KITCHEN
According to petwithsupplies, Azerbaijani cuisine is considered to be one of the most original culinary traditions of the world. Based on the centuries-old traditions of the peoples inhabiting this country, and on numerous borrowings from Arabic, Georgian, Persian and other cuisines, it is deservedly famous for its original dishes. The main feature of the local cuisine is the wide use of lamb, a huge amount of spices, herbs, vegetables and fruits (including dried ones), fat tail fat, a large number of dishes from sour milk and herbs. At the same time, in different regions of the country, even such traditional dishes as barbecue or pilaf are cooked in their own way. Azerbaijani cuisine is known for the abundance of vegetables in all forms, primarily greens, eggplants, sweet peppers (bieber), green beans, etc. Fresh vegetable salads are almost always on the table, moreover, vegetables are usually cut very finely and richly seasoned with herbs, sour-milk products, vegetable oil and various sauces. At the same time, local chefs actively use various marinades and pickles. Noteworthy are “kyukyu” (a mixture of various types of greens and vegetables, beaten with an egg and fried), “fisinjan” from beans, pickled and stuffed tomatoes and peppers, potato shish kebab, eggplant shish kebab, eggplant chihyrtma, radish salad and vegetables “bahar”, dishes of boiled beans with herbs and walnuts – “fasinjan” and “lobi”, as well as numerous vegetable side dishes, which are in fact complex salads that accompany most dishes. At the same time, “abgora” (juice of unripe grapes), “azgil-sharab” are used as additives to many dishes. (medlar extract), “albukhara” (dried plum of a special variety), “mountain” (unripe grapes), “doshab” or “dushab” (boiled grape or mulberry juice), “narsharab” (pomegranate juice), “cornel- akhata” (dried cornelian fruit), “sumac” (the rind of the fruit of a shrub of the sumac family) and other rather unusual ingredients.
Local soups are so thick and rich that they often replace a full-fledged second course on the table. It is worth trying “turshu-syyig” (green cabbage soup), “ovdukh” (a kind of okroshka), “balva” (soup of rice, flour, butter, herbs and eggs), “sulu-khingal” (mutton broth with peas and dumplings), “shorba” (soup of rice, peas and fruits in meat broth), a thick soup “khash” well known to all Caucasian peoples (” (fried lamb with vegetables), “turach” (fried game), “kashkaldaki”, “azmya” (fried minced liver with spices), “soyutma” (cold boiled lamb with tomatoes and herbs), “piti” (stewed with lamb with saffron and other spices), “dushbara” (kind of small dumplings boiled in bone broth), “guimya” (fried minced meat with raisins and dried apricots), “kutab” (kind of fried pies with meat or herbs), “dyushpara” (small meat balls in dough), etc. Many meat dishes are served with sheep cheese, cottage cheese and sour-milk products. The long sea coast causes an abundance of fish and seafood dishes on the tables – fish stuffed in Azerbaijani style, fish (“kutum”) fried in a tandoor (a special type of open oven), stuffed fish “kutum lavengi”, fish dolma, salad “khazar” (salmon, sturgeon and caviar with a variety of herbs and vegetables), vegetable salad with red caviar, various dishes with caviar sturgeon and simply fried fish with a variety of local spices. All dishes are served with “churek” (bread made from white flour) and all kinds of lavash.
Sweets and flour products, unlike other eastern countries, are used here much less frequently, although you can’t refuse local chefs in the art of their preparation – “kozinaki”, “sheker-bura”, “nogul”, “goz halva”, “bakhlava”, “shaker-churek”, “shaker-bura”, “shaker-pendir”, “kurabye”, “nan”, “nogul bitmish”, “Ordubad roll”, “kata”, “tel” (terkhalva), “tykhma”, “kulcha”, “parvarda”, “girmabadam”, “mutaki”, “peshvenk”, “feshmek”, all kinds of Turkish delight and other sweets, widely known outside the country. The local preserves and jams are also very good. Tea in Azerbaijan is drunk always and everywhere! It is served to guests before a meal, they while away the time and have a conversation in a teahouse, they also finish the feast. At the same time, not only traditional black tea is popular, but also various types of this drink with the addition of cardamom, thyme, rose water, cinnamon, ginger, etc. Also, one of the national drinks is sherbet (an infusion of berries, citrus fruits and other fruits with all kinds of additives, herbs, ice and sugar). Black coffee (usually prepared in an oriental way) and excellent local mineral water (Badamly, Turshu-su, Isti-su, Sirab, Darydag, etc.) are popular. Azerbaijani wines, cognacs and brandies are famous for their excellent quality (local varieties “bayan-shiraz”, “tabrizi”, “tavkveri”, “ag-shans”, “gara-shans”, etc. are equally well suited for making light wines, as well as and for spirits). Original “dosha” (weak grape-mulberry syrup), “narsharab” (pomegranate juice syrup) and other drinks.
