National cuisine of Uzbekistan. Dishes and recipes of Uzbek cuisine

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A traditional costume tells about the history and characteristics of a nation. It has been formed over centuries, which means that by carefully studying it, you can trace the entire life of a people.

A little history

Uzbeks are a people with a rich history and interesting traditions. While visiting the Uzbeks, you will definitely be given tea and believe me, the tea party will not end with just one cup. And while pouring another cup, they will ask: with respect or without? Don’t be surprised that if you answer in the affirmative, only the bottom of the cup will be covered with tea. These are the traditions of hospitality and the owner will happily pour tea for his most dear guest.

Uzbeks are a friendly and patient people. Professing Islam, Uzbeks respect every faith. Their confession prescribes daily prayer, for which it is necessary to wear closed and comfortable clothes. Thus, under the influence of faith, the Uzbek national costume was created.

Peculiarities

An Uzbek costume is easy to distinguish from any other, because it contains features that correspond exclusively to Uzbeks.

Colors and shades

The color scheme of the national costume varied depending on the location of the Uzbeks. Thus, the Surkhandarya region was famous for its red color scheme. An interesting fact is that, despite the color characteristics in each region, no one wore suits made of black and dark blue fabric, for fear of attracting bad luck.

The palette of colors in women's clothing revealed not only the delicate taste of the beauties, but also their position in society. For example, ladies whose husbands held high positions wore clothes in blue and purple shades, artisans wore green.

Fabrics and cut

The Uzbek people love rich fabrics. For example, the top of national robes is made of velvet or corduroy. It is worth saying that robes were worn not only in the summer, but also in the cool season, and this could not but affect the types of fabric. Thus, warm models of chapan robe are insulated with a layer of camel hair or cotton wool.

The cut of the national costume was simple and did not differ by gender or age. In most cases, clothes were sewn from straight pieces of fabric; in small remote villages this fabric was not even cut, but torn along a straight thread.

Later, for the shirt, a straight piece of fabric was folded to create the front and back, additional pieces were sewn to the sides, and a gusset was placed under the armpit. It is worth saying that the pants were the result of skillful stitching of straight pieces of fabric.

Varieties

Despite the similarity in cut, men's and women's suits have their own fundamental features.

  • The first important element for men is chapan. This quilted robe is intended not only for the home, but also for everyday life and even celebrations. Festive models are decorated with rich embroidery with gold threads. Replaces a robe and outerwear if it has insulation. It’s interesting, but colorful chapans are still popular far beyond the borders of Uzbekistan; they become expensive gifts for beloved men and colleagues.

An integral part of the Uzbek wardrobe is the shirt. Her first models were made in length to the knees, but now you can find a more comfortable length to the middle of the thigh. Called kuylak, it can have a vertical cut to the bust line or a horizontal cut from shoulder to shoulder.

Wide trousers are an obligatory part of the Uzbek costume. The trousers taper at the bottom, providing comfort while walking.

Men gird their shirt or robe with a wide belt, which, it is worth saying, in some models deserves admiration. Belts for celebrations are made of luxurious velvet, decorated with beads, symbolic embroidery and complemented with amulets.

  • Woman suit Uzbek beauties consisted of a tunic-like dress. The first models reliably covered the entire body and reached ankle length. The dress was made using straight pieces of fabric and was not much different from a man's shirt. Later, the dress featured a feminine yoke and gathered cuffs.

In addition to the dress, the Uzbek woman also wore wide pants. They were distinguished from men's ones by the bottom decorated with braid. The same chapan served as outerwear. After some time, women began to wear camisoles, as well as feminine vests.

  • Children's national costume similar to male and female. Often the choice is made from factory options. Knitted suits are especially popular. A talisman is attached to the child’s headdress to protect against the evil eye.

Accessories and shoes

If according to the canons of Islam, a costume should be restrained, then Uzbek women are not limited in jewelry. Gold and silver in the form of earrings, bracelets and rings are an integral attribute of the image of an Uzbek woman. Symbols and amulets are applied to gold jewelry to protect the woman and her family.

Speaking of hats, initially the woman was wearing a burqa. The everyday option was black. It’s interesting, but they preferred to wear it only when leaving the gates of their own home, for fear of bringing misfortune into the family with black color. Later, the burqa was replaced by scarves and duppy skullcaps.

For footwear, Uzbeks used soft boots without backs and heels, as well as models made of rough leather or rubber. The latter, it is worth saying, are still popular to this day due to their excellent thermal properties and convenience.

Men initially wore a skullcap as a headdress. Soft boots were worn as footwear. Uzbeks of the upper strata of society also had dress boots with a slight bevel towards the middle of the sole. This detail was intended for riders, helping them to stay more confident in the saddle.

Modern models

The beauty of the East has always captivated Europeans. It is not surprising that today modern clothing models are created, inspired by the mood of an alluring, closed and at the same time very hospitable Uzbekistan.

  1. The suit with a short wide robe and skullcap, embroidered with symbols and floral motifs, amazes with the riot of colors and their harmony. The colorful costume is complemented by a large amulet pendant.
  2. A bright dress with an elasticated waist, made in characteristic Uzbek colors, enhanced by slits on the shoulders and wide sleeves.
  3. The tunic-like dress and pants look very modern, because the latter have a tapered cut, outlining a feminine figure.

When it comes to Uzbek cuisine, everyone immediately remembers Uzbek pilaf. But Uzbek cuisine is not famous for pilaf alone.

National cuisine of Uzbekistan has an ancient history and is closely connected with Uzbek culture, language, traditions and geographical and climatic conditions. A significant influence on the diversity and originality of Uzbek cuisine recipes was due to the fact that, unlike the cuisine of their closest geographical neighbors (the nomadic peoples of the Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Kyrgyz and Turkmen), Uzbeks have historically been characterized by both a sedentary and nomadic lifestyle. more...

At the same time, the borrowing of culinary traditions and the assimilation of cultures (especially Persian-Tajik) had a profound impact on the variety and richness of dishes. The origin of many of them has common roots with traditional Asian dishes such as pilaf, lagman, manti and others. However, Uzbekistan has its own peculiarities of preparing these dishes, as well as its own completely original dishes. Despite the fact that the main dishes and cooking technologies of Uzbek cuisine were formed more than a thousand years ago, Uzbek cuisine was enriched with new products, ingredients and culinary techniques of Russian, Ukrainian, Caucasian, Tatar, Uyghur and European cuisine.

These are hearty and aromatic meat dishes, thick soups with an abundance of fresh vegetables and herbs, exotic sweets and original pastries. The features of Uzbek cuisine, like many other national cuisines, are determined by the specifics of local agriculture. Grain farming is very well developed in Uzbekistan, so noodles and bread are of utmost importance in local cuisine. Sheep farming is also widespread in Uzbekistan, so the most popular type of meat is lamb, which is included in most main dishes of Uzbek cuisine. Horse meat and camel meat are used less frequently.

Recipes for Uzbek cuisine huge. There are more than 100 types of pilaf, 60 types of soups, 30 types of shish kebab.

Pilaf- the most popular dish in Uzbekistan. It is prepared for every day and for special holidays, both secular and religious. And each region of Uzbekistan has its own pilaf - Bukhara, Khorezm, Fergana, Samarkand, Tashkent. They differ in the method of preparation and additives to the main products.

Among the soups, the most delicious and aromatic are lagman And shurpa– vermicelli and potato soup with lamb, fresh herbs and vegetables.

Manti are steamed and stuffed with meat, pumpkin, and spring greens.

Varied in taste and appearance flatbreads- Uzbek bread, which is baked in a tandoor - a special oven made of clay. Samsa - national pies with meat, onions and fat tail - is also prepared in the tandoor.

No treat is complete without sweets. They are placed on the table before serving the main course with green tea - the main drink in Uzbekistan. Among the sweets they serve are dried apricots, raisins, nuts, halva, parvarda, baklava, honey, and in the spring there will definitely be sumalak on the table - a delicious and healthy dish made from sprouted wheat.

The main meat dishes are characterized by the preparation of fried, high-calorie foods, the widespread use of cottonseed oil, lamb tail fat, butter, spices and herbs. Meat dishes are almost always prepared with onions, and their use in proportion to meat is much greater than in European cuisine.

Many dishes have complex recipes and are prepared by hand, which requires many years of skill and culinary art. Special professional skill is required when preparing large pilaf for tens and hundreds of kilograms of rice. Manti and dumplings (chuchvara) are molded by hand; the popular spring dish sumalak is cooked over low heat for more than 10 hours. In this case, the preparatory stage of wheat germination can take several days.

Currently, modern gas and electric stoves, kitchen utensils and appliances are widely used for preparing dishes in Uzbek cuisine. However, traditional cooking methods are still popular. A mandatory element of kitchen utensils is a cauldron - a spherical cast iron cauldron. Tandir - a clay oven can be found everywhere in Uzbekistan and is practically an obligatory element, especially in rural cuisine.

Traditional type of dishes, on which pilaf and many other dishes are served - lagan, a large flat plate or dish. In modern meals in Uzbek cuisine, forks are rarely used - if pilaf is not eaten with hands, then it is customary to eat it with a spoon. Other utensils used in Uzbek cuisine: spit (deep bowl), bowl (cup usually for tea).

There are noticeable differences between regions in Uzbek national cuisine. In the north, the main dishes are pilaf and dough dishes. In the southern part of the country, preference is given to multi-component dishes made from vegetables and rice. In the Fergana Valley they prepare darker and fried pilaf, in Tashkent it is lighter.

It is characteristic of Uzbek families that cooking at the household level is considered a male occupation, and men often take on culinary responsibilities in the family. Cooking large pilaf in a cauldron with a hundred or more kilograms of rice is the prerogative of only men. For a European, fully enjoying an Uzbek feast is an impossible task. Not only is Uzbek cuisine rich and filling. Here it is customary to eat slowly, for a long time and with taste. A long series of dishes amazes the unprepared imagination of those accustomed to diets. Up to ten dishes per meal is the usual Uzbek hospitality.

In Uzbekistan they eat three times a day, but there is an abundance of different dishes on the table, and they are all very high in calories. The main courses are served not for lunch, but for dinner. Firstly, because of the heat, and secondly, because many Uzbek dishes take a long time to prepare, sometimes even throughout the whole day. And in general, a good feast, in a large company, a real dastarkhan (Uzbek table), can be arranged in the evening, when the bustle of the day is behind.

There are dishes that are not prepared every day, but only for weddings and festive tables, dear guests. These are such delicious dishes as kazy-karta, post-dumba uramashi (a fat-tailed casing roll), tandir-kabob (shish kebab in a tandoor), norin, khasip (homemade sausage).

While the choice of soups and hot dishes of Uzbek cuisine is quite wide, the range of desserts is indeed very limited. A typical meal ends with fresh fruit or dried fruit compote, and baklava, nuts or halva are also served. Sweet pastries are less common than in other countries in the region.

Traditional Uzbek national drink, as in many other countries of Central Asia - green tea. For Uzbeks, green tea is a drink that has not only gastronomic but also cultural significance. This drink always accompanies a meal; it is a symbol of hospitality. If the owner of the house offers tea to a guest, it means that he is happy about this guest. Green tea is considered traditional, but black tea is no less popular in Tashkent.

Alcohol is consumed much less in Uzbekistan than in European countries, but wine is popular relative to other Muslim countries. There are more than a dozen wineries in Uzbekistan that produce good wine from local grapes. Beer and strong alcoholic drinks (vodka, cognac) are also consumed.

The main well-known dishes of Uzbek national cuisine: Pilaf- this is undoubtedly the most popular and most famous dish of Uzbek cuisine, which is, roughly speaking, pieces of meat with rice, carrots and onions. There are dozens of varieties of pilaf known in Uzbekistan, which differ both in the method of preparation and in the situational nature - there are different types of festive and ceremonial pilaf. Pilaf is not just a dish, it is a real cultural symbol of the country. According to tradition, if pilaf is prepared for guests, then the owner of the house must certainly cook it. This tradition is still observed in many families today.

Shashlik– pieces of meat (lamb, beef, pork, liver, fish, vegetables) on metal skewers cooked over charcoal,

Shurpa(soup made from a large piece of meat, potatoes and fresh vegetables),

Lagman(a noodle-based dish that can be served as both a soup and a main course),

Mastava(vegetable soup with lamb and rice),

Domlama(meat stew with vegetables),

Manti(large steamed dumplings)

Chuchvara and samsa(stuffed dough pies, served both as an appetizer and as a main course),

Kainatma shurva(broth), mohora (pea soup), ugra (noodles), chuchvara (dumplings), manchiza (soup with dumplings),

Flatbread: round shaped bread cooked in a tandoor (clay oven),

Sweets(jam, nishalda, honey, parvarda, baklava, sumalak),

Uzbek national cuisine photo










Uzbek national dishes- these are the bright colors of nature, age-old traditions and the aroma of the East, food that will not leave any gourmet and connoisseur of true taste indifferent. When you smell the aroma of a dish, and even more so when you see it, your stomach will immediately scream at you “I’m hungry!” Believe me, there are no less gastronomic joys in Uzbekistan than there are stars in the sky!

Recipes cooking Uzbek national cuisine formed over many centuries. There was also the culinary influence of other nationalities who conquered the lands of Central Asia more than once, but Uzbek dishes still acquired their own specificity. A distinctive feature of Uzbek cuisine is the use of everything. Most dishes are prepared using a large amount of oil: cottonseed, sunflower or sesame, with the addition of fat tail fat. In the formation of recipes for Uzbek cuisine, there is a contribution not only from culinary masters, but also from doctors. According to one of the legends, pilaf recipe compiled by Abu Ali Ibn Sino (Avicenna) himself.

Main Ingredients Uzbek dishes- flour, meat (mainly lamb), fat tail fat (lard), vegetables, herbs and spices. There are dishes that are prepared exclusively by men, or only by women. The preparation of some special dishes is associated with holidays, memorable events, and beliefs.
Uzbek dishes, as a rule, are very filling and high in calories. Of great importance in their preparation are herbs and spices- coriander (cilantro), cumin (zra, cumin), barberry, sesame, raikhon (basil), etc. Spices increase appetite, so you want to eat these dishes as soon as you smell their aroma. Often, recipes for Uzbek national dishes use katyk (sour milk, classic yogurt), as well as green radish. It is less hot than black radish, and in combination with butter and carrots it is even sweet;

During preparation Uzbek cuisine dishes Often one cannot do without specific Central Asian culinary utensils and utensils:
- kasakan(Mantyshnitsa). Some national Uzbek dishes are prepared exclusively by steaming - these are a variety of manti and khanum. To prepare them, a special pan is used - a cascan with removable grates (mantyshnitsa, double boiler);
- tandoor- Central Asian clay oven. It is made by hand. It resembles a large clay jug. Tandoors are available vertical and horizontal. For example, horizontal ones are more suitable for baking flatbreads, and vertical ones - for;
- cauldron- cast iron boiler with thick walls. Many dishes can only be cooked in a cauldron, since it retains heat well and distributes heat evenly.

National dishes, where food is traditionally served:
- kasushka- a large bowl for food;
- lyagan- a large dish decorated with traditional paintings. Pilaf and many other dishes are served in lyagans.
- bowl, from which they drink tea.

Traditionally, people eat at a low table in Uzbekistan - dastarkhan, on the floor, in summer - on the ivan (bed). Variegated flowers are laid out around the dastarkhan Kurpachi(a type of Central Asian mattress) and small pillows so that, after eating deliciously, you can relax without getting up from the table.
Pork is strictly not used in the food.

Uzbek cuisine- this is delicious, juicy lamb, golden hot flatbread, a lot of aromatic spices, wonderful green tea, sweets, a thousand delicious fruits and vegetables, and most importantly - endlessly warm Asian hospitality!

Welcome!

Dishes of Uzbek cuisine

Invention of the concept of “Uzbeks”
Before the national-state demarcation of Soviet Central Asia, such a people as the Uzbeks did not exist. The settled population that lived in this territory was called the collective term “sart,” which in Persian means “trader.” The word “sart” was found in Plano Carpini in the 13th century. However, the concept of “sart” was not so much ethnic as it reflected the economic and cultural type of the settled population of Central Asia. The Sarts called themselves by the name of the area where they lived: Tashkent, Kokand, Khivan, Bukharan, Samarkand...

In addition to the Sarts, the territory of the future Uzbekistan was inhabited by numerous nomadic Turkic tribes, such as Ming, Yuz, Kyrk, Jalair, Sarai, Kongurat, Alchin, Argun, Naiman, Kipchak, Kalmak, Chakmak, Kyrgyz, Kyrlyk, Turk, Turkmen, Bayaut, Burlan, Shymyrchik, kabasha, nujin, kilechi, kilekesh, buryat, ubryat, kyyat, hytay, kangly, uryuz, dzhunalahi, kuji, kuchi, utarchi, puladchi, dzhyyit, juyut, dzhuldzhut, turmaut, uymaut, arlat, kereit, ongut, tangut, Mangut, Jalaut, Mamasit, Merkit, Burkut, Kiyat, Kuralash, Oglen, Kara, Arab, Ilachi, Juburgan, Kyshlyk, Girey, Datura, Tabyn, Tama, Ramadan, Uyshun, Badai, Hafiz, Uyurji, Jurat, Tatar, Yurga, batash, batash, kauchin, tubay, tilau, kardari, sankhyan, kyrgyn, shirin, oglan, chimbay, charkas, uyghur, anmar, yabu, targyl, turgak, turgan, teit, kohat, fakhir, kujalyk, shuran, deradjat, kimat, Shuja-at, Avgan - a total of 93 clans and tribes. The most powerful tribes were the Datura, Naiman, Kunrat and, of course, the Mangyt.


Average Uzbek


Average Uzbek woman
The Mangyts also included a secular dynasty in the Bukhara Emirate, which in 1756 replaced the Ashtarkhanid dynasty - the former Astrakhan khans and ruled until the capture of Bukhara by the Red Army in 1920. Another powerful tribe was the Mings, who formed the ruling dynasty of the Kokand Khanate in 1709.


Son of the last Bukhara emir, Major of the Red Army Shakhmurad Olimov


The last Emir of Bukhara, Alim Khan, from the Mangyt clan
Since the question of what peoples live in Soviet Turkestan did not have a clear answer, a special Commission was created to study the tribal composition of the population of the USSR and neighboring countries. Summing up the results of its work during 1922-1924, the Commission committed an obvious forgery, passing off representatives of various tribes and clans of Turkic-Mongolian origin as historically non-existent ethnic Uzbeks. The Commission appointed Khiva Karakalpaks, Fergana Kipchaks, Samarkand and Fergana Turks as Uzbeks.


At first, Uzbekistan was the same territorial concept as Dagestan, where more than 40 nationalities live, but over several decades the peoples of Central Turkestan managed to drum into it that they were an Uzbek nation.

In 1924, the population of the central part of Central Asia was given the collective name of Uzbeks in honor of Uzbek Khan, who stood at the head of the Golden Horde in 1313-41 and zealously spread Islam among the Turkic tribes subject to him. It is the reign of Uzbek that is considered the starting point of current Uzbek historiography, and some scholars, such as academician Rustam Abdullaev (not to be confused with the famous Moscow proctologist), call the Golden Horde Uzbekistan.


Bukhara zindan
Before the national-state demarcation, the territory of Uzbekistan was part of the Turkestan ASSR as part of the RSFSR, the Bukhara People's Soviet Republic, formed instead of the Bukhara Emirate as a result of the Bukhara operation of the Red Army, and the Khorezm People's Soviet Republic (from October 1923 - Khorezm Soviet Socialist Republic), formed instead of the Khiva Khanate as a result of the Khiva Revolution.

Uzbek customs
Urban Uzbeks are quite normal people. Most of them know Russian, are polite and educated. However, it is not representatives of the Uzbek intelligentsia who go to Russia, but residents of small towns and rural areas, who have a completely different mentality and observe their patriarchal traditions.

It is noteworthy that even in the 21st century, rural Uzbeks have preserved the custom according to which parents find a life partner for a lonely child; personal preferences are strictly secondary. And, since one of the unspoken laws of the Uzbeks is to obey and honor their parents, the son or daughter is forced to meekly agree.

Brides in most regions of Uzbekistan still pay bride price. According to local standards, this is compensation to the girl’s family for her upbringing and for the loss of workers. Often the money that the groom's family gives to the girl's family at the time of the wedding provides for the living of the bride's younger siblings. If, after many years of waving a broom in Russia, they have not been able to save up for the bride price, the bride is simply stolen. The police of Uzbekistan are engaged in the return of the bride only if the parents pay well. But Uzbeks steal brides in other countries too. Thus, in the Osh region of Kyrgyzstan, where many Uzbeks live, a large-scale action against the practice of bride kidnapping was recently held. Activists then came out with information that every year in Kyrgyzstan over ten thousand girls are forced into marriage, half of such marriages subsequently break up, and there have been cases of suicide of kidnapped girls. As a result, bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan is now equivalent to kidnapping, and this crime is punishable by imprisonment for a period of 5 to 10 years. Often cases of simple rape are passed off as theft of a bride, and sometimes grooms demand a ransom to return the bride home.

Another deep-rooted Uzbek tradition remains pedophilia. The sexual exploitation of boys in Uzbek is called bacha-bozlik Bacha bazi (in Persian - playing with “calves”), and these boys themselves are called bacha.

Before the annexation of these regions to Russia, the Kokands and Bukharans made frequent raids on Kazakh villages and even Russian villages. The main prey during such raids were boys, who were sold into sexual slavery, and when they began to grow beards, they were simply killed.

In Soviet times, Uzbeks were terribly offended by the fact that in the official speeches of the leaders of the USSR the Russian people were called their elder brother. The fact is that if for us the elder brother is the one who stands up for you in a street fight, then among these peoples the elder brother is the one who has you in the anus. The fact is that in their families they have a clear hierarchy - the father can have all the sons, daughters and daughters-in-law, and the older brother can have all the younger brothers and sisters, as well as the wives of the younger brothers. If younger brothers begin to have nephews - children of older brothers, then they are already punished for this, but, as a rule, not much, but still, fearing punishment, such teenagers rape other people's children, for which, however, they can get severe punishment. Therefore, they either rape very young children who cannot complain, or resort to child prostitution.


Bacha from Samarkand
Child prostitution has deep roots in Uzbekistan. The pimps in it are the parents of minor prostitutes and prostitutes, but if a girl can be sold for good, under the guise of being given in marriage, then the boys have to be rented out.

Traditional farming
By the beginning of the 20th century, there were few purely nomadic groups left among the future Uzbeks: most tribes led a semi-sedentary lifestyle, combining cattle breeding with agriculture. However, their way of life and organization of everyday life remained connected with the pastoral culture. Home crafts for processing livestock products were preserved: tanning, felting, carpet weaving, patterned weaving from woolen threads.

The main dwelling for cattle breeders was the yurt, but even where permanent houses appeared, it was used as an auxiliary and ritual dwelling.

Uzbek men's and women's clothing consisted of a shirt, wide-legged trousers and a robe (quilted with cotton wool or simply lined). The robe was belted with a sash (or a folded scarf) or worn loose. Sometimes the robe was belted with several scarves at once - the number of scarves corresponded to the number of wives of the owner of the robe. Women wore Chavchan, over which they put a burqa.


Uzbek cuisine is characterized by its diversity. The Uzbek food consists of a large number of various plant, dairy, and meat products. An important place in the diet is occupied by bread baked from wheat, less often from corn and other types of flour in the form of various flatbreads (obi-non, patir and others). Ready-made flour products, including dessert ones, are also common. The range of dishes is varied. Dishes such as Lagman, shurpa and porridges made from rice (shawl) and legumes (mashkichiri) are seasoned with vegetable or cow butter, fermented milk, red and black pepper, various herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro, raikhan, etc.) . There are a variety of dairy products - katyk, kaymak, sour cream, cottage cheese, suzma, pishlok, kurt, etc. Meat - lamb, beef, poultry (chicken, etc.), less often horse meat.

Such popular foods as fish, mushrooms and other products occupy a relatively insignificant place in the diet. The favorite dish of Uzbeks is pilaf. Uzbeks also love manta rays.

Uzbek language
The Uzbek language also does not represent something unified. Each of the above tribes spoke its own language or dialect, which even belonged to different linguistic branches of the Turkic languages ​​- Kipchak (which includes Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Bashkir, Nogai, Tatar, Karaite, Karachay-Balkar, Crimean, Urum and Karakalpak), Oguz (which includes Turkish, Turkmen, Gagauz, Afshar and Azerbaijani) and Karluk (Uyghur, Khoton, etc.). At the same time, in the 20s, the Uzbek literary language was artificially created on the basis of the language of the inhabitants of the Fergana Valley. The Ferghana language was taken as a basis not only because it was closest to the extinct Chagatai literary language, which was written in the Timurid era, but also in order to prevent the dominance of the Mangyt language and, accordingly, the Bukharians, who had previously had their own statehood. Here it must be said that the Central Asian intelligentsia had previously used mainly the Tajik language, but after that the New Uzbek language was intensively introduced, prudently cleared of many Tajik borrowings. For the same reason, on September 1, 1930, the capital of the Uzbek SSR was moved from Tajik-speaking Samarkand to Turkic-speaking Tashkent. Until now, in Bukhara and Samarkand, the Uzbek intelligentsia prefers to speak Tajik, not caring about all directives. The speakers of this language are not actually Tajiks at all. These are the so-called chalas (literally “neither this nor that”), who are mainly Bukharian Jews who converted to Islam in appearance. They have almost completely lost elements of Jewish ritual, and they carefully hide their Jewish origin.


A rabbi teaches literacy to Bukharian Jewish children.

National cuisine of Uzbekistanhas an ancient history and is closely connected with Uzbek culture, language, traditions and geographical and climatic conditions. A significant influence on the diversity and originality of Uzbek cuisine recipes was due to the fact that, unlike the cuisine of their closest geographical neighbors (the nomadic peoples of the Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Kyrgyz and Turkmen), Uzbeks have historically been characterized by both a sedentary and nomadic lifestyle. At the same time, the borrowing of culinary traditions and the assimilation of cultures (especially Persian-Tajik) had a profound impact on the variety and richness of dishes.

The origin of many of them has common roots with traditional Asian dishes such as pilaf, lagman, manti and others. However, Uzbekistan has its own peculiarities of preparing these dishes, as well as its own completely original dishes. Despite the fact that the main dishes and cooking technologies of Uzbek cuisine were formed more than a thousand years ago, Uzbek cuisine was enriched with new products, ingredients and culinary techniques of Russian, Ukrainian, Caucasian, Tatar, Uyghur and European cuisine.

Uzbek national cuisine- these are hearty and aromatic meat dishes, thick soups with an abundance of fresh vegetables and herbs, exotic sweets and original pastries. The features of Uzbek cuisine, like many other national cuisines, are determined by the specifics of local agriculture. Grain farming is very well developed in Uzbekistan, so noodles and bread are of utmost importance in local cuisine. Sheep farming is also widespread in Uzbekistan, so the most popular type of meat is lamb, which is included in most main dishes of Uzbek cuisine. Horse meat and camel meat are used less frequently.

Many Uzbek recipes have a centuries-old history, and cooking is accompanied by various rituals, that have survived to this day. Over a thousand-year history, Uzbek cuisine has developed its own specific features. The diversity and originality of Uzbek cuisine recipes has been significantly influenced by the fact that, in contrast to the cuisine of its closest geographical neighbors: the nomadic peoples of the Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Kyrgyz and Turkmens. Uzbeks have historically been characterized by both a sedentary and nomadic lifestyle. At the same time, the borrowing of culinary traditions had a profound impact on the variety and richness of dishes. The origin of many of them has common roots with traditional Asian dishes such as pilaf, lagman, manti and others. However, Uzbekistan has its own peculiarities of preparing these dishes, as well as its own completely original dishes. Despite the fact that the main dishes and cooking technologies of Uzbek cuisine were formed more than a thousand years ago, Uzbek cuisine was enriched with new products, ingredients and culinary techniques of Russian, Ukrainian, Caucasian, Tatar, Uyghur and European cuisine. Uzbek national cuisine consists of hearty and aromatic meat dishes, thick soups with an abundance of fresh vegetables and herbs, exotic sweets and original pastries.

Recipes of Uzbek cuisine. Dishes for the holidays. National New Year's recipes.

First meal:

  • Lagman
  • Lagman in Uzbek style with radish
  • Shurpa in Uzbek
  • Milk soup with peas and pearl barley
  • Lagman with veal broth
  • “Kulchetai” soup with Uzbek noodles
  • Manchisa
  • Lamb soup with onion rolls
  • Tovuk shurpa - chicken soup
  • Mastava in Osh style
  • Mashkhurda (Soup with mung bean and rice)
  • Milk rice soup with pumpkin Shirkavak
  • Chalop (sour milk with vegetables and herbs)
  • Mastava (meatball soup)
  • Nokhat shurpa (soup with peas and meat)
  • Mashkhurda (meat soup with mung bean and rice)
  • Moshova (meat soup with mung bean)
  • Tomato shurpa (tomato soup)
  • Ugra chuchvara (soup with noodles, dumplings and meatballs)
  • Kovurma shurpa (soup with fried meat)
  • Khurda (lenten soup with vegetables and rice)
  • Kainatma shurpa (soup with meat and vegetables)
  • Shalgam shurpa (meat soup with turnips)
  • Macaron shurpa (pasta soup)
  • Khasip shurpa (soup with sausage from sboja)
  • Kallya shurpa (lamb head and leg soup)
  • Darman shurpa (chicken soup with herbs)
  • Dolma shurpa (soup with stuffed bell peppers)
  • Ugra oshi (meat soup with noodles and meatballs)
  • Chuchvara shurpa (soup with dumplings)
  • Shepherd soup
  • Kurban shurpa (soup with meat, liver and rice)
  • Fried noodle soup
  • Bone Broth Noodles
  • Noodles with meatballs
  • Noodles with peas
  • Noodles with unripe apricots
  • Noodles with chicken broth
  • Noodles with dumplings and meatballs
  • Mung bean noodles
  • Rice soup with meatballs
  • Pea
  • Meat soup with pasta
  • Meat soup with noodles (first option)
  • Meat soup with noodles (second option)
  • With dumplings
  • Milk noodles (first option)
  • Milk noodles with pumpkin (second option)
  • Fermented milk noodles with peas
  • Kavurma-shurpa
  • Corn shurpa
  • Lamb shurpa
  • Naryn
  • Mashkhurda (meat soup with mung bean and rice)
  • Shirkavak (milk soup with pumpkin)
  • Mastava
  • Suyuk-osh
  • Sour cream
  • Kakurum
  • Sikhmon
  • Chalop
  • Pea
  • Rice with tomatoes
  • Milk puree soup with vegetables
  • Pumpkin milk with rice
  • Pumpkin milk with semolina
  • Milk soup
  • From semolina
  • With rice
  • With meatballs
  • From beans
  • Beans in meat broth
  • From peas in meat broth in Uzbek style
  • Asparagus in meat broth
  • Potato with meat broth
  • Tomato with meat broth
  • From pickled cucumbers in meat broth
  • From sweet peppers in meat broth
  • Vegetable puree soup with meat broth
  • Made from barley in meat broth
  • Semolina with dates
  • From dried apricots
  • Oatmeal with prunes
  • Bread with dried fruits
  • Fruity with rice
  • Milk with fruit
  • Fish soup
  • Shrimp in meat broth
  • From squid
  • Onion with lamb
  • Garlic lamb and beef
  • Tomato lamb with lettuce
  • Lamb with rhubarb
  • Lamb with cherry plum
  • Lamb with millet
  • With mung bean and rice
  • Spicy lamb with rice
  • Lamb with beans
  • Lamb with turnips
  • Lamb with corn
  • Lamb with sorrel
  • Lamb with pumpkin
  • Balik-shurpa, or fish soup in Uzbek
  • Noodles with meat
  • Noodles
  • Spicy lamb noodle soup
  • Sayrab, or Uzbek lamb noodle soup
  • Umoch, or soup made from mashed flour in Uzbek
  • From lamb
  • Lamb with nuts and lemon
  • Lamb with prunes
  • Fried
  • Goulash
  • With meat broth and croutons
  • Lamb liver with green peas
  • Lamb liver soup
  • Lamb kidneys with apples
  • Lamb breast with quince
  • Lamb ribs in mushroom broth
  • From lamb legs
  • From lamb legs and tripe
  • From a ram's head
  • Potato shorba
  • Fish shorba
  • White shorba
  • Beef shorba with lentils
  • Chicken shorba with pasta
  • Beef with peas
  • Lamb with peas
  • Beef with baked rice
  • Beef with vermicelli
  • Beef tongue
  • Spicy chicken soup
  • Chicken soup with carrots in Fergana style
  • Chicken
  • Sayehat, or Uzbek chicken noodle soup with cheese
  • Chicken soup with cherry plum
  • Chicken soup with green beans
  • Creamy chicken soup with asparagus
  • Cold sour milk soup

Main dishes:

  • Damlyama
  • Uzbek pilaf with chicken
  • Minimalist pilaf with chicken
  • Lagman in Uzbek style with radish
  • Uzbek pilaf with chicken and barberry
  • Fergana style pilaf
  • Manti
  • Uzbek pilaf with lamb and chickpeas
  • Narhangi
  • Kazan-kabob from guinea fowl
  • Steppe shashlik
  • Mashkhurda (mung bean porridge)
  • Bayram-pilaf
  • Fried dumplings in Uzbek style
  • Tokosh
  • Pilaf a la Fergana
  • Chaikhansky pilaf
  • Simple pilaf with meat
  • Pilaf with lamb and garlic
  • Damlyama - August stew of meat and vegetables
  • Manti with minced meat and pumpkin
  • Manti with minced meat and potatoes
  • Beef shish kebab roll
  • Lula kebab in Uzbek
  • Pilaf with pork ribs
  • Lenten pilaf with vegetables and dried fruits
  • Uzbek dolmali palov
  • Festive stuffed vegetables
  • Lamb baked with rice
  • Lamb baked with cherry plum
  • Dzhigar - liver stewed in Uzbek style
  • Quail shish kebab
  • Stuffed quails
  • Shah pumpkin stuffed with meat
  • Lamb ribs stewed with onions
  • Mashkichiri (mung bean and rice porridge)
  • Kadi gurunc (milk rice porridge with pumpkin)
  • Bayram palov (festive pilaf)
  • Tui palov (wedding pilaf)
  • Kavirma palov (pilaf with lamb)
  • Ivitma palov (pilaf with peas)
  • Tovuk palov (chicken pilaf)
  • Mais palov (pilaf with raisins in Bukhara style)
  • Postdumba palov (pilaf with fat tail casing)
  • Kavatak palov (pilaf with cabbage rolls made from grape leaves)
  • Sarymsak palov (pilaf with garlic)
  • Bedana palov (pilaf with stuffed quail)
  • Chilov (pilaf in Khorezm style)
  • Sopaki palov (separate pilaf)
  • Zigir yogli palov (pilaf in flaxseed oil with eggs)
  • Oshkovok palov (pilaf with pumpkin)
  • Behili palov (pilaf with quince)
  • Kazili palov (pilaf with kazy)
  • Barra kabob (lamb skewers)
  • Qiyama kabob (chopped meat shish kebab)
  • Kukon kabob (Kokand style shish kebab)
  • Chupon kabob (sirloin skewers)
  • Kovurma - roast with potatoes
  • Kovatok dulma (stuffed cabbage rolls with grape leaves)
  • Bekhi dimlama (meat stewed with quince)
  • Shalgam dimlama (meat stewed with turnips)
  • Barra-gusht, or boiled lamb in Uzbek
  • Yakhna-barra, or boiled lamb in Uzbek style
  • Steamed lamb with potatoes
  • Lamb stewed in tomato paste
  • Lamb stewed with leeks
  • Lamb stewed with dried apricots and raisins
  • Lamb stewed with raisins and chestnuts
  • Lamb stewed with rice
  • Lamb with wine sauce
  • Lamb stuffed with cheese
  • Lamb with beans
  • Lamb with peas
  • Lamb baked with cauliflower
  • Roast lamb
  • Roasted lamb with asparagus
  • Roasted lamb shoulder
  • Braised lamb shoulder
  • Lamb chops
  • Lamb chops with apples and sweet peppers
  • Lamb schnitzel
  • Lamb schnitzel
  • Beef liver schnitzel with raisins
  • Lamb stew
  • Lamb stew with garlic
  • Lamb stew with potatoes
  • Azu in Uzbek
  • Lamb goulash with lemon
  • Lamb goulash with beans
  • Lamb goulash with potatoes
  • Meat rolls with prunes
  • Tajine with tomatoes
  • Tajine with apples
  • Tajine with quince
  • Lamb chops
  • Chopped lamb cutlets
  • Lamb cutlets with potatoes
  • Lamb cutlets with cumin
  • Kefta
  • Boiled meatballs
  • Dolma
  • Meat with dumplings
  • Lakhchak
  • Meat fried in dough
  • Meat baked in puff pastry
  • Lamb liver in white wine
  • Lamb liver with garlic sauce
  • Lamb liver with apples in red wine
  • Lamb lung stewed in milk
  • Roast lamb
  • Lamb kidneys
  • Khasib, or offal sausage
  • Beef hasib with radish
  • Khasib fried with vegetables
  • Tukhum-khasib, or Uzbek rice sausage
  • Guruch-khasib, or sausage made from lamb spleen and rice in Uzbek style
  • Lamb sausage
  • Kuen gushti, or fried rabbit in Uzbek style
  • Chicken stewed with nuts and garlic
  • Chicken stewed with carrots
  • Chicken stewed in a pot
  • Tovuk buglama, or Uzbek stuffed steamed chicken
  • Fried chicken
  • Yassa, or fried chicken
  • Stuffed chicken legs
  • Chicken giblets with rice
  • Partridge stewed with quince
  • Couscous
  • Couscous
  • Couscous with lamb and almonds
  • Couscous with young lamb
  • Barley couscous with lamb and vegetables
  • Couscous with chicken and peas
  • Couscous with fish and quince
  • Couscous with fish and zucchini
  • Couscous with green peas
  • Shavla, or rice porridge with meat in Uzbek style
  • Moshkichiri, or mung bean and rice porridge with meat in Uzbek style
  • Porridge from sprouted wheat grains
  • Semolina porridge with honey
  • Oja, or scrambled eggs
  • Tastira with fried fish
  • Zrazy from fish
  • Boiled beans
  • Fried green beans
  • Pumpkin stewed with vegetables
  • Pumpkin stewed with rice and raisins
  • Spinach baked with cheese
  • Potatoes stewed with mint
  • Potato pancakes with cheese
  • Tomato stew
  • Chekchuka with sweet pepper
  • Chekchuka with zucchini
  • Stuffed apples
  • Lamb kabob
  • Lamb kabob with pumpkin and quince
  • Lamb kabob with tomatoes
  • Minced lamb kabob
  • Chopped beef kabob with pomegranate
  • Duck kabob

Salads and appetizers:

  • Salad with homemade noodles and chicken
  • Salad "Guliston"
  • Tomato and cucumber salad Achik-chuchuk
  • Salad with onion and pomegranate
  • Salad with cucumbers, radishes and suzma
  • Salad "Fantasy"
  • Fresh tomato salad
  • Radish salad
  • Cherry and blackberry salad
  • Onions with vinegar
  • Salad “Chimchik Tili”
  • Salad with suzma
  • Radish and green onion salad
  • Vegetable salad with eggs
  • Kazy (horse sausage)
  • Calla pocha (boiled lamb head and legs)
  • Khasip (boiled sausage from sboja)
  • Fried meat in lard
  • Jellied beef legs Lik-lik
  • Liver appetizer with lard Dumba-jigar
  • Pumpkin appetizer Kadi yakhnasi

Dough dishes and desserts:

  • Samsa
  • Chuchvara - dumplings
  • Manti with meat
  • Manti with pumpkin
  • Kesma lagman (boiled noodles with meat gravy)
  • Chuzma lagman (stretched dough noodles with meat gravy)
  • Obi non (homemade flatbread)
  • Zagara non (corn flour cakes)
  • Kumach (corn flour cakes with fat tail fat)
  • Yaglyk kulcha (flatbread)
  • Kuzy korin somsa (pies with morels)
  • Cook samsa (samsa with greens)
  • Piez samsa (samsa with onions)
  • Tukhum samsa (samsa with eggs and green onions)
  • Oshkavak samsa (samsa with pumpkin)
  • Bogirsak (fried dough balls)
  • Paramach (minced meat pies)
  • Kuymak (pancakes)
  • Zangza (sweet dough curls)
  • Uzbek baklava
  • Urama
  • Semolina halva with butter and dates
  • Pumpkin pancakes
  • Honey brushwood
  • Apricot cookies
  • Spiced shortbread
  • Vanilla cookies
  • Crispy cookies
  • Corn Almond Cookies
  • Oat cookies
  • Honey fingers
  • Nut roll
  • Apricot cakes with strawberries
  • Cakes with prunes
  • Coffee cakes
  • Creamy sausages
  • Lemon semolina cake
  • Curd biscuit
  • Vanilla pie
  • Chocolate pie
  • Walnut and almond cake
  • Almond cake
  • Sponge cake with peach jam
  • Quince with nuts
  • Walnut and sultana balls
  • Carrot jam
  • Tomato jam
  • Ghee with honey
  • Uryuchny cue
  • Halwaitar
  • Bookman
  • Bolkaimok
  • Almond or apricot kernels with raisins
  • Yanchmish
  • Honey couscous
  • Milk couscous
  • Couscous with raisins
  • Pear mousse
  • Berry mousse
  • Strawberry mousse with milk
  • Turkish delight
  • Lemon dessert
  • Lemon dessert with marmalade
  • Citrus dessert with sour cream
  • Quince dessert
  • Apricot dessert with white wine
  • Strawberry dessert with cream
  • Strawberry dessert with butter cream
  • Melon dessert with ice cream
  • Pumpkin and apple dessert with honey
  • Carrot dessert with berry jelly
  • Apple dessert with cottage cheese
  • Hazelnut dessert
  • Pine nut dessert with starch
  • Nut dessert with cream
  • Fruit dessert with cinnamon
  • Fruit dessert with nuts
  • Fruit dessert with yogurt
  • Fruit dessert with condensed milk
  • Peach dessert
  • Peach dessert with oatmeal cookies
  • Peach dessert with nuts
  • Peach dessert with sour cream
  • Peach dessert with cottage cheese
  • Fruit dessert with cottage cheese
  • Curd dessert
  • Curd dessert with chocolate
  • Milk dessert with almonds
  • Rice dessert with prunes
  • Apricot marshmallows
  • Cherry soufflé
  • Apples stuffed with raisins
  • Apples baked with rice
  • Peanut balls
  • Almond balls
  • Almonds in chocolate

National drinks:

  • Tomato juice for pilaf
  • Fruit decoction with honey
  • Uruk infusion
  • Pomegranate sorbet
  • Infusion of unabi
  • Apricot sorbet
  • Pomegranate sherbet (second option)
  • Prune compote
  • Compote of prunes, raisins and dried apricots
  • Pomegranate drink
  • Katyk or yogurt
  • Fruit and berry drink
  • Sea buckthorn physical
  • Orange sorbet
  • Orange-apple drink with honey
  • Peach drink with honey
  • Pomegranate drink
  • Cherry plum fruit drink
  • Apricot juice
  • Compote of prunes and dried apricots
  • Compote of prunes and apples
  • Dried fruit compote with tarragon
  • Compote of pears and tangerines
  • Baluza
  • Honey jelly
  • Kvass jelly
  • Kissel from dried apricots
  • Orange jelly with honey
  • Carrot and berry juice jelly
  • Pumpkin and apple jelly
  • Milk jelly with nuts
  • Cherry milkshake
  • Hot milk drink with rose hips
  • Hot milk drink with chocolate
  • Egg drink with orange juice
  • Almond milk
  • Basil tea
  • Tea with verbena and mint
  • Tea with pepper
  • Tea with sour cream
  • Uzbek iced tea with orange
  • Black tea with tarragon and pomegranate
  • Black tea with milk and spices
  • Black tea with milk and salt
  • Green tea Bukhara style
  • Green tea
  • Green tea with strawberry and sea buckthorn leaves
  • Green tea with milk
  • Carrot tea

The recipes for Uzbek cuisine are huge. There are more than 100 types of pilaf, 60 types of soups, 30 types of shish kebab.

Pilaf is the most popular dish in Uzbekistan. It is prepared for every day and for special holidays, both secular and religious. And each region of Uzbekistan has its own pilaf - Bukhara, Khorezm, Fergana, Samarkand, Tashkent. They differ in the method of preparation and additives to the main products.


Flatbreads are varied in taste and appearance - Uzbek bread, which is baked in a tandoor - a special oven made of clay. Samsa - national pies with meat, onions and fat tail - is also prepared in the tandoor.

Many dishes have complex recipes and are prepared by hand, which requires many years of skill and culinary art. Special professional skill is required when preparing large pilaf for tens and hundreds of kilograms of rice. Manti and dumplings (chuchvara) are molded by hand; the popular spring dish sumalak is cooked over low heat for more than 10 hours. In this case, the preparatory stage of wheat germination can take several days.

Currently, modern gas and electric stoves, kitchen utensils and appliances are widely used for preparing dishes in Uzbek cuisine. However, traditional cooking methods are still popular. A mandatory element of kitchen utensils is a cauldron - a spherical cast iron cauldron. Tandir - a clay oven can be found everywhere in Uzbekistan and is practically an obligatory element, especially in rural cuisine.

The traditional type of dishes on which pilaf and many other dishes are served is lagan, a large flat plate or dish. In modern meals in Uzbek cuisine, forks are rarely used - if pilaf is not eaten with hands, then it is customary to eat it with a spoon. Other utensils used in Uzbek cuisine: spit (deep bowl), bowl (cup usually for tea).

It is characteristic of Uzbek families that cooking at the household level is considered a male occupation, and men often take on culinary responsibilities in the family. Cooking large pilaf in a cauldron with a hundred or more kilograms of rice is the prerogative of only men. For a European, fully enjoying an Uzbek feast is an impossible task. Not only is Uzbek cuisine rich and filling. Here it is customary to eat slowly, for a long time and with taste. A long series of dishes amazes the unprepared imagination of those accustomed to diets. Up to ten dishes per meal is the usual Uzbek hospitality.


In Uzbekistan they eat three times a day, but there is an abundance of different dishes on the table, and they are all very high in calories. The main courses are served not for lunch, but for dinner. Firstly, because of the heat, and secondly, because many Uzbek dishes take a long time to prepare, sometimes even throughout the whole day. And in general, a good feast, in a large company, a real dastarkhan (Uzbek table), can be arranged in the evening, when the bustle of the day is behind.

There are dishes that are not prepared every day, but only for weddings and festive tables, dear guests. These are such delicious dishes as kazy-karta, post-dumba uramashi (a fat-tailed casing roll), tandir-kabob (shish kebab in a tandoor), norin, khasip (homemade sausage).

The traditional Uzbek national drink, like in many other countries of Central Asia, is green tea. For Uzbeks, green tea is a drink that has not only gastronomic but also cultural significance. This drink always accompanies a meal; it is a symbol of hospitality. If the owner of the house offers tea to a guest, it means that he is happy about this guest. Green tea is considered traditional, but black tea is no less popular in Tashkent.

Alcohol is consumed much less in Uzbekistan than in European countries, but wine is popular relative to other Muslim countries. There are more than a dozen wineries in Uzbekistan that produce good wine from local grapes. Beer and strong alcoholic drinks (vodka, cognac) are also consumed.


Features of Uzbek cuisine, like many other national cuisines,
due to the specifics of local agriculture. Grain farming is very well developed in Uzbekistan, so noodles and bread are of utmost importance in local cuisine. Sheep farming is also widespread in Uzbekistan, so the most popular type of meat is lamb, which is included in most main dishes of Uzbek cuisine. Horse meat and camel meat are used less frequently.

The recipe for dishes of Uzbek cuisine is huge. There are more than 100 types of pilaf, 60 types of soups, 30 types of shish kebab.

Pilaf is the most popular dish in Uzbekistan.
It is prepared for every day and for special holidays, both secular and religious. And each region of Uzbekistan has its own pilaf - Bukhara, Khorezm, Fergana, Samarkand, Tashkent. They differ in the method of preparation and additives to the main products.

Among the soups, lagman and shurpa are especially tasty and aromatic - vermicelli and potato soup with lamb, fresh herbs and vegetables.

Manti are steamed and stuffed with meat, pumpkin, and spring greens.


Flatbreads are varied in taste and appearance - Uzbek bread, which is baked in a tandoor - a special oven made of clay. Samsa - national pies with meat, onions and fat tail - is also prepared in the tandoor.

No treat is complete without sweets. They are placed on the table before serving the main course with green tea - the main drink in Uzbekistan. Among the sweets they serve are dried apricots, raisins, nuts, halva, parvarda, baklava, honey, and in the spring there will definitely be sumalak on the table - a delicious and healthy dish made from sprouted wheat.

The main meat dishes are characterized by the preparation of fried, high-calorie foods, the widespread use of cottonseed oil, lamb tail fat, butter, spices and herbs. Meat dishes are almost always prepared with onions, and their use in proportion to meat is much greater than in European cuisine.


Many dishes have complex recipes, are prepared by hand,
which requires years of skill and culinary art. Special professional skill is required when preparing large pilaf for tens and hundreds of kilograms of rice. Manti and dumplings (chuchvara) are molded by hand; the popular spring dish sumalak is cooked over low heat for more than 10 hours. In this case, the preparatory stage of wheat germination can take several days.

Traditional cooking methods are still popular. A mandatory element of kitchen utensils is a cauldron - a spherical cast iron cauldron. Tandir - a clay oven can be found everywhere in Uzbekistan and is practically an obligatory element, especially in rural cuisine.


Traditional type of dishes on which pilaf is served
and many other dishes - lagan, a large flat plate or dish. In modern meals in Uzbek cuisine, forks are rarely used - if pilaf is not eaten with hands, then it is customary to eat it with a spoon. Other utensils used in Uzbek cuisine: a spit - a deep bowl, a bowl - a cup usually for tea.

There are noticeable differences between regions in Uzbek national cuisine. In the north, the main dishes are pilaf and dough dishes. In the southern part of the country, preference is given to multi-component dishes made from vegetables and rice. In the Fergana Valley they prepare darker and fried pilaf, in Tashkent it is lighter.


It is typical in Uzbek families that
that cooking at the household level is considered a male activity, and men often take on culinary responsibilities in the family. Cooking large pilaf in a cauldron with a hundred or more kilograms of rice is the prerogative of only men. For a European, fully enjoying an Uzbek feast is an impossible task. Not only is Uzbek cuisine rich and filling. Here it is customary to eat slowly, for a long time and with taste. A long series of dishes amazes the unprepared imagination of those accustomed to diets. Up to ten dishes per meal is the usual Uzbek hospitality.


In Uzbekistan they eat three times a day,
but there is an abundance of different dishes on the table, and they are all very high in calories. The main courses are served not for lunch, but for dinner. Firstly, because of the heat, and secondly, because many Uzbek dishes take a long time to prepare, sometimes even throughout the whole day. And in general, a good feast, in a large company, a real dastarkhan (Uzbek table), can be arranged in the evening, when the bustle of the day is behind.

There are some dishes that are not prepared every day,
but only for weddings and festive tables, dear guests. These are such delicious dishes as kazy-karta, post-dumba uramashi - a fat-tailed casing roll, tandir - kabob - shish kebab in a tandoor, norin, hasip - homemade sausage.

While the choice of soups and hot dishes of Uzbek cuisine is quite wide, the range of desserts is indeed very limited. A typical meal ends with fresh fruit or dried fruit compote, and baklava, nuts or halva are also served. Sweet pastries are less common than in other countries in the region.


The traditional Uzbek national drink, like in many other countries of Central Asia, is green tea.
For Uzbeks, green tea is a drink that has not only gastronomic but also cultural significance. This drink always accompanies a meal; it is a symbol of hospitality. If the owner of the house offers tea to a guest, it means that he is happy about this guest. Green tea is considered traditional, but black tea is no less popular in Tashkent.

Alcohol is consumed much less in Uzbekistan than in European countries, but wine is popular relative to other Muslim countries. There are more than a dozen wineries in Uzbekistan that produce good wine from local grapes. Beer and strong alcoholic drinks are also consumed.

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