Azerbaijani Cuisine

Azerbaijani cuisine is one of the most interesting in the world. It is somewhat like the traditions of the Caucasian and Central Asian nations, but has own typical features. Using meat, fish and vegetable dishes, flavored by the aroma of greens and spices is special.

Pilaffs in Azerbaijani cuisine

Azerbaijani cuisine boasts a vide variety of pillafs. The basic ingredients are rice and butter, but meat sometimes is replaced with vegetables, greens, eggs and even fruit.“Parcha-Doshamya” Pilaff

Big chunks of mutton are fried. Browned onion, fruits, chestnuts, caraway seeds are added and stewed until ready. Rice, fruits, chestnuts are added separately. Seasoned with oil and cinnamon.Shyuiud Pilaff

Pilaff is cooked in traditional way, mixed with chopped dill. Omelet is made of eggs and milk and cut into diamond-shaped pieces. Omelet pieces are put on pilau with dill. Seasoned with oil.Toyug Pilaff

Chicken pilau with fruits, caraway seeds, and other spices.Chykhyrtma Pilaff

Chicken pilaff with lemons, saffron and whipped eggs.Shashandaz Pilaff

Pilaff with fried eggs, and cinnamon.Gyimya - Pilaff

Minced mutton is fried in oil. Cornel and seedless grapes, boiled and cleaned chestnuts are added. The resulting mixture ( gyimya) is cooked until ready . Rice is served separately to garnish gyimya. Seasoned with oil and cinnamon.Khamdoshama PIlau

Pilau with dried fruits.Lobia-Chilov Pilau

Pilau from beans and seedless grapesFisinjan-Pilau

Pilau with, walnuts, pomegranate, cinnamon.Shirin-pilau

Fruits are stewed with sugar. Rice is used for making pilau. Fruits are mixed with pilau and steamed until ready. When served first rice is put on a plate mound-like, fruits are put on its top.Azerbaijani dolma, bozbash, bozartma, chykhyrtma, khashil, shashlyk, piti, pilau, govurma are included in national menus of neighboring Caucasian nations.

Dolma - the traditional recipe calls for minced lamb mixed with rice and flavoured with mint, fennel and cinnamon, and wrapped in vine leaves (yarpaq dolmasi) or cabbage leaves

{kalam dolmasi), or 3 sisters eggplant, green bell peppers may be stuffed to form another type of "dolma". Bell pepper dolma

is often served with other types of stuffed vegetables, including eggplant and tomatoes. The peppers are stuffed

with the same ingredients as the eggplant: rice and herbs such as coriander, mint and dill. Often onions and minced meat -

lamb, veal or beef - are added to the mixture. The dish is allowed to simmer for several hours in its own juices.

Dovga is a soup made from plain yoghurt and herbs, which can be served warm in winter or refreshingly cold in summer.

A variety of herbs are used in dovga, according to taste. Coriander, dill and mint are mainstays of the soup. Chervil and mountain parsley, when available, make a delicious dovga. Spring onions or sorrel can also be used but tend to dominate the other, more delicate, flavours.

2 eggs, 25 gr spring onions, 15 gr coriander, 10 gr dill, 30 gr spinach, 30 gr melted butter, pepper, salt.Shred dill, spinach, spring onions finely, add pepper, salt, eggs and beat up thoroughly. Sometimes finely crumbled white bread or a tea-spoon of flour is abed. Heat up butted in the frying pan and pour on the beaten up mass evenly. When eggs are ready cut the kuku into two-four pieces, overturn and brown. Pour on melted butter when serving. Serve sour milk separately.