Azerbaijan COOKERY
The Azerbaijan cuisine belongs to one of the most interesting cuisines in the world. It is widely known among other oriental cuisines and some of its dishes were included in the menu of international cuisines. The Azerbaijan cuisine has got its own originality and national colour specified by cooking techniques, flavour and traditions of the Azerbaijan feasts.
The Azerbaijan cookery has preserved old cooking methods although has modified them taking into account up-to-date techniques.
The Azerbaijan national dishes have been cooked in the copper utensils from time immemorial. And even now in many areas of Azerbaijan the meal is cooked in copper pans. They say that dishes prepared in these pans are more delicious. In cafes and restaurants some national dishes are served in special crockery in which the dish is prepared.
The majority of 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, firstly vegetable greens, eggplants, paprika (biber), spinach, sorrel, green haricot, etc. The variety on national dishes includes many items such as rice, flour, vegetables and vegetable green.
The feature of the Azerbaijan cuisine is using 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. The national cuisine has 50 different dishes and 10 different flour confectionary with the saffron addition.
Such seasoning as lemon, olives, food acids, abgora, azgilsharab, narsharab, cherry plums, elbukhara, gora, kizil-akhta, kuraga (dried apricots), lavashana, sumac and others are widely used to enhance 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.
Pickled garlic, capsicum, eggplants, khyafta-bejar, 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 various meat courses as piti, kufta-bozbash, shorba or dishes prepared from sour milk and greens as dovga, ovdukh, dogramach, bolva etc.
When cooking some of dishes, each of them is prepared separately (piti) or in small quantities (dushbara, sulu-khingal).
The Azerbaijan first courses differ from usual soups by their concentrated and dense consistency because they usually contain a small amount of broth.
The specific feature of the Azerbaijan cookery is that some of national dishes can be used as the first and main course (piti, 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.
The other feature of national soups is the application of sheep fat which is put into the dish in fine-cut pieces.
Instead of tomato paste for the first courses fresh tomatoes are used in summer time and in winter – dried cherry plum (to add sourish taste) and spices with colourants (saffron, sary-kek). There are a lot of different first flour courses as sulu-khingal, khamrashi, umach, kurza, dushbara etc.
Fresh and sour milk are widely used to make dovga, firni, sudlu syiig, kelekosh, ovdukh etc.
Main courses are mostly prepared of mutton and also of poultry, game birds, vegetables and rice.
The most popular main course in Azerbaijan is pilaf. There are about 40 recipes for preparing this dish. Depending on the type of additions pilafs are named as kaurma-pilaf (with stew mutton), sabza kaurma (with stew mutton and greens), toyug-pilaf (with chicken), shirin-pilaf (with sweet dried fruit), sudlu pilaf (rice cooked in milk) etc.
Among main courses shashliks should be distinguished by following types: shashlik-basturma, fillet shashlik, choice 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, khingal with meat, suzamkhingal, yarpag khingal, kutaby (with meat, pumpkin, greens), chudu etc.
Many second courses are prepared of fish. Sturgeon shashlik, kutum a la Azerbaijan, kuku of kutum, balyg chygyrtma, stuffed fish, boiled, fried and stew fish, fish-pilaf, starred sturgeon pilaf, 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 piti, lula-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. In many areas after dinner (especially after pilaf) they serve dovga. Dovga prepared of sour milk and greens promotes better assimilation of previous courses (rice, meat etc.).
Sweet dishes as the third dishes in the Azerbaijan cookery are very limited and their assortment is small. Sweet dishes include firni, sudzhug, tarakh and kuimag. Any meal is completed with a sweet course. Hence since olden days in Azerbaijan dinner is completed with sherbet or sweets.
The Azerbaijan national confectionary is divided into three groups: flour, caramel and sweet type articles.
The flour articles are: shaker-bura, pakhlava, shaker-churek, curabye a la Baku, nan a la Azerbaijan, roll a la Ordubad, kyata a la Karabakh, tykhma a la Kuba, kulcha a la Lankaran, mutaky a la Shamakha, pakhlava a la Nakhchivan etc. There are more than 30 varieties of the national confectionary whereupon each area has its own 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 Sheki sweets. These are pakhlava a la Sheki, peshmek, tel (terkhalva), gyrmabadam etc. To make them rice flour, sugar, nut kernel, butter, egg-white and spice are used.
Caramel type sweets include sheker-pendir, parvarda, kozinaks of nuts, nogul of coriander, goz-khalva (more than 15 names).
Sweet type articles include rahat lacoum (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 of mint and basil and other fruit.
From the time 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 as quince, fig, water melon peels, apricot, white cherry, cherry, peach, plum, Cornelian berry, 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 flavour.
Special tea is also made of cinnamon (darchin) and ginger. Sometimes rose water is added to tea.
SALADS AND APPETIZERS
Kuku of greens
2 eggs, 25 gr spring onions, 15 gr coriander, 10 gr dill, 30 gr spinach, 30 gr melted butter, pepper, salt.
Shred dill, spinach, spring onions finely, add pepper, salt, eggs and beat up thoroughly. Sometimes finely crumbled white bread or a tea-spoon of flour is abed. Heat up butted in the frying pan and pour on the beaten up mass evenly. When eggs are ready cut the kuku into two-four pieces, overturn and brown. Pour on melted butter when serving. Serve sour milk separately.
Fisindjan of beans
100 gr red beans, 30 gr onions, 20 gr melted butter, 30 gr walnut kernel, 20 gr vinegar or 15 pomegranate juice, 20 gr coriander, pepper, salt.
Mash boiled beans, dress with finely cut onions, salt and pepper. Shred the walnut kernel, add vinegar or pomegranate juice and mix the mashed beans. Dress with coriander and coiled onions.
Soyutma
217 gr lamb, 30 gr onions, 280 gr tomatoes, 30 gr sour cream, 0,1 gr pepper, salt.
Boil 1-0,5 kg a piece of lamb till it is ready. Take out of the broth and cool down in cold place. Put 2-3 mm thick meat slices on the plate, garnish with slices tomatoes and coiled onions, pour on sour cream.
SOUP AND BROTHS
Piti
Ingredients are similar to the kyufta-bozbash soup. In summer time saffron replaced for fresh tomatoes (50 gr).
Take 2-3 pieces of mutton (55- 60 gr) per each portion. Soak peas for 4-5 hours. Simmer meat and peas in the piti-pot. Before 30 minutes the soup is ready add potatoes, cut onions, alycha (kind of damson), saffron infusion and bring to the readiness. As a rule the piti soup is served in the same cooking pot. Use a deep plate or cyasa (bowl). Serve peeled onions and sumac powder separately.
Kyufta-Bozbash
163 gr mutton, 20 gr sheep fat, 15 gr rice, 30 gr g fresh alycha or 10 gr dried alycha, 25 gr peas, 150 gr potatoes, 18 gr onions, 0,1 gr saffron, 0,1 gr dried mint, pepper, salt.
Make a broth from bones. Mince the mutton flesh with onions. Add rice, salt, pepper into the force-meat and mix thoroughly. Make meat balls (1-2 per a helping) and place 2-3 berries of dried alycha into a meat ball. When peas are ready put meat ball in the broth, add potatoes, shredded and browned onions and before 10-15 minutes till the readiness add pepper, saffron infusion, salt and bring to the readiness. When serving sprinkle with fresh coriander or in winter time – with dried mint.
Piti a la Sheki
163 gr mutton, 30 gr peas, 20 gr sheep fat, 18 gr onions, 30 gr chestnuts, 20 gr dried plum berries, 0,1 gr saffron, pepper, salt, sumac.
Make as usual piti but use mutton without bones. Chestnuts are boiled in water separately. In autumn 30 gr or quince per a helping are added. Serve peeled onions and sumac powder separately.
Dushbara
108 gr mutton, 40 gr wheat flour, ¼ egg, 18 gr onions, 10 gr vinegar, 15 gr coriander or 1 gr dried mint, pepper, salt.
Dushbara is meat dumplings in the Azerbaijan style. Make the broth from mutton bones and prepare the force – meat from the flesh adding onions and spices. Roll unsalted dough 1 mm thick, cut into even squares and put 2-3 gr of force-meat. Wrap shaping rectangles of triangles and stick edges together. Cook dumplings in the broth for 5 minutes then they come to the surface. Home made dushbara are very small so 4-5 of them go in a tablespoon. When serving sprinkle with coriander or dried mint. Vinegar mixed with shredded garlic is served separately to taste.
Kyalla-Pacha (Khash)
214 hr mutton head, 179 gr sheep legs, 47 gr paunch, 5 gr garlic, 10 gr vinegar, salt.
Treat, wash and boil heads, legs and paunch. Skim off scum. Cook meat and bones for 6-7 hours, then take out, separate large bones, cut meat into 40-50 gr pieces and cook in the broth again. Serve separately vinegar with pounded garlic to taste.
Sulu Khingal
163 gr mutton, 40 gr wheat flour, 1/6 egg, 25 gr peas, 25 gr melted butter, 25 gr onions, 10 gr vinegar, 10 gr coriander and dill, 1 gr dried mint, salt, pepper.
Boil mutton breast, bottom chuck or brisket and separate flesh from bones. Put peas previously soaked in cold water for 3-4 hours into the boiling broth. Knead dough on water and eggs and roll 1 mm thick. Cut into 2x3 sm pieces and cook in the boiling broth. When ready spread on the plate, pour on melted butter, dress with shredded onions and herbs. Sprinkle with dried mint. Serve vinegar separately.
Dovga
108 gr mutton, 15 gr onions, 15 gr peas, 200 gr sour milk, 40 gr sour cream, ¼ egg, 8 gr flour, 20 gr rice, 18 gr spring onions, 40 gr spinach, 30 gr coriander, dill, kyavar, 15 gr mint, 10 gr celery, pepper, salt, cinnamon.
Dovga is a soup made of sour milk. Mix sour milk with sour cream, dough, egg and rice. Cook mixture and stir continuously to prevent settings. Bring to boil, add shredded herbs and salt. Bring to the readiness. Dovga is made with meat or without. To make dovga with meat cook peas separately till half readiness. Shape quenelles from the force-meat and cook with peas till readiness. Mix peas and quenelles with dovga.
Ovdukh – mixed soup in Azerbaijan style.
200 gr sour milk, 100 gr water, 100 gr fresh cucumbers, 40 gr spring onions, 10 gr coriander, 10 gr dill, 5 gr basil, ½ egg, 108 gr beef, salt, garlic.
Beat up sour milk and dilute with cool boiled water. Peel and slice onions, shred herbs. Mix with dilute sour milk, season with salt, garlic and place in the fridge. Serve cold. In some cases one can add boiled and finely sliced beef and hard boiled egg. Usually ovdukh is made without meat.
Gyurza a la Sheki.
217 gr mutto, 25 gr sheep fat, 30 gr onions, 80 gr flour, 10 gr abgora or vinegar, 2 gr garlic, 15 gr coriander, 0,1 gr pepper, salt.
Make a force-meat of mutton, sheep fat and onions. Knead dough and roll 1 mm thick. Cut into 5 sm diameter rings. Place force-meat on rings and wrap with seams up, leave one end open. Cook in broth or water. Serve with broth sprinkled on coriander. Serve vinegar with garlic separately.
MAIN COURSES
Giymya Chykhyrtma
163 gr mutton, 40 gr onions, 25 gr melted butter, 2 eggs, 12 gr dill, 0,1 gr saffron, 0,1 gr pepper, salt.
Make force-meat from mutton flesh with onions, add salt, pepper, saffron infusion and brown in butter. Pour on beaten up eggs and bake in oven. Sprinkle with herbs when serving.
2. Sabza-Kourma
330 gr mutton, 50 gr onions, 25 gr melted butter, 10 gr abgora or 0,3 gr citric acid, 0,1 gr saffron, 50 gr spinach and sorrel, 50 gr coriander and dill, 50 gr kabar, 50 gr spring onions, pepper, salt.
Cut mutton flesh into 25 -32 gr pieces. Pepper, salt and brown. Season with shredded onions, saffron infusion, citric acid or abgora and stew. Then add shredded spinach, sorrel, coriander, dill, spring onions. Serve sour milk separately.
SHASHLYKS
Banquet Shashlyk
Make as lamb shashlyk but when serving, dress with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet capsicum and herbs. Sometimes shashlyk is served straight on a spit.
Lyulya-Kebab
330 gr mutton, 20 gr sheep fat, 20 gr onions, 40 gr spring onions, 15 gr parsley and basil, 45 gr wheat flour, 3 gr sumac, salt, pepper.
Mince mutton flesh with onions, season with pepper and salt and mix thoroughly. Cool –force meat in fridge for 20 minutes. String force – meat on a spit which wider than for shashlyk and shape as sausage. Roast heavy unsalted dough 1 mm thick and bake both sides in griddle without dripping. Garnish lyulya-kebab with coiled onions, sumac or tomatoes roasted on a spit.
PILAFS
Sabza-Kourma
221 gr mutton, 150 gr rice, 50 gr melted butter, 50 gr onions, 150 gr coriander., spinach, sorrel, 0,1 gr citric acid, 0,1 gr saffron, 0,1 gr pepper, salt.
Cut mutton 35-40 gr pieces, salt, pepper and brown. Add citric acid, shredded onions, herbs and stew until ready. Cook rice separately and color part of it with saffron infusion. When serving, put rice on plate and place sabza-kourma, aside, pour on melted butter.
Shirin (sweet) Pilaf
150 gr rice, 50 gr melted butter, 30 gr sultana, 30 gr dried apricots, 40 gr sugar, 30 gr dried plums, 10 gr wheat flour, 1/6 egg, salt.
Stew some fruit with sugar in butter. Make rice pilaf till half ready, mix with fruit and stew until ready. When serving, pile rice on plate, place kazmag crust aside and plums on top.
DOLMA
Yarpag Dolmasy
(Stuffed grape leaves)
108 gr mutton, 30 gr rice, 20 gr onions, 15 gr coriander, dill, mint, 40 gr grape leaves, 20 gr sour milk, 10 gr melted butter, salt, pepper, cinnamon.
Mince mutton flesh with onions. Add rice, shredded herbs, season with salt and pepper. Scald fresh grape leaves and pickled leaves blanch till half ready. Mix force-meat thoroughly and wrap 25 gr in each leaf. Put dolma in pot, pour on water and stew for an hour. Serve sour milk separately.
Kyalyam Dolmasy
(Stuffed cabbage leaves)
163 gr mutton, 20 g rice, 10 gr peas, 15 gr onion, 220 gr cabbage, 50 gr chestnuts, 15 gr coriander, 50 gr tomatoes, 10 gr vinegar, or 2 gr citric acid, 5 gr sugar.
Make a force-meat from mutton flesh with onions, add rice peeled and finely cut chestnuts, previously soaked in cold water peas, tomatoes, herbs, salt, pepper and mix thoroughly. Blanch cabbage leaves in water and wrap force-meat. Put dolma I pot and pour on broth and cook. Add sugar and vinegar sauce and bring to readiness for 20 minutes. When serving pour on with its own sauce and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Badymdjan Dolmasy
(Stuffed egg-plants)
163 gr mutton, 300 gr egg-plants, 20 gr onions, 20 gr melted butter, 50 gr tomatoes, 15 gr basil and coriander, 50 gr sour milk, 0,2 gr cinnamon, pepper, salt.
Cut off one end of egg-plant, immerse in salted cold water, bring to boil and blanch for 1-2 minutes. Clean egg-plants partially from seeds. Fry force-meat with onions in butter stirring continuously. Then add shredded herbs, pepper, cinnamon and mix thoroughly. Stuff egg-plants and place in casserole, pour on some broth, cover and stew. Pour on the same sauce when serving. Serve sour milk with cinnamon separately.
Kutum Lavangi
(Stuffed fish)
253 gr fresh kutum, 50 gr walnut kernel, 30 gr onions, 10 gr melted butter, 25 gr Cornelian cherries, 50 gr sultana, salt.
Draw and wash a whole fish. Make stuff of shredded onion, pounded walnuts, previously soaked and cut Cornelians, sultana. Salt, fish, stuff it and bake in oven. Serve by cross –cut pieces.
FLOUR DISHES
Choice Kutabs
150 gr mutton guts and stomach, the rest ingredients are similar to kutabs with meat
Treat mutton guts and stomach, blanch in boiling water and mince with onions, add lavashana and pomegranate pips. Wrap stuffing in dough in crescent shape and fry both sides in butter. Serve sumac separately.
Gyurza
217 gr mutton, 30 gr onions, 80 gr flour, 25 gr melted butter, 50 gr sour milk, 2 gr garlic, 0,1 gr cinnamon, pepper, salt.
Mince mutton with onions, salt pepper and brown. Knead heavy dough and roll 1 mm thick. Cut out 5 sm diameter rings. Place stuffing on rings and wrap with seam up, leave one end open. Boil and then drain water. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Sour milk is served separately.
AZERBAIJANI SWEETS
Shakerbura
240 gr wheat flour, 60 gr melted butter, 80 gr milk, 1 egg, 8 gr yeast, 200 gr peeled almonds or nuts, 200 gr sugar, cardamom – 0,4 gr, salt.
Heat up milk till 30-350 C, put yeast, salt, eggs, melted butter, sieved flour. Keep dough for 1-1,5 hours, shape 30 gr balls and roll them 2 sm thick. Place stuffing and make screw-shaped edges. Pattern surface. Bake at 160 -180 0 C, during 25-30 minutes.
Stuffing: pound peeled sweet almond of fried nuts and mix with sugar powder in proportion 1:1. Aromatize with pounded cardamom.
Shakerchurek
530 gr wheat flour, 260 gr melted butter, 300 gr sugar powder, 1 egg, 3 gr vanillin.
Beat up melted butter with sugar powder for 25-30 minutes. Add gradually egg albumen. Put vanillin, sieved flour, grind thoroughly and knead heavy dough. Shape 60-75 gr balls, yolk top, place on iron sheets, covered with oilpaper and bake at 175-180 0 C during 25-30 minutes. Cool down and powder with sugar.
Pakhlava in Baku style
240 gr wheat flour, 60 gr melted butter, 80 gr milk, 1 egg, 8 gr yeast, 200 gr peeled almond or nuts, 200 gr sugar, 0,2 gr vanillin, 0,4 gr saffron, 20 gr honey.
Make dough and stuffing similar to shaker bura. Roll dough 0,5 mm thick. Butter griddle and place layer of dough, spread stuffing 3-4 mm thick and place second dough layer, butter surface and spread stuffing. Make 8-10 layers. Cut into 10x4 sm diamond – shaped pieces, coat surface with yolk mixed with saffron. Place half nut or pistachio kernel in the centre of each piece. Bake at 180-200 0 C druing 35-40 minutes. Ice surface with syrop or honey 15 minutes before pakhlava is ready.
Pakhlava in Sheki style
280 gr rice flour, 420 gr sugar, 140 gr peeled nuts, 1 gr citric acid, 2 gr coriander seeds, 0,5 gr cardamom, 0,2 gr saffron.
Knead liquid dough on rice flour with 120 ml water. Pour dough on hot griddle through special funnel with 11 holes and bake grid-shaped rishta. Make stuffing crumbling nuts and adding pounded cardamom and coriander seeds. Butter round copper tray, place 8 rishta layers, spread stuffing and cover with another 5 rishta layers. Shape round. Decorate surface with saffron in square and bake both sides over charcoals during 15-20 minutes. Make syrup mixing sugar, citric, acid, 100 ml water. Pour hot syrup on pakhlava. Keep during 8-10 hours to steep with sugar syrup.
Shor Gogal
726 gr wheat flour, 300 gr roasting out sheep fat, 1 egg, 6 gr sheep fat, 15 gr yeast, 1 gr caraway – seeds, 0,5 gr saffron, 2 gr fennel, 0,5 gr pepper, 3 gr poppy-seeds, salt.
Make yeast dough and add salt. Roll into sheets, butter and pile 9-11 layers. Cut into squares. Stuffing: mince roasting out of sheep fat, add egg albumen, alt, spices, beat up and mix with flour. Coat surface with beaten up yolk with saffron, sprinkle with poppy-seeds and bake at 234-240 0 C during 20-25 minutes.
Gyrmabadam
84 gr rice flour, 675gr sugar powder, 285 gr hazel –nut kernel, 35 gr egg white, 1 gr citric acid, 2 gr coriander seeds.
Prepare syrup from sugar powder;" add citric acid and boil away to obtain the caramel mass (5-6 % moisture content). Beat up the boiled away caramel mass and cool down. Add egg white at 50-60 0 C and go on intensive beating up. The ready beaten up mass is determined by the snow-white colour and brittleness of a cooled piece. Add crushed nuts, coriander seeds in the ready caramel mass and mix. Shape pieces 15x8 sm in sixe and 0,5-0,7 sm thick.
Strew the surface with browned flour.
SHERBETS AND SOFT DRINKS
Milk Sherbet
Sugar – 30 gr, water – 70 gr, milk – 100 gr.
Boil some water, dissolve sugar in it and cool. Boil milk separately and after being cooled add it to sherbet.
Ovshala
Sugar – 30 gr, petals of real dark-red roses – 20 gr, lemon-acid – 0,1 gr, water – 150 gr, food – ice – 20 gr.
Add hot boiled water to rose petals, hen lemon-acid and leave it for 8-10 hours to draw. After that filter it, add some sugar and cool. Sometimes gyulab is added.
Lemon sherbet
Lemon – ¼ pieces, sugar – 50 gr, saffron – 0, 1 gr, seeds of coriander or basil – 0, 1 gr, water – 120 gr, food-ice – 50 gr.
Shred small dried lemon peel, add hot water and put seeds of coriander or basil. Leave it for 3-4 hours to draw. Then it is filtered, sugar and lemon juice are added and it is cooled. Before serving saffron infusion and pieces of food-ice are added.
JAM
Quince Jam
1 kg quince, 1,2 kg sugar.
Peel quince, cut lengthwise into 2 sm thick section, blanch in boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Pour on hot syrup made of sugar and blanching water. Boil jam 3-4 times during 8-10 minutes with 8 hours intervals between each boiling.
Fig Jam
1 kg figs, 1 kg sugar, 1 gr citric acid, 0,5 gr vanillin
This jam is made of peeled and unpeeled figs. 1. Blanch figs 5 minutes in water at 80-85 0 C. Pour times. 2. Sprinkle peeled figs with sugar powder and keep 8-10 hours. Then simmer during 50-60 minutes. Add citric acid and vanilin before end.
Walnut Jam
1 kg walnuts, 1,5 kg sugar, 3 gr citric acid, 3 gr clove, otr 3 gr cardamom, (50 gr walnuts – 1 kg sugar)
Take mil-stage ripeness walnuts with soft shell 24 mm maximum diameters. Skin walnuts, pour on cold water and soak for 3 days, changing water 2-3 times a day. Then soak in lime water for 2-3 days, stirring 4-5 times a day. Rinse, needle in several spots and soak in cold water for 3 days, changing water 2-3 times a day. Then blanch walnuts in boiling water during 20-25 minutes. Pour on hot syrup and boil 2-3 times with 4-6 hour intervals. Add citric acid, clove or cardamom. Keep jam to mature 20 minimum.
Lime water: Slake 500 gr lime in 3 l. water and settle for 3-4 hours. Drain transparent water from the surface and screen through gauze.
Rose Jam
100 gr rose, 900 gr sugar, 2 gr citric acid.
Kazanlyg rose petals are the best for jam. Separate from petals lower white parts, wash and blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes. Make 40% syrup in blanching water and pour on petals. Boil once until ready. Add citric acid. One can make jam from sweetbrier petals as well.
PICKLES
Garlic pickled with sloe
500 gr garlic, 500 gr sloe, 3 bay leaves, 5 pieces of clove, 5 pices of black and sweet pepper, 20 gr salt, 400 gr vinegar.
Peel garlic and separate into cloves. Cover a jar bottom with spices. Put garlic cloves mixed with salt ands then sloe berries. Pour on vinegar. Close a jar tightly and keep in a cool place.
Explanations to the text
1. Abgora – unripe grapes juice
2. Azgyl – sharab – food extract from wild mushmula (medlar)
3. Albukhara – dried plum of local varieties
4. Gora – unripe grapes
5. Pea “nut” – local pea variety
6. Gyimya – fried meat-force with currants and dried apricots
7. Kazmag – fried crust of flour or rice being formed on the pan bottom when stewing pilaf.
8. Kinza – coriander greens.
9. Kizil – akhta – dried Cornelian cherry without stones
10. Kuraga – apricots cut into halves and dried
11. Lavash – thin flat cake from unsalted wheat dough
12. Lavashana – thin dried layers made of thick puree of cherry plum sour variety
13. Nar – sharab – boiled concentrated pomegranate juice
14. Sumac – crushed sour peals of the wild bush fruit (Rhus);" it is used as a seasoning to meat dishes.
Add comment