AZERBAIJAN COOKERY
Azerbaijan is famous for its long-livers. Indeed, there are lots of people here who are above hundred years old. Scientists explain this phenomenon by many factors such as favorable climate, mode of life, healthy food and regular nourishment which positively effect on workability and life activity of man.
Any experienced gourmand visiting our Republic would be amazed by fine taste and delicate flavor of the Azerbaijani cuisine. Dishes of the Azerbaijani cookery are unique and original.
In cafes and restaurants, some national dishes are served in special crockery in which the dish is prepared
Most national dishes are mutton, beef, poultry and minced meat.
The Republic is rich in various fish sources, especially sevruga (starred sturgeon) and sturgeon.The sturgeon and scale types of fish are mainly used in Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijan cuisine is famous for its vegetables, primarily vegetable greens, eggplants, tomatoes, paprika (byber), cabbage, spinach, sorrel, red beet, garden radish, onion, cucumbers, green haricot and others. Variety of national dishes include many items, such as rice, flour, vegetables andvegetable green.
TheAzerbaijan cuisine is included to use such spices as saffron, caraway seeds, fennel, anise, capsicum, laurel, coriander and spicetaste leaf vegetables as mint, dill, parsley, celery, tarragon, basil, savory, thyme, etc. Absheron peninsula is the only place where saffron is cultivated.
The national cuisine has 50 different dishes and 10 different flour confectionery with the saffron addition..
Such seasoning as lemon, olives, milk, cream, food acids, abgora, azgilsharab, narsharab, cherry plums, elbukhara, gora, kizil-akhta, kuraga (dried apricots), lavashana, sumac and others are widely used to improve the food taste and smell.
A special place in the Azerbaijan cuisine belongs to salads prepared from fresh vegetables. When making salads of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicum, coriander and basil these ingredients are finely cut. Salads are served together with main course.
Salads "Khazar", "Azerbaijan", "Bahar", red caviar salad, salad a la Shaki, kuku of greens, kuku of kutum (kind of fish), kuku with nuts, fisinjan of beans, red beet etc. are the most spread salads and cold dishes in the Azerbaijan cookery. Pickled garlic, capsicum, eggplants, khyafta-bedjar, onion, pickled onion with sloe, pickled grapes, tomatoes are served separately accompanying different soups and meat courses.
The Azerbaijan national cuisine includes more than 30 kinds of soups. These are variousmeat courses as pity, kufta-bozbash, shorba, or dishes prepared from sour milk and greens such as dovga, ovdukh, dogramach, bolva, etc.
When cooking some of dishes each is prepared separately (pity) or in smallquantities (dushbara, sulu khingal).
The Azerbaijan first courses differ from usual soups by their concentrated and denseconsistency because they usually contain a small amount of broth.
The specific feature of the Azerbaijan cookery is that some of nationaldishes can be used as the first and main course (pity, kufta-bozbash). In this case the broth is served separately and then the rest (meat, peas, potatoes) as the main course but they are cooked together.
Another distinction of national soups is the application of sheep fat which is put into the dish in fine-cut pieces.
The first courses are very seldom seasoned with tomato paste or puree. For this purpose fresh tomatoes are usedin summer time and in winter - dried chilly plum (to add sourish taste) and spices with colorants (saffron, sary-kek).
Thereare a lot of different first flour courses as sulu-khingal, khamrashi, umach, gurza, dushbara, etc.
Fresh and sour milk are widely used to make dovga, firm, sudlu syiig, kelekosh, ovdukh, etc.
Main courses are mostly prepared of mutton and also ofpoultry, game birds, vegetables and rice.
The most popular main course in Azerbaijan is pilaff. There are about 40 recipesfor preparing this dish. Depending on the type of additions pilaffs are named as kaurma-pilaff (with stew mutton), sabza kaurma (with stew mutton and greens), toyug-pilaff (with chicken), shirin-pilaff (with sweet dried fruits), sudlu pilaff (rice cooked in milk), etc.
Among main courses SHASHLIKS should be distinguished by following types: SHASHLIK-basturma, fillet SHASHLIK, liver and kidney SHASHLIK, SHASHLIK a la Kars which are prepared from natural meat; lulya-kebab, tava-kebab, sham-kebab and others are prepared from mince meat.
Of popularity are the second flour courses such as khashil, khingalwith meat,suzma khingal, yarpag khingal, kutaby (with meat, pumpkin, greens), chudu, etc.
Many second courses are prepared of fish. Sturgeon shashlik, kutum ala Azerbaijan, kuku of kutum, balyg chygyrtma, stuffed fish, boiled, fried and stew fish, fish-pilaff, starred sturgeon pilaff, balyg mutyanjan are the most popular fish dishes.
There are more than 100 names of main courses prepared of meat, fish, vegetables and flour.
Such dishes of the Azerbaijan cookery as pity,lulya-kebab, stuffed fish a la Azerbaijan, etc., are merited all over the world.
Dish serving is very original: as a tradition tea is served first then main courses come. At the Azerbaijan banquets, celebrations and wedding parties the first courses (soups) are usually not served. The table is usually decorated with various greens, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers (in winter - pickles). As a rule, two or three courses are served. In many areas after dinner (especially after pilaff) they serve dovga. Dovga prepared of sour milk and greens, promotes better assimilation of previous courses (rice, meat, etc.).
Sweet dishes as the third courses in the Azerbaijan cookery are very limitedand their assortment is small. Sweet dishes include firni, sudzhug, tarakh and kuimag. Any meal is completed with a sweet course.
The Azerbaijan national confectionery is divided into three groups: flour, caramel and sweet type articles.
The flour articles are: shaker-bura, pakhlava, shakar-churek,cur-abje a la Baku,Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic a la Azerbaijan, roll a la Ordubad, kyata a la Karabakh, tykhma a la Guba, kulcha a la Lankaran, mutaky a la Shamakha, pakhlava a la Nakhchivan, etc. The are more than 30 varieties of the national confectionery whereupon each area has itsown special articles.
Shaker-bura, pakhlava a la Baku, shaker churek and other things ' have been prepared in Baku since olden days. A very special place belongs to Shaki sweets. These are pakhlava a la Shaki, peshmek, tel (terkhalva), gyrmabadam, etc. To make them rice flour, sugar, nut kernel, butter, egg-white and spices are used.
Caramel type sweets include shaker-pendir, parvarda, kozinaks of nuts, nogul of coriander, goz-khalva (more than 15 names).
Sweet type articles include rahat-lucoum (with different additives: nogul bitmish, jellied fig, solid sherbet, feshmek, etc.
The most popular soft drinks in Azerbaijan are sherbets. They are made of sugar, lemon, saffron, seeds ofmint and basil and other fruit. At present, more than 10 names of sherbets are served in cafes and restaurants of Azerbaijan.
Fromtime of immemorial, there is" a tradition in Azerbaijan: when guests come tea is served first. Tea in Azerbaijan is a symbol of warm hospitality.Tea is accompanied with various jams and quince, fig, water melon peels, apricot, white cherry, cherry, peach, plum. Carnelianberry, walnut, strawberry, blackberry, grapes, mulberry. Sometimes when making tea dried leaves or flowers of savory, clove, cardamom and other spices are added to give a special flavor.
Special tea is also made of cinnamon (darchin) and ginger.Recently, coffee a la Orient has become popular too.Sometimes rose water is added to tea. A special sherbet "Ovshale" (Shaki-Zagatala area) is made of rose water.
Azerbaijanis rich in mineral water sources. Of medicinal significance are mineral waters as "Turshsu", "Isti-su", "Sirab", "Garydag", and others. The table water "Badamly" is widely recognized outside the Republic. There are about 140 mineral water springs on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
The Azerbaijan cookery has been formed and developed from generation to generation. Dishes of high nutritious qualities, sharp tastes and nice appearances have become typical for the national cuisine.

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