Culture

An Azerbaijani sherbet (şərbət) is a refreshing, cooling drink made from fruit, sugar and water. The word sherbet comes from the Persian sharbat, itself an adaptation of the Arabic for drink, sharab. Sherbet entered the English language as sorbet, which is now more of an iced dessert or palate cleanser …

An Azerbaijani sherbet (şərbət) is a refreshing, cooling drink made from fruit or spices, sugar and water. The word sherbet comes from the Persian sharbat, itself an adaptation of the Arabic for drink, sharab. Sherbet entered the English language as sorbet, which is now more of an iced dessert or …

Apricots grow across Azerbaijan, ripening in late June and July. Apricot preserve is a delicious way to enjoy the abundance of summer all year round. Use ripe but not over-ripe apricots to make preserves, avoiding the smaller fruit as they lose their shape in the cooking process. In Azerbaijani apricot …

A Tabriz meatball is an even larger version of the kofta. It is made with minced veal or lamb packed round a filling of hard-boiled egg and fruit. Tabriz is an ethnically Azerbaijani city, capital of Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province. The name kofta is derived from the Persian and “pounding”, …

Azerbaijanis love to eat jam and fruit preserves with tea. Jam is eaten on its own by the spoonful, rather than spread on bread. Fruit is usually kept intact in Azerbaijani jam, so the jam is perhaps better described as whole fruit preserves. Sweet cherry jam is made from white …

Paradise apples are small apples that look like golden crab apples but taste far sweeter. As with most Azerbaijani jams, the paradise apples should be kept intact in the preserving process. Azerbaijani preserves are usually eaten by the spoonful with tea, rather than spread on bread. Oval.Az is grateful to …

Azerbaijani cuisine has a rich variety of pilaf dishes and sauces to go with them. Noodle pilaf is a particularly filling pilaf and can be served on its own or with chicken. As with all Azerbaijani pilafs, noodle pilaf should not be sticky! It follows the basic cooking method for …

Ovdukh is a refreshing summer soup of yoghurt, cucumber and herbs. It can also contain minced meat and hard-boiled eggs, but is most popular in its vegetarian form. Unlike in dovga, the yoghurt is not heated in ovdukh. A good ovdukh requires the right sort of yoghurt. Much of the …

Dumplings in various shapes and sizes are popular across the Caucasus and Russia. Georgia has its khingali, Russia its pelmeni and Azerbaijan its gurza and dushbara. Gurza are larger than dushbara and not usually served in bouillon. Cinnamon can be added to the minced lamb stuffing of gurza or sprinkled …

Pan kebab is tasty way of cooking lamb without any need for a barbecue. It could equally well be called oven kebab, as first the meat is fried in a pan, and then baked in the oven. Preparation time: 20-25 min Cooking time: 35-40 min Serves: 2-3