Traditional Uzbek cuisine is vastly influenced by traders and conquerors. Traditional Uzbek cuisine is known for its delicate flavours, delicious taste, and rich ingredients. Many dishes are heavy on meat, for instance: fatty sheep. Recipes vary from region to region, which is one factor that makes Uzbek cuisine so diverse and unique. Uzbek people are proud of their cuisine and scrumptious dishes. Certain dishes and sweets are eaten on certain festivities and special occasions, while many others are consumed on a regular basis! Just like other Muslim nations, pork is prohibited. In Uzbekistan, an oshpaz is a chef.
Common ingredients:
Staple ingredients include: flour, rice vegetables, egg, cheese, and oil.
Mutton is the most common meat.
Common spices:
(Black) cumin, (black) pepper, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, barberries, coriander, cinnamon, sesame seeds, and bay leaves.
Common herbs:
Dill, parsley, celery, cilantro, green onions, green garlic, mint, raikhon (basil), radish, and zhambyl (thyme). Many herbs are used to enhance flavouring.
Common fruits and vegetables:
Uzbek cuisine commonly uses juicy fruits and vegetables which symbolize prosperity and happiness.
Fruits and vegetables in Uzbek cuisine are mainly used for salads, snacks, and side dishes.
These common fruits and vegetables include: sunny melons, grapes, honey melons, watermelons, apricots, pears, apples, quinces, peaches, ebony, pomegranate, figs, berries, plum alcha, raisins, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, radishes, eggplants, cabbage, pumpkin, potatoes, zucchini, onion, and squash.
Popular dishes:
Samsa
Also spelled as samosa is a type of dumpling in Uzbekistan. They are filled with lamb or beef and vegetables, then baked in an oven for a flaky bread texture.
Naryn
Similar to pasta, naryn is made from hand-rolled noodles, horse meat, shredded beef or lamb, and onions. Warm broth is served in a separate bowl to accompany the noodles. Naryn can be served hot or cold.
Shashlik
Like a kebab, it is skewered meat cooked on a grill. Shashlik can be made with lamb, beef, and chicken. Occasionally, they are made of vegetables, like potatoes, mushrooms, and peppers.
Manti
Manit are steamed dumplings consisting of ground beef or lamb and accompanied with yogurt as dipping. Sometimes they are filled with vegetables like potatoes, turnips, or pumpkin.
Plov
Eaten at almost every special occasion and sometimes daily.
The plov consists of one part meat, rice, carrots, and high-calorie oil. Certain regions add additional ingredients like eggs, garlic, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and a variety of spices.
Soups
Uzbeks soups are thick and rich with vegetables including carrots, beet, onion, greens, and many of their spices.
The most popular soup is shurpa, a mutton soup with potato, onion, and tomato. There are many variations of the shurpa with different ingredients.
Mastava is quite popular as well. It consists of vegetables like peppers and greens and some sour milk.
Another soup is mashkhurda, a soup with rice, potato, sour milk, greens, onion, chalop, cucumbers, and radish.
Lagman is a noodle stew that consists of lamb, onions, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and garlic. It is seasoned with cumin, parsley, and basil. The noodles are stretched well therefore becoming chewy when eaten.
Shurpa is a traditional soup made of meat, carrots, potatoes, and onion. The meats, carrots, and potatoes are slowly cooked over a fire in large chunks.
Vegetarian food
While Uzbek cuisine mainly consists of meats, there are some alternative dishes.
These dishes include: pumpkin-filled steamed dumplings and eggplant satay fried in egg.
Bread
Bread is quite important to Uzbek people. They include: non or lepeshkas
Lepeshkas are round and flat bread. They can be plain or festal.
Uzbek bread is not cut with a knife as it's broken by hands and placed right side up. Placing bread upside down is considered disrespectful, and Uzbek people believe bread should be respected.
Uzbek sweets:
Sweets are an essential part of Uzbek food and many Uzbek people enjoy indulging in these delicious and flavourful sweets. These amazing sweets also symbolize the national holidays, like the eve of Nawruz (Uzbek New Year) and many other holidays and festivities.
Khalva is a type of walnut cake and is prepared from wheat flour, sugar and nuts.
Navat is the boiled crystal grape sugar with spices and a variety of colours.
Kush-tili and type of fancy cake and oriental sweet. It’s prepared similarly to a regular pastry with the exception of being fried in oil.
Katlama is a fried, layered, and flaky bread served as a dessert occasionally.
Chak-chak is a ‘tatar sweet’ made with nuts, sugar, honey, eggs, oil, flour, and salt.
Pashmak is a type of Uzbek candy floss/cotton candy made from sugar that is served with fruits, cakes, and even ice cream! Pashmak can be naturally coloured and flavoured.
Sources:
"The Taste of Uzbek Cuisine." Ulysse Tour, n.d., ulyssetour.com/EN/guide/2/uzbek_cuisine_description_of_dishes. Accessed 13 December, 2020.
"Uzbek National Kitchen." Asia Adventures, n.d., centralasia-adventures.com/en/sights/uzbekskaya_nacionalnaya_kuhnya.html. Accessed 13 December, 2020.
" Uzbek spices: the secret of tasty and fragrant dishes." Advantour, n.d., www.advantour.com/uzbekistan/uzbek-food/uzbek-spices.htm#:~:text=Generally%2C%20such%20Uzbek%20spices%20as,%2C%20and%20zhambyl%20(thyme). Accessed 13 December, 2020.
Weidman, Taylor. "Is Uzbek cuisine actually to die for?" BBC Travel, 18 Nov. 2019, www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20191117-is-uzbek-cuisine-actually-to-die-for. Accessed 13 December 2020.
Wheatley, Nick. "Food in Uzbekistan: 21 Traditional Uzbek Dishes You Must Try." Wandering Wheatleys, 17 July 2019, wanderingwheatleys.com/uzbekistan-food-local-traditional-uzbek-dishes-to-eat/. Accessed 13 December, 2020.
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