2. – Azerbaijani cuisine refers to
the cooking styles and dishes
with origins in the nation of
Azerbaijan and prepared by
Azerbaijani people around the
world. Throughout the
centuries, Azerbaijani cuisine
has been influenced by the
foods of different cultures,
though at the same time, it
remained distinctive and
unique. Many foods that are
indigenous to the country can
now be seen in the cuisines of
other cultures. For the
Azerbaijanis, food is an
important part of the
country's culture and is deeply
rooted in the history,
traditions and values of the
nation.
3. Azerbaijani cuisine has a number of
light snacks and side dishes to open or
accompany the main meals: a plate of
aromatic green leaves called goy, pieces
of chorek (bread), choban (a tomato
and cucumber salad), and sometimes
white cheese or qatik (sour
yoghurt).Cold snacks are generally
served separately from drinks.
Light snacks of Azerbaijani cuisine.
4. Main dishes
• Dolma the traditional recipe calls for minced
lamb mixed with rice and flavoured with
mint, fennel and cinnamon, and wrapped in
vine leaves (yarpaq dolması) or cabbage
leaves (kələm dolması). There are also sour
sweet cabbage dolma (turş şirin kələm
dolması) and fish dolma (balıq dolması).
• Badımcan Dolması tomato, sweet pepper and
aubergine stuffed with minced lamb mixed
with chickpeas.
• Dushbara small dumplings stuffed with
minced lamb and herbs, served in broth.
• Lavangi a casserole of chicken stuffed with
walnuts and herbs. A speciality of the Talysh
region in southern Azerbaijan, but very
difficult to find common in restaurants.
• Lyulya kabab A mixture of mutton, herbs and
spices squeezed around a skewer and
barbecued, often served with lavash (thin
sheets of unleavened bread).
5. • Qutab a sort of pancake turnover
stuffed with minced lamb, cheese or
spinach.
• Tika kabab chunks of lamb marinated in
a mixture of onion, vinegar and
pomegranate juice, impaled on a large
skewer and grilled on the barbecue. In
Russian, called шашлык, from Turkic
shishlyk (literally, "for skewer").
• Qovurma Pieces of mutton or lamb on
the bone (blade chops) stewed with
onions, tomatoes, and saffron. There is
also sabzi qovurma, a lamb stew with
herbs.
• Sogan dolmasi The term dolma covers a
variety of stuffed vegetable dishes,
widespread in the Middle East and the
Mediterranean. Onion dolma are a
tasty winter alternative to stuffed
aubergines, tomatoes and peppers.
6. Soups • Piti The national soup of Azerbaijan made from
pieces of mutton on the bone cooked with
vegetables in a broth; prepared and served in
individual crocks.
• Kufta bozbash a pea soup with lamb meatballs and
boiled potatoes. The meatballs in kufta bozbash are
large, hearty and made of minced lamb and rice,
sometimes with a zesty dried plum inside.
• Sulu khingal Lamb soup with noodles.
• Toyuq shorbasi Chicken soup
• Dovga a yoghurt based soup (matsoni) with sorrel,
spinach, rice, dried peas, and small meatballs made
from ground mutton; served hot or cold depending
on the season. Ovduk a cold soup based on a
matsoni–water mixture poured over sliced
cucumbers, chopped boiled meat, quarters of hard-
boiled egg, and greens (dill, coriander, basil,
sometimes also mint and tarragon).
• Dogramach same as ovdukh, but without the meat.
Bolva Made with sour milk.
7. Types of Plov
• Plov being prepared in a qazan
• Plov is one of the most widespread
dishes in Azerbaijan, with more than 40
different recipes.[2] Plovs have different
names depending on the main
ingredients accompanying rice
• Azerbaijani plov consists of three
distinct components, served
simultaneously but on separate platters:
rice (warm, never hot), gara, fried meat,
dried fruits, eggs, or fish prepared as an
accompaniment to rice, and aromatic
herbs. Rice is not mixed with the other
components even when eating plov.
8. Desserts
• Pakhlava
Typical Azeri desserts are sticky, syrup-saturated
pastries such as pakhlava and halva. The latter, a
layer of chopped nuts sandwiched between mats
of thread-like fried dough, is a speciality of Shaki
in North-West Azerbaijan. Other traditional
pastries include shakarbura (crescent-shaped and
filled with nuts), peshmak (tube-shaped candy
made out of rice, flour and sugar) and
girmapadam (pastry filled with chopped nuts).
Sweets are generally bought from a pastry shop
and eaten at home or on special occasions such
as weddings and wakes. The usual conclusion to
a restaurant meal is a plate of fresh fruit that is in
season, such as plums, cherries, apricots or
grapes.
9. • Drinks
Black tea is Azerbaijan's national drink
• Sherbets
An Azerbaijani sherbet is a sweet cold
drink made of fruit juice mixed or boiled
with sugar, often perfumed with rose
water. Sherbets (not to be confused with
sorbet ices) are of Iranian origin and they
may differ greatly in consistency, from
very thick and jam-like (as in Tajik cuisine)
to very light and liquid, as in
Azerbaijan.Sherbets are typically prepared
in the following natural flavors
