Uzbek Food Recipes and Dishes

Uzbek lamb shish kebab recipe Uzbek Lamb Shish Kebab

Traditional Uzbek shish kebab is made from lamb and has its own cooking features, typical only of Uzbek cuisine.

Uzbek quince jam recipe Uzbek Quince Jam

Quince jam is a traditional recipe in Uzbek cuisine; this preservation for the winter preserves the natural taste and aroma of quince for a long time.

Pumpkin and fruits pilaf recipe Pumpkin and Fruits Pilaf

Pilaf with pumpkin and fruit is one of the traditional pilaf recipes of Uzbek cuisine, in this case, Uzbek pilaf is vegetarian - there is no meat in it.

Uzbek pilaf recipe Uzbek Pilaf

Uzbek pilaf is a traditional dish of Uzbek cuisine; Uzbek pilaf is widely known not only in Uzbekistan; it is cooked in many other countries of the world.

Shurpa recipe Shurpa Soup

Shurpa is a beef soup, shurpa is one of the traditional recipes of Uzbek cuisine, the shurpa recipe includes beef, potatoes, onions and other vegetables.

Tashkent-style dolma recipe Долма по-ташкентськи

The Tashkent-style dolma recipe is a little more complicated than the usual dolma recipes – it includes grape leaf dolma and stuffed bell peppers.

Uzbek Cuisine

Uzbek cuisine occupies a place of honor among the entire culinary niche. Needless to say about the numerous centuries-old culinary traditions that originated in Persia and subsequently determined their independent development. The fundamental element of the entire culture of Uzbekistan is Islam. Uzbek cooking is no exception. Throughout the centuries, it was strictly forbidden to use pork in Uzbek cuisine recipes. The remaining restrictions are related to the holy month of Ramadan, during which a very strict fast takes place.

Considering the various features of this cuisine, it should be said that Uzbek cuisine, like other cuisines, has its own regional differences. The north of Uzbekistan is characterized by eating pilaf and flour products. In the southern part of Uzbekistan, they prefer dishes formed by combining fish and vegetables. Dishes of Uzbek cuisine have a rather complex preparation technology and require professional skills and good physical strength from the cook. If we consider dishes prepared from minced meat - manti and dumplings, then the minced meat is prepared by chopping the meat manually, without the help of a meat grinder. Among Uzbeks, cooking duties are often performed by men, and cooking pilaf is always their prerogative.

Uzbek Cuisine Recipes

The basis of Uzbek cuisine recipes is meat, so it is important to start looking at Uzbek cuisine from it. The most popular types of meat are lamb, as well as beef and horse meat. There is a tradition according to which meat dishes are prepared from more meat. Pilaf, which will be discussed later, is prepared at the rate of one part of meat to one part of rice cereal. In the tradition of Uzbek cuisine, cereals and vegetables are not prepared as a separate dish, but exclusively as an addition to any dish.

Uzbek Cuisine Traditions

A special word should be said that in the tradition of Uzbek cooking it is not customary to use a large amount of spices, but culinary traditions do not neglect the use of a large amount of herbs. The bulk of the herbs used are approximately the following: coriander, sesame, dill, basil. Meat dishes in Uzbekistan are always prepared with the addition of onions. If we compare Uzbek recipes with European ones, then there is much more onion in Uzbek recipes. For example, it is worth mentioning the preparation of Uzbek dumplings - in this case, onions can exceed the amount of minced meat by 2 or 3 times.

Uzbek Pilaf

You should consider the peculiarity of the recipe for the most popular dish of Uzbek cuisine - Uzbek pilaf. The most basic ingredients are meat and rice. It is important to say here that Uzbek cuisine has a common trend with Tajik cuisine, and the complete opposite of Azerbaijani. What is typical is that in Uzbek cuisine, individual components are prepared together, and not separately, as, for example, in Azerbaijani cuisine. In some cities, pilaf is prepared lighter, in others – darker. In Samarkand, the technology for making pilaf is completely different than in other regions of Uzbekistan - there the ingredients are placed in several layers on top of each other.

Traditional Recipes of Uzbek Cuisine

Uzbek cuisine includes very diverse traditional recipes - pilaf and basma, dolma and kebab, kazan-kabob and kovurdok, katykli and lagman, manti and khanum, naryn and samsa, ugra and chalop, chuchvara and shurpa, obi-non and katlama, katyk and ayran, yupka and urama, as well as many other dishes of Uzbek cuisine.