Features of Azerbaijani cuisine. National cuisine of Azerbaijan and its famous recipes

You can not like, say, Chinese cuisine, you can even be indifferent to French... But try Caucasian cuisine, in particular Azerbaijani, and not be delighted..

No. this cannot be. The abundance of vegetables, fruits and herbs, fresh meat and fish, the reverent attitude of the people to their traditions - all this can conquer the most demanding gourmet.

In Azerbaijan, they try not to store food for a long time, not to freeze it. For example, meat is always bought exactly as much as needed to cook. Then they go back to the market for the freshest. Most often, a lamb or calf is butchered right in front of the buyer.

Azerbaijan is. of course, mountains and foothills, forests and meadows, but it is also the sea, or rather, the largest salt lake Teply on Earth, in many coastal areas the shallow Caspian does not skimp on fish. There are as many sturgeons in its waters as anywhere else in the world. And also carp, pike perch, mullet, pike and, of course, the famous kutum. There are many fish in the Kura, the largest river in Transcaucasia, and in smaller rivers. Not without reason, many restaurants are scattered along their banks. Azerbaijanis cook on an open fire, on butter or tail fat.

Along with meat and fish, there are always greens, vegetables and fruits on the Azerbaijani table. But not in salads and snacks, but in its natural form. Why? Historians of national cuisine agree on one thing: everything that grew on this generous land, from time immemorial, has been so tasty and fragrant that you can cut and mix these gifts, and even more so natural taste and the aroma of herbs and fruits with all sorts of mayonnaises and other sauces was considered wrong.

Not a single feast is complete here without tea drinking. Green, black, herbal tea, often with the addition of rose water, thyme, cinnamon, ginger or cardamom, is served in small pear-shaped armuda cups before meals, during, after, and on its own. And to him oriental sweets, jams, nuts and dried fruits. Azerbaijanis also love cold sherbet, fragrant infusion of fruits, berries and herbs, and oriental coffee, and delicious local mineral water.

Each region of Azerbaijan has its own signature dishes. For example, in Baku itself and on the Absheron coast, dushbarya is best prepared - small dumplings in fragrant broth, kutab - the thinnest semi-circular cakes with cheese, meat, herbs and other fillings, fesenjan - pilaf with pomegranate nut sauce;

Karabakh is famous for its Karabakh pilaf with dill and meat or chicken underneath, lavangi, stuffed fish or poultry. — signature dish of the southern region; it is worth going to the Sheki region for piti soup with chestnuts, it is cooked in pots, and they are served on the table right from the oven; in Ganjabasar - for Ganja almond baklava.

Based on the materials of the book "Caucasian home cooking".

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Photo by Stalik Khankishiev. Azerbaijan Sweets Festival.

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Azerbaijanis, like all Caucasians, are very hospitable. They always welcome even late and uninvited guests cordially, treating them wholeheartedly. Their cuisine is original and extremely interesting, with a truly oriental flavor.

FEATURES OF AZERBAIJANIAN CUISINE

The range of dishes here is so great that it will delight even the most fastidious gourmets. More than two thousand hot dishes, many snacks, meat dishes, about two hundred varieties of pilaf - this is only a small part of what the people of Azerbaijan can offer guests. But this region is famous not only for the abundance of food. According to Muslim traditions, it should also please the eye and bring aesthetic pleasure, so the table is always bursting with a large number of different goodies.
To briefly characterize the culinary traditions of this people, it is important individual features. Let's start with the fact that in Azerbaijani cuisine preference is given to meat dishes made from lamb, beef or various types of poultry. Particular attention is paid to fish dishes - they are grilled, baked in a tandoor or smoked. Every dish here has its own unique taste, which is achieved through the use of many spices and spices.
For cooking, the inhabitants of this Transcaucasian state necessarily use a lot of fruits, vegetables and herbs. They prefer mainly chestnuts, grapes, dogwood, quince and cherry plum. Carrots, beets, potatoes are used less often. Greens are an integral part of any dish. Cilantro, onion, parsley, basil are the main companions of every cook. As a rule, there are a lot of greens in a serving - it takes up 2/3 of the plate, it is served fresh, sometimes even separately from the main dish.
Azerbaijanis revere and madly love spicy herbs. They give food a special piquancy and sophistication. Tarragon, saffron, coriander and mint are frequent guests on the local table. They also found application for knotweed - it is necessarily added to pilaf and meat dishes. Rose oil is also popular here, which is often used in the preparation of sweets, in particular jams.

POPULAR DISHES OF AZERBAIJANIAN CUISINE

Although the cuisine of Azerbaijan is very diverse, one can try to highlight the most famous culinary masterpieces prepared here. Although it will be difficult to do this, because literally everything here deserves attention!

Snacks

Considerable attention is paid light meals, the basis of which are vegetables and herbs. One of the simplest snacks of these ingredients is kyukyu. Essentially, this regular scrambled eggs cooked with greens, walnuts, barberry, saffron, herbs and many fragrant spices. Also used to make kyukyu. fresh milk or cream, which makes it even more lush and tender. The dish is usually served with fermented baked milk or other fermented milk products.
Ajapsandal, a vegetarian dish, which is common not only in the East, but also in European countries, also belongs to the category of cold appetizers. The self-name is quite exotic, translated from the Turkic language means "how delightful you are." It is prepared from fresh vegetables, using eggplant, sweet bell peppers and tomatoes. In some versions add hot peppers and some potatoes. An obligatory ingredient is greens - cilantro, basil, onions or garlic. In terms of taste and a set of main components, ajapsandal resembles the European version of vegetable sauté.
From vegetable snacks that go well with meat, one can single out hyafta-bejar - assorted pickled eggplants, white cabbage, carrots and tomatoes. As in any Azerbaijani dish, there are many spices and herbs here.
A place of honor in the culinary of Azerbaijan is occupied by vegetable salads- as a rule, they are served with meat. Vegetables for them are cut into large cubes, after which they are seasoned with sour-milk sauces or olive oil. Of the most famous salads you can select fisinjan from beets, it is perfect for any holiday. Harmonious combination beets, cilantro, walnuts and pomegranate seeds makes it very tasty and tender. In some regions of the country, you can find fisinjan from lobio and beans.

First meal

There are about 30 types of first courses in traditional Azerbaijani cuisine. Hot are represented predominantly meat soups, they are very satisfying and high-calorie. Unlike ordinary soups, they have more thick consistency, which is achieved by a small amount of broth.
One of the most common first meals is bozbash - fatty, rich soup with vegetables and fruits, prepared on the basis of lamb broth. Translated from Azerbaijani, it means "gray head". This name, most likely, was borrowed from the Iranian tribes. Bozbash is multi-component, Turkish (mutton) peas, chestnuts (sometimes replaced with ordinary potatoes) and lamb are necessarily used for its preparation. To make the soup thicker and richer, a lot of vegetables are added to it, onions are often used, Bell pepper, zucchini, eggplant, carrots and tomatoes. Many spices and seasonings, in particular basil, mint and saffron, make it even more fragrant, and the addition of apples and cherry plums gives it freshness and a barely perceptible sour taste.
In local cuisine, there are several varieties of bozbash, which differ from each other in a set of basic ingredients. Interesting kyufta-bozbash - pea soup with meatballs from lamb meat, as well as brocade-bozbash - with chestnuts and young lamb meat. Balyk-bozbash is also popular; instead of lamb, fish fillet is used for its preparation, mainly stellate sturgeon. Adds spice to the dish pomegranate juice, used for marinating fish, and cherry plum fruits.
Depending on the regions of the country, several more varieties of bozbash are distinguished: Yerevan, Echmiadzin and Sisian. It is served in deep bowls. It is accompanied by traditional lavash and sour-milk caucasian sauce. The dish is decorated with parsley, mint or any other greens.
Kelle-pacha is another famous dish found on the tables of hospitable Azerbaijanis. It is also distributed in Iran and Turkey. It is a hearty rich broth of lamb legs and tripe, seasoned with spices and lots of herbs.
Locals call piti a national dish of Azerbaijani cuisine - a traditional lamb brisket soup with chestnuts, peas, onions, peppers and garlic. Unlike other hot dishes, it is cooked in the oven. All ingredients are pre-cooked, and then baked in a clay pot in the oven. The soup has a thick texture, delicate taste and pleasant aroma.
The peoples of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia have several well-known dishes for the preparation of which they use beef. The first place in this list belongs to a soup called hash. According to researchers, this is one of the oldest Azerbaijani dishes, which previously had a ritual character. Beef tripe is used for its preparation, in some regions there is a tradition to add legs, head and tail of great cattle. hash is light soup, which is usually eaten only for breakfast. It must be served hot. The peculiarity lies in the fact that it is prepared without salt and spices, and these ingredients are presented to guests in a separate plate. In some cases, it can be decorated with finely chopped parsley and cilantro.
The specific dishes of Azerbaijan include umach - onion soup with small flour balls in the form of small crumbs. Before serving, it must be seasoned with saffron and garnished with dried mint. You need to try and ovdukh - cold soup, reminiscent of traditional Russian okroshka, as well as balva - rice soup with the addition of herbs and finely chopped boiled eggs.
The local soups are very high-calorie and satisfying, so they are often used as full-fledged second courses. Such is the Sulu Khingal. Prepared on the basis of meat broth with the addition of young lamb meat and many vegetables, it will please the most refined gourmets. It is also served with a few shreds of bread and vinegar. Shchorba is another famous Azerbaijani dish. It is a rice soup with the addition of chickpeas and fruits (apples, plums and cherry plums).
In the cuisine of Azerbaijan, you can also find "light" soups. For example, hamrashi - with beans and noodles, sujuk - sweet soup, with walnuts and oil, seasoned with saffron tincture. The broth is also interesting. boiled dumplings from lamb with the addition of fat tail fat, onions and spices - it is called kurza. Azerbaijani dumpling soup - dushbara is also popular. It consists of small dumplings (from 8 to 10 pieces are placed on one spoon). They are boiled in lamb broth, add dried mint or cilantro. Served with wine vinegar and garlic.
Dishes made from sour milk are also widely used. Among them, dovga is distinguished by special taste qualities - this is a fragrant sour-milk rice soup with meatballs, seasoned with mint, cilantro and spinach. It is really versatile, it is served both cold and hot. Meatballs are cooked separately and added to the soup just before serving. Syudlu-syyyg - milky rice soup with the addition of sweet, sugar syrup, saffron, butter and cinnamon.

Main dishes

In Azerbaijani cuisine, preference is given to dishes from lamb and poultry meat. In connection with religious beliefs - the local residents mostly profess Islam - they do not eat pork. Particular attention is paid to the freshness of the meat, because most of the dishes are cooked on an open fire.
One of the national dishes, without which it is impossible to imagine Caucasian cuisine, many call pilaf. It is very ancient and it is hardly possible to establish the exact place of its origin. For the first time, the recipe for cooking appeared in the countries of the Middle East around the 2nd-3rd centuries. BC. There are many options and techniques for its preparation. In Azerbaijan alone, there are about 30 variants. According to local culinary traditions, pilaf consists of two parts: the first is rice porrige(it is possible to use other cereals, but this is extremely rare), the second is gara (a combination of meat, vegetables, fruits, dried fruits, herbs and spices). When cooking, special attention is paid to the choice of dishes. As a rule, cast-iron or copper cauldrons are used.
Azerbaijanis have their original technology cooking pilaf. Its essence lies in the fact that rice and gara are cooked separately and combined on a plate just before serving, while the ingredients should never be mixed. There are regions where rice and stuffing for pilaf are served on separate plates. Gara options can also be varied. For its preparation, meat, fish fillets and vegetables are used, to which fruits are necessarily added, mainly cherry plum, sour plums and pomegranate.
The taste of Azerbaijani pilaf depends on the correct technology of rice preparation. So that the cereal is not overcooked, but remains whole and crumbly, it is steamed using metal coasters and adding a little lamb fat or butter. Plov is served to guests following certain traditions that have evolved over many centuries. When serving, the dish is divided into three parts: the first is rice, the filling is served on the second plate, greens, spicy herbs (basil, onion, cilantro) and kazmag (flat cake from unleavened dough), playing the role of a snack. It is customary for Asians to serve pilaf warm and drink it with sherbet.
It is hard to imagine local cuisine without fragrant barbecue. Shish kebab is an integral part of many national cuisines, although the traditions of its preparation originated in the Middle East. Juicy and fragrant Azerbaijani shish kebab is made from lamb, although other types of meat are often used - beef, veal, chicken, fish fillet and even seafood.
Among the dishes fried meat you can also highlight kebab (meat minced meat from lamb, fried on the grill, served with herbs and lavash) and tandyr kavap (fried meat baked in the tandoor, that is, in a pitcher-shaped grill). Dener kebab, or shawarma, is also popular among Asian peoples - this dish has Arabic roots and is common in many countries of the Middle East. It is a pita stuffed with pre-grilled lamb or beef. Together with meat, finely chopped fresh vegetables are added to shawarma, seasoned with garlic or tomato sauce.
In Azerbaijan, food is treated with respect, so even the entrails of animals are used. All these ingredients are well combined in a national dish called chyz-byz - a roast based on broth made from lamb bones and ribs. Lungs, liver and lamb heart are added to it, stewing everything with a small amount of vegetables, mainly potatoes and onions.
Dolma is another national dish common among the peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia. This is a kind of variation on the theme of Ukrainian cabbage rolls, only instead of cabbage leaves use the leaves of grapes, quince and figs. For the filling, use lamb with stewed vegetables or fillet of sturgeon or stellate sturgeon.
In Azerbaijan, there are many options for making dolma. In the summer, badimdzhan dolmasy is often served - this is a vegetable dalma. Eggplants, sweet peppers and tomatoes are used for its preparation. The dish is served with sour milk sauce and chopped garlic. Delhi dolma is also very popular. It is prepared from eggplant, and rice and peas are used as a filling, seasoning everything with mint and other herbs. Depending on the main ingredients, there are several more options for Azerbaijani-style cabbage rolls: sogan-dolmasy (from onions), khiyar-dolmasy (from fresh cucumbers), pib dolmasy (from linden leaves) and alma-dolmasy (from apples).
A traditional meat dish among the peoples of the Caucasus is kyufta - these are large-sized meatballs made from lamb with the addition of saffron and other fragrant herbs. There are several varieties of this dish: arzuman-kufta (meatballs stuffed with boiled egg, onions and herbs), riza-kyufta ( meat balls, stewed in tomato sauce), tava-kyuftasi (beef meatballs fried in a pan). No less popular is the Tabriz kyufta - meatballs stuffed with rice with the addition of dried apricots, raw eggs and chickpeas (chickpeas). A lot of herbs and spices add aroma and sophistication to the food.

Flour dishes and bread products

Bread and flour products occupy a significant place in diet Azerbaijanis. Previously, bread was baked on iron sheets - sajs, over time, they were replaced by tendyrs, which have not left the life of local residents so far. Good alternative to traditional bread products churek performs. It is prepared from yeast dough, often it is round, sometimes it resembles a roll. Churek is baked without any filling, only sprinkled with a small amount of sesame seeds on top. In appearance, it resembles an ordinary loaf.
Azerbaijanis call kutab (gutab in some regions) a hearty and tasty flour dish - this is a seasonal dish, popular mainly in spring and autumn. It represents thin patty, baked from unleavened dough, looks like a crescent moon. Kutab is stuffed with lamb or lamb offal, adding pomegranate seeds, grated onion, cheese and a lot of greens. Previously, camel meat was used instead of lamb, but now it is almost never done. In some regions of Azerbaijan, Lezgin kutabs, or afars, are popular. They differ from traditional dishes in that only greens are used as a filling, and they are cooked on an open fire, using saji for this.
A variety of kutab is also kyatya - these are the same pies, but the role of the filling is played by a mixture of cheese from sheep milk(wound) and onion. Finely chopped woodlice leaves are also added here, sometimes they are replaced with young nettle leaves or spinach. The filling is a mixture of boiled potatoes and minced meat. Kyatya and kutab usually have large sizes, they are seasoned with lots of greens. They are baked on iron discs - sajs. Pies are eaten hot, often served with curdled milk or kefir.
It is difficult to imagine Azerbaijani cuisine without traditional lavash - not a single holiday can do without it. In essence, this is the usual unleavened bread having the shape of an oval cake. As a rule, pita breads are very thin - their thickness does not exceed 2-5 mm, and the width of one sheet is about 50 cm. For dough, they use mainly wheat, less often barley flour. Products are baked in special ovens (tendyrs). Traditionally, the eldest woman in the house kneads the dough for pita bread. To do this, use a large wooden trough - tasht. The daughter-in-law is always entrusted with rolling out the dough. After that, the cake is pulled onto the inner walls of the oven and baked for literally 30-50 seconds. Finished sheets stacked in small piles of 10 pieces. Lavash is not a perishable product, so it can be stored dry for a long time.
In Azerbaijan, lavash is served with meat and is always used when serving kebab. In addition, it has a certain ritual function. There is a tradition according to which in some regions of the country it was presented as a gift for the daughter-in-law, which symbolized good luck and prosperity.

sweet pastries

Azerbaijanis have a special love for sweets: delicious fruit jams and various pastries become essential attributes of any feast. The range of sweet pastries is quite diverse and includes about 30 varieties. The list of the most famous Azerbaijani delicacies includes baklava, Baku kurabye and sheker-bura.
Baklava is a traditional oriental dessert, which is layered cake stuffed with nuts with the addition of cardamom, saffron, cloves and other spices. Each region of Azerbaijan has its own traditions for its preparation. Even outwardly, it looks different: there is a square and triangular, although in classic version it is cut into small pieces in the form of a rhombus.
with fragrant Azerbaijani tea Kurabye harmonize well - this is a very simple spicy shortbread cookie. There is a legend that in ancient times this dessert was invented by a resourceful servant of the Persian Sultan. Somehow the villains took away all the sweets from the Sultan's palace. The servant decided to rectify the situation and baked simple cookies from those products that were oval shape. To give it a more aesthetic appearance, decorated it powdered sugar, sprinkled with cinnamon and saffron. Since then, kurabye has become a favorite dessert among Asian peoples. Shaker-churek is another kind of Azerbaijani shortbread cookies - these sweet, tender shortbread cookies that simply melt in your mouth will decorate any holiday table.
An easy-to-prepare and at the same time very tasty dessert is sheker bura (" mince pie"). The delicacy is prepared mainly during the national holiday Novruz. According to traditions, on this day sheker-bura symbolizes the moon, and baklava is the personification of the stars. Pies are baked from wheat flour, as a filling use almonds, walnuts and cardamom. From above they are decorated with a small pattern in the form of wheat ears.
Firni also belongs to Azerbaijani desserts. It is made from milk and rice flour, topped with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon. Mutaki is another sweet that everyone will like, it is prepared mainly on holidays. The delicacy is a simple crumbly tubes with a nut-sugar filling. It is quite simple to prepare, but thanks to the use of spices, the taste is very unusual.
Category butter cookies also applies to Azerbaijani nan. This dessert has the form of small slices, cut obliquely. The delicacy has a light spicy aftertaste, which is inherent in all oriental sweets. During cooking, various fruit fillings, walnuts, candied fruits and raisins are added to it, and on top it is decorated with powdered sugar.

Beverages

Sherbet is considered the most famous Azerbaijani soft drink - it is one of the oldest types of drink common in the countries of the East. Previously, it was a combination of decoctions of dogwood, rose hips and licorice with the addition of spices and spices. Now it is prepared on the basis of fruit juices, adding a number of spices and spices, a little sugar and ice cream.
The second place is occupied by airan - a fermented milk drink that perfectly quenches thirst. Traditionally, it is made from cow's, less often sheep's milk, adding a little salt and water.
Not only excellent taste, but also medicinal properties possesses doshab - boiled fruit juice. It is made by combining grape, mulberry and apricot juices. Use it without sugar. Its texture resembles rather sauce. Doshab is often used as an addition to meat dishes and snacks.
It is hard to imagine an Azerbaijani feast without tea: according to local residents, it is conducive to friendly communication and is simply necessary to maintain a relaxed conversation. According to local traditions, tea drinking is a kind of symbol of hospitality and respect for the guest.
Over the centuries, Azerbaijan has developed its own traditions of tea drinking. The first thing worth noting is that only black long leaf is drunk here. loose leaf tea. The drink itself must be very strong. Tea leaves are brewed in large teapots, then the finished drink is poured into tall pear-shaped mugs (armuds). However, it is never diluted. hot water and do not add sugar or granulated sugar, thereby preserving the natural strong taste and pleasant aroma.
Usually served with tea different types fruit jam or oriental sweets. To make it even more fragrant, it is often necessary to add oriental spices- cloves, ginger, cinnamon and cardamom. In the summer, rose oil is added to tea, which perfectly quenches thirst on hot days.
For Azerbaijanis, tea is also an attribute of matchmaking. If during this ceremony the parents of the daughter-in-law put a piece of sugar in it, this means that it is time to prepare for the wedding, and if sugar is served separately, this means that it is too early for the groom to rejoice.
From alcohol it is worth noting mulberry brandy - it is strong alcoholic drink, for the preparation of which mulberry juice is used. It has a transparent color, has a tart taste with a clearly perceptible smell of berries. The drink can be stored for several years. It is kept in special wooden barrels. Aged varieties have a richer shade (from golden to dark brown), a pronounced tart taste that harmoniously combines with the aroma of fragrant herbs, berries and wood.

As you can see, Azerbaijani cuisine is distinguished by a great abundance of various dishes, each of which is characterized by a unique flavor range. The uniqueness of the taste of local culinary masterpieces is associated not only with the skill of cooks, but also with a wide variety of products that the generous land of Azerbaijan gives for their preparation. Azerbaijanis adopted many recipes and traditions from those peoples who lived next to them for many centuries. All this contributed to the fact that they were able to creatively diversify the assortment and improve the taste of their own food, but at the same time they were able to preserve the unique local flavor!

Azerbaijani cuisine in terms of composition and variety of dishes is one of the extremely tasty and healthy cuisines. It is distinguished by an abundance of various meat (lamb, beef, poultry), fish (stellate sturgeon, sturgeon) and vegetable dishes, complemented by fragrant herbs and spices, as well as a beautiful appearance.

November 12 is the Constitution Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan. This day is very important for the residents, because they began to live in an independent state. We offer you to get acquainted with the culture of the Azerbaijani people by preparing several popular dishes national cuisine.

Azerbaijani national dishes have long been cooked in copper utensils. And now in many regions and rural areas of Azerbaijan, dishes cooked in copper pans are more delicious. Therefore, items of Azerbaijani national cuisine (pan, colander, basin, tray, slotted spoon, ladle, etc.) are mainly made of copper.
In Azerbaijani cuisine, pilaf is cooked on melted (or creamy) cow butter. This oil does not withstand high temperatures, and therefore the occurrence of carcinogens does not happen. Rice is boiled in boiling water, poured with oil and settled. The meat is stewed with onions, chestnuts and dried plums.
Before the main meal, Azerbaijanis drink tea, mostly black tea. A tradition has long been established in Azerbaijan: immediately upon the arrival of guests, serve them tea. The advantage of this tradition lies in the fact that tea drinking in crowded feasting companies encourages easy communication. Tea in Azerbaijan is a symbol of cordial hospitality.

Our selection of Azerbaijani cuisine:

OVDUKH (okroshka in Azerbaijani)

Matsoni-200 g, water-100 g, fresh cucumbers-100 g, green onions-40 g, cilantro-10 g, dill-10 g, basil-5 g, 1 pc. eggs, beef-108 g, salt, garlic.

To prepare okroshka, yogurt is beaten and diluted with chilled boiled water. Cucumbers are peeled, finely chopped, then the greens are chopped. All this is mixed with diluted matsoni, salt, garlic are added and put in the refrigerator. Serve cold. In some cases, boiled and finely chopped beef and a hard-boiled egg are added to the ovdukh. Usually ovdukh is cooked without meat.

Hamrashi (Azerbaijani soup)

Lamb - 200 g, wheat flour - 30 g, eggs 1-4 pieces, melted butter - 10 g, white beans - 20 g, vinegar-10 g, onion-20 g, cilantro-20 g, dried mint-1.0 g, pepper, salt.

Minced meat is prepared from the lamb pulp, then it is cut into small balls of 5-6 pieces. per serving. The beans are cooked separately. unleavened dough rolled out to a thickness of 1 mm and cut into ribbons 5 cm wide, cut from it in the form of homemade arishta noodles. In the broth, meat balls are first boiled, then noodles and boiled beans are added. After readiness, put chopped greens, and sprinkle with dried mint when serving. Wine vinegar is served separately.

SHAKER-CHUREK

Wheat flour, premium-530 g, melted butter-260 g, powdered sugar-300 g, eggs-1 pc., vanillin-3 g

Melted butter is beaten with powdered sugar for 25-30 minutes, while egg white is gradually added. Vanillin, sifted flour are added and, thoroughly rubbing, knead a stiff dough. Round balls weighing 60-75 g are formed from the dough, placed on iron sheets lined with parchment, smeared with egg yolk on top and baked at a temperature of 175-180 degrees Celsius for 25-30 minutes. After cooling, shaker-churek is sprinkled with powdered sugar.

FIRNI

Rice - 40 g, milk - 200 g, sugar - 10 g, butter - 10 g, cinnamon - 0.2 g, salt

Rice is soaked in water for 2-3 hours, discarded, dried and pounded in a mortar. Fall asleep in boiling milk rice flour, with continuous stirring, put salt, sugar and boil. When serving, pour oil on top and sprinkle with cinnamon in the form of a lattice.

JYZ-BYZ

Lamb intestines (processed) - 140 g, heart - 60 g, liver - 67 g, kidneys - 60 g, testicles - 50 g, onion - 50 g, potatoes - 193 g, fat tail fat - 15 g, greens - 5 g , sumac-1.0 g, pepper-0.1 g, salt, in summer you can add tomatoes-100g

The cleaned intestines are cut into pieces 2-3 cm long. They cut into pieces the liver, heart, stoves and testicles. All this is peppered, salted and fried. Then add onions, separately fried potatoes, cut into cubes, mix and bring to readiness. When serving, sprinkle with herbs, separately serve sumac.

KUTABES WITH MEAT

Lamb-100 g, onion-20 g, lavashana-15 g or pomegranate-20 g, wheat flour-110 g, melted butter-30 g, sumac-3 g, pepper-0.1 g, salt.

A stiff dough is kneaded from wheat flour with the addition of salt, which I roll out to a thickness of 1-0.5 mm, cut out circles the size of a pie plate from it. Minced meat is prepared from lamb with onions, pepper, salt, pomegranate are added and mixed thoroughly. Wrap minced meat in dough in the shape of a crescent and fry in a pan in oil.

KUTAB WITH GREENS

Greens (spinach - 150 g, sorrel - 150 g, green onion - 150 g, cilantro and dill - 15 g), flour - 140 g, melted butter - 20 g, butter - 20 g, pita bread - 10 g, egg - 1/5 pcs, matsoni - 50 g, pepper, salt

The greens are washed, coarsely cut and stewed with sautéed onions. Salt, pepper, pita bread are added to the filling and mixed thoroughly. From flour with the addition of water, eggs and salt, a stiff dough is kneaded, which is rolled out and circles are cut from it. Ready stuffing wrapped in dough with a crescent moon, fried on both sides in a pan without oil. When serving, kutabs are poured with warmed butter and matsoni (kefir, yogurt) are served separately.

DOLMA

Lamb - 100 g, rice - 30 g, onion - 20 g, greens (cilantro, dill, mint) - 15 g, grape leaves - 40 g, matsoni - 20 g, melted butter - 10 g, salt, pepper, cinnamon

Lamb pulp and onions are passed through a meat grinder. Rice, chopped greens, salt, pepper, and sometimes shelled peas soaked in water are added to the minced meat. Fresh grape leaves are scalded with boiling water, and pickled leaves are skipped until half cooked. Minced meat is thoroughly mixed and wrapped in each sheet at the rate of an average of 25 g, minced meat per dolma. Put the dolma in a saucepan with a thick bottom, fill it with water up to half and simmer for an hour until cooked. When serving, matsoni (kefir, yogurt) are served separately.

LYULYA - KEBAB

1 kg of fatty lamb (if the lamb is lean, add fat tail fat or kidney beef fat), 4 medium onions, spicy Bell pepper, a bunch of cilantro, 4 cloves of garlic.

Pass meat, onion, garlic and cilantro through a meat grinder. Beat the mince very carefully on the table. You should feel with your hands that the meat has become quite sticky and does not fall apart. Then put the stuffing in the refrigerator for half an hour. Next, string the minced meat on a skewer with sausages 15 cm long (50 g each), and keep the skewer flat during stringing. Fry in the grill for 10 minutes or in a preheated grill for 20 minutes. Lula kebab is usually served on thin pita bread.

DUSHBARA (Azerbaijani style dumplings)

lamb (without bones) - 400g, flour - 2 cups, egg - 1 pc, onion - 2 pcs., butter (melted) - 2 tbsp, wine vinegar (3%) - 2 tbsp, mint , cilantro - to taste, pepper and salt - to taste.

Boil bone broth separately. Lamb pulp is passed through a meat grinder, onion, pepper are added and mixed well.
A stiff dough is prepared from flour and eggs with the addition of salt. The resulting dough is rolled out with a thickness of about 2 mm. Departing 3 cm from the edge of the rolled cake, lay out the minced meat with a teaspoon at small intervals. The workpiece is closed with another cake, after which it is taken out with a round notch.

Ready dyushbaras are dipped into boiling strained broth and boiled over low heat until dyushbaras float to the surface. For 4 servings use 6 cups of broth.
When serving, dushbar is poured with broth, melted butter is added and sprinkled with herbs, vinegar is served separately.

CHIKHYRTMA WITH SPINACH

Spinach-350 g, sorrel-100 g, parsley or dill-15 g, onion-50 g, eggs-2 pcs., melted butter-30 g, matsoni-100 g, pepper, salt.

Spinach, sorrel and parsley are sorted, washed, coarsely cut and stewed. Onions are fried separately, then mixed with stewed herbs. Seasoned with spices, put in a pan, poured with beaten eggs and baked in the oven. Ready meal pour oil and separately serve matsoni (yogurt, kefir).

AZERBADJANI PILAF

For swimming you will need:
1) Dishes, better cauldron
2) Oil - vegetable, in the original - cottonseed, you can use any other oil that you are used to using when frying so that it does not burn.
3) Meat - classically, lamb, and, oddly enough, brisket is valued. It is good to add the back, fat tail part (fat tail fat). But you can take other meat available to you. This dish is truly folk, it is prepared even tough meat, but for guests it is not necessary to take exactly this.
4) Rice - not long, "Indian". Here the principle is different - rice should be translucent. The fact is that rice should not fall apart during the cooking process, it should remain firm, although not raw.
5) Carrots - use white.
6) Onion - take white, as it is sweeter and juicier. But the usual, yellow, is also great.
7) Garlic - per kilogram - 5-6 large heads, less can be.
8) Spices - a mixture of medium hot red pepper, sweet red pepper, barberry berries (for sourness), coriander - grains (these are cilantro seeds) zira (cumin, it happens in a shell, then these are narrow small seeds of a grayish, as usual, color and peeled, very small oblong seeds usually black in color, if crushed, smells of something like petroleum products), a little cumin, dried tomatoes, saffron, dried garlic and other ingredients.
9) The ratios of products are approximately as follows: for 1 kg of rice, take 1-2 kg of carrots (less than 1 kg is impossible), 1 kg of meat, 0.5 kg of onions, 0.3 - 0.4 liters of oil.
For vegetarians - all the same, only without meat. Instead of meat, carrots or potatoes are added. There are lovers different combinations pumpkins, raisins and more. Important - the basic technology remains the same.

Rinse rice to remove flour. Then soaked. Oil is poured into a vessel free of water (can be evaporated). It is heated over high heat to remove the smell of what the oil is pressed from (sunflowers, olives, etc.).
To prevent sudden boiling of the oil, you can pour a pinch of salt into the already heated liquid.

Cooking technology:
1) In the heated oil, carefully, so as not to splash, put fat (fat tail or from meat, if there is a lot of it), bones that are unpromising for distribution as meat, for frying. When the fat is rendered, all the cracklings are caught. No more oil is added during the cooking process.
2) Put in advance or in the process of frying cooked thinly sliced ​​onions. The onion is thinly sliced ​​so that it cooks properly.
3) Put the meat, cut into large pieces, fry.
4) Put carrots, cut into strips.
5) All this is fried on big fire, gently stirring with a slotted spoon so as not to chop the carrots. It will also be necessary to boil water, first two liters, then three more, so that later it can be added to pilaf (you can use broth).
5) Add boiling water so that it covers the resulting mixture, about a finger, maybe a little more, bring to a boil, add spices, garlic in the form of whole heads, freeing it only from dirty outer shells. Boil on low heat, not allowing to burn, it is possible under the lid, at least half an hour, you can simmer longer.
6) Remove the garlic, if it was put. Put a slotted spoon (preferably pre-soaked) rice, NOT MIXING IT with meat and carrots. So he will prepare until the very end of the process. There comes the only difficult and decisive moment. You add boiling water to rice. Approximately one and a half - two fingers above rice. But it also depends on the type of rice, the amount of carrots, etc. After that, rice is not mixed in the usual way, water, as a rule, is not added. If you have strong doubts about what is happening at the very bottom of the pan (whether it is burning), in such an emergency, you can try moving the skimmer along the wall to lift the food at the bottom. But it's better not to bring it up.
During the cooking process, you can pierce rice to the bottom with a round stick made of wood that does not taste bitter, creating boiling “wells” evenly over the surface so that there are no stagnant zones. Upper layer rice can be carefully turned over with a slotted spoon so that then dried and uncooked grains do not come across.
7) When the visible part of the liquid disappears, put the garlic back, gently crushing the rice on top so that the garlic is covered with pilaf. The cauldron is covered with a lid and left for 30 minutes on very low heat.
8) Pilaf is removed from the fire, opened, the garlic is removed, the pilaf is gently mixed with a slotted spoon, shifting the layers. If the dishes are small, use an additional one. If there is time, you can let the pilaf stand in a warm place, mixed, soaking.

Ready pilaf is distributed in the form of large, in a whole soup bowl, portions or spread on a common big dish- "lagan". The meat is placed on top, garlic heads, too, usually one per guest. Served with onion salad (just onions sprinkled with salt), with fresh tomatoes.

It is considered extremely impolite to call the proposed pilaf porridge, to use ketchup for it, etc. Be sure to simultaneously serve unsweetened green tea.

The cuisine of Azerbaijan is famous for its high nutritional and taste qualities. Many restaurants around the world serve such dishes as dovga (sour-milk soup with herbs), kyufta-bozbash (broth with meatballs), piti soup, and, of course, kebab and pilaf.

Features of Azerbaijani cuisine

Pilaf is a traditional holiday dish among Azerbaijanis. It is made from rice and can be served with meat, fish, vegetables and even fruits. A variety of seasonings and spices are widespread in Azerbaijani cuisine: cloves, cinnamon, parsley, basil, vazari, saffron, cilantro and others.

Very popular with tourists and travelers around the world are Azerbaijani barbecue and other dishes in tandir. Usage lamb V various dishes — distinguishing feature cuisines of this people. Beef, fish or poultry are used by Azerbaijanis to a much lesser extent.

In the cuisine of Azerbaijan, you cannot find pork dishes or drinks containing alcohol. This is due to the influence of Islam on the cuisine of this country. Another one distinguishing feature — unique aroma and spicy taste of dishes.

Some dishes in Azerbaijan are usually cooked in special dishes. For example, pilaf is usually cooked in a cauldron, piti soup - in a pit. For cooking Lula kebab uses different skewers.

This unique taste of Azerbaijani pilaf…

Pilaf is one of the most famous dishes of the national cuisine of Azerbaijan. This dish is presented in several varieties:

• kaurma - pilaf with lamb;

• tyarchilo - with chicken or hen;

• tursu govurma - with lamb meat and sour fruits;

• fisinjan - with game, sour fruits, nuts and cinnamon.

Unlike other oriental options, Azerbaijani pilaf involves a separate preparation of g ara (meat component) and cereal part. Experts say that this option is more ancient than the others.

• Gara is usually prepared using fruits - cherry plums, plums, pomegranates.
• For rice, one of four cooking options is usually chosen, the most exotic of which is cooking on a ghazmag.
• Gazmag is a flatbread made of unleavened dough, it is lined with the bottom of the dishes in which pilaf is cooked.
• No option is complete without the use of fats. As a rule, this is ghee or butter.

Gara and rice are cooked separately, and only when served are combined, but not mixed. In this version, it is customary to serve pilaf with spicy herbs (tarragon, basil or green onions), as well as gasmag. Usually such pilaf is washed down with cool, sour sherbet. Moreover, unlike other variants of Asian pilaf, this one is served not hot, but slightly warm, the main thing is that the oil does not freeze.

This dish is very popular in Azerbaijan, there is even a saying: "If I am destined to die, let my death come from pilaf."

Without dessert - nowhere!

The national cuisine of Azerbaijan involves a large number of sweet dishes and all kinds of desserts. Sweets are usually divided into three groups: floury, candy-like and caramel-like. As a rule, they all contain many spices and various additives: poppy, almond, sesame, nuts, ginger, vanillin and others.

National flour sweets include more than thirty items. Most Popular - baklava, shekerbura, kurabye, mutaki.

In the spring of 2009, Ganja confectioners prepared a wonderful baklava in honor of the Novruz holiday. The length of the product was 12 meters, the width was 4 meters, and the weight of the sweet was almost 3 tons. Thus, the Azerbaijani baklava set a record and entered the CIS Book of Records.

deserve special attention. Unlike Central Asian dishes with this name (which are sweet food), here it is soft drink with a sour taste, which is usually washed down with pilaf. In addition to berry and fruit juices, sherbet is based on infusions of various buds or seeds.

Every tourist should try this

Traditional Azerbaijani the first dish - kelle-pacha - is prepared from lamb's head and legs. The name of the liquid hot soup is translated from Turkish: "kelle" - head, "pacha" - legs. Processed lamb legs, head and scar should be washed well and put to boil over medium heat. Cook these ingredients for 6-7 hours, periodically removing the foam. Then the meat must be removed, large bones separated, the flesh cut into small pieces and sent back to boil in the same broth. When serving with a dish, it is recommended to serve crushed garlic and vinegar separately. Some soup options involve adding tomato paste and olive oil.

Dolma is a kind of Russian cabbage rolls, only the leaves are used not cabbage, but grape. In some regions of Azerbaijan, culinary specialists also use the leaves of quince, figs and other trees that grow here. In the process of cooking, these leaves turn into an appetizing, tender and crispy crust. The filling for dolma, in addition to minced meat and vegetables, can be fish and even fruits. It is customary to serve sour-milk drinks with or without the addition of garlic to all types of dolma, except for fish.

Doshab

Of the drinks in Azerbaijan, doshab enjoys special honor - concentrated, boiled fruit juice. It can be made from mulberry, apricot or grape juice no added sugar. The consistency of doshab resembles a thick sauce. It is used as a seasoning for meat dishes, salads, and is also used for medicinal purposes.

Azerbaijani cuisine can be found in many restaurants around the world. Be sure to try some traditional national delicacy and you will immediately feel the unique aroma of the East. No wonder there are so many fans among gourmets Azerbaijani dishes.

The peculiarity of Azerbaijani cuisine lies in the fact that, having some similarities with other Transcaucasian cuisines - the presence of the same type of hearth (tyndyr), kitchen utensils and food raw materials - she created a slightly different menu and a generally different taste range on this basis. . Therefore, the main composition of national Azerbaijani dishes is distinctive, although many dishes borrowed, for example, from Armenian cuisine(dolma), are included in the daily menu of a modern Azerbaijani.

Azerbaijani dishes, which overwhelmingly have Turkic names, are often very similar in name to the dishes of the Turkic-speaking peoples of the Middle East and Central Asia, but in essence, cooking features and taste are much closer to Iranian cuisine.

The fact is that even in the VI-IV centuries. BC e. part of the territory of modern Azerbaijan passed into the hands of the ancient Persian dynasty of the Achaemenids. And starting from the III-IV centuries. n. e. the territory of present-day Azerbaijan was seized by the Sassanids, who founded a strong state in Iran, therefore the formation of feudal relations in Iran and Azerbaijan, and at the same time the main features of the material culture that had existed for many centuries in these countries, occurred simultaneously. Although then Azerbaijan experienced the Arab conquest in the VIII century. and the introduction of Islam, the invasion of the Seljuk Turks in the XI-XII centuries. and the Mongol invasions of the 13th-14th centuries, however, all this, having influenced the ethnic composition, to a lesser extent affected the already established material culture, which retained Iranian features. In addition, just during the XVI-XVIII centuries. Azerbaijan was part of Iran - and again the Persian influence in everyday life increased significantly. It not only survived until the entry of Azerbaijan into Russia in the first third of the 19th century, but also affected later, during the final formation of the Azerbaijani nation at the end of the 19th century.

The fact that partly during the period of Persian rule and especially from the second half of the 18th century. until the middle of the 19th century. Azerbaijan disintegrated into almost a dozen feudal principalities-khanates, contributed to the consolidation of some regional features in Azerbaijani cuisine, which are still manifesting today.

In South Azerbaijan, in the Lankaran-Talysh district, a local feature is the preparation of game stuffed with fruits (mainly pheasants) and other poultry on an open fire, as well as fish baked in tyndyr with a nut-fruit filling; in Northern Azerbaijan, close to Dagestan, where Turkic influences are stronger, the main dish is meat and dough khinkal. In large cities - Baku, Shamakhi (the ancient capital of Shirvan), Kirovabad (Ganja - in the past) - the traditional preparation of meat and dough and pie products: dushbars, kutabs, as well as Iranian sweets - shakerbura, kurabye, baklava, halv and sherbets, rakhat - Delight.

The selection of food raw materials made by Azerbaijani cuisine over a long history differs in some essential details from Georgian and Armenian.

The main meat in Azerbaijani cuisine is lamb, and the meat of young lambs is preferred. However, lamb does not occupy such an exclusive position here as in Uzbekistan. Along with lamb, veal is also often used, and in the old Azerbaijani cuisine, game (pheasants, francolins, partridges, quails) also occupied a prominent place. poultry(hens, guinea fowls, primarily chickens). Commitment to use young meat due to the fact that it is usually cooked on an open fire (old meat, especially beef, is unsuitable for this). Meat is usually cooked with sour fruits - dogwood, cherry plum and pomegranates, and dogwood is more often combined with veal, cherry plum with lamb, and pomegranate juice with game.

Much more than in other Transcaucasian cuisines, the place is occupied in Azerbaijani cuisine by fish, which is cooked according to a technology developed for the main food raw materials - meat and fruits. So, fish is grilled like lamb on an open fire of a brazier, that is, it is cooked like a barbecue, combined with fruits and nuts (almonds), baked in a tyndyr and smoked. Special is the preparation of fish using the steam bath method (not to be confused with a water bath!).

All this is largely due to the fact that red fish (sturgeon, kutum) is traditional in Azerbaijani cuisine, which, due to its merits, makes it possible to use this technology.

Vegetables, fruits, and especially spicy greens and edible herbs are used in the diet as widely and sometimes even more widely than in Armenian and Georgian cuisines, but for the most part fresh, not boiled or fried. If it is cooked with meat or eggs, then the greens sometimes account for almost half the volume of the dish (chuchu, azhabsanda). At the same time, the meat is very boiled soft, so meat and vegetable dishes are often green porridge with meat gravy (sabza-govurma).

Potatoes are often found among vegetables in modern Azerbaijani cuisine: for example, they are added to piti soup. However, the classical Azerbaijani cuisine, of course, did not know the potato and could not use it. The use of potatoes began relatively recently - already during the years of Soviet power. Prior to that, its place was occupied by chestnuts. It is with chestnuts that Azerbaijani sour natural (fruit) seasonings for meat are best combined - gora (unripe grapes), abgora (juice of unripe grapes after a short fermentation), nar and narsharab (pomegranate and its condensed juice), sumakh (barberry), akhta ( dogwood), dried and fresh cherry plum. That is why, in order to obtain a characteristic Azerbaijani flavor range it is better to use chestnuts in meat and meat and vegetable dishes, and not potatoes.

Azerbaijani cuisine is generally characterized by the use of mostly above-ground vegetables. Very few root crops are used - beets, carrots, radishes. But all sorts of herbs (spicy, aromatic, neutral), greens, vegetables (artichokes, asparagus, the so-called Derbent lettuce with small heads of conical shape, chickpeas, green bean). Fruits and nuts (chestnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, hazel, walnut) is also preferred, and they are consumed along with vegetables. So, in Azerbaijani cuisine, fruits are fried in butter, especially kaisu (dried apricots), cherry plums, peaches.

Green onions in Azerbaijani cuisine are used more often than onions, and in a very large quantities, usually as an appetizer for all fried meat dishes. In the same way, garlic is used, the local varieties of which are not particularly pungent and are eaten along with a green feather. Of the other herbs, the most common are watercress (meadow and mountain), leek, parsley, tarragon, curly and apple mint, lemon balm, coriander (cilantro), a little less often - thyme and even less often - dill and azhgon (zira). At the same time, the use of classic spices in Azerbaijani cuisine is relatively limited: black pepper is used for meat, fish and vegetable dishes, cinnamon, cardamom are used for sweet and confectionery dishes, and real saffron, called Iranian saffron*, is used for pilafs, fish and sorbets. from Imeretian saffron (cardobenedict) used in Georgia. It is saffron, so revered in ancient Media and Persia, that is considered the Azerbaijani national spice. Red pepper and hot spicy combinations in general are rarely used in Azerbaijani cuisine, with the exception of the regions adjacent to Georgia and Dagestan.

From aromatic plants, rose petals are used for food, which, like the use of chestnuts, distinguishes Azerbaijani cuisine from neighboring Transcaucasian ones. Syrups are insisted on roses, jam is made from them, rose oil is used in sherbets.

Of the neutral wild herbs that go as a green boiled mass to meat dishes and pilafs, they prefer knotweed, called kyrpygyn in Azerbaijani **.

In general, the main feature of Azerbaijani cuisine should be considered a combination of taste-neutral fresh food products, such as boiled rice, chestnuts or knotweed, unsalted young meat, eggs or fish with pronounced sour vegetable and dairy products - the result is, on the one hand, a contrast of fresh and sour , on the other hand, softening sharply sour taste to moderately sour, pleasant. This is confirmed by such dishes as dovga, the use of pomegranate and cherry plum in meat and fish dishes and even cooking from apricots and peaches, not apricots, and even more so not whispers (especially sweet apricots), as in Central Asia, but mainly kaisa (dried apricots), which has a sour taste.

Many dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine are also available in the cuisines of other peoples (kebab, dolma, chanakhi, pilaf, dumplings). However, they sometimes differ in technology. For example, three types of Azerbaijani dumplings - dushbara, kurze and giimya-khinkal - differ from each other in their overall size and shape, the composition of the dough and the filling and the way they are arranged (for more details, see the description of recipes for meat and dough dishes).

The Azerbaijani plov has its own characteristics - the front National dish. Unlike Uzbek, it belongs to the Iranian, and not to the Central Asian type. Rice for pilaf is prepared and served completely separately from the rest of the ingredients (meat, game, fish, eggs or fruits and herbs, collectively called gara), without mixing with them even on a dish during meals. Since rice is the basis and more than half of the volume of pilaf, the taste of the whole dish largely depends on the quality of its preparation. The art lies in the fact that rice does not crack during boiling, does not boil and does not become sticky - each rice should remain intact, only slightly and evenly swell during cooking. Only in this case, the rice is tasty on its own, although it seems that it remains neutral in taste. To do this, rice is boiled mainly for a couple in metal tyndyrchiks or other types are used. traditional ways cooking (see recipes) and, in addition, they take for pilafs not any, but special, often local varieties of rice.

Serving and eating Azerbaijani plov also has its own traditions. Rice is never served completely hot, but warm enough to keep the butter warm. At the same time, meat or meat-fruit part of pilaf and spicy herbs are served on a separate dish. Thus, Azerbaijani plov consists of three separate parts, which together make up one dish. The meat is eaten with rice (or rice wrapped in pita bread) and then with spicy herbs. Only those pilaf meat part which is replaced by egg, they are served to the table differently - first, rice is put on the dish in an even layer, egg-vegetable seasoning is put on it, which they try to take from the dish so that both of them are equally in the spoon.

The classic Azerbaijani lunch lasts, like all oriental dinners, for a long time - about three hours, and sometimes more. It usually starts with appetizers - smoked sturgeon balyk with green onion, leek, radish, fresh cucumber or watercress, which are eaten with churek and washed down with ayran. At the same time, vegetables and herbs are not cut, but are always served whole and each separately. This is followed by sour fried fruits - most often cherry plum, sometimes half with peaches. After that, one of the soups is served - piti, dovga or kyufta-bozbash. After dovgi, mutton govurma may follow; after piti, which includes lamb, galya (veal with dogwood) or dolma can be served, but most often chicken or pheasant fried on a spit. All these main courses are abundantly accompanied by spicy greens - watercress, cilantro, garlic, stragon, mint. And only then follows center dish- pilaf, which simultaneously serves as a transitional dish from the second to the third. The nature of pilaf is also determined depending on the previous dishes. If they already included lamb, then pilaf will be with game or poultry. If the game was served before pilaf, and the first course included lamb (piti), then pilaf is made with eggs, herbs (kyrpygyn) or fruits. When the preliminary second contains eggs, greens or veal (chugu, galya), then pilaf is made with lamb.

After pilaf, a thick sauce of dried apricots, raisins, almonds and pomegranate juice can follow as a transitional dish for dessert. Dessert is always extremely varied and, in addition to the indispensable finely chopped sugar, consists of various jams, bekmes, sherbets, halva, cookies and kaymak with honey, which are served with the final dish - tea.

In Azerbaijan, tea is drunk willingly, in large quantities, and not only at lunch, but also outside of lunch or any other meal. Drink only black long leaf tea, quite strong, and, as in Iran, they do not use porcelain dishes (bowls or cups) for drinking, but special narrow pear-shaped vessels resembling miniature vases - the so-called armuds.

The use of a large amount of fresh spicy herbs, fruits and sour juices for almost all year round, young meat and game, as well as sour milk and green dishes, makes Azerbaijani cuisine healthy and healthy.

The limited use of salt in Azerbaijani cuisine is indicative. Azerbaijanis even prefer meat either completely unsalted (one of the main national dishes - kebab - is not salted at all), or it is given a sour taste with the help of fruit juices - pomegranate, cherry plum, narsharaba.

* Although this saffron is produced in Azerbaijan itself, which is the center for growing saffron in the USSR.

** The Asian type of knotweed differs from the European one in its size, more juicy and tender leaves.