Information about cuisine of Uzbekistan

Uzbek cuisine

Uzbek foods include more than 1000 dishes. There are more than 90 kinds of national dish “ P l o v” (russian), in each region they prepare it differently. It can be with pea, raisin, and quince.
The best pilau is the pilav prepared by men. Pilau is prepared from the mutton, the shredded yellow carrot and the rice - all this puts out in the large kettle.
They eat plov (russian) both into the working days and on the holidays. Because of the spices the pilau has always different taste. 

Pilau in Uzbekistan

Almost in every part of the world, in little towns and big cities one can try the special Uzbek dish Plov. There are so many ways to cook pilau; some say there are 200, others-1200.
But the main ingredients such as meat, rice, onion, carrot and oil remain unchanged. Then the fantasy sets in: pilau with quince, with Turkish pea, barberry, eggs and pomegranate.
Classical pilau can be light in color (sometimes called Samarkand pilau) and dark (Ferghana). The second one is heavier, but the taste! By the way, the real men's pilau only can be dark.

One of the recipes of the pilau:
90 ml of sunflower oil to pour into the large kettle, to incandesce; 250 g of mutton or beef (depends on you), to cut by the pieces of average value, to fry; 250 g of onion to clean, to wash to cut by rings, to assume into the large kettle and fry; 250 g of carrot to cut into sticks, to lower into the large kettle, fry 5 minutes; 1,5 l of water to pour into the large kettle;
Salt on the taste; to put out on the average fire 30 minutes.
100 g of pea to put into the large kettle; 250 g of rice to wash well, to give to flow to water, to assume into the large kettle;
1 little spoon of zira (national spice) to add into the large kettle.To cover with cover and to put out on the average fire, until water completely is evaporated. To remove from the fire, to give to stand 15 - 20 min. and serve to the table.

Flat (bread Obi-Non) in Uzbekistan

The splendid variety of pastries known as flat (round breads) play a prominent part in Uzbek cuisine. Flat are mentioned in one of the world's oldest written works, "Eros about Gylgamesh", the legendary ruler of the Sumerians, who lived almost 5000 years ago.
Flat are baked in special clay ovens called tandir. While unearthing the Afrosiab archaeological site in Samarkand, finds included tandirs used by worshippers. Tandirs are hand - built. They take the form of a cylinder with a narrow spout and two-centimeter thick walls made from mountain soil and camel or sheep hair. A finished tandir has to dry under the sun for 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 off the floor, just opposite the baker's workplace.
One more detail - the inner wall of a finished tandir is then oiled to smooth the walls and prevent the clay from sticking to the bread. Before each baking cycle, dried brushwood, finely chopped firewood from deciduous plants, is burned in the tandir.
Firewood is gradually added until the walls of the tandir become red-hot, The coals and ashes are scraped towards the center and the walls are splashed with salt water to facilitate the separation of the bread from the clay wall.
To put flat into the fiery tandir, bakers use a rapida, a round flat-shaped cotton pillow. The raw shaped dough is placed on the rapida and carefully but swiftly stuck to the walls so as not to distort the perfect circular shape.
Water is splashed against the wall until steam appears; Flat are baked with steam, radiated heat from the coals and the convected heat inside the hot-red walls of the tandir. The appearance of a crunchy crust means that the flat are baked through and through.
Each loaf is removed with the special scoop. Flats baked in the tandir have a full aroma, delicious taste, and a high caloric content, and are said to hold healing powers. "One having eaten in the morning a slice of flat with raisins, fried peas or Circassian walnut will not be thinking about food for a long time", goes a quote from Ibn-Sina (Avicenna).
To express their great respect for bread as a symbol of family happiness, Uzbek door to door bread vendors since ancient times have carried bread baskets on their heads.
In different areas of Uzbekistan, flat are baked in different ways, In Samarkand, small thick flat, called shirma y nan, are the most popular variety. According to ancient legends, one Emir from Bukhara had through hear say come to know of the fabulous taste of Samarkand flat. He ordered his people to bring to the palace the best flat-baker. A Samarkand master bought flour, firewood and even water from one of the nearby villages and prepared the desired loaves.
The flat 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 in 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, as scientific research has shown that the harder the dough is kneaded, to enrich it with oxygen, the lighter the bread ultimately becomes.
Bukhara flat, sprinkled with sesame or Nigella, exude 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 (flat) from Andijan and Kashkadariya, According to ancient traditions this aromatic bread prepared with cream and butter was served during matchmaker meetings.
Tashkent lochira, plate-formed lepyoshka, is baked from short pastry (milk, butter and sugar). Jirish nan is specially prepared bread made from flour mixed with bran; It is to this day used as a remedy for diabetes mellitus.
Nomadic tribes didn't make tandirs because of their lifestyle. They cooked bread on butter in kazans (cauldrons), preparing the dough on a milk base. Particularly in the mountainous areas of Jizzak, kazan-patir is routinely enjoyed.

Manty in Uzbekistan

After Plov, Manty is the most popular and favorite Uzbek dish. That is why in many regions Manty is served at the end of the meal. In Fergana valley, Samarkand, Tashkent and Bukhara, Manty is one of the major components of ration of local population. In other places, it is prepared less often.
Manty is prepared from dough on water basis, which is unrolled in layers by thickness of 4- 5 mm and cut in squares of 12o12 sm.
Meat, vegetables or greens can be a stuffing. Manty is cooked on steam during 35-45 minutes in special pot (ka z an). Manty is served with sour milk or with sour cream.

Somsa in Uzbekistan

Somsa is prepared in all areas of Uzbekistan with various forcemeats: meat, pumpkin, greens, etc. Somsa is baked in tandoor (oven), and also in gas ovens and electric plates.
For somsa, average stiff dough is got mixed, left for 20-30 minutes, then unrolled in plaits and cut on pieces of 10- 15 grams . It should not be thicker than 2-2,5 mm.
Edges are more thin than the middle. Forcemeat is put in the center, formed in dough and being baked in high temperature. For the dough the following ingredients are required: flour - 25 g, water - 105 g , salt - 6 g; for forcemeat - mutton or beef fillet - 150 g , fat - 35 g, onion- 250 g, caraway - 1 g, salt and pepper.

Manti (Central Asian dumplings) are
stuffed with meat and freshly
steamed


Somsa in Uzbekistan


Baker


Preparation of flat cakes for tandyr


Flat cakes in tandyr