Azerbaijan is a unique country. The complicated history of this state has enriched its territory with historical monuments and sights of all eras. The geographical location makes the country equally close to the Transcaucasia, the Middle East, and even to Eastern Europe. This explains the diversity of nationalities, cultures and confessions in Azerbaijan.
A variety of climatic zones - from the snow-capped peaks and alpine meadows of the Caucasus to the subtropics, numerous rivers and the coast of the Caspian Sea, spa resorts - all this attracts tourists to the country. And the country's cuisine has absorbed the traditions of all peoples inhabiting it. That is why it is reputed to be the most delicious in Western Asia and the Caucasus. What is a must to try in Azerbaijan?
Food in Azerbaijan
The land of this country endows its inhabitants with vegetables, fruits, herbs and aromatic herbs. All of them find application, sometimes unusual, in Azerbaijani cuisine. Where else can you try tomato jam or rose petal drink? By the way, this drink, "ovshala", not only quenches thirst, it has a delicate aroma, bright color and useful properties. And the recipe of the beloved by all cookies "kurabye" originates in antiquity. It is the recipe and form of the Baku (Persian) "kurabye" that have spread throughout the world.
The canons of religion of the general population exclude pork from recipes. This is offset by a huge assortment of expertly prepared dishes from all other meats, poultry, Caspian and river fish.
Top 10 Azerbaijani dishes
Cold soups
Dovga
They are irreplaceable in hot climates. The most popular is "ovduh" made from cucumbers, eggs and boiled beef, with invariable greens. Pour all this yogurt from goat or sheep milk.
Another refreshing summer soup is dovga. In different parts of Azerbaijan, it is prepared in its own way. The basis is the same: a fermented milk product with rice, sometimes peas, aromatic herbs and spices. Meat is added there in pieces or in the form of meatballs. The soup is boiled; it is considered a special art that the fermented milk base does not curl up. This cold soup is so delicious and tender that it is served at weddings.
Pilaf
It has only its name in common with oriental cuisine. This distinctive dish is quite difficult to prepare, but the result justifies the investment of labor and time. It is best to try Baku pilaf. In it, rice is cooked separately and not in an empty cauldron, but on a gazmah cake, which is then served to the ready-made pilaf. Saffron infusion is added to the rice, and in the finished form, an unusual color is obtained. Lamb is stewed separately, again with saffron, onions, pepper and cumin. But this is not the main thing. They put raisins, barberries, prunes and other dried fruits in the meat. The taste is unforgettable. And the view too: they put meat on the rice and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.
Pilaf is prepared with chicken, fish, and fruit - only about 50 species. Everywhere there is the same principle that distinguishes Azerbaijani pilaf: rice is cooked separately.
Kutaby
Kutaby
Products made of the finest unleavened dough in the shape of a crescent, outwardly similar to pasties. Unlike the latter, kutabs are fried without oil at all, in a dry frying pan. And ready-made ones are greased with butter.
Kutabs are crispy with a very juicy filling. It is different, it is worth trying at least two. The cheese filling consists of a mixture of hard and soft cheese, with dill. The curd filling is suluguni cheese mixed with curd and lots of green onions, dill and cilantro.
If you get a taste, then the next step is kutabs with meat. The pungency of minced meat in the filling is softened by the abundance of greens. In ancient times, kutabs were made with camel meat. For dessert, you can enjoy kutabs with pumpkin and walnuts.
Khinkal
More often called "giymya-khingal". It differs from traditional Georgian khinkali, the principle of preparation of which is similar to Russian dumplings and Asian manti. The Azerbaijani khinkal is made up of flat squares of unleavened dough. They are boiled in salted water and placed in a dish with melted butter or yogurt sauce with crushed garlic. On top of them lay juicy minced meat, fried, and then stewed with tomatoes. Sprinkle with grated feta cheese and obligatory herbs. Sometimes, when stewing, grape vinegar is added to the minced meat - for flavor. Without this, the dish can be considered a local delicacy.
Kebabs
Kebabs
From Persian the word is translated as fried meat, traditionally - chopped lamb. It is chopped with small hatchets into very small pieces. In some regions of the country, minced meat is passed through a meat grinder, twice for softness, then beaten, thrown on the table. Cilantro, cumin and ground pepper are added to the minced meat. Azerbaijani kebab is famous for its special juiciness and softness. At the same time, it adheres perfectly to flat skewers without losing its shape. The secret of the chefs is to pre-cool the meat. It is kept in the cold for at least half an hour, the longer the better. The congealed lamb fat in the minced meat will keep the kebab on the skewer until the protein sets. But no technology can explain the indescribable taste of kebabs cooked on the grill - with a golden brown crust and flowing transparent juice.
Dolma
Even dolma in Azerbaijan is different. First of all, in terms of size when it comes to a classic dish. Looks like stuffed cabbage, only small, as they say, "for one bite." Minced lamb is enriched with vegetable puree and pieces of vegetables - for juiciness. In addition to rice, add basil, cilantro and other aromatic herbs, as well as mint leaves. Grape leaves are preferred fresh to add flavor to the overall range. But dolma made from canned grape leaves is also worth trying.
Tomatoes, eggplants and peppers stuffed with meat, well stewed, are also called dolma. And served with the same sauce - yogurt with garlic.
For completeness, you can try beef dolma. Even gourmets are not distinguished by the taste: lemon juice and zest, cinnamon and, unexpected for the local cuisine, pine nuts are added to the ground beef.
Gyurza
The dish is worth trying, if only because of the daunting name. This terribly poisonous snake is not among the ingredients, the name was given by its appearance. At the base, these are dumplings, but cobbled together in the form of a small pigtail or twisted rope. These patterns on the dough resemble the patterns on the skin of a snake. Aesthetically beautiful, but you forget about the snake after the first dumplings. The difference from dumplings is also in meat, it is not put raw in the dough. Minced meat, with the entire palette of Azerbaijani spices, from cilantro to turmeric, is stewed in fat tail fat with tomato paste. Ready-made dumplings are also greased with lard, allowed to stand, and only then boiled, and all at once. The broth, fragrant and rich, is a separate dish that is expected no less than dumplings. Gyurza is a winter dish; it is always eaten hot.
Baklava
Baklava
The taste of this oriental sweetness in Azerbaijani performance testifies to the fact that local confectioners know a lot about desserts. And each region of the country has its own subtleties of its preparation. The most famous are the Baku and Sheki baklava, differ from the others Nakhichevan and Ganja. The differences are in the filling, filling and the ratio of spices. But absolutely all options are delicious - with walnuts, and with hazelnuts, with the addition of cinnamon or cardamom. These baked lozenges, with honey or ginger, with lemon or orange zest, sprinkled with saffron are a must-have delicacy in all restaurants, coffee shops and pastry shops. And on Novruz, baklava is an integral part of the holiday.
Shekerbura
Translated as sweet pie. It is also baked for the spring Novruz holiday. Pies are stuffed with almonds and cardamom, and pictures are made of beautiful spikelets of wheat on the dough. In Novruz, they also bake gogal nut cookies. Three sweets - baklava, shekerbura and gogal - symbolize the stars, moon and sun, respectively.
Of the flour products, it is also interesting to try mutaki - sweet bagels stuffed with nuts, firni - a very thick resemblance of rice jelly with cinnamon. Traditional oriental sweets, delight and nougat in Azerbaijan are obtained with original delicacies - from cinnamon, honey, saffron, dried fruits and nuts.
