Cuisine of Uzbekistan
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Uzbek cuisine is influenced by the general agriculture as in most nations. There is a good deal of grain agriculture in the nation so breads and noodles are of importance. In discussing the cuisine of Afghanistan, The Village Voice mentions the "noodle-rich cuisine of Uzbekistan."[1] In meats mutton is popular and is a part of various dishes served in the country.
Important or national dishes include soups like sho'rva and norin; main dishes like palov, manti, chuchvara, dimlama, various kebabs and somsa; and finally laghman (also spelled lagman),[2] which can be a soup or main dish.
The most popular beverage in the nation might be green tea, and teahouses (chaikhanas) are of cultual importance. Ayran, a chilled yogurt drink is popular in summer. Alcohol might be less popular than in the West, but wine is comparatively popular for a Muslim nation as Uzbekistan is largely secular. The wines of the nation include Gulyakandoz, Shirin, Liquor Kaberne, and Aleatiko. Samarkand is perhaps the city best known for having a winery.[3]
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[edit] Bukharan Jewish cuisine
Bukharan Jews form a distinct cuisine within Uzbekistan, according to dietary laws.
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[edit] Hot dishes
- Kov roghan - chicken and deep fried potatoes
- Sirkoneez - garlic rice dish, one of many variations of Pilov (Palov).
- Bakhsh, alternately buchsh - green palov, in Qazan and Bag varieties- long-grain rice, with carrots, apples and top rib or braising steak. Tomatoes, tomato purée and prunes give the dish its colour.
- Osh Savo aka Osovoh or Oshi Sabo - Shabbot meal with meat, rice and squash; similar to Ashkenazi cholent. Palov or Osh, is the flagship of their cookery. It consists mainly of fried and boiled meat, onions, carrots and rice; with raisins, barberries, chickpeas, or fruit added for variation. Uzbek men pride themselves on their ability to prepare unique and sumptuous palov. The oshpaz, or master chief, often cooks palov over an open flame, sometimes serving up to 1000 people from a single cauldron on holidays or occasions such as weddings. It certainly takes years of practice with no room for failure to prepare a dish, at times, containing up to 100 kilograms of rice.
- Dholeh - a risotto type dish
[edit] Soups
- Lagman - noodles and lamb
[edit] Salads
- Shakarap - thinly sliced tomatoes and onions with salt and pepper
- Olivi'e - potato salad
[edit] Appetizers
- Oshi Toki - stuffed grape leaves
[edit] Breads
- Obi non - Among the splendid variety of pastry obi nons (round bread) play a prominent part in Uzbek cuisine. Obi nons are mentioned in one of the oldest written works, the "Eros about Gylgamesh", the legendary ruler of the Sumers, who lived almost 5000 years ago. Obi nons are baked in special clay ovens called tandir. While unearthing the Afrosiab archaeological site in Samarkand, finds included tandirs used by file - worshippers. Tandirs are hand - made goods.
They look like a cylinder with a narrow spout and two-centimeter thick walls made from mountainous loess and camel's or sheep's hair. A finished tandir has to dry under the sunshine during a week. Sometimes big clay pitchers for wine, oil or grain are also used as tandirs. Tandirs are made in the yard under the awning and near the wall; the base of a tandir needs to touch the wall. A tandir's opening is 1,5 m from the floor, just opposite of the baker's workplace.
One more detail - the iner wall of a finished tandir is oiled to smoothen the walls and prevent clay adhesion to the bread.
Before each baking cycle, dried brushwood, fine chopped firewood from nonconifers or cotton stems are burned in the tandir. Firewood is gradually added until the walls of the tandir become red-hot, The carbon and ashes are scraped towards the centre and the walls are splashed with salt water to facilitate the separation of the bread from the clay wall, To put obi nons into the fiery tandir, bakers use a rapida, a round obi non-sized cotton pillow. The raw shaped dough is put on the rapida and careful but swiftly pasted against the walls so as not to distort the perfect circle shape. Water is splashed against the wall until steam appears; Obi nons are baked by means of steam, infrared radiation from wood carbons and the heat inside the hot-red walls of tandir. The appearance of a crunchy crust means that obi nons are baked through and through. Each loaf is removed with the special scoop.
Obi nons baked in the tandir have a full aroma, delicious taste, a high calorie content, and are said to hold healing powers. "One having eaten in the morning a slice of obi non with raisins, fried peas or Circassian walnut will not be thinking about food for a long time", a quote from Ibn Sina (Avicenna). To express their great respect to bread as a symbol of family happiness Uzbek door to door bread vendors from ancient times have been carrying breadbasket on the head.
- Samarkand nons- In different areas of Uzbekistan obi nons are baked in different ways, In Samarkand small thick obi nons, the shirma non are the most popular. According to ancient legends one Emir from Bukhara had through hear say come to know of the fabulous taste of Samarkand obi nons. He ordered to bring to the palace the best obi non-baker. A Samarkand master bought flour, firewood and even water from one of the nearby villages and prepared the desired loafs. The obi nons found everyone's approval but when a connoisseur of Eastern cuisine tasted them he announced "they are different" and the bread master knew, his final hour had come. The Emir, much intrigued, asked him what he had to say to his defense. The old baker smiled and answered: "There is no Samarkand air around here." The Emir appreciated the clever answer and set the master free. There may be a kernel of truth in what the old bread master said because scientific research has shown that the harder the dough is kneaded, to enrich it with oxygen, the lighter the bread ultimately becomes.
- Bukhara obi nons - sprinkled with sesame or Nigella, exhale a delicate aroma. This bread amazes you with its unique taste and healing power. Sesame causes the satiety and Nigella on the contrary whets the appetite.
- Wedding patir (flaky obi non) - from Andijon and Qashqadaryo, According to ancient traditions this aromatic bread prepared with cream and butter was served during matchmaker meetings.
- Tashkent lochira - plate-formed obi non, is baked from short pastry (milk, butter and sugar). Jirish non is specially prepared bread from flour mixed with bran; It is to this day used as medicine against diabetes mellitus, Nomad tribes didn't make tandirs because at their way of living. They cooked bread on butter in kazans (cauldrons), preparing the dough on a milk base. Especially in the mountainous area of Jizzak kazan-patir is eaten with pleasure.
[edit] Drinks
- Tea - Tea is revered in the finest oriental traditions. It is offered first to any guest and there exists a whole subset of mores surrounding the preparation, offering and consuming of tea. Green tea is the drink of hospitality and predominant. Black tea is preferred in Tashkent, though both teas are seldom taken with milk or sugar. An entire portion of their cuisine is dedicated solely to tea drinking. Some of these include samsa, bread, halva, and various fried foods.
[edit] External links
- National Cuisine of Uzbekistan
- Cuisine of Uzbekistan
- Uzbek Cuisine
- Uzbekistan Food and Dining
- Bukharan Jews now in Queens recreate their Sukkot memories
- Secrets of the Silk Road
- Memories of Bukhara
- Oshi Sabo Recipe
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