Introduction
Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus, located west of the Caspian Sea. The cultural heritage and history of this secular republic is reflected in the people and food on every street. Despite the highly modernized cities, the villages in the countryside still cook and live their lives the old-fashioned way. How about taking a look at the rich cuisine of this culture that is a blend of old and new?
1. The culture of Azerbaijan cuisine
The cuisine of Azerbaijan, which has hosted many civilizations throughout history and bears traces of them, is also very rich. The main ingredients used in the kitchen are meat (sheep and cattle), fish, vegetables, legumes and cereals. Flavors such as saffron and coriander give characteristic features to the dishes. Tea is a symbol of hospitality in Azerbaijan, where tea culture is very developed. Dolma, an important element of Turkish cuisine, is made with many different vegetables. Qutab, a typical Azerbaijani dish ranked 6th in TasteAtlas' list of 'the best breads in the world', is made of thin dough filled with greens, cheese or minced meat and baked in a half-moon shape.
2. Special dishes for holidays, symbolic desserts
In Azerbaijan, national holidays are celebrated with care, the tables are overflowing on these special days when the whole family comes together. There are various desserts especially for Nowruz, the coming of summer, which is celebrated by the whole people with one heart. Sekerbura and Paklava are two desserts that have become the symbols of this holiday. These aesthetically pleasing desserts require a great deal of labor to make. The dough for shekerbura consists of milk, yeast, flour, eggs and cream. For the filling, hazelnuts, sugar and vanillin are crushed with machines and shaped into dough. Paklava is made by laying the same dough in layers and adding a mixture of walnuts and sugar in between. But the important point here is to cut the dough in the shape of a rhombus.
3. A delicious way to start the day - breakfast table
Breakfast tables shared with family and friends have turned breakfast into a socializing tool rather than a meal. The indispensable elements of Azerbaijani breakfast are bread and cheese varieties. Tea is an indispensable part of breakfast, which is based on spreading different flavors on bread and eating it. Cream, honey, jam and marmalade can be spread on bread to create a colorful breakfast plate.
4. A dish served with special ceremonies - Shah Plov
Shah Pilaf is the royal dish of Azerbaijani cuisine. This sumptuous dish is served at weddings and celebrations. At weddings, it is brought to the center with a special ceremony. Rice pilaf flavored with turmeric and saffron is enriched with meat, dried fruits and nuts. The dish is placed between thinly cut layers of lavash and the crust becomes crispy as it is cooked, presenting a spectacular view. This important dish is brought to the hall in an interesting way. A woman dressed in a national dance costume brings the pilaf on a tray with a burning flame, the symbol of Azerbaijan, accompanied by songs and places it on the bride and groom's table. This interesting ceremony attracts the attention of all guests. Here, we share the video of this ceremony with you.
5. Traditional delicacies - a thousand and one types of dolma and kabab
The two most common dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine in the world are dolma and kepap. Stuffed with a mixture of minced meat, rice and spices and cooked for a long time, stuffed leaves are a link between almost all Turkish cuisines. In Azerbaijan, however, there are specific versions of this dish made with peppers, tomatoes and eggplants. Kebabs, which are usually made by skewering or grilling meat, are famous in this country for being marinated and served with various spices. Chicken, fish, lamb, potato, tomato and other types of kebabs are usually made by families in the gardens of their homes in hot weather and make for pleasant evenings.
6. Regional cuisine - treasure cuisine of Ganja, Lankaran and Sheki
Azerbaijan's cuisine offers different and unique flavors by blending with the unique flavors and culture of each region. The city of Lankaran, located on the Caspian Sea in the southern region, is famous for its fish dishes. The most famous dish is levengi, which consists of fish with walnuts, onions and raisins. Sheki, the cultural cradle of the country, is famous for its Piti, a dish of lamb, chestnuts and chickpeas prepared in a casserole dish. Ganja, the second largest city and youth center, is known for its stew made with tomato, pepper and eggplant.
7. Summer soup Dovgha recipe
Dovgha, a cool soup, is a unique dish of Azerbaijan. It is prepared by mixing yogurt and water and putting it in a pot. Eggs and rice are added and stirred over low heat until it boils. After boiling, various greens such as spinach, dill and mint are finely chopped and cooked in the soup. In the capital Baku, chickpeas and pieces of meat are also added to this soup and it is a flavor bomb. In addition to summer, it is also served hot in the cold winter months as a cure against illnesses.
8. Food festivals, flavor passage.
Azerbaijan has a lot of natural beauty and hundreds of types of fruits and vegetables can be grown on its lands. There are many people engaged in farming in this fertile land. In this case, different regions are famous for different fruits. For example, “Goychay” rayon is famous for its pomegranate and every year in October and November a magnificent pomegranate festival is held in the city. Thousands of products in various figures made of pomegranate are displayed in the center and the games are entertained with music. In the old fairy tales of Azerbaijan, the pomegranate was seen as a symbol of eternal love.
9. Popular culture and social media influence
Azerbaijani people, who are interested in all aspects of art, are now showing their local cuisine to the whole world in artistic ways. On social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube, they are presenting their dishes with skillfully edited and impressive videos. The YouTube channel “Kənd Həyatı” (village life) belongs to an elderly couple who live in a village and reflect the interesting aspects of this life in their videos. Their videos, which use only natural sounds, have reached the whole world and have broken viewership records. Osman Ço also shares on his Instagram channel the preparation of many national dishes in an impressive and detailed way. These posts have attracted a lot of attention from local and foreign audince.
10. Similar features with neighboring cuisines
Due to its favorable geographical location and cultural ties, Azerbaijan bears the traces of multiple civilizations in its food. Pilaf, dolma and kebabs, which are tastes of Turkey, can be mentioned as common tastes. Azerbaijan also shares dill eggs with dill, kuku and ravioli, a type of breakfast, with its southern neighbor Iran. With Georgian and Armenian cuisine, hinkal and tandoori bread can be considered as common values.
Conclusion
Perhaps a book could be written to fully describe this rich cuisine, which has different flavors in every region. But Azerbaijan, the heart of the Caucasus, which we have tried to explain to you in general terms, is a deep cuisine that combines a blend of modern and traditional flavors and carries traces of every nationality and culture it has hosted for centuries. If you are ever in Azerbaijan, don't leave without eating these dishes.
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