One of the most hospitable and cheerful peoples in Asia is the Uzbeks, which, located in its central part, did not to become like nomadic neighbors, and led in a fertile plain terrain sedentary lifestyle.
All Uzbeks are big lovers of economy and connoisseurs of family cult. Cultivating cereals, growing vegetables and fruits gardens, Uzbeks, meanwhile, in the organization of life they greatly honor their family traditions. Many raised livestock and poultry, hunted and hunting game. The hospitality of the Uzbeks is sincere, they and really love to treat the welcome guests with dishes that are in families are considered the most traditional and can be said ritualistic.
Uzbek cuisine is not a closed sacrament, the influence of others cultures obviously, however any borrowed dish is prepared for its unique technology. Tatar, Kazakh, Mongolian, Russian, Ukrainian, Jewish, Caucasian and many other cuisines of the world found their niche in the culinary of Uzbekistan, many dishes cooked so that their nature and can not be distinguished from the local.
The main trends in cooking are heterogeneous – northern cuisine prefers pilaf and fried meat, they like dishes from dough, and the south focuses on vegetables in different types and combinations them with rice.
Due to the fact that the south of Uzbekistan is rich in fruits, citrus fruits and berries, many culinary delights are based on fresh and dried products from grapes, apples, dates, figs, quinces. Love and skillfully serve melons, watermelons, persimmons. Also in the recipe often used cherries, lemons, pomegranates. Exclusive Uzbek vegetables (green radish, specific types of pumpkins, yellow carrots and sweet tomatoes) are not familiar to other cuisines, so dishes from they can only be tasted in Uzbekistan.
Natural conditions allow to grow different species in Uzbekistan zucchini, bell and hot peppers, turnips, beans, etc. Huge amount of aromatic herbs are widely used in the form of spices and spices in recipes of Uzbek cuisine. To the most popular include caraway, sesame, basil, dill, barberry, coriander. Love and adding garlic to dishes.
The geography of the country and the climate allows you to get good crops rice, barley, wheat and corn., as a source of protein and carbohydrates. Many dishes contain beef and horse meat, as well as meat camels and goats. Poultry is also used in many dishes, however if she’s not fat, for the same reason, and because of the belief that a pig is an unclean animal; Uzbeks do not eat pork. Not very favor and fish. Eggs in everyday use are rare, rather, they used for holiday baking.
Uzbek cuisine is also interesting in cooking technology. dishes, starting with food processing methods. Unique techniques salting, drying, drying products, including cooking marinades, for meat and fruit, without the use of fire.
But widespread open frying on skewers or skewers, boiling in milk or water (sometimes combined), steam Kaskan processing; simmering; tandoor baking (vertically (so baked cakes) or horizontally (meat)) and combined type of extinguishing after cooking roasting in cast iron cauldron.
Uzbek pilaf, varieties of which are only in Uzbekistan about a hundred, includes products such as rice, carrots, onions and meat, in the simplest recipes. Complex varieties contain numerous additives in the form of quince and barberry, raisins, apples, apricot, various spices. Various types of pilaf (and there are more than a thousand of them!) look different and differ in taste and composition. For example, Samarkand pilaf is light in color and Ferghana pilaf darker.
The main rule for cooking traditional pilaf is the right one. utensils, this is a special kagan where cooking products are exposed to uniform heating, do not burn.
Real Uzbek pilaf is made from freshly harvested rice, the right kind of chopped and fried vegetables. Technology provides for “calcination” of rice in salt water, a mixture several types of oil, vigilant vigil over the kagan so that time brewing was accurate. A feature of cooking pilaf in Uzbekistan the rule is considered: men should cook pilaf after prayer and achieving a special attitude.
A specialist in cooking pilaf is a big deal. Such a position very honorable. Traditionally, during the holidays, pilaf is eaten by everyone. And during purchases of food at a large scale are followed by those who observe for which merchants buying food products is a sign that a merchant conscientious.
But the female prerogative is traditionally to cook sumalak, this is bread to celebrate Navruz. Everything is prepared in a thorough manner, and these preparations begin in a whole week, or even in ten days before the holiday. Women gather in one of their houses, soak wheat, dried, knead a special dough. Sincere conversations, national songs, dances accompany this process. To the bottom of the boiler where sumalak is cooked, put seven pebbles so that the dough is not burnt.
This is one of the mysteries of preparation, passed down from generation to generation, from mother to daughter or daughter-in-law. The shape of the pebbles, place in cauldron and method of pouring dough – every detail matters in cooking traditional bread. On a feast for prayer Sumalak is tasted.
For Uzbeks, bread is a very respected cultural element. Flatbread from unleavened dough obi-non – everyday bread, and in spring it prepared on the infusion of herbs (mint, dandelion, spinach, quinoa, etc.), besides, different spices add different spices). Tortillas bake with the addition of lamb fat. Bukhara cakes are cooked, sprinkling with sesame seeds. Bridesmaids are traditionally accompanied by cakes with sour cream and butter.
Obi-non cakes made in tandoor have different names, if prepared according to different recipes: “Lochir”, “Chevat”, “screen”, “katlama” …
The sacred meaning of the cakes is round, symbolizing the sun, fertility, health and the wheel of infinity time. Their use in the form of a plate for meat dishes and pilaf, made the decoration of cakes patterns from lines and holes a tradition. The very tradition of cooking tandoor cakes exists around 5000 years.
Some Uzbeks especially memorable tortillas (first tortilla child or cooked for some event, or just came out very beautiful from the hands of the master) stored in dried view on the wall.
Most of the traditional Uzbek dishes are flour products having various fillings. Sweet pastries several times Serve guests: at the reception, before the start of the main meal and after. Puff pastry pies with meat or sweet filling especially popular.
Oriental sweets (halva, halvaytar, churchkhela, navat, pashmak, parvarda, bekmes) for Uzbekistan – everyday life: about halva fifty kinds, sweets with flour, nuts, dried Fruits and berries – all these are prepared with pleasure by local masters.
Melons and watermelons are traditionally independent desserts.
As for alcoholic beverages, the country’s climate is very helps to keep the degree moderate – it’s dry and fine wines from local grape varieties.
The daily diet of Uzbek cuisine is not too laborious, but without experience, their preparation will be more difficult. Shurpa is traditional thick and spicy, fresh or fried meat, vegetables are put in large pieces to maintain flavor.
Mastava – spicy rice soup with meat and vegetables served with sour milk and spices. Mashhurda is a rice bean soup in sour milk, from potatoes, with onions and herbs). Mash-atala – soup from beans, with fried lard, onions, carrots, thickened with flour. Moshubirinch – bean and rice soup with lamb and tomatoes. Cholop – this is a refreshing cold soup with sour milk with radishes, cucumbers and greens.
The main dishes are also varied. These are barbecue, meatballs, manti, samsa, kebab, lagman, pies with meat and rice, meat and pumpkin and etc. Garnish for meat dishes are vegetable salads or stewed vegetables.
As for dairy products, it is very popular with fermented yogurt made from sheep’s milk (katyk) and delicious, similar to cottage cheese, suzma. They are used as independent dishes, and how to dress soups and salads. Uzbeks and Ayran love it – an invigorating drink made from suzma mixed with water or sour milk, consumed cold.
Uzbeks often drink tea, so forget about such a cultural an event like tea drinking would be unfair. This tradition has been accompanying the Uzbeks since ancient times, and ritual tea drinking is sometimes akin to visit to a psychologist, although the intimate conversations that are under a cup of tea, rather friendly and sympathetic.
As a rule, men gather in a teahouse. Green tea in combined with fatty meat food, helps to assimilate it, and pilaf and meat on the Uzbek table is far from rare. Cup of green tea accompanied by a lot of sweets, although neither milk nor sugar is not added to tea. True, the Uzbeks are still winter use black tea, put a few pieces of sugar in it, insisting a 5-7 minute drink. Often combining in brewed black tea and some herbs, Uzbeks attach great importance to their properties, many herbs are consumed regularly, brewing with tea in as homeopathic support for the body.
Tea is always offered to guests, and it is not so much competent and explained by careful attention to physiology act how much a gesture of hospitality, cordiality and goodwill of the Uzbeks.
