A thick soup of white corn, mixed beans and grains and dried meat, finished with milk and served over diced Adyghe cheese with a red butter-and-paprika drizzle.
Ashryk (Ceremonial Corn & Bean Soup)
Ingredients
Method
- Soak the corn and beans separately overnight.
- Boil the corn 30–40 minutes, skimming, until tender.
- Separately cook the beans and barley until nearly tender, then add the bulgur, rice and millet; lift them all into the corn pot.
- Add the strips of dried meat and simmer 15–20 minutes.
- Pour in the milk, salt, and simmer covered 20–25 minutes, stirring; rest with thyme on top.
- Make the red garnish: fry the onions in clarified butter with the paprika and chili.
- Put diced Adyghe cheese in each bowl, ladle the hot soup over, spoon the red butter on top, and stir before eating (served without bread).
This is the recipe from the Recipes section of the Circassian app, where you can also scale it and save it to your favourites.
Kitchen words in Circassian
The words for what is in this dish, in Kabardian (East Circassian) and Adyghe (West Circassian), with audio from the Circassian app’s lessons and audio course.
| English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| cheese | кхъуейqkhwey | къуаеqwae |
| meat | лыly | лыlə |
| milk | шэshe | щэshche |
| butter | тхъуцынэtkhwutsyne | тхъуtkhu |
| salt | шыгъуshyghu | щыгъуshchəghu |
| food | шхынshkhyn | шхыныshkhənə |
| delicious | IэфI'ef' | IэшIу'eshIu |
| This is delicious! | Мыр IэфIщ!Myr 'ef'shch! | Мыр IэшIу!Myr 'esh'u! |
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Ashryk: questions
How long does it take to make Ashryk?
About 120 minutes, according to the recipe in the Circassian app.
How many people does this Ashryk recipe serve?
It serves 8. The servings control above the ingredients recalculates every quantity for 1 to 40 people.
What is Ashryk made of?
The ingredients are: 500 g white corn kernels; 100 g red beans; 30 g pearl barley + 20 g bulgur + 20 g rice + 20 g millet; 500 g dried or cured meat (beef or lamb), in strips; 2 litres milk; 2 onions; 100 g clarified butter; fresh (or smoked) Adyghe cheese, to serve; 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp chili, 1/2 tsp thyme, salt.
Is Ashryk an everyday or a festive dish?
The Circassian app files it as a ceremonial dish (Soups & Beans).
Where does this Ashryk recipe come from?
From the Recipes section of the Circassian app. The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
Sources
- Circassian app, Recipes section, recipe “Ashryk (Ceremonial Corn & Bean Soup)” (recipe data last changed July 2026). The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
- Circassian app: audio course, Kabardian and Adyghe (the kitchen words: cheese, meat, milk, bread, tea, water, food, delicious), and the lessons’ vocabulary (chicken, salt, butter, honey).
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