Kurtik / kurtuk / gurtuk is made from sorghum flour since ancient times but nowadays wheat flour can  be used as well. Sorghum flour is high in vitamins and antioxidants that are necessary for enhancing digestive system, help scavenge toxic elements which can lead to aging and various illnesses. Kurdik which is made from wheat flour is called buvday kurtik / iri kurtik. We called this dish with name qayish/qay’sh kurdk in Turtkul, Ellikqal'a districts, in Khodzheyli, Kungrad districts kurtik//biyday kurtik//iri kurtik. The name of this dish is used in Khorezm as a traditional qay’sh kurdik. Depending on the ingredients of buvday kurtik, we've got kurtik with horse-flesh, kurtik with mutton or kurtik with turkey.

The meal name kurtik is not only popular in Uzbek dialects in Karakalpakstan, but also in the Karakalpak language, and the national dish is very popular with a name gurtik.

Juvari kurtik is cooked just like a ‘buvday kurtik’, but the dough is made from sorghum flour, divided into small pieces and boiled in broth. Depending on the ingredients of this meal, they can be: qavaqli juvari kurtuk (pumpkin juvari kurtuk), geshirli juvari kurtuk (carrot juvari kurtik), tavuq gosh sag'an juvari kurtik (chicken juvari kurtuk).

There are some types of kurtik, such as salma kurtik (according to the process of adding dough), jezli kurtik (according to the process of frying), asma kurtik (according to the process of boiling).