Azerbaijani cuisine: photo recipes and cooking secrets

Azerbaijani national dish: piti Ganja
baklava Azerbaijani cuisine

(Azerbaijani Azərbaycan mətbəxi) is the national cuisine of the Azerbaijani people, which is also the cuisine of the peoples of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani national food is distinguished by great diversity, counting dozens of different types of dishes: dairy, meat, flour, vegetables, etc. The methods of preparing and consuming food are different and diverse. In the past, food also varied depending on the geographical conditions and social status of people[1].

The main components of the cuisine are determined by the prescriptions of Islam and the natural conditions of the country: the mountainous and subtropical climate has led to the widespread use of lamb, poultry, river and sea (Caspian) fish, as well as fruits and vegetables in Azerbaijani cuisine. Spices and seasonings, as well as a variety of herbs, are widespread: parsley, watercress, green and black basil, dill, coriander, hot and allspice, cilantro, mint, celery, tarragon, leek, green onions, sorrel, etc. .

Content

• 1 Features of Azerbaijani cuisine
• 2 Pilaf
• 3 Sweet dishes
• 4 List of dishes 4.1 Cold appetizer
• 4.2 Soups and broths
• 4.3 Hot dishes 4.3.1 Pilaf
• 4.3.2 Meat dishes
• 4.3.3 Fish dishes
• 4.3.4 Flour dishes
• 4.3.5 Vegetarian dishes

List of dishes[ | ]

Saj (poultry, potatoes, eggplants and other vegetables cooked on a flat frying pan over burning coals) Azerbaijani dolma made from grape leaves Azerbaijani dolma which is stuffed tomatoes, bell peppers and eggplants Dolma from Tabriz, (Southern Azerbaijan) Tikya kebab and Lula -lamb kebab Cooking kebab Traditional cold appetizer in Azerbaijan

Cold appetizer[ | ]

• Kyukyu[13] Kyukyu made from greens
• Kyukyu from kutum
• Walnut kyukyu

Soups and broths[ | ]

• Arishta[16]
• Bozbash Kourma-bozbash
• Kufta-bozbash[4]
• Parcha-bozbash[4]

Hot dishes[ | ]

Pilaf[ | ]

Dishes made from rice are widespread in Azerbaijan, which is mainly used to prepare pilaf

, numbering up to 50 species[1].

• Guilme pilaf
• Lobia pilaf
• Mave-pilaf
• Brocade dosheme
• Pilaf-chykhyrtma
• Sabzikourma-pilaf
• Syudlu-pilaf
• Toyug-pilaf
• Fisinjan-pilaf
• Dosheme-pilaf
• Sheshryanch-pilaf
• Shirin-pilaf
• Shuyut-pilaf

Meat dishes[ | ]

Meat dishes are very diverse. The most favorite meat is lamb. Basdyrma is prepared from fresh lamb and beef

, from which they then make kebab.
The most common dish is piti
and
bozbash
(thick lamb soups).
Kufte bozbash
(apple-sized balls made from minced meat)
are popular Chopped lamb, seasoned with rice and spices, is wrapped in cabbage (this dish is called kelem dolmasy
), in salted and fresh grape leaves (
yarpag dolmasy
), stuffed with eggplants and tomatoes.
Lule kabab
is prepared from finely chopped lamb mixed with onions and spices .
The most common dish made from poultry meat is chygartma
[1].

• Cherry plum-kourma
• Basturma - dried beef meat
• Boz kourma[22]
• Buglama Lamb buglama
• Beef buglama

Fish dishes[ | ]

Azerbaijani cuisine uses fish species found in the Caspian Sea, especially kutum ( kütüm

), salmon (
qızılbalıq
), sturgeon (
nərə
) and herring (
siyənək
). Before the introduction of a moratorium on sturgeon fishing and production restrictions, Azerbaijan produced more than 20 thousand tons of black caviar per year.[28]

• Buglama from fish
• Fish dolma
• Fish kebab
• Fish lavangi

Flour dishes[ | ]

• Guymag - sweet porridge made from fried wheat flour
• Gyurza - “dumplings” of elongated shape Gyurza classic[4]
• Viper round
• Gyurza in Nakhichevan

Vegetarian dishes[ | ]

• Chyhyrtma from eggplant
• Chyhyrtma from spinach
• Yalanchi-dolma

Sweet dishes and baked goods[ | ]

Azerbaijani baklava Baku baklava Shekerbura baked goods

• Badambura
• Zeyran - a large bun with yellow sugar filling made from flour
• Kyata - bread with sweet flour filling
• Kurabye - butter cookies with jam
• Mutaki - bagels with nut filling
• Azerbaijani nan - butter cookies
• Azerbaijani baklava Baku baklava
• Ganja baklava
• Nakhichevan baklava
• Sheki baklava

Dairy products[ | ]

• Aguz
• Katyk
• Kurut
• Cheese Motal
• Sachakh
• Chanakh
• Shore

Bread products[ | ]

Bread occupies a significant place in the food diet of Azerbaijanis. It is baked in various ways. In rural areas it was mostly baked on an iron, slightly convex sheet of saj

.
Baking bread in tendirs was widespread, which still exists today in the regions and even urban centers of the republic. Mostly churek
, and often
lavash
.
In spring and autumn they prepare gutab
- a type of pies stuffed with meat and herbs[1].

• Appec
• Pita
• Tendir chöreyi
• Fetir
• Yuha (bread)

Features of Azerbaijani cuisine

Kebab from gazelle and dag-kechi.
Kebabs and tandoor dishes are widespread in Azerbaijani cuisine. There are various drinks and sweets. A distinctive feature of Azerbaijani cuisine is the use of lamb to prepare various dishes. Azerbaijanis consume beef, poultry, and fish to a much lesser extent. The formation of Azerbaijani cuisine was influenced by the requirements of Islam - as a result, pork dishes and dishes containing alcohol are traditionally not represented in it. Another feature of Azerbaijani cooking is the pungent taste and unique aroma, which give dishes all kinds of spices and herbs: hot and allspice, basil, cinnamon, cloves, dill, parsley, cilantro, mint, cumin and many others. Particularly worth mentioning are saffron and sumac.

The first of them is an indispensable component for preparing numerous pilafs. Sumac is usually served with various meat dishes. Azerbaijani cooking widely uses vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and others), fruits (apples, pears, quinces, oranges, lemons), and stone fruits (plums, cherry plums, apricots, peaches). There are also various types of dolma made from eggplant, tomatoes and peppers.

Some dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine are prepared in special dishes. For example, piti soup is in pitishnitsa, pilaf is in cauldrons, special cauldrons with a thickened bottom and special lids in which hot coals are placed so that the pilaf “cooks” evenly. For a special type of cold cuts - saj - they use a frying pan of the same name with a tiny roasting pan installed underneath it[2]. To prepare kebab and lula-kebab, various skewers are used, for first courses - cups - kasa, for stewing meat - tas - small saucepans and more [3].

Recipes for first courses of Azerbaijani cuisine

When preparing first courses, bone and meat broths are used as a basis. Soups are prepared in special portioned clay dishes or in a small saucepan. A characteristic feature of the first courses of Azerbaijani cuisine is that they are very thick.

One serving contains only 150 ml of broth. Also, during cooking, finely chopped fat tail fat is added to the dish.

Dovga

One of the most popular soups is Dovga - a cold soup based on kefir and herbs. It can be eaten either traditionally from plates or drunk from special glasses.

Beat 1 tbsp. l. kefir with egg and 1 tbsp. l. flour. Pour the resulting mixture into a saucepan with kefir and put on fire. Rinse the rice and pour it into the pan. To prevent the liquid from curdling, you must stir all the time.

After the rice is cooked, add chopped herbs (cilantro, sorrel, dill, parsley), pepper and salt. Stir and let simmer for 10 minutes. After removing from the heat, stir the dovga until it cools.

Dovga can be served both cold and hot.

"Kufta - bozbash"

One of the delicious Azerbaijani first courses is “Kufta-bozbash” - pea soup with meatballs. A characteristic feature of this national soup is that each meatball contains a sour fruit, for example, a piece of plum or cherry plum.

Ingredients:

• 200 g brisket;
• 130 g fat tail fat;
• 500 g of young lamb meat;
• 3 potatoes;
• medium bulb;
• 200 g peas or chickpeas;
• 50 g rice;
• 3-5 plums;
• Shallot;
• Spices: saffron, turmeric, salt, mint, barberry, black pepper;
• Vinegar.

Cooking method:

1. Place a 1.5 liter pan of water on the fire, put the onion and brisket in it. After the water boils, skim off the foam and add the peas, previously soaked overnight. Cook covered for about an hour. After the time has passed, remove the onion, strain the broth and add salt;
2. Make minced lamb, fat tail and onion. Add a pinch of turmeric, salt, black pepper and pre-soaked rice. Mix everything well and put it in the refrigerator for an hour;
3. After wetting your hands in warm water, form balls of minced meat weighing 150-200 g. Cut the plums into pieces. Make a hole in each meatball with your finger and place a piece of plum there;
4. Dilute the broth with turmeric in a cup and pour into the pan. Then carefully lower the meat balls into the broth so that they are not damaged. During the first minutes of stirring, the pan must be moved back and forth; under no circumstances should you stir with a spoon. After boiling, remove the foam and cover with a lid for 15 minutes;
5. Throw in the chopped potatoes;
6. Add brewed saffron. The color of the broth should be light yellow. Remove pan from heat;
7. Marinate onions in wine vinegar. The sourness of the plum and the bitterness of the onion will cover the fat content of the soup, both from a chemical and taste point of view;
8. Place meatballs, brisket, peas and potatoes in a deep bowl. Fill halfway with broth.

Top with barberry and mint. Serve with flatbread and pickled onions.

Pilaf

“Shah-pilaf”
One of the most famous dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine is pilaf. There are several varieties of Azerbaijani pilaf[4]: kaurma-pilaf (with lamb), turschi-kaurma-pilaf (with lamb and sour fruits), chiy-doshamya-kaurma-pilaf (with lamb, pumpkin and chestnuts), touh-pilaf ( with chicken fried in pieces), tyarchilo-pilaf (with chicken or stuffed chicken), chigyrtma-pilaf (with chicken drenched in beaten egg), fisinzhan-pilaf (with game, nuts, sour fruits and cinnamon), sheshryanch-pilaf (egg ), syudlu-pilaf (milk) and shirin-pilaf (sweet fruit). Unlike other cuisines, here they prepare separately rice and separately the base of pilaf (taru) - meat, fruits, etc. - combining all this in one dish only when serving. Serving and eating Azerbaijani pilafs have their own traditions[5].

Azerbaijani cuisine: the best and most popular summer dishes

Anyone who has ever tried the aromatic dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine will most likely want to cook them again.

Summer in Azerbaijan is also a time of abundance of vegetables and fruits. Azerbaijani housewives so skillfully combine aromatic herbs, fresh vegetables and other products that their dishes turn out to be very tasty and at the same time completely low-calorie.

As AZE.az reports, correspondents of the portal "Moscow-Baku" found out which dishes of Azerbaijani national cuisine are the most popular in the hot season.

1. Adjapsandal

Adjapsandal is a traditional cold appetizer of Azerbaijan. This is a vegetable dish based on eggplants, tomatoes and sweet peppers. Additional flavor enhancing ingredients include white onions, fresh coriander, garlic and basil. Vegetable oil is used as a dressing. In European countries, this dish, the name of which translates as “how excellent you are,” would be dubbed vegetable sauté. But in traditional sauté, eggplant is not a necessary ingredient, unlike ajapsandal. In addition, in Europe they use completely different seasonings, so the Azerbaijani dish remains unique and one of a kind in terms of taste. There are many varieties of ajapsandalwood. Vegetables can be stewed, fried in a high-sided frying pan, cooked over coals or baked. The pleasant aroma remains unchanged, which evokes the sensations of mountain rivers, green pastures with a flock of sheep. And this is very correct, because initially this dish was prepared by shepherds who grazed their flocks high in the mountains. Adjapsandal is considered a dietary dish that is perfect for those who are watching their figure. This dish will be appreciated by everyone who tries it at least once.

1. Yumurta-tomato

An easy-to-make and satisfying summer dish that Baku housewives love to cook for breakfast - yumurta-tomato or, more simply, scrambled eggs with tomatoes. For this dish, choose large tomatoes, preferably Baku ones. First, the tomatoes need to be scalded with boiling water, then peeled and finely chopped. The difference between Yumurta-tomato and Russian scrambled eggs is that there should be much more tomatoes in it than eggs.

Then we put melted butter in the frying pan, without which no traditional Azerbaijani dish is unthinkable. Fry the onion and add tomatoes to it. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the water evaporates. Beat the eggs in a bowl, mix with a whisk or fork and carefully pour the egg mixture over the tomatoes. The dish is simmered over low heat until the oil from below rises to the top. You can shoot! Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Kyukyu

The popular Azerbaijani dish kyukyu is the star of breakfasts and snacks. In appearance and texture, kyukyu can be called a close relative of Persian kyukyu, Middle Eastern egg, Spanish tortilla or Italian frittata. Azerbaijanis prepare many different types of kyukyu with a wide variety of flavors: potato, eggplant, chicken. The most popular is an omelet with herbs. To prepare kyukyu, you will need a lot of different greens, in addition to reyhan-oregano: spinach, green onions, cilantro, dill. Moreover, spinach should be approximately three times larger than other greens. Wash all this and chop finely. Take a pinch of thyme leaves and mix with gatig and lightly beaten eggs. Salt and pepper the mixture and add all the chopped herbs to it. In a deep frying pan, lightly sauté finely chopped garlic in melted butter. Pour the mixture of eggs, gatig and herbs into the same frying pan and place in the oven for about 15–20 minutes.

1. Dovga

Cold summer soup Dovgu is called the pearl of Azerbaijani cuisine. Although different regions of the republic prepare it in their own way, the basis remains unchanged: katyk with rice, sometimes peas and a lot of greens are added. Each region has its own flavors and unique secrets of preparing Azerbaijani dovga. In Nakhchivan, small meatballs are added to dovga. Shamakhi people mainly add leeks and mountain cilantro. Some people like to drink this soup hot, but many still prefer cold soup. Dovga is prepared within 20 minutes, and it is considered a special art if the base of the fermented milk product does not curl. The unique delicate taste of this soup will not leave even demanding gourmets indifferent. It is so delicious that it is even served at weddings. Some drink dovga from large cups, others drink it from plates. Whether on holidays or on everyday occasions, this dish is always a welcome guest on the table, especially in the hot summer.

1. Dolma "Three Sisters"

In the summer, when there is an abundance of fresh vegetables, there is an excellent opportunity to prepare dishes based on vegetables. One of the best dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine in the summer season is vegetable dolma. People call this dish “Three Sisters” (“uch badji”), referring to the amount of main ingredients: eggplants, tomatoes and bell peppers. The dish is very simple to prepare. The stems of the eggplants are cut, a short longitudinal cut is made, and they are blanched in boiling water. Cut the caps of tomatoes and peppers and remove the pulp and seeds. The vegetables are filled with minced meat mixed with finely chopped onions, half-cooked rice and herbs. “Three sisters” are laid out in layers in a wide and deep dish: eggplants on the bottom, then tomatoes and peppers. Pour half a glass of water, cover with a lid and cook until the liquid boils completely. After cooking, place the dolma on a plate and pour garlic sauce on top.

1. Ovduh

This dish is a kind of analogy to the well-known okroshka. Azerbaijani okroshka consists of approximately the same ingredients: cucumbers, garlic, kefir. Sometimes a boiled egg is also added, and in some cases, boiled and finely chopped beef. To prepare ovdukh, you need to wash the cucumbers, peel them and cut them into cubes. Wash green onions, dill and cilantro and chop finely. In a deep bowl, combine the greens with cucumbers. Dilute gatyg or yogurt with water and pour the resulting mixture over the greens. Add salt to taste and mix well. Before serving, the ovdukh is placed on ice to cool the already thick consistency of the summer soup.

1. Kutaby

Kutaby is a thin flatbread made from unleavened, low-calorie dough, with juicy herbs and cheese or meat. For the dough, sift the flour into a bowl and add a pinch of salt. While kneading gradually, add room temperature water mixed with vegetable oil until the dough is not too stiff. Cover it with a towel and leave for 30 minutes. At this time, prepare the filling. If it is meat, then pass the lamb and onions through a meat grinder. If with greens (preferably spinach), chop them finely, add onions and season with salt. If it is from pumpkin, then grate it, then fry it in oil with onions. Divide the dough into 15–20 parts. Roll each of them into a thin cake - the size that fits your frying pan. Place the filling on half of the flatbread, cover with the other half, carefully pinching the edges. Fry the kutabs in a dry, well-heated frying pan, and after cooking, grease them with melted butter. Kutabs are served hot, sprinkled with sumac on top. The greens in the finished kutab remain juicy and do not lose their taste, the cheese melts a little and all this fills your home with a delicate aroma.

1. Karabakh kyata with greens

This kind of kyata is prepared in the Azerbaijani regions - Fizuli, Jabrail and Agdam. Each housewife has her own cooking secret. But it is very simple, and the main thing is that the dish is prepared from the heart. The dough is rolled out into a paper-thin flat cake, and then filled with a mass of almost ten types of various wild and garden finely chopped greens. As a filling, use any greens to taste (nettle, sorrel, rumesque, buckwheat, water mint, dill, cilantro). You need to start closing the cake from the center to the edges - mold the top of the head, and then, pulling the edges, seal the ends. Kyata is baked in a hot flat frying pan called “saj”, or in a tandoor, for a couple of minutes. You need to fry the kyata for literally a minute on each side until browned. After complete readiness, grease one side of the kyata with butter - this will make the dish more juicy. And you can serve it with gatig.

1. Tere

Tere, a dish rich in vitamins, is prepared mainly in the southern regions of Azerbaijan - in Masalli, Lenkoran, Astara, Lerik, where fresh greens grow all year round. To prepare it, you need to boil 3 cups of water in a low, wide saucepan. Pour well-washed round rice into boiling water. Wash greens (spinach, cilantro) well and chop coarsely. Chop the garlic. Add chopped herbs and garlic to almost cooked rice. By this time, the water in the pan has almost completely evaporated. After another 10-15 minutes, add butter, alchu, salt, and pepper to the resulting mixture. Mix very carefully. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, pour over them, cover with a lid and cook over low heat until the eggs are set. This dish is served with gatig.

1. Vegetable eggplant caviar

One of the popular dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine in the summer is vegetable caviar made from eggplant. To prepare the dish, you need to cut off the tails of medium-sized eggplants and cut the fruits lengthwise into several pieces. Place in a large saucepan and pour boiling water over until they are completely submerged. Just add plenty of salt. Leave for 15 minutes. Then drain the water and cut each eggplant into several slices. Pour oil into a deep frying pan and heat.

Add the eggplants and, after adding a little salt, begin to brown them thoroughly - almost like potatoes, but do not allow the crust to become too fried. Close the lid and start peeling the onions. Cut it into large pieces and pour them into another frying pan. Fry until translucent golden brown and start adding tomatoes, cut crosswise into thin half rings. Add tomatoes to the fried onions. Next, peel and chop the garlic and add it to the eggplants. Pepper the tomatoes, sprinkle with basil and combine with eggplants. Then we cut the greens and also mix them into the hot mixture and let it simmer. Delicious summer caviar is ready!

8

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Sweet dishes

Azerbaijani-style peach jam
In Azerbaijani cuisine there are many sweets with unique tastes, which are divided into three subgroups - flour, caramel-like and candy-like. They contain a significant amount of additives and spices: poppy seeds, nuts, almonds, sesame seeds, ginger, cardamom, vanillin and others. Flour products include shekerbura, baklava, sheker-churek, Baku kurabye, Karabakh kyata[6][7][8][9], Baku[10], Nakhichevan[11] and Ganja[12], Shemakha mutaki, Nakhichevan baklava . National flour products include more than 30 items, and each region has its own special products. Sheki sweets occupy a special place. These are Sheki baklava, peshvenk, tel (terhalva), gyrmabadam, in the production of which rice flour, sugar, nut kernels, butter, egg whites and spices are used.

In March 2009, Ganja chefs produced a miracle baklava. The length of this confectionery product, baked in honor of the Nowruz holiday, is 12 meters and the width is four. The weight of the sweet is about three tons. These indicators allowed Azerbaijani baklava to set a record and get into the CIS book of records. In addition, this puff pastry product claims a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

Sherbets have a different purpose. Unlike Tajik and Central Asian ones (here they are primarily sweets and desserts), Azerbaijani sherbets are soft drinks and also play the role of a drink accompanying pilaf. As the main component, in addition to fruit and berry juices, they also use infusions and distillates of aromatic parts of plants - seeds, buds, and the like, and the fruit base consists of juices of sour fruits and berries[13].

Top 10 popular Azerbaijani dishes

Among several thousand ancient Azerbaijani recipes, it is difficult to single out just a few of the best: all dishes of national cuisine are extremely good, and, importantly, healthy due to the addition of a huge amount of fresh herbs and fruits. But there are several particularly popular dishes that have long become known in Europe.

Adjapsandal

This dish is often found in the cuisines of other peoples of the world - Armenian, Turkic, Georgian and many others, but ajapsadal was originally a traditional cold appetizer of Azerbaijan. This is a vegetable dish based on eggplants, tomatoes and sweet peppers. Additional flavor enhancing ingredients include white onions, fresh coriander, garlic and basil. Vegetable oil is used as a dressing.

In European countries, this dish, the name of which translates as “how excellent you are,” would be dubbed vegetable sauté. But in a traditional sauté, eggplants are not a mandatory ingredient, unlike Ajapsandal; in addition, in Europe they use completely different seasonings, so the Azerbaijani dish remains unique and one of a kind in terms of taste.

Pilaf

Of course, pilaf is most often associated with Azerbaijani cuisine. There are about 200 recipes for this dish in Azerbaijan. It is believed that this nation prepares pilaf better than other peoples of the Caucasus and the entire population of the world as a whole.

The dish really turns out consistently tasty, no matter what recipe it is prepared in. But there is one remarkable feature: the rice itself and the “filling” are prepared separately from each other, and mixed only in a plate served to the table. Rice porridge is made in a cast iron or copper cauldron, in butter, or using fat tail fat.

Garou is prepared in a separate container - a mixture of pieces of lamb, spices, vegetables and fruits. Even the dish is served in a surprising way: the rice is covered with several triangular pieces of kazmag (unleavened flatbread), sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, and the garou is served in a separate plate. To all this they add a traditional drink - sherbet.

Dolma

This dish is somewhat similar to ordinary Russian cabbage rolls, but it also has significant differences. Firstly, quince or grape leaves are used instead of cabbage leaves. Secondly, Azerbaijani dolma can have completely different fillings.

The traditional option is lamb dolma; fresh herbs and clear rice are added to the minced meat; these ingredients should not exceed the volume of the minced meat. As a rule, they take 3 parts of minced lamb and 1 part of rice with herbs.

In Azerbaijan, there are about 10 recipes for dolma with different fillings, including fruits, vegetables, and fish. Each option is popular: in summer, light vegetable dolma is served with a traditional fermented milk drink; in winter, a fish or meat hot dish is appropriate. It is noteworthy that it has not yet been established exactly what national cuisine this dish came from.

Today it is an integral part of the diet of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, but it was Azerbaijan that made every effort to ensure that the dish was recognized as traditional for the Azerbaijani people. It’s interesting that everything worked out: just a year ago, the culinary traditions of preparing Azerbaijani dolma were recognized as the cultural heritage of humanity.

Lula kebab

Another must-try meat dish in the country. It is a minced lamb cutlet cooked over coals or an open fire. It is noteworthy that no onions or eggs are added to the minced meat; the minced meat is simply beaten for a long time and thoroughly, after which it is placed on a thin wooden skewer.

There are enough options for preparing kebabs; in common parlance this is kebab, therefore, as in any other cuisine, kebab can be made from fish, vegetables or meat. But the presentation is always the same: meat generously sprinkled with herbs on thin homemade flatbreads.

Dushbara

This dish is akin to classic dumplings, in fact, dumplings in Azerbaijani style. For preparation, minced lamb is made with the addition of various spices and herbs, the dough is kneaded into a stiff dough with a small amount of salt.

A distinctive feature of the national dish is that the preparations are not dipped into water, but into a boiling broth made from lamb bones. Dushbara is served in broth with butter and fresh herbs, which take up at least a third of the plate.

Dzhyz-byz

In Azerbaijan, it is customary to eat not only clean meat, but also its waste. Thus, the popular Azerbaijani dish jiz-byz is processed young sheep intestines fried with potatoes. The dish also includes other animal entrails - liver, kidneys, heart. Fat tail fat is always used for frying, and the finished dish, richly seasoned with herbs, is served in sumy.

Bozbash

One of the many first courses of Azerbaijani cuisine. Almost all soups of this cuisine have a slightly different consistency from the one we are used to: Azerbaijani soups have much more filling and very little liquid, due to which the dishes are always very high in calories and nutritious. Bozbash is a fatty soup with numerous ingredients.

The main vegetables are: potatoes or chestnuts, sweet peppers, tomatoes, chickpeas, onions, zucchini and eggplants. A distinctive feature is that the traditional recipe always contains mint and apples, which adds some piquancy to the dish.

Petey

Another interesting soup that is cooked in the oven. A very thick lamb belly dish. The cooking process takes place in several stages: vegetables (onions, peppers, carrots, eggplant) are first fried in fat tail fat, and then transferred to a clay pot. The mixture is poured with a small amount of liquid and brought to readiness in the oven. When serving, piti must be decorated with coriander.

Hash

In Azerbaijani cuisine, almost all hot dishes and soups are made from lamb; only a few recipes include beef or veal. Khash is one of them. Despite the fact that this is a soup and is served hot, it is traditionally eaten exclusively for breakfast.

Khash is prepared without any spices at all, based on beef tripe; in some regions, beef tails and heads are added. In addition, this is one of the few dishes that is not sprinkled with herbs. When serving, spices, herbs and herbs are simply served in a separate bowl, but only to guests of the country. The local population eats khash without any spices at all.

Baklava

A traditional Azerbaijani sweet, which is always present on the table on the great Muslim holiday of Novruz Bayram, this dish is also served to all guests. The basis of baklava is yeast dough, hazelnuts, and other ground nuts. Additional and required ingredients are saffron, cloves, sugar. Baklava is something like a sweet multi-layer cake.

To prepare an oriental sweet, roll out a layer of dough, sprinkle generously with filling in the form of nuts and sugar, then cover the mixture with another layer of dough, grease it with butter and add the filling again.

Similar actions are continued until the future dish has 10 layers, the latter is coated with egg yolk and saffron, after which the workpiece is sent to the oven for half an hour. When the delicacy is ready and cooled, it is cut into diamond-shaped pieces, each of which is decorated with whole hazelnuts.

I don’t even know where to start telling the story about the month I spent in Azerbaijan. The scenery is simply stunning, the cities are charming and the people are incredibly friendly. The holiday was full of adventures, and everything was not at all what I expected. So where to start?

I'm still a little confused and trying to process everything. (Process photos, damn it, I took more than 2000 photos)

So, I’ll start, perhaps, with this... when I found out that I was going to, I was haunted by only one question: “I wonder what the cuisine is like there?”:

Food in Azerbaijan

Instead of jumping straight into the top 5 dishes I tried, as I usually do, today I'll take a short detour.

First of all, I must say that I was in Azerbaijan for work.

And when I wasn't eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel buffet, I usually ate lunch at the stadium, which meant eating a tiny cupcake and drinking a bottle of water, if I was lucky I could eat a beet salad and cold pizza. (But I'm not complaining by any means: many sporting events don't provide free media food at all - in London they charged £1.05 for a bottle of water. I was grateful for the free snacks).

I want to say that my understanding of Azerbaijani cuisine is limited. However, I was still able to try a few dishes outside the hotel and get a glimpse of Azerbaijani culture in the process.

What is Azerbaijani cuisine?

If I were asked to describe Azerbaijani food in four words, I would say: pickles, herbs, lamb and sodium.

Each meal begins with a plate of appetizers, which are eaten with warm naan-like flatbreads. Appetizer includes: fresh herbs, cheeses, olives, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and assorted pickles: pickled onions, pickled cabbage, pickled olives. In one restaurant I even tried pickled mushrooms (It’s a little funny that what I call pickled, they call white cucumber).

Herbs are highly prized here; sometimes they bring a whole plate with just herbs. They smell great.

At least one of the main dishes comes with lamb meat. Even the dishes that don't contain it contain a lot of sodium, which I've never tried before.

I don't like to complain about food. I can't stand doing this and I can't stand those who do it. But I admit that after a month in Azerbaijan, I needed a break from the sodium (And this happened to me, a person who has repeatedly sat down to watch movies with a jar of pickles and destroyed it in one go).

Dinner was usually accompanied by tea, an important part of Azerbaijani culture, and something else that I will definitely write more about in another post.

So now that you have an idea (or at least MY idea) about Azerbaijani cuisine, we can move on to the top 5 dishes I tried in Azerbaijan.

5 best dishes I tried in Azerbaijan

Drink soup from Sheki

Petey. God, drink! By far, this is the best thing I ate in Azerbaijan. Piti is a soup that is prepared in an individual clay pot, which you “take apart” before eating. First, break up pieces of bread and throw them into the pot. Then slowly tilt the pot of piti so that the broth submerges the bread; then add the rest of the ingredients to finish cooking the dish - do each step very quickly and the hot soup will splash on you :). The recipe itself is simple: lamb, chickpeas, chestnuts and potatoes. But the end result is a hearty and flavorful soup, one of the most flavorful soups I've ever had in my life - most likely thanks to the large portion of cooked fat.

Badambura in Baku

Badambura is a widely known Azerbaijani pie. It comes in a variety of shapes, with fillings of sugar, cinnamon and finely chopped nuts. I tried it for the first time at the tournament accreditation center. While waiting for my accreditation to be printed, I casually mentioned that I was hungry. The center’s volunteers immediately took out badambur and juice from their personal lunch bags and insisted that I eat. I don't know whether it was hunger or their kindness, but not a single badambura was as magnificent as that first one.

Black tea and cherry jam in Baku

As with all the dishes on this list, there is a story behind this tea that makes it unforgettable. But the tea itself was fantastic, which is not surprising, since tea occupies a huge place in the daily life of an Azerbaijani; on the streets I often saw men playing board games and sipping black tea from small beautifully shaped mugs. There is even a special tradition - to drink it with jam, but I will talk about this in another post.

Sheki halva

We went to Sheki for one day, so the stop at the local sweets seller’s shop was no more than five minutes. But even in those few minutes, I saw how popular this guy's halwa was: the tiny shop was filled with locals jostling each other, hoping to buy the last halva. The boxes disappeared as soon as someone filled them with freshly cut sweets.

By the way, halva - a dessert of crushed nuts lying between layers of thin fried dough with honey oozing from it - is a Sheki specialty, so I think we bought the best of the best.

Caspian Sea fish and smoked cheese in Gabala

The fish was not so appetizing, perhaps due to the fact that I had to remove the heads first, then, when I greedily devoured the small bodies, I had to remember about the bones.

And again, these dishes are memories of one night - I drank together with local Azerbaijanis who did not know Russian except “Vodka!” — that’s why I put this salty snack on my list (the salt content in it is higher than the norm that I need to cope with vodka).

Azerbaijani cuisine is considered one of the most ancient in the world. The cuisine of Azerbaijan, which has quite a lot of traditions common to all Caucasian peoples, at the same time combines some features that give it a unique flavor.

List of dishes

Saj (poultry, potatoes, eggplants and other vegetables cooked on a flat frying pan over burning coals)

Azerbaijani dolma made from grape leaves

Azerbaijani dolma, which is stuffed tomatoes, bell peppers and eggplants

Dolma from Tabriz, (South Azerbaijan)

Tikya kebab and Lula kebab from lamb

Cooking kabab

Traditional cold appetizer in Azerbaijan

Cold appetizer

• Kyukyu
  [14] Kyukyu from greens
• Kyukyu from kutum
• Walnut kyukyu

Soups and broths

• Arishta
  [17]
• Bozbash
  Kourma-bozbash
• Kufta-bozbash[4]
• Parcha-bozbash[4]

Hot dishes

Pilaf

Dishes made from rice are widespread in Azerbaijan, which is mainly used to prepare pilaf

, numbering up to 50 species[1].

• Guilme pilaf
• Lobia pilaf
• Mave-pilaf
• Brocade dosheme
• Pilaf-chykhyrtma
• Sabzikourma-pilaf
• Syudlu-pilaf
• Toyug-pilaf
• Fisinjan-pilaf
• Dosheme-pilaf
• Sheshryanch-pilaf
• Shirin-pilaf
• Shuyut-pilaf

Meat dishes

Meat dishes are very diverse. The most favorite meat is lamb. Basdyrma is prepared from fresh lamb and beef

, from which they then make kebab.
The most common dish is piti
and
bozbash
(thick lamb soups).
Kufte bozbash
(apple-sized balls made from minced meat)
are popular Chopped lamb, seasoned with rice and spices, is wrapped in cabbage (this dish is called kelem dolmasy
), in salted and fresh grape leaves (
yarpag dolmasy
), stuffed with eggplants and tomatoes.
Lule kabab
is prepared from finely chopped lamb mixed with onions and spices .
The most common dish made from poultry meat is chygartma
[1].

• Cherry plum-kourma
• Basturma
  - dried beef meat
• Boz kourma
  [23]
• Buglama Lamb buglama
• Beef buglama

Fish dishes

Azerbaijani cuisine uses fish species found in the Caspian Sea, especially kutum ( kütüm

), salmon (
qızılbalıq
), sturgeon (
nərə
) and herring (
siyənək
).
Before the introduction of a moratorium on sturgeon fishing and production restrictions, Azerbaijan produced more than 20 thousand tons of black caviar
per year.[29]

• Buglama from fish
• Fish dolma
• Fish kebab
• Fish lavangi

Flour dishes

• Guymag
  - sweet porridge made from fried wheat flour
• Gyurza
  - “dumplings” of elongated shape Gyurza classic[4]
• Viper round
• Gyurza in Nakhichevan

Vegetarian dishes

• Chyhyrtma from eggplant
• Chyhyrtma from spinach
• Yalanchi-dolma

Sweet dishes and baked goods

Azerbaijani baklava

Baku baklava

Baking shekerbura

• Badambura
• Kyata
  - bread with sweet flour filling
• Kurabye
  - butter cookies with jam
• Mutaki
  - bagels with nut filling
• Azerbaijani nan
  - butter cookies
• Azerbaijani baklava
  Baku baklava
• Ganja baklava
• Nakhichevan baklava
• Sheki baklava

Dairy products

• Aguz
• Katyk
• Kurut
• Cheese Motal
• Sachakh
• Chanakh
• Shore

Bread products

Bread occupies a significant place in the food diet of Azerbaijanis. It is baked in various ways. In rural areas it was mostly baked on an iron, slightly convex sheet of saj

.
Baking bread in tendirs was widespread, which still exists today in the regions and even urban centers of the republic. Mostly churek
, and often
lavash
.
In spring and autumn they prepare gutab
- a type of pies stuffed with meat and herbs[1].

• Appec
• Pita
• Tendir chöreyi
• Fetir
• Yuha (bread)

Azerbaijani cuisine from Irma Gadzhieva-Špokyavičienė

Read publications tagged food and kitchen!
Preface. About who I am and about the features of Azerbaijani cuisine.

I am Irma. Her maiden name was Gadzhieva. Married - Shpokyavichene. I am a daughter, wife, mother, gaynana (mother-in-law) and grandmother. I’m also Baku, despite the fact that I’ve been living in Moscow for 35 years. There are no former Baku residents. July 1 is even celebrated as World Baku Day, and this day is celebrated by all Baku residents, no matter what country they live in. After school, I went to Moscow to study as a defectologist, got married and stayed to live here.

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Talking about Azerbaijani cuisine, I cannot help but talk at least briefly about my family. After all, it was from my parents and ancestors that I borrowed the love and ability to cook traditional Azerbaijani dishes. So, a little about the family.

Like most residents of Baku, I was born into a mixed family. I lived in the famous House of Composers, where amazing people lived.

My grandfather Khanlar Gadzhiev was born in Shusha, into a large Gadzhimedov family. After the Sovietization of Azerbaijan, the family was divided into two surnames, and the grandfather became Hajiyev.

My grandfather was a very famous surgeon, whose name both Azerbaijan and Tajikistan are proud of, where he worked as the chief surgeon of the republic and founded departments and the Vladikavkaz Medical Institute. And his wife was German by nationality - Irma Braune. She was from Lodz Germans, her parents were invited to work at oil refineries.

My mother’s ancestors gave me Georgian roots, creativity genes and a love of art. Probably, the desire to write also comes from them.

My great-grandfather Vasily Aleksandrovich Knyazkov was invited by the famous Azerbaijani composer and founder of modern professional musical art in Azerbaijan Uzeyir Hajibeyov, together with other musicians, to create the Baku Conservatory.

You can talk about my family for a very long time and interestingly, but today I’m talking about something else. Today I will tell you about the art of Azerbaijani cuisine.

Food is one of the important aspects of life and communication in Azerbaijan. Even if you popped in to see your neighbor for a minute, you can’t leave without a glass of tea. And feeding is the sacred duty of any woman. You can't just walk into our house! My mother will feed everyone. Even if there is no place to put a dish on the table, mom will still say that there is not enough food.

Azerbaijanis know how to cook. Most often, they learn from childhood. Azerbaijani cuisine often involves communal cooking. Although, of course, modern realities make their own adjustments, because... Modern Azerbaijani women work hard and make careers. But at the same time they know how to cook quickly, tasty and a lot.

Azerbaijani cuisine is similar to other Transcaucasian cuisines, but it has its own unique characteristics. Dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine most often have Turkic names, but in terms of cooking method and taste they are more similar to Iranian cuisine. The conquest of the country by the Persians played a role here, and then there were the Turks, the Mongols, and the Arabs. Azerbaijan was divided into various khanates, and each had its own characteristics of preparing dishes.

The main product of Azerbaijani cuisine is lamb. Although other types of meat, as well as poultry, are also used a lot.

In addition, in Azerbaijani cuisine it is customary to cook meat together with fruits, and not with vegetables. For example, meat with dogwood, pomegranate and cherry plum. Or with dried fruits. Thanks to this, the meat dish of Azerbaijani cuisine acquires a sweet and sour taste.

Azerbaijanis hold eggplants in special esteem. They are used here in almost any form. But potatoes appeared relatively late in Azerbaijani cuisine. Chestnuts were used instead. Therefore, chestnuts are still an essential component of many dishes.

It is impossible to embrace the immensity of Azerbaijani cuisine. I will try to tell you about the most important, ancient and significant recipes.

Azerbaijani cuisine: pilaf

Eastern wisdom says: “the poor man eats pilaf, but the rich man eats only pilaf.” The history of pilaf goes back 2.5 thousand years. Avicenna considered pilaf a healing food, and perhaps he was right.

Azerbaijani pilaf is not as famous and popular as Central Asian pilaf. I love Central Asian pilaf and cook it often, but I consider our Azerbaijani pilaf more creative in preparation, more refined and subtle.

Pilaf is the king of Azerbaijani cuisine. They say that there are about 200 types of pilaf. Each region of Azerbaijan prepares its own type of pilaf. These types of pilaf are so different that it is difficult to compare them.

Different types of Azerbaijani pilaf are very different in their composition and taste. And they can be called differently, depending on the ingredients and region of preparation. But all regions are united by one rule: the main thing in Azerbaijani pilaf is rice. This is the main part of pilaf. But everything that is prepared from meat, fish, herbs, dried fruits and vegetables is... a side dish (!) - gara or govurma.

How to cook Azerbaijani pilaf?

Any kind of rice won't do. The rice should be long. It can be either basmati or khan rice. Rice must be soaked in advance and then cooked in boiling water. The rice should be boiled until half cooked. The art of a good housewife is manifested in the fact that the rice is not overcooked. Then the rice is thrown into a colander. That is why it is called flap rice - because of the cooking method.

Traditionally, pilaf is cooked in a cauldron. The Azerbaijani cauldron is wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, unlike the Asian one.

Either thin pita bread or thinly rolled dough is placed on the bottom of the cauldron, and melted butter is poured on top (by the way, you need a lot of butter for pilaf, otherwise it’s not pilaf, but porridge). This dough at the bottom of the cauldron will then be baked and turn into a crispy crust - gazmag.

Pour rice from a colander onto the dough, and pour it into one point so that it takes the shape of a slide. It is believed that no other movements should be made during the rash. Pour melted butter and water on top of the rice, in which saffron has been dissolved to give the rice a yellow color, taste and aroma. Now put the cauldron on low heat. The lid of the cauldron must be wrapped in a towel. Then the steam, condensing on the lid, does not reach the rice, which should turn out fluffy and crumbly.

While the rice is cooking in the cauldron, we will do what is called govurma (side dish) in Azerbaijani cuisine. Govurma determines the taste and name of pilaf. Also, as I already wrote, the region of preparation matters. To prepare govurma in Azerbaijan, they traditionally use mainly dried fruits, quinces, chestnuts, and herbs, but variations are possible.

Types of Azerbaijani pilaf

Pilaf brocade-dosham. The lamb is fried in one piece. Add sautéed onions, fruits, chestnuts, caraway seeds, and a little broth, and simmer it all until done. Rice is placed separately on a plate, with meat, fruits, and chestnuts on top. Pour in oil and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Pilaf shuyud. Pilaf is prepared in the usual way and mixed with finely chopped dill. An omelet is prepared from eggs and milk, which is cut into diamonds. Pilaf with dill is placed on a plate, and pieces of omelette are placed on top, and the whole thing is poured with oil.

Plov toyug. This is chicken pilaf with the addition of fruits, cumin and other spices.

Plov Chyhyrtma. This is chicken pilaf with lemons, saffron and beaten eggs.

Shashandaz pilaf. This is pilaf with fried eggs, sprinkled with cinnamon.

Pilaf gyimya. Minced lamb is fried in oil. Dogwood and sultanas are also placed here, as well as boiled and peeled chestnuts. The resulting mass (gyimya) is brought to readiness. Rice is placed separately on a plate and gyimya is placed on top. Pour in oil and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Hamdoshama pilaf. This is pilaf with dried fruits

Lobia-chilov pilaf. This is bean and sultana pilaf.

Plov fisinjan. This is pilaf with chicken, walnuts, pomegranate, and cinnamon.

Pilaf width. Fruits and sugar are stewed in oil. Pilaf is boiled from rice until half cooked, mixed with prepared fruits, steamed and brought to readiness. When serving, place a heap of rice on a plate and fruit on top.

Turshkabab pilaf. Meatballs are boiled in a decoction of parsley, which is turned in a meat grinder. Parsley juice is also added to the broth. Govurma turns out to be a beautiful green color.

Pilaf sabzi. This is pilaf, where govurma consists of meat and stewed greens. The meat usually used is lamb, beef, chicken, and sometimes fish.

Shah-pilaf. This is the king of pilafs - pilaf in lavash. Lavash or dough is placed in a cauldron, rice is placed inside, and the govurma is baked in the oven. It looks like a pie, but it's pilaf. Look at the photo below!

Azerbaijani cuisine: dolma

“Azerbaijani pilaf is the Shah of all dishes, and dolma is the first and most beautiful wife of the Shah!” - says an old saying. It is said that there are more than 300 types of dolma. UNESCO recognized dolma as an intangible national heritage of Azerbaijan. In the Azerbaijani language there is also the word “dolamag”, which means to wrap.

Historically, dolma is a common Turkic dish of ethnic cuisine. Where the Turks once passed, this delicacy took root. In each country and in each region, dolma has its own national and local characteristics. The most famous dolma, which almost everyone knows, is dolma made from grape leaves, but variations are possible.

Depending on the region of Azerbaijan and on the tastes of the housewife herself and her family, dolma comes in different types. The filling of dolma can be minced meat or fish, chopped vegetables and even nuts.

Types of Azerbaijani dolma

Dolma yalanchy is a meatless dolma, where the filling contains onions, herbs, nuts and thick cream.

Kalyam dolmasy – cabbage dolma. In principle, kyalam dolmas are the same cabbage rolls, but cooked in the national style and with national flavor. There are two types of kalyam dolmasy: tursh and shirin .

The word "tursh" means sour. To tursh kyalam dolmasy add sour plum albuhara, which is placed inside the cabbage roll.

The word "shirin" means sweet. In shirin kyalam dolmasy, chestnuts and raisins are placed inside, and doshab, the boiled juice of mulberry fruits, is also used.

In kyalam dolmasy it is not customary to use sour cream and tomato paste with fried onions. This is not in the traditions of Azerbaijani cuisine.

Badimdzhan-bibyar-tomato dolmasy is a famous vegetable dolma, inside which eggplants, peppers and tomatoes are placed.

Quince dolmasy – dolma with quince.

Khiyar dolmasy – dolma with cucumbers.

Alma dolmasy – dolma with apples.

Sogan dolmasy – dolma with onions.

There are a lot of options for dolma. There are so many types of vegetables and meat – so many options!

Azerbaijani cuisine has dishes for every taste. Overall, this is, of course, a very meaty cuisine. But, if you don’t eat lamb or beef, there are dishes made from chicken, fish or vegetables. If you like tripe, then you will be offered a delicious hot tripe dish. No one will go hungry!

If you ask a resident of Azerbaijan what he would prefer for breakfast, the first dish on the list will be yumurta (tomato) - scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Or rather, tomatoes with eggs. The Azerbaijani dish Yumurta contains a lot of tomatoes, onions, eggs (not beaten, but stirred) and melted or regular butter (vegetable oil is not used). Some time after breakfast you can eat again.

Azerbaijani cuisine: kutabs

Kutaby are the thinnest pies in the shape of a semicircle with different fillings. In principle, these are the same pasties, but better, because... Kutabs are not deep-fried, but in a dry frying pan. Only then the hot kutabs are greased with oil.

Kutaby is a long and labor-intensive task to prepare. The reason is that a lot of them are usually required. Kutabs are very tasty, they are eaten in a matter of minutes. Therefore, on holidays, kutabs are usually made together: one woman rolls out the dough, another makes kutabs, and the third fries them in a dry frying pan.

Kutabs are good with a variety of fillings. Meat, herbs, cheese, tripe, pumpkin are placed in the kutabs... Kutabs with meat are sprinkled with sumac and pomegranate seeds are added inside the filling. They eat kutabs by pouring gatyk on top - this is a fermented milk product, something like yogurt or matsoni.

Just as, for example, in Russia there are dumpling shops in Moscow, so in Azerbaijan there is kutabkhana in Baku. Women sit there, they roll and fry kutabs, which visitors to the establishment eat immediately hot. It is not customary to prepare kutabs in advance and then reheat them.

As you already understand, most of the dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine: pilaf, dolma, and kutabs - almost all the cuisine is prepared by women in Azerbaijan. But there are dishes that only men cook. For example, kabyab.

Every nationality of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia has shashlik; Azerbaijani shashlik is called kabyab. Of course, women eat kabyab and are well versed in which part of the lamb kabyab is tastier from, but preparing kabyab is a man’s job.

Azerbaijani cuisine: soups

Soup is very important in traditional Azerbaijani cuisine. Often, this is both the first and second course in one plate. Sometimes they even serve the broth and soup filling separately in different bowls. They do this for convenience.

Some soups are prepared in portioned pots. But basically, soups are prepared in large portions in pans. Sometimes you can even cook dovgu soup in a pilaf cauldron.

In the summer, fresh tomatoes and herbs are used to season first courses, and in winter, dried cherry plum (to give a sour taste) or plum lavash (lavashana) is used. It can be found even in Moscow. And, of course, they add spices with coloring substances - saffron, sarykek (turmeric). Also, beans, lentils, and mung beans are often used in soups.

As happens with many other dishes of national Azerbaijani cuisine, the recipe and technology for preparing the soup depends on the region of Azerbaijan. When serving, they will definitely clarify which version of the dish it is, for example, Baku - capital.

Azerbaijani soup tutmadzh is a rather rare type of soup. You need to chop the spinach. Prepare and cut leaf khingal (a package of these pasta squares for beshbarmak, which you can buy, helps here). Khingal looks like beshbarmak pasta, these are the squares. Cook khyadik in advance - these are legumes, beans, chickpeas, corn, mung bean. Then, first throw salt into a boiling cauldron, then khingals, then khyadik and finally spinach. Serve hot and be sure to wash it down with cold ayran.

Azerbaijani soup dovga. Dovga is eaten hot in winter and cold in summer. Very often served after a hearty meal in a glass just to drink to aid digestion. It is difficult to prepare real dovga outside Azerbaijan, for example, in Moscow, because... here in Moscow there is no dag keshnish - mountain cilantro, which gives this soup an extraordinary taste. But even without this cilantro, dovga will be delicious.

We prepare the greens - spinach, cilantro, mountain cilantro, mint, dill. In a saucepan, beat the eggs and flour, although many people do not add flour, because... They don't like the floury taste. Add kefir and water. Stir thoroughly, add rice and put on fire. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When it boils, add all the pre-chopped greens. Very often, chickpeas are boiled in advance and also placed in dovga. There are options with and without meat.

Azerbaijani piti soup is a very hearty and incredibly tasty soup. Real piti is made from lamb, chickpeas, potatoes, and dried plums. All this must be sprinkled with dried mint and add saffron infusion. Real piti should be simmered in the oven in clay pots. When eating piti, you should dip the flatbread in the broth.

Azerbaijani soup turshu syyig is essentially green borscht. The difference from green borscht is that plum marshmallow must be placed in turshu syyig, which is pre-soaked and made into a paste. And most often chicken. And so in tursha syig they put the same thing as in ordinary green borscht or cabbage soup: spinach, sorrel, green onions with egg and sour cream.

Azerbaijani soup khash. Khash is prepared by almost all the peoples of the Caucasus, and Central Asia too. In Azerbaijan, khash is a national soup. As a rule, khash in Azerbaijan is prepared by men (for them it is often a whole sacred rite), and it is prepared mainly on weekends or holidays. Khash is eaten in the cold season and always only in the morning.

Khash resembles liquid jellied meat. Khash is also called hangover soup; it is good in the morning after an evening feast and with a glass of vodka. In Azerbaijan they joke that men will sell their souls for khash.

Azerbaijani cuisine: jiz byz

In Azerbaijan, meat is taken seriously. All parts of the carcass suitable for cooking are used for cooking. In principle, a significant attitude towards meat is characteristic of the majority of the peoples of the Caucasus, Transcaucasia and the East. But now I’m talking about Azerbaijani cuisine.

I recommend that tripe lovers try the traditional dish of Azerbaijani cuisine, jiz byz. For its preparation, offal is used - lamb intestines, liver, heart, liver, kidneys, testes, tail fat, a small amount of potatoes and onions.

Jyz byz is a truly Azerbaijani dish! It's very easy to prepare. It is customary to cook it in saj, but it can be cooked in a frying pan or in a cauldron.

As a child, when I went to Basina Street in Baku not far from my home, there was a jizbyznaya on the corner - an eatery where you could quickly eat. And they prepared this dish there. It smelled amazing! Delicious!

Azerbaijani cuisine: sherbet

Of course, Islam has a great influence on the traditions of Azerbaijani cuisine. Most Azerbaijanis do not eat pork. Also in Azerbaijan it is not customary to abuse alcoholic beverages. It is customary here to drink sherbet (In Russian there are two forms of spelling: sherbet and sherbet. – editor’s note)

Unlike Central Asian sherbet, which is more often served as a dessert, Azerbaijani sherbet is a soft drink.

Traditional Azerbaijani sherbet is made from fruit juices. Greens, seeds, and fruits are also used. The aromatic plants used are rose petals. The most famous sorbet made from rose petals is ovshala. As a rule, Azerbaijani sherbet is not very sweet, because... It is often washed down with difficult-to-digest meat dishes.

The original Azerbaijani sherbet, as well as, for example, the frequent use of chestnuts in the preparation of national cuisine, clearly distinguishes Azerbaijani cuisine from other national cuisines of the Caucasus, Transcaucasia and the Middle East.

Azerbaijani cuisine: baklava, shaker bura, shor gogal

Most Azerbaijanis respect national traditions, rituals, and habits. One of these traditions is the celebration of Novruz Bayram. On Novruz, women take out old notes from their grandmothers and mothers - and bake traditional sweets! They are always prepared according to the recipe of the region where the family is from, even if people have been living in another region for a long time.

In Azerbaijan, three types of pastries are traditionally baked for most holidays and, of course, Novruz Bayram. These are baklava, shaker bura and shor gogal.

Diamond baklava is a symbol of fire or a star, according to different versions. Shaker drill is a symbol of the Moon. Shor gogal is a symbol of the sun

In the cookbook of the Ottoman Sultans' Museum in Topkapi Palace, there is a record from the time of Sultan Fatih, according to which the first "baklava" was prepared in the palace in August 1453. They say that the Sultan liked the cook’s invention so much that he ordered his recipe to be immortalized. Since then, baklava has been prepared at every holiday.

Of course, Turks, Arabs, Greeks, and Armenians prepare baklava. And everywhere it is prepared differently. Today I will talk about Azerbaijani baklava.

In each region of Azerbaijan, baklava is prepared in its own way. There is Baku baklava, Sheki, Cuban, Ganja. Everyone clearly monitors exactly what preparation of a particular dish is used. They will definitely emphasize that this is a Baku dish, or Lankaran or Sheki.

Another unique baklava is prepared in Gabala. This kind of food is no longer prepared in any city in Azerbaijan. It also has a special shape. Ordinary baklava is always cut into a diamond shape, but this one is immediately made in the form of triangles, which is why it is called “uchgulag” - three-eared. It tastes completely different from the Baku baklava I’m used to.

Sheki baklava is especially different from all the others. The recipe for Sheki halva (baklava) has been passed down from generation to generation for about 200 years in several Shekina families, whose members are called “halvachi.” They say that they do not disclose the special details of the recipe and technology for preparing real Sheki baklava to anyone. It is believed that if a non-specialist finds a recipe and prepares such baklava himself, he will still not be able to make real Sheki baklava.

But personally, what I love most is our national pastry called shor gogal - a symbol of the sun.

Shor gogal is one of the oldest dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine. It is so old that it has no consonant analogues in any of the modern languages ​​of the world.

The filling of shor gogal includes cardamom, sesame, fennel, anise, cumin, turmeric or sarykyok, black pepper, and saffron. Spices can be different from those listed, but the majority should be present.

The puff pastry shor gogal with original spicy filling is always served with sweet tea. By the way, only shor and a sandwich with black caviar are the only dishes when you will be served granulated sugar with your tea. In other cases, they will bring lump sugar, not refined sugar.

Azerbaijani cuisine: tea

As in many other countries, people in Azerbaijan traditionally drink tea after meals. And not just after eating. They drink tea for any occasion. If you come to visit, they will pour you tea, then feed you, then pour you tea again, and you also need to drink tea on the path before leaving. And then return home and drink tea from the road.

During the Soviet Union, when there was no gas meter, almost every family had a minimal fire lit on the stove, with a kettle of water on the edge to keep it always hot. And if a guest came in or a neighbor dropped by, there was no need to wait for the kettle to boil, but they poured it right away. It was impossible to go to a neighbor’s house for salt and not drink tea. It was possible to offend!

In Azerbaijan, tea is traditionally brewed in a teapot, which is placed on a gas stove on a fire divider. We don't have such a long brewing ceremony as in Japan, for example. Everything is clear and simple here. Tea must be well brewed, and there is no time to watch the tea move from cup to teapot. Tea should be ready when the guest arrives. You cannot make a guest wait. After a hearty lunch, tea will be served with mint, which helps digest meat, or with other herbs. Lump sugar, lemon, jam or sweets will be served with tea everywhere.

The tea itself is served both in a glass with a glass holder and in armudas. Armudy is translated as “pear”. In the armuda below, the tea stays hot, and at the top you can avoid getting burned. Armuds were never filled to the brim with tea, leaving about a centimeter at the top. This distance is called “dodag yeri” - the place for the lips.

But if you are visiting, then, most likely, you will have tea poured into a crystal glass in a glass holder. While we lived in Baku, we also used only crystal glasses and silver coasters for guests.

Sugar used to be crushed - “kyalla gand”. First, they chopped the sugar loaf, and then used special tweezers to split the large pieces into small pieces. Before taking the first sip, they always dipped a piece of sugar into the tea.

In Azerbaijan, traditionally, a teahouse is a purely male establishment. In the teahouse, men play backgammon, talk and drink tea.

Unlike Georgia and Turkey, coffee is not held in high esteem in Azerbaijan. Of course, now in Baku there are many modern cafes and coffee shops that serve good coffee, but in a traditional national restaurant you will be served tea.

Memories of black caviar as a child in Baku

When I was a child, every child in Baku knew that there was a jar of black caviar in the refrigerator. No matter how modest the family’s income was, no matter how much the parents obtained meat and butter through connections in a cafe or restaurant, almost everyone had a jar of caviar in their refrigerator. It was both a source of vitamins for the child and an emergency supply.

No matter who you came to visit, you, little or not, were always given a sandwich with butter and caviar, and a fresh cucumber to go with it. Smelling, crispy, delicious! But definitely with a sandwich with black caviar.

And there won’t be three eggs in a row on the sandwich! There won’t be these modern fancy sandwiches that are decorated, designed and beautifully laid out on a plate - small canapushki for one tooth, all sorts of modern tartlets where they put everything, and then a little bit of caviar. No! There will be a whole layer of black caviar so that the oil is not visible - and not grainy, but pressed!

By the way, there will also not be five grams of butter, but a good, dense layer to cover the entire bread. And a piece of bread will be cut off to its full length!

Whenever and wherever we gather as a group in Baku, we always remember our former life in this city. And without fail, among all the old city stories that we now laugh at with warmth, we will remember the jar of black caviar in our parents’ refrigerator.

Welcome to Baku and bon appetit!

It is impossible to tell about all the incredible cuisine of Azerbaijan in one story. To do this we would have to publish a multi-volume book!

I advise you to buy tickets and fly to this wonderful country and its capital - Baku. Walk along the streets of the Old City - Icheri Sheher. Climb the Maiden Tower - Gyz Galasy. Drink a glass of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice right on the street and take a walk along Primorsky Boulevard.

— Have you been to Baku? — Was — And was it on Primorsky Boulevard? - No - So you haven’t been to Baku!

You should definitely take the funicular up to the Park and look at Baku Bay. Visit national restaurants and try a lot of everything. Don't forget to order mint tea - then you'll finish the whole meal.

Go see fire-worshipping temples, waterfalls, and blue Lake Goygol. Buy as a gift a pomegranate-shaped box, pomegranate wine, narsharab pomegranate sauce for meat and fish, and a large box of baklava, Shaker Bura and Schor Gogal. However, you should also put a jar of fig and white cherry jam in your suitcase.

Welcome to Baku and bon appetit! Hoş gəlmisiniz! Nuş olsun!

And finally, before you get to Baku. Does everyone know the green cherry plum that is sold in the markets in the spring? So, sprinkle it with salt and eat it. This is how they eat in Azerbaijan. Nush olsun once again!

Irma Gadzhieva-Špokyavičienė , especially for the Internet media “Interesting World”

Read publications tagged food and kitchen!

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Sandwich with black caviar for little ones

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• Bread
• Butter
• Black caviar (pressed)
• Cucumber

Instructions

A sandwich with butter and caviar, and a fresh cucumber to go with it.
Not five grams of butter, but a good, dense layer to cover the entire bread. And a piece of bread, cut to its full length! A whole layer of black caviar so that the oil is not visible - and not grainy, but pressed! Tags: Azerbaijani food and cuisineCaucasus and Transcaucasia

Traditional spices

Various aromatic additives are present in many Azerbaijani dishes, but they do not dominate, adding the necessary shade to the taste of the dish[32]. Some of them are also used in traditional drinks (see below)[33].

• Cumin
  (
  cirə
  )
• Saffron
  (
  zəfəran
  )
• Mint
  (
  nanə
  )
• Fennel
  (
  razyana
  )
• Turmeric
  (
  sarıkök
  )
• Ginger
  (
  zəncəfil
  )
• Cardamom
  (
  hil
  )
• Cinnamon
  (
  darçın
  )
• Clove
  (
  mıxək
  )
• Sumac
  (
  sumaq
  )

Popularity and recognition

• “The best cuisine I know in the world is Azerbaijani”[34]. On April 11, 2013, on the radio “Echo of Moscow”, the famous film director and KVN player Yu. S. Gusman said: “Azerbaijani cuisine is the best cuisine.
  Chinese, Japanese, French, Georgian - many good cuisines. But Azerbaijani..." [35].
• The popular Russian theater and film actor Andrei Chernyshov is also a fan of Azerbaijani cuisine[36][37]. “During my touring life I have tried many different national dishes, but it was this cuisine that made a strong impression on me.
  No one knows how to cook lamb as deliciously as the Azerbaijanis do” [38].

Notes

1. ↑ 1 2 3 4 R. I. Babaeva, M. I. Atakishieva.
   Peoples of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Azerbaijanis. Food / Edited by B.A. Gardanov, A.N. Guliev, S.T. Eremyan, L.I. Lavrov, G.A. Nersesov, G.S. Chitay. - Peoples of the Caucasus: Ethnographic essays: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1962. - T. 2. - P. 127-131.
2. "For all time." Magazine "Baku". No. 2 (16), May 2010, p. 130.
3. A. I. Tityunnik, Yu. M. Novozhenov. "Soviet national and foreign cuisine." Page 113
4. ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 V. Pokhlebkin
   . National cuisines of our peoples: Azerbaijani cuisine, ErLIB.com.
5. V. Pokhlebkin
   . National cuisines of our peoples: Azerbaijani cuisine, ErLIB.com.
6. Karabakh kyata
7. Kyata Karabakh
8. Blog K. Pevzner Karabakh kyata
9. Hearty treat: Karabakh kyata (Russian), Day.Az (March 28, 2011).
10. Kyata Baku
11. Kyata
12. Recipe Archived October 10, 2014. preparing kyata in Ganja style
13. V. Pokhlebkin
    . National cuisines of our peoples: Azerbaijani cuisine, ErLIB.com.
14. B. Burda
    .
    Chuchu or kyukyu. Kuking.net
15. ↑ 1 2 Habiba Qashqai
    . Azerbaijani cuisine. - M: Olma Media Group, 2006. - p. 110 - İSBN 5-373-00629-7
16. Azerbaijani cuisine. Hifta-bejar. Kuking.net
17. Habiba Qashqai
    . Azerbaijani cuisine. - M: Olma Media Group, 2006. - p. 60 - İSBN 5-373-00629-7
18. Azerbaijani cuisine. Dushbara Kuking.net
19. Habiba Qashqai
    . Azerbaijani cuisine. - M: Olma Media Group, 2006. - p. 113 - İSBN 5-373-00629-7
20. Habiba Qashqai
    . Azerbaijani cuisine. - M: Olma Media Group, 2006. - p. 101 - İSBN 5-373-00629-7
21. Habiba Qashqai
    . Azerbaijani cuisine. - M: Olma Media Group, 2006. - page 63 - İSBN 5-373-00629-7
22. Habiba Qashqai
    . Azerbaijani cuisine. - M: Olma Media Group, 2006. - p. 73 - İSBN 5-373-00629-7]
23. Habiba Qashqai
    . Azerbaijani cuisine. - M: Olma Media Group, 2006. - p. 90 - İSBN 5-373-00629-7
24. Habiba Qashqai
    . Azerbaijani cuisine. - M: Olma Media Group, 2006. - pp. 113-114 - İSBN 5-373-00629-7]
25. Habiba Qashqai
    . Azerbaijani cuisine. - M: Olma Media Group, 2006. - p. 102 - İSBN 5-373-00629-7
26. Tair Amiraslanov, Ainura Amiraslanova.
    Karabakh is a fertile land and its dishes (Russian). IRS Heritage (2012). Retrieved April 13, 2020.
27. Fazil Rakhmanzadeh.
    Gift of fate. - Yazychy, 1990. - P. 280. - 302 p.
28. Habiba Qashqai
    . Azerbaijani cuisine. - M: Olma Media Group, 2006. - ISBN 5-373-00629-7
29. Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Ankara, 2013.
30. Azerbaijani cuisine. Kutaby with meat. Millionmenu.ru
31. Sima Dzhanakhmedovna.
    Azerbaijani Novruz. Myths, customs and traditions.
32. "Spicy smell." Baku Magazine, No. 2 (16), May 2010, appendix.
33. State of Azerbaijan - Drinks Archived April 2, 2015.
34. Magazine "Snob". Yuliy Gusman
35. “Case” Get acquainted with the cases: “Iroquois”, “Drugs”, “Kisses” April 11, 2013, 22:10
36. Andrey Chernyshov: “Performance is an approach to the truth” Archived on October 10, 2014.
37. Brief biography of Andrey Chernyshov
38. Actor Andrei Chernyshov prefers Azerbaijani cuisine