Uzbek cuisine chicken main courses. Uzbek national cuisine
Uzbek national dishes- these are the bright colors of nature, age-old traditions and the aroma of the East, food that will not leave any gourmet and connoisseur of true taste indifferent. When you smell the aroma of a dish, and even more so when you see it, your stomach will immediately scream at you “I’m hungry!” Believe me, there are no less gastronomic joys in Uzbekistan than there are stars in the sky!
Recipes cooking Uzbek national cuisine formed over many centuries. There was also the culinary influence of other nationalities who conquered the lands of Central Asia more than once, but Uzbek dishes still acquired their own specificity. A distinctive feature of Uzbek cuisine is the use of everything. Most dishes are prepared using a large amount of oil: cottonseed, sunflower or sesame, with the addition of fat tail fat. In the formation of recipes for Uzbek cuisine, there is a contribution not only from culinary masters, but also from doctors. According to one of the legends, pilaf recipe compiled by Abu Ali Ibn Sino (Avicenna) himself.
Main Ingredients Uzbek dishes- flour, meat (mainly lamb), fat tail fat (lard), vegetables, herbs and spices. There are dishes that are prepared exclusively by men, or only by women. The preparation of some special dishes is associated with holidays, memorable events, and beliefs.
Uzbek dishes, as a rule, are very filling and high in calories. Of great importance in their preparation are herbs and spices- coriander (cilantro), cumin (zra, cumin), barberry, sesame, raikhon (basil), etc. Spices increase appetite, so you want to eat these dishes as soon as you smell their aroma. Often, recipes for Uzbek national dishes use katyk (sour milk, classic yogurt), as well as green radish. It is less hot than black radish, and in combination with butter and carrots it is even sweet;
During preparation Uzbek cuisine dishes Often one cannot do without specific Central Asian culinary utensils and utensils:
- kasakan(Mantyshnitsa). Some national Uzbek dishes are prepared exclusively by steaming - these are a variety of manti and khanum. To prepare them, a special pan is used - a cascan with removable grates (mantyshnitsa, double boiler);
- tandoor- Central Asian clay oven. It is made by hand. It resembles a large clay jug. Tandoors are available vertical and horizontal. For example, horizontal ones are more suitable for baking flatbreads, and vertical ones - for;
- cauldron- cast iron boiler with thick walls. Many dishes can only be cooked in a cauldron, since it retains heat well and distributes heat evenly.
National dishes, where food is traditionally served:
- kasushka- a large bowl for food;
- lyagan- a large dish decorated with traditional paintings. Pilaf and many other dishes are served in lyagans.
- bowl, from which they drink tea.
Traditionally, people eat at a low table in Uzbekistan - dastarkhan, on the floor, in summer - on the ivan (bed). Variegated flowers are laid out around the dastarkhan Kurpachi(a type of Central Asian mattress) and small pillows so that, after eating deliciously, you can relax without getting up from the table.
Pork is strictly not used in the food.
Uzbek cuisine- this is delicious, juicy lamb, golden hot flatbread, a lot of aromatic spices, wonderful green tea, sweets, a thousand delicious fruits and vegetables, and most importantly - endlessly warm Asian hospitality!
Welcome!
Dishes of Uzbek cuisine
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Uzbek national dishes are bright colors, oriental flavor and centuries-old traditions carried from the past to the present. The first thing that is associated with the cuisine of Uzbekistan is, naturally, aromatic pilaf, delicious shish kebab, lush golden flatbreads from the heat of the heat and amazing sweets. It’s impossible to resist the abundance of local dishes! We can say with confidence that there are no fewer goodies in sunny Tashkent, Samarkand or Bukhara than there are stars in the sky! Culinary traditions inherent in Uzbek cuisine have developed over many centuries. It could not have happened here without the influence of other peoples who at times conquered the lands of Central Asia. The nomadic lifestyle and assimilation of cultures, in particular the proximity to the Persians and Tajiks, helped to diversify the range of traditional dishes.
DISHES OF UZBEK CUISINE
The local cuisine, although formed under the influence of Asian traditions, still has its own characteristics and specific features. It is characterized by the use of meat. Lamb, horse meat, beef, poultry - it’s hard to imagine a table in Uzbekistan without this. The food here is very filling and high in calories. Cooking is also unthinkable without spices - coriander, saffron, hot pepper, agar-agar, caraway, rosemary, etc. Such an abundance of fragrant herbs and seasonings imbues dishes with a unique, exquisite aroma. Spices immediately awaken a ferocious appetite, therefore, smelling these delicacies makes you want to try them. And there are so many delicacies here that your eyes run wild: appetizers, hot first courses, meat products, aromatic pastries, desserts. You definitely won't have to go hungry! In Uzbek cuisine there are hundreds of recipes and names of various dishes. Naturally, it is impossible to list everything, so it is worth highlighting the most popular ones.
Uzbek snacks
The local cuisine also has specific snacks. Juicy homemade sausages and dishes made from fat tail fat can hardly be classified as light dishes. Khasyp is considered one of the most original snacks. Fragrant, enchanting with the pleasant smells of oriental spices, homemade boiled sausage made from lamb meat, liver and rice porridge - this is a heavenly delight for true gourmets. It seems that khasyp does not look very attractive, but in fact it is a real delicacy. Perhaps the presence of lamb giblets and intestines will not please everyone, but after trying a piece of sausage, you forget about everything, even about this small nuance.
In the list of delicious Uzbek sausages, an honorable second place belongs to a dish with a simple name - kazy. You can eat this amazing meat delicacy every day - it’s unlikely that anyone will get tired of it. By the way, it is prepared, oddly enough, not from lamb, but from horse meat, using meat from the rib part of the carcass. The sausage is served cold, cut into thin slices, seasoned with spices, garnished with herbs and onion rings. Kazy may not look particularly impressive, but the taste is incredible. In addition, horse meat is very healthy and easily absorbed by the body. In general, there are more pros than cons, and that’s already good!
For lovers of salty foods, there is probably nothing tastier than Uzbek kurt. Truly this is a universal dish: it goes well with beer and soup, and on a long journey it will help quench your thirst and hunger. On hot summer days, it retains water in the body longer. What is it? In general, kurt has been known to Asians since ancient times. Its recipe was invented for the purpose of preserving fermented milk products, which savvy wives supplied their husbands with when they traveled with trading caravans far beyond their native lands. Kurt is dried salted curd made into small balls. It is prepared from suzma (a product left over from making cottage cheese) and salt. To improve its taste, various seasonings are added to it, mainly basil and red pepper. Kurt is a magical snack. It is easily digestible, its calorie content is equivalent to meat dishes, although it is stored much longer - from 7 to 8 years, it is light and takes up little space.
First meal
Hot dishes in any kitchen are represented primarily by soups. In Uzbekistan, they are quite filling, high in calories, and have a thick consistency. They are prepared on the basis of meat or fish broth with the addition of meat, cereals, beans, peas, different varieties of pumpkin and a huge amount of herbs and spices.
Depending on the method of preparing meat, there are two types of soups. The first is fried; pre-fried lamb is used for it. Vegetables and other ingredients are usually cut into small pieces. For a richer taste, add bell peppers, tomatoes and a lot of seasonings. The second option (shurpa, naryn) is prepared from raw meat, which is cut into large pieces and seasoned with fresh or sour milk.
One of the main national dishes of Uzbek cuisine is mastava, or matoba. In terms of the composition of the main ingredients and cooking technology, it resembles pilaf, which is why in everyday life it is often called “liquid pilaf.” Essentially, mastava is a filling soup made from rice and fresh lamb with the addition of carrots, onions, turnips and tomatoes. Its integral components are many spices, in particular cilantro, basil, black and red capsicum, parsley and barberry berries. Before serving, the mastava is seasoned with a small amount of sour milk and garlic, and additionally decorated with herbs.
Uzbeks consider katykli khurda an easily digestible and satisfying dish - this is a soup cooked in meat or vegetable broth. The main components here are rice and wheat cereal; in some regions of the country it is customary to add beans and mung beans (mung beans). Katykli Khurda belongs to the category of dietary dishes. Unlike other soups, a little sour milk is always added here, which gives it a light, delicate taste and pleasant aroma.
One of the variants of katykli is chalop - a cold fermented milk soup, popular among many Turkic peoples. In Uzbek cuisine, it is a mixture of katyk (sour milk), finely chopped herbs and vegetables. It is prepared mainly on hot summer days.
Karakum also belongs to fermented milk soups. The set of ingredients in this dish is really minimal. It is prepared using katyk and finely chopped onions. Season everything with red pepper and add a little boiled water. Karakum is served in bowls along with small flatbreads.
Shurpa, a seasoning soup made from pre-fried meat and vegetables, is very popular in the East. As a rule, it is prepared from lamb, sometimes poultry is used. In some regions you can find another option - “asy shurpa”, which is based on fish broth. It is characterized by the use of a large amount of herbs and spices. A distinctive feature is that, along with the traditional set of vegetables (carrots, potatoes, onions), unlimited quantities of apples, plums, dried apricots and dried fruits are used for cooking, which gives the soup a sweetish taste and a fresh fruity aroma.
There are several varieties of traditional soup in the cuisine of Uzbekistan. Fried lamb shurpa, or kaurma-shurpa, is widely known. It is prepared from the rib portion of a lamb carcass. A lot of vegetables are added to the dish: carrots and potatoes, chopped onions and tomatoes. It is served in special cups, garnished with cilantro and black pepper when serving. Corn shurpa is no less famous.
Among the first courses, it is worth highlighting pieva - onion soup with lamb and tomatoes. Erma, a broth made from crushed wheat, meat and tomatoes, is also considered a popular and satisfying dish. Due to the addition of red capsicum, it turns out to be quite spicy, so it is often washed down with sour milk.
A frequently encountered dish is shurpa-chaban - a soup based on a broth of lamb ribs with chopped onions, tomatoes and potatoes. It is served in an unusual way: the rest of the fresh onion, grated together with black pepper, is placed at the bottom of the plate, and then the soup is poured. Onions with spices perfectly complement the taste of lamb and vegetables and give the dish a richer aroma.
Among the first courses made from beef, kiima-shurpa is popular - this is a seasoning soup made from bone broth with meatballs, sautéed onions, finely chopped carrots and potatoes. When serving, add separately boiled rice, sour milk or a little sour cream, sprinkle with chopped herbs.
Uzbek cuisine is also known for its hearty and unusually fatty dishes. These include suyuk-osh - a regular soup made from beef meat with onions, carrots and potatoes. It is also customary to add some noodles to it. When serving suyuk-osh, be sure to season it with sour milk.
Naryn can be considered a universal dish. Due to its thick consistency and high calorie content, it is often served as a main course. The soup is prepared from finely chopped lamb and lard. Separately, boil the noodles in salted water. Mix it with pre-fried meat, pour broth over everything and decorate with herbs.
Uzbek pilaf
The pearl of the local cuisine is considered to be pilaf, which appeared quite a long time ago. The technology for its preparation was first developed in the East, and since then it has occupied a special, honorable place in Asian cuisine. In the East, it is used daily: not a single event in the family is complete without it! Uzbekistan was no exception to the rule.
There are many recipes for cooking pilaf, but its main feature is the harmonious combination of two components - the grain part and the filling (zirvak). Unlike other dishes, several nuances are taken into account when preparing it. The first is the proportions of meat and cereal, which determine the taste. In each region, this combination is different, which is reflected in the taste characteristics. When preparing pilaf, much attention is paid to the grain, so the cereal is also prepared using a special technology - it must be hard and crumbly. To achieve this effect, it is not boiled, but simmered over low heat.
In the East, there are two key options for preparing pilaf - Iranian and Central Asian. In the first, rice and the filling are prepared separately and these components are combined only at the time of serving - this is how the food is prepared in Turkey and Azerbaijan. In Uzbekistan, the Central Asian version is more popular - when zirvak and grain are cooked together and served as a whole dish.
In Uzbek cuisine, there are many regional variations in the preparation of pilaf, differing in the set of main ingredients and the ratio between the amount of meat and cereal. Here you can find an option with wheat, fresh and dried apricots, garlic and beans. Also, fruits are often added to zirvak, in particular quince, barberry, raisins and dried apricots.
Among the many varieties of pilaf in the cuisine of Uzbekistan, tograma palov is very popular. It is prepared in two stages: 1/4 of the meat, carrots and onions are simmered along with rice, the rest of the filling is cooked in another pot. They are joined together at the time of serving. It is served separately with pickled wild onions.
Tontarm pilaf is no less famous; it differs from the traditional one only in that the rice is fried in melted butter before cooking until a red crust forms. Then the grain part is placed in cast iron cauldrons and prepared according to the usual recipe, mixing it with sautéed onions and carrots.
In some regions, safaki-palov, or separate pilaf in Samarkand, is popular. In this case, zirvak, which includes lamb, thinly sliced carrots and onions, is stewed separately from the grain. The rice is boiled in another pot. When serving, first lay out the cereal on a plate, pour hot oil on top, and only then add the delicious filling.
There is also a vegetarian option in Uzbek cuisine - Bukhara pilaf without meat. To prepare it, only rice, a set of vegetables and fruits, a lot of herbs, herbs and spices are used. The cereal is mixed with carrots and onions previously sautéed in vegetable oil. Then add some washed raisins, as well as chopped root and parsley. A rich combination of spices, herbs and dried fruits gives the food an extraordinary aroma.
It is also worth mentioning bakhsh, or green pilaf. The specificity of this dish lies not only in the unusual color palette, but also in the fact that all the components for it are cut very finely. The dish looks extremely exotic and quite unusual, and its taste will be remembered for a long time.
Another traditional dish of Uzbekistan is shavli. People call it nothing more than “improperly prepared pilaf.” Essentially, it consists of the same ingredients as pilaf, just the ratio of these products is slightly different. In this case, be sure to add a lot of fat (1/2 of the entire portion), onions and vegetables, and, on the contrary, add less meat. There are also tomatoes here. All this affects the consistency and taste characteristics, making the dish different from traditional pilaf.
Second courses
In Uzbek cuisine, preference is given to lamb dishes. Beef, horse meat and chicken are used much less frequently. The main feature in the preparation of meat dishes is that the meat for both the first and second ones is boiled or fried along with the bone. Asian cooking is not distinguished by a wide range of side dishes: meat is served mainly with vegetables, onions and herbs.
Basma is a bright, satisfying and aromatic dish. It consists of meat and vegetables stewed in their own juice. For cooking, a large cast-iron cauldron is used here, with a little fat tail fat placed on the bottom. Next, coarsely chopped lamb and a whole mountain of vegetables are laid out in layers - onions, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, eggplants and cabbage. Everything must be seasoned with salt, spices, herbs and a lot of fresh herbs are added. The ingredients are poured with water and simmered over low heat until fully cooked.
Dimlama, common in the agricultural regions of Central Asia, is also popular among the Turkic peoples. It is an assortment of stewed vegetables (cabbage, bell peppers, onions, eggplant, carrots and potatoes) with the addition of lamb and fat tail fat. It is cooked in large cauldrons. All components are laid out in order, poured with water and simmered over low heat. After cooking, the dish is thoroughly mixed and served on large plates.
The national cuisines of all countries and peoples that have ever experienced Turkic influence are also characterized by dolma; in the Uzbek version it is called tokosh. To some extent, this is an “eastern” relative of Russian cabbage rolls. Dolma is minced minced meat wrapped in young grape leaves. Usually lamb and rice are used for it. For a richer flavor, lemon juice, nuts, olive oil and onions are often added. Dolma in Uzbekistan is prepared from beef meat and round rice. Be sure to add greens to the filling, mainly cilantro, a couple of sprigs of mint and onions. It is served hot with sour cream and finely chopped herbs.
The second course includes kovurdak - a regular roast of meat and offal with the addition of vegetables and herbs. For greater richness, potatoes, chicken and a little pumpkin are added to it. To create a richer flavor, kovurdak is seasoned with a variety of spices and herbs, which go well with the main ingredients.
An analogue of kovurdak is behili zharop, or roast with quince. It is quite simple; for cooking you take young lamb meat, onions and a little quince. The crushed ingredients are simmered over low heat. Serve it with finely chopped herbs or several sprigs of cilantro.
It is difficult to imagine Uzbek cuisine, like any other Asian cuisine, without barbecue (kabob). No gourmet can resist the tender, aromatic meat roasted over charcoal. There are many options for preparing it in Uzbekistan. Here you can find kabob made from fresh lamb, beef, chicken and even liver (jigar kabob).
In the classic version, the food is prepared on the coals of saxaul - the so-called “desert tree”. The meat is pre-marinated. For the marinade, use vinegar, lemon juice, spices and onions. If the meat is too tough, then it is initially rubbed with mustard, and after half an hour it is dipped in the marinade. To make the kebab juicy when frying the meat, fat tail lard is added to it. The dish is served along with aromatic hot flatbreads and pickled onions. And after a hearty lunch, guests are offered a cup of strong green tea.
Among the meat dishes, one can also highlight thum-dulma, or zrazy in Uzbek - a very fatty, but at the same time quite filling dish. It is made from ground beef and looks like simple meat cakes with hard-boiled eggs wrapped inside. Thum-dulma is breaded in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. It is served at the table with a side dish of fried potatoes and fresh tomatoes. Separately, the zrazas are accompanied by a spicy sauce made from red pepper and tomatoes.
Dough products
In Central Asian cuisine, dishes are often prepared from boiled unleavened dough. One of these is chuchvara, or varak chuchvara - an Uzbek version of traditional dumplings. They are prepared from minced ground beef. The dough for them is cut into small squares, a little meat mixture is placed in the center, then rolled into an envelope. Chuchvara is always served with tomato broth. Table vinegar or hot sauce made from paprika, red capsicum and tomatoes are used as seasoning. When serving, it is poured with sour milk and sprinkled with finely chopped herbs.
Manti is considered the national culinary pride of the Uzbeks - a traditional dish of the peoples of Central Asia, consisting of finely chopped minced meat wrapped in thinly rolled unleavened dough. In shape, they resemble large dumplings; they are steamed in a “mantyshnitsa” - a device made from steam casseroles, lined up in several tiers. They use minced meat, mainly lamb. To make it more juicy, a little poultry and fat tail fat are added to it. There is also a vegetarian version of the filling - made from potatoes or pumpkin. The dough for the dish should be unleavened, not yeasty and very thin (1-2 mm thick). The finished cakes are oval or square in shape. They are served to the table along with meat broth. Sour milk and herbs are used as additional seasoning.
Another pearl in the cuisine of Uzbekistan is lagman. It can be served as a first or second course. With a considerable amount of broth, it resembles a soup, but you just need to slightly change the cooking technology, and it immediately turns into noodles with aromatic gravy based on meat infusion and a complex filling. This dish is in great demand among the Uyghurs, Chinese and Uzbeks. To prepare it, they use a huge assortment of vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, bell peppers, onions, carrots, beans and radishes), lamb and noodles made from unleavened dough. The dish is complemented by many spices, in particular garlic, hot pepper, various herbs and herbs. It is served hot, in deep bowls or kes.
Among flour products, samsa is extremely popular - ordinary pies with meat filling, having a triangular, oval or square shape. As a filling, lamb or beef is used, less often chicken, as well as vegetables - pumpkin, lentils, potatoes and peas. The dough for pies should be unleavened. They are baked in the oven or tandoor (special clay ovens) and served with pickled onions and table vinegar.
Pies with liver or lamb offal, called gumma, are also popular among Uzbeks - they are deep-fried in cottonseed oil. There are dishes made from dough that are prepared exclusively by steaming, including khanum - small flatbreads stuffed with minced meat and potato-pumpkin puree. The main highlight of this dish is the finest dough, which in the skillful hands of Uzbek housewives turns into elegant roses, simple rolls or original lace “envelopes” with the most delicate, fragrant and juicy filling. An inexperienced guest may think that khanum is the same as manti, but as they say, “the east is a delicate matter,” so although these dishes are similar, they should not be confused. It’s better to try both the first and the second - then even the most fastidious gourmets will get double pleasure.
Uzbek sweets
Without sweets, the life of any person does not seem so joyful. Uzbeks probably agree with this statement, because in their cuisine there are many unique recipes for preparing various delicacies. Oriental delicacies are popular in many countries. This is largely due to the fact that they are made exclusively from natural products, without any dyes or preservatives.
If you believe the legends, then previously the recipes for the best Uzbek sweets were kept in the strictest confidence: only the ruler and his entourage could enjoy various delicacies. Centuries have passed, views have changed, now everyone can try these truly divine dishes, the main thing is to want to!
According to local etiquette, the guest is always treated to hot tea and served with a lot of goodies. Fragrant sweet flatbreads, homemade sweets, golden caramel, nuts, dried fruits, snow-white nishalda and incredibly tasty halva - this is the minimum list of what can be seen on the Uzbek table.
The list of local delicacies consists of several dozen items, but among the huge abundance of sweets, the most famous by many is called halva, or in the Uzbek version - halvaytai. This is a traditional oriental treat, incredibly tasty, which will appeal to everyone without exception. There are about a hundred recipes for halva, but it is often made from wheat flour, sesame seeds and walnuts. In some regions it is customary to add almonds and pistachios. Sugar syrup is prepared separately for it, which is mixed with fried flour, nuts and other ingredients are added to it. The delicacy is very sweet and has an amazing taste.
In Uzbekistan, it is customary to serve aromatic crystallized sugar, or navat, with tea. It is prepared from concentrated grape juice. For a richer taste, add a lot of spices. Navat is not only tasty, but also healthy. Sugar itself is used as candy for cold coughs and sore throats, and tea with it has an excellent warming effect, gives a person energy and vigor, and helps to quickly restore strength after colds.
If sweets are brought to the table in the form of white pillows, carefully sprinkled with flour, then this is nothing more than parvarda - national Uzbek sweets. The process of preparing them is quite labor-intensive. To make them tasty, the main thing is to cook the caramel correctly, because this is the main component. Integral components are also fragrant herbs, which give the delicacy a refined flavor and impart medicinal properties.
Tender, aromatic, crispy and simply melting in the mouth sweet cakes made from the finest flour threads - this is, naturally, pashmak, served in Uzbekistan with hot tea. The delicacy cannot be stored for a long time, so it should be eaten fresh. This is the only way to experience the amazing taste and delicate structure of these flatbreads.
Among Uzbek sweets, it is worth highlighting nishalda - according to tradition, it is prepared in March, for the Navruz holiday. It has a very delicate taste, consisting of beaten egg whites along with sugar and a decoction of licorice root. In appearance and consistency it resembles thick sour cream. Khvorost (small pieces of unleavened dough carefully fried in oil, sprinkled with powdered sugar) and chak-chak (sweet flatbreads in the form of balls or square bars, served with honey syrup) are very popular among Uzbeks.
It is impossible to imagine the menu of Uzbek cuisine without delicious peanuts, wrapped in sweet sugar fudge, and kozinaki, which are made from sesame or sunflower seeds, held together with chalk water in the form of small bricks. In the skillful hands of local confectioners, aromatic cookies are born - kush-tili, elegant, light sweet zangza cheesecakes, delicious caramel and many other delicacies. Quince stuffed with walnuts and almonds (bekhi-dulma) is the ultimate dream!
In general, what else can you say?! Uzbek cuisine is rich and original in its own way. These dishes may be rustic and homey-looking, but it's probably not the pretty wrapper that counts, but what's inside. As practice shows, in skillful hands, and if you also put your whole soul into what you love, then even the simplest dishes can be turned into real culinary masterpieces!
Spicy, rich, hot and satisfying dishes of Uzbek cuisine are food that many have been familiar with since childhood. It is unlikely that many will name more than two or three dishes, and it will most likely be pilaf, manti or lagman, but Uzbek cuisine is rich and varied. Most importantly, the dishes are prepared from natural products, there are no complex ingredients, and they taste amazing.
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1 Lagman is an Uzbek soup with homemade noodles, a kind of Central Asian version of ramen with a very spicy and fatty lamb broth and a lot of vegetables and meat. Depending on the recipe, lagman can be thinner or thicker.
2 Eggplant appetizer “Badamdzhan” is baked or fried eggplant with pieces of bell pepper and radishes, sprinkled with finely chopped herbs and drizzled with oil.
3 Chuchvara is a soup with small dumplings, usually served with suzma (a fermented milk product like sour cream) and containing black pepper, onion, tomato paste and bell pepper.
4 Pilaf - a delicious combination of rice, pieces of beef, veal or lamb, carrots, onions and a special set of spices. It is easy to cook in large quantities in a cauldron, so this dish is often the basis of a holiday table.
5 “Tashkent” salad is a signature capital salad made from boiled beef tongue, radishes and herbs, seasoned with sour cream sauce and garnished with fried onions.
6 Manti is a dish of meat and dough that is steamed. The filling is beef, lamb or veal, although there is an option with pumpkin. The filling must be chopped into pieces, otherwise all the juice will leak out. Onions and spices are also placed inside. If desired, a little tail fat is sometimes added for flavor. Manti are eaten with kaymak (not to be confused with curd cheese, which is sold in stores), but it is not found in Russia, so it is better to eat it with sour cream, not forgetting to sprinkle with fresh herbs.
7 Samsa - triangular pies made from homemade puff pastry filled with meat or pumpkin, onions, lamb fat and spices. As in manti, the filling is cut into cubes. Samsa is baked in a clay oven - tandoor, but at home you can also cook it in the oven. When the samsa is ready, brush it with egg yolk and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.
8 “Achik-chuchuk” salad, also known as “Achichuk”, is fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs. This dish is perfect for vegetarians and fasting people.
9 Naryn is a national dish of Uzbek cuisine made from homemade noodles and boiled meat, served with broth. Naryn is usually prepared from lamb, horse meat or kazy (boiled horse meat sausage) and sometimes from veal or beef. The main secret of this dish is that before cooking the meat, it must be covered with salt and dried for 24 hours. This is done to ensure the transparency and richness of the broth. Onions are added to the meat and noodles. In the original recipe, they take regular fresh onions, chop them, rub them with their hands and add them to the dish. You can also fry the onion and brush the noodle dough with the remaining oil.
10 Shurpa is a rich and fatty soup made from lamb and vegetables. The most famous varieties are kaiitnama, where the meat is placed fresh, and kovurma, where the meat is first fried in oil.
11 Dimlama is an Uzbek version of roast that uses beef, lamb, various vegetables, including potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, as well as fresh herbs and, of course, spices.
12 Kutab - fried flat pies made from the thinnest dough filled with meat, herbs, tomatoes, cheese - individually or together.
13 Kabob (kebab) - beef, lamb or veal, skewered in small pieces and cooked over an open fire. As a rule, the meat is pre-marinated. Pieces of lamb alternate with pieces of tail fat, which browns over the fire and acquires a delicate taste, and when serving, all this splendor is sprinkled with fresh, finely chopped onions and herbs and sprinkled with table vinegar. Hot tomato or adjika sauces are suitable.
14 Halwaitar is the liquid embodiment of halva. Flour is added to the heated fat or oil, stirred, then sugar is added, and nuts and vanilla are added only at the end of cooking.
15 Tea with sweets is an Uzbek tradition. There are a lot of options for preparing tea in Uzbekistan, and this drink is certainly served with nuts, dried fruits and other natural and healthy delicacies. By the way, Uzbeks never pour a full bowl for guests, showing that they are very happy and want the guest to sit longer. A full bowl means that the owner is in a hurry to send you away.
In general, Uzbek traditional cuisine consists of fatty, aromatic and moderately spicy dishes. However, Uzbek cuisine must be divided into two parts, since it is very susceptible to seasonality: in the summer they eat mainly fresh fruits and vegetables and dishes using them, in the winter - dried fruits, pickled vegetables, and fatty meats. Seasonings are very actively used: hot red pepper, black pepper, basil, coriander. It is impossible to imagine local cuisine without vegetables, the most popular of which are carrots, pumpkin, tomatoes, potatoes, and garlic. The most popular vegetables are grapes, watermelon and melon.
If Ukraine is associated with borscht, then Uzbekistan is associated with pilaf. This is undoubtedly the most popular and most famous dish of Uzbek cuisine, which is, roughly speaking, pieces of meat with rice, carrots and onions. There are dozens of varieties of pilaf known in Uzbekistan, which differ both in the method of preparation and in the situational nature - there are different types of festive and ceremonial pilaf. Pilaf is not just a dish, it is a real cultural symbol of the country. According to tradition, if pilaf is prepared for guests, then the owner of the house must certainly cook it. This tradition is still observed in many families today.
However, jokes that Uzbek cuisine consists of hundreds of dishes, 99 of which are varieties of pilaf, are hardly appropriate. Uzbeks do not live by pilaf alone; they have something to be proud of even without this dish. Other well-known dishes of Uzbek national cuisine: shurpa (a soup made from a large piece of fatty meat and fresh vegetables), lagman (a noodle-based dish that can be served as both a soup and a main course), manti (large steamed dumplings) , mastava (vegetable soup with lamb and rice), chuchvara and samsa (stuffed dough pies, served both as an appetizer and as a main course), dimlama (meat stew with vegetables) and a great variety of kebabs and kebab.
While the choice of soups and hot dishes of Uzbek cuisine is quite wide, the range of desserts is indeed very limited. A typical meal ends with fresh fruit or dried fruit compote; less often, nuts or halva are served at the table. Sweet pastries are less common than in other countries in the region.
The traditional Uzbek national drink, like in many other countries of Central Asia, is green tea. For Uzbeks, green tea is a drink that has not only gastronomic but also cultural significance. This drink always accompanies a meal; it is a symbol of hospitality. If the owner of the house offers tea to a guest, it means that he is happy about this guest. Green tea is considered traditional, but black tea is no less popular in Tashkent.
Alcohol is consumed much less in Uzbekistan than in European countries, but wine is popular relative to other Muslim countries. There are more than a dozen wineries in Uzbekistan that produce quite decent wine from local grapes.
Uzbek national cuisine is not only dishes, but also a special ceremony of eating and table setting. Many Uzbek families still use special serving utensils and observe table etiquette, which allows them to preserve the national flavor and turn an ordinary meal into a real ceremony.