Azerbaijan cuisine is traditionally considered to be an exotic element of the national culture for foreigners. And it is indeed as it has everything to be exotic. It is original, poignant and reflects the richness of the country by itself. It constitutes the abundance of meat, fish and vegetables dishes seasoned by sweet scented greens and spices. Any experienced gourmand visiting the republic would be amazed by fine taste and delicate flavour of the Azerbaijan cuisine. Dishes are unique and original, and can not be confused with dishes of other national cuisines. The Azerbaijan cookery has preserved old cooking methods although has modified them taking into account up-to-date techniques. In cafes and restaurants some national dishes are served in special crockery in which the dish is prepared. Below are some traditional recipies that constitute the core of the national cuisine.

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SOUP

Dovga   Piti   Kufta Bozbash  Parcha Bozbash

Dushbara

Ingredients Mutton-108g Wheat flour-40g Egg-1 Onions-18g Coriander-25g Dried mint-1g Grape vinegar Pepper and Salt Garlic

Cooking Make broth. Mince meat and onions, add spices to make the filling. Roll tight unleavened dough of 1mm thick and cut into uniform squares. Put 2-3g of the filling in the mid- dle of each square. Fold the squares lengthwise or diago- nally. Bend back the ears. Boil in broth for 5 minutes so that the dumplings rise to the surface. Dumplings are made very small so that you can scoop four or five of them with a table spoon at a time. Grape vinegar with garlic is served separately and the dumplings are seasoned with coriander leaves or dried mint.

Meat and Fish Courses

Sturgeon Kebab  Kelem Dolmasi  Green Gutab  Pilaff with Meat

Yarpag Dolmasi

Ingredients Mutton-108g Rice-30g Onions-20g Coriander/ dill/mint-15g Grape leaves-40g Yogurt-20g Crushed garlic-5g Pepper & salt

Cooking Mince mutton and onions. Add rice, chopped herbs, salt and pepper. Boil fresh grape leaves 2 min. Mix the fil- ling thoroughly and warp in leaves, 25g of filling to each dolma. Layer dolmas in deep saucepan, add water till it covers the upper layer and stew for an hour. Yogurt with crushed garlic is served separately.

DESSERT

Baklava  Halva  Gogal  Mutekke

Sheker Bura

Ingredients Flour-240g  Butter-60g Whole milk-80g  Egg-1 Yeast-8g Walnuts-200g Sugar-200g Cardamon-0.4g Salt to taste

Cooking Add yeast, salt, egg, butter and sieved flour to warm milk and make dough. Cover the dough and leave it  for an hour and a half. Divide the dough into small balls of 30g each and roll into small round pieces of 2 cm thick Put the filling in the middle of each round piece, fold up and plait the edges. Decorate with an ornament and bake for 25-30 minutes at the temperature of 160-180 degrees C. To make the filling:grate walnuts and add sugar and corda mon in ratio 1 to 1.

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