Eating in Tajikistan is not a problem: you can find places to eat almost at every turn. But the richness of the choice of dishes depends on the size of the settlement - the larger it is, the wider the assortment. For example, in Dushamba you will find many cafes and canteens offering their visitors a menu with dozens of different dishes, while on the Pamir highway, in local teahouses, you can only be offered one soup.
Food in Tajikistan
The diet of Tajiks consists of fruits, vegetables, meat (lamb, goat meat, beef, poultry, game), rice, legumes, soups, flour products. Tajiks love to season their dishes with anise, saffron, barberry, cilantro, cumin, parsley, green onions, and dill.
Tajiks are very fond of flour products: local women regularly cook flat cakes, brushwood, lagman, ugro. To prepare flour dishes, Tajiks use eggs, dairy products, vegetables, herbs, and meat. Their favorite dishes are manti, minced meat pies (sambusa), various types of meat noodles (lagman, shima).
In Tajikistan, it is worth trying barbecue; “Kazy” (national horse meat sausage); kabobs (a dish of ground meat - lamb); kaurdak (Tajik roast); shahlet (Tajik cabbage rolls); pilaf; lamb or goat meat soup with vegetables, garlic and basil (“shurbo”).
And those with a sweet tooth will surely like local sweets - halva, brushwood, sweet puff pastries, pichak (traditional sweets), nishallo (cream-like mass made from whipped egg whites, sugar and soap root).
Where to eat in Tajikistan? At your service:
- cafes and restaurants;
- Western-style fast foods with fries and hamburgers;
- oshkhons and teahouses (national canteens).
Drinks in Tajikistan
Popular drinks of Tajiks are tea (green, black), shirchay (tea with milk), sherbets (fruit decoctions with sugar), ayran (sour milk).
As for alcoholic beverages, vodka, brandy, wine, champagne and beer are popular here.
Gastronomic tour to Tajikistan
If you think that the dishes of Tajik cuisine completely repeat the dishes of the peoples of Central and Central Asia, you should go on a gastronomic tour to Tajikistan to be convinced of the opposite.
You can taste national dishes in various local food establishments, but it is even better to visit one of the Tajik families (they are kind to the guests of their country). Here you will be treated to various delicious dishes, and, of course, green tea, which will be served to you in a bowl, as well as you will be offered to enjoy fruits, tortillas and sweets with a bite of tea.
In Tajikistan, you will not only see Lake Karakul, the Pamir mountain system, healing mineral springs, ancient monuments of Zoroastrianism, but also taste pilaf (there are more than 400 recipes for this dish in the country) and other delicious national dishes.
