{"id":8541,"date":"2026-10-26T18:39:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8541"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:51:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:51:13","slug":"urama","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/urama\/","title":{"rendered":"Urama"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Urama (\u0443\u0440\u0430\u043c\u0430 \/ o\u02bbrama) is an Uzbek sweet made by rolling dough out thinly, cutting it into long strips, and rolling up and frying each strip one at a time. It is characterized by its swirling shape and the gaps that form between the layers of thin dough, and it is finished with a dusting of powdered sugar.<\/p>\n

In frying a wheat-flour dough, it shares something with the fried breads found widely across Central Asia. However, rather than puffing up small, thick pieces of dough, urama is shaped mainly by layering thin strips and showing their edges. When eating it, you break off the thin edges of the rolled strip.<\/p>\n

A single strip creates the layers<\/h2>\n

Some methods for urama dough combine wheat flour with eggs, sugar, fat and other ingredients. The dough is first rested, then rolled out thinly and cut into strips. A cookbook by Karim Makhmudov, a specialist in Uzbek cuisine, describes cutting the dough with a tool that has a wavy blade into strips 5\u20136 centimeters wide and 45\u201350 centimeters long, then rolling up and frying each strip one at a time.<\/p>\n

These dimensions are one example from the recipe (ingredient proportions and method) in that book. Some methods use shorter strips, which changes the number of turns and the height of the finished piece. Even so, its defining feature is clear: the shape is formed from a single strip rather than by gathering cut pieces together.<\/p>\n

A wavy edge makes the outline of the roll stand out. Because the thin dough is layered many times over, its appearance is shaped not only by the cut surfaces but also by the edges of the strip and the gaps that form between the layers of dough. When it is fried, the oil and heat need to reach the inner parts of the dough, so it is handled differently from shaping a thick mass. The rolled form leads directly to the sweet\u2019s appearance and to the way it breaks when eaten.<\/p>\n

Qush tili, and differences among the same fried sweets<\/h2>\n

Uzbek cuisine also has a thin fried sweet called qush tili (\u043a\u0443\u0448 \u0442\u0438\u043b\u0438). The name means \u201cbird\u2019s tongue.\u201d It is sometimes grouped together with urama as a close relative, but Makhmudov\u2019s cookbook treats the two, which are shaped differently, as separate entries.<\/p>\n

Qush tili can also be made by cutting thin dough into wavy-edged squares or triangles, or by cutting thin rods of dough into small pieces. It is a family of sweets not limited to the rolled shape.<\/p>\n

The Russian khvorost (\u0445\u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0442), sometimes rendered in Japanese as \u201chavorosuto,\u201d is a general term for thin fried sweets likened to twigs. Some cookbooks describe urama using this name, but whereas khvorost covers a variety of shapes, urama refers to the shape of a rolled strip. They share the features of being thin, fried and dusted with powdered sugar, but urama can be distinguished by its rolled-strip form.<\/p>\n

Places where the name of the rolled sweet changes, and festive tables<\/h2>\n

The shape of urama is also reflected in regional names. A study of Uzbek food-culture vocabulary by Kamola Temirova describes salla as a sweet made by rolling an egg-enriched dough like a head wrap and frying it, and records interviews in which it is called urama in parts of Tashkent and Bukhara. The names vazziq in Fergana and salla in Surkhandarya are also given. Although the rolled-dough shape is shared, the sweet does not go by the same name everywhere.<\/p>\n

In Tashkent there is also the name o\u02bbramali qush tili, meaning rolled qush tili. Local interviews include an example of brushing the fried sweet with honey, decorating it with candies and other sweets, and preparing it for Hayit, an Islamic holiday. Some people in parts of Bukhara remember it as a sweet served at wedding and festival tables. What the interviewees described was the practice of about 30\u201335 years before the time of the survey. While the rolled form appears as a separate entry in cookbooks, in some places its name overlaps with qush tili on festive tables.<\/p>\n

Urama also continues today as a sweet fried treat made at home. In a formula by Mahfuzaxon Rahimova, who shares Uzbek confectionery online, 6 egg yolks and 1 whole egg are combined with about 250 grams of wheat flour; the dough is rested, rolled out thinly, and cut into strips that are rolled up and fried over fairly low heat. Once cooled, it is dusted with powdered sugar. This egg-rich example and the formula in Makhmudov\u2019s cookbook share the rolled shape but use different doughs.<\/p>\n

At a bread and sweets festival planned in Babur Park in Tashkent in 2011, urama was listed, along with chak-chak<\/a> and qush tili, among the Eastern sweets to be exhibited and sold. Urama was not only made at home but was also one of the flour-based sweets that confectioners planned to exhibit and sell.<\/p>\n

\n\"Reference\n
A reference example of honey and bread. In one region\u2019s festive preparation of urama, the fried sweet is brushed with honey. Photo: Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ Public domain<\/a>. Uses a previously saved image; no content alterations or cropping in this update.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

The Tatar sweet of the same name<\/h2>\n

Tatar confectionery also has an urama made by coiling thin dough into a spiral and frying it. The Center for Cultural Resources of Tatarstan lists it alongside kosh tele (\u043a\u043e\u0448 \u0442\u0435\u043b\u0435), which is cut into diamond shapes, and describes urama as a thin, spiral-shaped fried sweet. In addition, a study of the food culture of Tatars in the villages of Kachukovo and Ust-Tamak in Western Siberia lists urama made from strips of dough formed into rings among the dishes on ritual tables.<\/p>\n

\n\"Rolled\n
Urama displayed at an Arsk District culture day held at a Tatar theater in Kazan (April 22, 2024). The thin dough is rolled, and the pieces are stacked on a plate. Photo: Vyacheslav Kirillin \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Image obtained from the source. No content alterations or cropping in this update.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Sweet urama, and rolled savory dishes<\/h2>\n

The name urama alone does not determine the type of dish. Uzbekistan also has urama khanum, a dish made by rolling meat, vegetables and other fillings in thin dough and steaming it. Both involve rolling dough, but a sweet fried confection and a steamed dish with a filling differ in ingredients, cooking method and role at the table.<\/p>\n

Sweet urama centers on the thinness of the dough itself and its rolled shape; unlike rolled savory dishes, it is not made to seal in the juices of a filling. In khanum, a filling is wrapped and steamed; in sweet urama, a strip is rolled and fried.<\/p>\n

Chak-chak is also made by frying wheat dough, but small pieces are bound together with honey and sugar, shaped into a single mass and then cut. Urama keeps the outline of a single rolled strip and is dusted with powdered sugar on the outside. The difference lies in whether, after the dough is fried, its shape is kept or it is reshaped with a sweet binder.<\/p>\n

\n\"Fried\n
For comparison: fried pieces of chak-chak before being bound with honey (2025). Unlike sweets such as urama, in which a strip is rolled, chak-chak is finished by binding small pieces together with a sweet binder. Photo: Pannet \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY 4.0<\/a>. Uses a previously saved image; no content alterations or cropping in this update.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Kamola Temirova<\/strong>: A linguist who studies Uzbek dialects and food-culture vocabulary. She recorded interviews on regional names for rolled fried sweets and on festive tables.<\/p>

Salla<\/strong>: A word meaning head wrap. It is also used as the name of a sweet made by rolling and frying an egg-enriched dough.<\/p>

Vazziq<\/strong>: A regional name for a rolled fried sweet, recorded in Fergana.<\/p>

O\u02bbramali qush tili<\/strong>: A name for a rolled fried sweet, recorded in Tashkent.<\/p>

Hayit<\/strong>: An Uzbek word for an Islamic holiday.<\/p>

Kosh tele (\u043a\u043e\u0448 \u0442\u0435\u043b\u0435)<\/strong>: Tatar for \u201cbird\u2019s tongue.\u201d A fried sweet of thin dough, with the same meaning as the Uzbek qush tili.<\/p>

Kachukovo \/ Ust-Tamak<\/strong>: Two settlements in Omsk Oblast, Western Siberia, where the food culture of Tatars was studied.<\/p>

Mahfuzaxon Rahimova<\/strong>: A cook who shares confectionery methods in Uzbek. She has published an egg-rich formula for urama.<\/p>

Karim Makhmudov<\/strong>: A specialist in Uzbek cuisine. His cookbook includes methods for urama and qush tili.<\/p>

Recipe<\/strong>: A summary of ingredient proportions and method.<\/p>

Qush tili<\/strong>: A name for a thin fried sweet, meaning \u201cbird\u2019s tongue.\u201d It is sometimes distinguished from the rolled urama.<\/p>

Khvorost (\u0445\u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0442)<\/strong>: Russian for \u201ctwigs.\u201d It is also used as a general term for thin fried sweets.<\/p>

Urama khanum<\/strong>: A savory dish made by rolling a filling in dough and steaming it. Its cooking method differs from that of the fried sweet urama.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. Karim Mahmudov, \u201c\u0423\u0437\u0431\u0435\u043a\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0435 \u0431\u043b\u044e\u0434\u0430\u201d<\/a> \u2014 The steps in the entries for urama, qush tili and chak-chak. The edition of the electronic version has not been determined.<\/li>
  2. Temirova Kamola, \u201cShevaga oid gastronomik birliklarning leksikografik tadqiqi,\u201d 2025, p. 364<\/a> \u2014 Regional names, and interviews about holidays in Tashkent and weddings in Bukhara. Dictionary definitions are cited via the paper.<\/li>
  3. Center for Cultural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan, \u201c\u041a\u043e\u0448 \u0442\u0435\u043b\u0435\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Diamond-shaped kosh tele and spiral urama.<\/li>
  4. M. N. Tikhomirova, \u201c\u0422\u0440\u0430\u0434\u0438\u0446\u0438\u0438 \u0438 \u043d\u043e\u0432\u0430\u0446\u0438\u0438\u2026,\u201d 2022<\/a> \u2014 Ritual tables of Tatars in two settlements in Western Siberia.<\/li>
  5. Mahfuzaxon Rahimova, \u201cO\u02bbrama\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Ingredients and steps in a public post. The video was not viewed.<\/li>
  6. Tanlov.uz, \u201cBread and Sweets Festival in Babur Park,\u201d 2011<\/a> \u2014 An announcement listing urama among the items planned for exhibition and sale at the festival.<\/li>
  7. Zira, \u201cUrama Khanum\u201d<\/a> \u2014 A steamed dish of the same name, wrapping meat and vegetables.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Urama (\u0443\u0440\u0430\u043c\u0430 \/ o\u02bbrama) is an Uzbek sweet made by rolling dough out thinly, cutting it into long strips, and rolling up and frying each strip one at a time. It is characterized by its swirling shape and the gaps that form between the layers of thin dough, and it is finished with a dusting of powdered sugar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7664,"menu_order":312,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Urama","subtitle":"A Central Asian sweet of thin strips rolled and fried","topics":"Thin dough cut into strips, rolled and fried\uff0fGaps created by the layers and a light texture\uff0fNames across Uzbekistan\u2019s regions","country":"Uzbekistan and other areas","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["grain"],"texture":[],"occasion":[],"method":["fried"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[169],"class_list":["post-8541","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"auto","sweetlore_related_articles":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t