Azerbaijani cuisine
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Azerbaijani cuisine is the cooking styles and dishes of the Republic of
History and features of Azerbaijani national cuisine
Azerbaijan's national cuisine is arguably closer to Middle Eastern cuisine due to the taste and preparation of the dishes, as well as adding a dark spice and flavor additives. Contemporary Azerbaijan cuisine retains the traditional methods of preparing dishes while incorporating modern cooking.[1]
Azerbaijani dishes have traditionally been cooked with copper utensils and cookware. Copper bowls and plates are still commonly used as serving dishes.[1]
Azerbaijani cuisine utilizes fruits and vegetables such as
The typical Azerbaijani meal involves three courses. One of the basic dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine is
Black tea is the national beverage, and is drunk after food is eaten. It is also offered to guests as a gesture of welcome, often accompanied by fruit preserves.[4]
Breakfast
The Azerbaijani breakfast is heavy in dairy products such as butter, various types of white cheese, and cream, as well as honey, tandoori bread and eggs, traditionally prepared into kuku, but alternatively, also scrambled.[5] Eastern European breakfast traditions which were adopted under the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union are also occasionally seen in Azerbaijan households, with foods such as kasha, porridge, quark and crepes included on the breakfast table.
Light snacks
Azerbaijani cuisine has a number of light snacks and
Dishes
Meat
Azerbaijani cuisine included large amounts of beef and
Azerbaijani cuisine features a wide variety of traditional meat dishes such as bozbash (parchabozbash, kuftebozbash, qovurmabozbash), piti (gence piti, sheki piti) khash, bash-ayaq (kelle-pacha), kelepir, soyutma, bozport, buglama, bozartma, and a variety of different kebabs. A variety of lamb dishes are also commonly eaten, traditionally during celebrations such as Nowruz. Meatball dishes and forms of dolma are regularly eaten as well. On particularly special occasions, local goose, turkey, duck, quail and pheasant meats are also cooked and consumed.
Azerbaijani cuisine also features a variety of seafood, especially fish which is obtained from the Caspian Sea as well as the
Pork consumption is forbidden to Muslims in Azerbaijan, in accordance with Sharia, the Islamic law.
Name | Description |
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Balıq | , is served with a tart sour-plum sauce. |
Dolma | The traditional recipe calls for minced lamb or beef mixed with rice and flavoured with mint, fennel, and cinnamon, and wrapped in vine leaves (yarpaq dolması) or cabbage leaves (kələm dolması). There are also sour sweet cabbage dolma (turş şirin kələm dolması) and eggplant dolma (qarabadımcan dolması). |
Badımcan Dolması
|
chickpeas .
|
Dushbara
|
Small dumplings stuffed with minced lamb and herbs , served in broth.
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Lavangi
|
stuffed chicken or fish with onions, walnuts, raisins, albukhara, and alcha seasoning. A specialty of the Talysh region in southern Azerbaijan, but very difficult to find common in restaurants.
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Lula kebab | A mixture of spices squeezed around a skewer and barbecued, often served with lavash (thin sheets of unleavened bread).
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Qutab | A sort of pancake turnover stuffed with minced lamb, cheese, or spinach. |
Tika kabab | Chunks of lamb marinated in a mixture of onion, vinegar, and pomegranate juice, impaled on a large skewer and grilled on the barbecue. In Russian, it is called shashlyk (шашлык), from Turkic shishlyk (literally, "for skewer"). |
Qovurma | Pieces of mutton or lamb on the bone (blade chops) stewed with onions, tomatoes, and saffron.[8] There is also sabzi qovurma, a lamb stew with herbs. |
Sogan dolmasi | The term dolma covers a variety of stuffed vegetable dishes, widespread in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Onion dolma are a tasty winter alternative to stuffed aubergines, tomatoes, and peppers.[9] |
Tebriz kuftesi | Large meatball dish named after the town of Tabriz in northern Iran. Prepared with minced meat, onions, peas, rice, potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, turmeric, and various herbs such as parsley, coriander and dill. |
Bastirma
|
The word "Bastir" comes from the Turkish: bastırma et ("pressed meat"), pastırma [pastɯɾˈma] in modern Turkish. It's cooked as a kebab, but before cooking it should be marinated in special sauce and herbs. |
Soups
Soups in Azerbaijan tend to have a thicker consistency and a larger ratio of dry ingredients to broth.[7] A common feature of numerous Azerbaijani soups is that the soup serves the role of both the first and second courses[7] – the soup is served in a large portion and the broth is drunk first as a starter, and then the dry ingredients of the soup such as the potatoes, meat, chickpeas and large vegetable chunks are consumed as a second course together with bread.
Another characteristic featured in several Azerbaijani soups is the use of finely cut mutton tails which are added soups. Tomato paste and tomato puree are rarely used in Azerbaijani soups and instead are substituted with fresh local tomatoes during the summer.[7] During winter, local tomatoes are not widely available and so frequently substituted with dried cherries. Spices such as saffron and turmeric powder are also traditionally used in Azerbaijani soups.
Name | Description |
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Piti | The national soup of Azerbaijan made from pieces of vegetables in a broth; prepared and served in individual crocks .
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Kufta bozbash | A dried plum inside.
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Dovga | A yogurt-based soup with peas, and small meatballs made from ground mutton; served hot or cold depending on the season.[10]
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Ovdukh | A cold soup based on a |
Dogramach | Same as ovdukh, but without the meat.[11] |
Types of plov
Plov is one of the most widespread dishes in Azerbaijan and there are over 200 types of plovs in Azerbaijani cuisine. They are usually prepared with local vegetables, meats and spices. In Azerbaijani tradition, it is customary that the household prepares a plov for guests visiting the house.[13] They are typically served in a large metal or porcelain bowl covered with a lid to keep it warm. The type of rice used to make the plov varies from one recipe to another and depends on personal preferences. Since plov is a heavy, fatty food, it is traditionally served together with sour drinks such as ayran, black tea with lemon, or verjuice. Plovs have different names depending on the main ingredients accompanying the rice:
Name | Ingredients |
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Kourma plov | Mutton plov with onion |
Chilov plov | Bean plov with fish |
Sabzi qovurma plov
|
Mutton plov |
Toyug plov | Chicken plov |
Shuyudli plov | Dill plov with beef |
Shirin plov | Dried fruit plov |
Syudli plov | Rice cooked in milk |
Sheshryanch plov | Six-color plov, eggs cooked "sunny side up" on a bed of fried green and white onions.[10] |
Azerbaijani plov consists of three distinct components, served simultaneously but on separate platters: first component is rice (warm, never hot), the second component is gara, consisting of fried meat, dried fruits, eggs, or fish prepared as an accompaniment to rice, and third component being aromatic herbs. Rice is not mixed with the other components even when eating plov.[14]
Spices
Spices play an important role in Azerbaijani cuisine, especially
Desserts
Typical Azerbaijani desserts are sticky, syrup-saturated pastries such as
Sweets are generally bought from a pastry shop and eaten at home or on special occasions such as weddings and wakes. The usual conclusion to a restaurant meal is a plate of fresh fruit that is in season, such as
In March 2009, Azerbaijani bakers achieved an entry in the CIS book of records for baking the biggest and heaviest pakhlava in the CIS, weighing about 3 tons. More than 7 thousand eggs, 350 kg of nuts, 20 kg of almonds, 350 kg of sugar, and the same amount of flour was used in the preparation of the pastry.[18]
Name | Description |
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Pakhlava
|
Azerbaijani baklava consists of pastry, cardamom, and saffron are used for the preparation. Nuts (mostly hazelnuts, almonds or walnuts) and sugar are used as the filling, and syrup is used as a sweetener.[19] There are some regional variations, like Quba, Ganja, Tenbel and Sheki baklava.[20][21][22] |
Shekerbura
|
Shekerbura (şəkərbura) is a popular Azerbaijani sweet pastry, filled with ground delights. What really makes these look rather spectacular is the pattern on the dough produced by the traditional tweezers called maggash. |
Samani halva | Samani halva is made from malted wheat, and can be best described as a spicy, gooey, chewy treat. One samani halva tradition in Azerbaijan is to make halva communally, using flour from seven different homes.[23] |
Shorgoghal | Another Novruz delicacy, Shorgoghal is a flaky pastry filled with Shekerbura represented the moon . These rolls are time-consuming to prepare, but the process is not really complicated.
|
Guymag | This is a simple, rich dessert, traditionally offered to women who have just given birth or to patients after surgery to keep their strength up. It is high in calories and easy to prepare. It is also served as a hot breakfast when the weather is cold. |
Firni | Firni is a dessert made from rice flour, which has a light texture and bland flavor, making it much lighter than British and North American baked rice puddings.[24] |
Badambura | Badambura is slightly less sweet than pakhlava and has no honey so it is less sticky as well. It is filled with plain ground sugar, almonds (badam in Azerbaijani language), cardamom, and vanilla.[25] |
Dairy products
Milk and dairy products play an important role in the Azerbaijani diet. Milk, butter, cream, sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, buttermilk,
Name | Description |
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Ayran | A savory dairy drink. It is a staple of an Azerbaijani dinner/lunch table and is served cold. |
Qatiq | A fermented, savory milk product. It is typically eaten with Qutabs or with bread. |
Qurut | It is made from grain mixed with sour milk or yogurt .
|
Dovga | A vegetarian, yoghurt-based soup cooked with a variety of herbs. Coriander, dill, mint and rice are mainstays of the soup. |
Shor | Azerbaijani cottage cheese. |
Suzme | Creamy, fatty dairy product made from filtered and thickened qatiq. |
Xinaliq pendiri | Khinalug cheese, produced in the ancient village of Khinalug. It is one of the most popular cheeses in Azerbaijan. |
Motal pendiri | Motal cheese. Another type of cheese widely consumed in Azerbaijan. |
Breads
Different types of bread are baked in Azerbaijan: flat, rolling, flatbread,
Non-alcoholic beverages
Black tea is a popular drink in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani people usually prefer tea made in a samovar. Jam (Murabba) is often added to the tea as a sweetener.
Ayran is a cold yogurt beverage mixed with salt.
An Azerbaijani
Locally made brands of bottled water include the following:[30]
Brand | Origin | Originating area |
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Aysu | ||
Badamlı | Badamli, Nakhchivan
|
|
Sirab | Sirab, Nakhchivan | |
Şollar | Şollar village | North-east |
Tamiz gazh su | ||
Qax | Qakh district
|
North[31] |
Kakh |
Alcoholic beverages
Unlike multiple other countries with a predominantly Muslim population, alcohol consumption in Azerbaijan is entirely legal, and a variety of alcoholic drinks, both locally produced and imported can be found in shops and bars across the country. Although alcohol consumption in Azerbaijan is relatively moderate,[32] alcoholic drinks still play a part in nightlife, festivities and celebrations.