosmetics, awarded with international gold medals, helps prolong the beauty and youthfulness of the skin, relieves allergic itching, and treats dermatitis. Cosmetic milk, creams for the skin around the eyes, for joints, for legs and hands are put up for sale in beauty salons and shops in the city.
What to bring a child
Children of any age, especially toddlers, are always waiting for gifts from them by the arrival of relatives or parents. In Kazan, there is something to buy for preschoolers and schoolchildren. In the assortment of toys in Kazan there are many cats depicted in a variety of ways.
Porcelain and ceramic figurines, soft figurines, magnets, cat-themed mugs are widely represented. You can choose a soft toy made of sheep's wool, environmentally friendly and hypoallergenic.
A children's T-shirt with the symbols of the Tatar capital, the Ak-Bars club or with the image of characters from Tukay's fairy tales will also be a good surprise. It is impossible not to recall the Tatar sweets: chak-chak, tyklysh keleve, kosh-tele will undoubtedly please the child.
The boy will probably enjoy a beautiful children's skullcap-souvenir. The girl will be pleased with national Tatar shoes or ichigi, a vest embroidered with gold.
Where to buy souvenirs
In recent years, the capital of Tatarstan has become a very popular tourist city, where not only Russians, but foreigners go. Therefore, a network of souvenir shops, boutiques and shops is rapidly developing here. It sells beautiful souvenirs with a national flavor for any purpose.
Specialized cozy shop “Chak-Chak STORE” offers various national sweets. In the Arysh Mae museum shop, you can not only make a purchase, but also take a master class, take part in a tasting, etc.
In the trading establishment “Exclusive” eyes run up from bright soft toys, national Tatar clothes and shoes made by hand. All souvenir trading establishments of the city are indicated on the interactive map.