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1
Make the Green Dill Water
10 Mins + 60 Mins Infusing • Blending
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Put 75 g of fresh dill and 180 ml of water in a blender and blitz until completely smooth, then pour into a bowl and leave it to infuse for at least 1 hour. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing the pulp, and measure the liquid — you need about 100 ml of bright green dill water for the dough. The colour should be a vivid, almost shocking green; if it looks pale, your dill was old or the blend was too short.
Save any extra green water in the fridge — it keeps a day and makes a second batch of noodles tomorrow.
Done when: Bright green liquid, strained smooth, about 100 ml collected.
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2
Brown the Beef and Build the Vaju
25 Mins • Browning & Frying
High heat, about 200°C (400°F), then medium heat
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large frying pan with a lid over high heat. Add the seasoned beef in a single layer without crowding the pan and brown for about 1 minute per side, until it releases easily and is deeply coloured, then lift it out onto a plate. Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining oil and the onion, and cook for 5–7 minutes until softened and just starting to brown. Add the garlic, bell pepper and chilli (if using) with the remaining salt, stir in the paprika and cumin, then add the tomato paste and stir to coat everything.
Do not crowd the pan — beef that steams instead of browning never develops the deep flavour the stew needs.
Done when: Beef deeply browned on both sides; onion soft and just golden.
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3
Simmer the Vaju Until Tender
75 Mins • Simmering
Low heat, gentle simmer about 95°C (203°F)
Return the beef and any juices to the pan. Pour in the 250 ml of milk and simmer over medium heat for 13–15 minutes, until the milk has almost completely evaporated and the sauce has turned a dark sienna colour. Add 750 ml of water, reduce the heat to low, cover with the lid slightly ajar and simmer for 1 hour. The beef should be well on its way to tender and the sauce thick and brick-red; check the internal temperature of a piece of beef — it must be at least 74°C (165°F).
Keep the lid ajar, not sealed — the sauce needs to reduce slowly, and a sealed lid leaves it watery.
Done when: Beef nearly tender, sauce dark sienna and thickened; beef at least 74°C (165°F) inside.
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4
Make and Rest the Green Dough
20 Mins + 30 Mins Rest • Kneading
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
While the stew simmers, whisk the egg with the 100 ml of green dill water. Sift the 300 g of flour and 1/2 tsp of salt into a wide bowl, pour in the egg and dill water a little at a time, and mix with your hands until a firm dough forms. Knead on a floured board for 8 minutes until smooth and pliable, then form into a ball, cover with a towel or cling film and rest for 30 minutes. The dough will be a striking green — that is exactly right, and the colour softens only slightly when the noodles are boiled.
If the dough feels sticky, add flour a teaspoon at a time; if it cracks, add dill water a teaspoon at a time.
Done when: Smooth, pliable, vivid green dough that holds its shape.
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5
Roll and Cut the Noodles
20 Mins • Rolling & Cutting
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Lightly dust a baking sheet and your work surface with flour. Cut the rested dough into four pieces, keeping three covered. Roll one piece into a rectangle about 1.5 mm thick, by hand or with a pasta machine, rotating as you work so it stays even. Dust the top lightly, roll it up lengthwise into a tight log, and cut across the log into 6 mm slices for thin noodles. Unfurl each strip as you cut it, shake it out onto the floured sheet and dust with flour so the strands do not stick. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Roll the log tightly but not so tight that the layers stick together — a loose log gives ragged, uneven noodles.
Done when: Thin, even green strands, dusted with flour and not stuck together.
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6
Finish the Vaju with Tomato, Potato and Carrot
30 Mins • Simmering
Low heat, gentle simmer about 95°C (203°F)
When the hour of simmering is up, add the diced tomatoes and 250 ml of water to the pan, stir, cover again and cook for 20 minutes. Add the potato and carrot, stir to combine, and cook for a final 30 minutes, until the beef is falling apart and the potato and carrot are fork-tender. Taste and adjust the salt. The finished vaju should be thick enough to sit in a mound on the noodles, not runny like soup — if it is too loose, simmer uncovered for a few minutes more.
Add the potato and carrot only now, at the end — added earlier they would collapse into the sauce during the long simmer.
Done when: Beef falling apart, potato and carrot fork-tender, sauce thick and glossy.
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7
Boil the Noodles and Plate the Dish
10 Mins • Boiling & Plating
Boiling water, 100°C (212°F)
Bring a large saucepan of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Shake the excess flour off a handful of noodles and drop them in; repeat until all the noodles are in the pan. Cook for 2–3 minutes, then lift them out with a slotted spoon or spider and shake off the excess water. Serve immediately on wide plates: a bed of green noodles, a generous ladle of vaju mounded in the middle, a dollop of cold yogurt over the top and the reserved dill fronds scattered over everything. Eat at once, while the noodles are hot and the yogurt is still cool.
Do not rinse the noodles — the light starch on them helps the yogurt and sauce cling.
Done when: Noodles tender with a slight bite, still bright green; served steaming hot.
Uzbekistan
2h 25m
