Culture

Bread is a staple food in Azerbaijan, served at every meal. Bread is treated with great respect. Even in the city, stale bread is not thrown away with the household rubbish, but set aside next to the rubbish bins so that people can collect it to feed to their animals. …

These light, tasty biscuits are an Azerbaijani version of shortbread or the biscuits known in Britain as Viennese whirls. Buttery Baku biscuits (Bakı qorabiyyəsi) are sold in most cake shops in the Azerbaijani capital, but the home-made biscuits are even tastier. News.Az is grateful to Gullu Cahangir for allowing us …

These popular Azerbaijani biscuits are a relative of shortbread, but thicker than the Scottish variety. The name shakarchorayi (şəkərçörəyi) literally means sugar bread. The key to good sugar bread lies in beating the mixture for at least 30 minutes, if you’re beating by hand. Anything less and the biscuits will …

Sujuk (sucuk) is a jelly-like dessert made with starch, sugar, saffron and walnuts. It shares its name with that of a spicy sausage, popular in Turkey, the Middle East and Balkans. Sweet sujuk can be made in a sausage shape, threaded on a string, but this version is served on …

Tikhma are a sweet version of the popular shor gogal savoury pastries. Like shor gogal, tikhma (tıxma) are usually eaten at the Novruz spring holiday, but are popular all year round too. As with pastry the world over, Azerbaijan has many variations of its pastry recipes. We give here a …

This thick soupy porridge of rice and walnuts makes a hearty winter warmer. The Azerbaijani name – sıyıq – is the word used for porridge and similar dishes cooked from grains. Preparation time: 20 mins Cooking time: 20 mins Serves: 3-4

Originally a Turkish soup, red lentil soup (mərci şorbası or mərci) has become popular in Baku cafes and restaurants. The soup is equally tasty as a vegetarian dish or made with chicken stock. Preparation time: 20 min Cooking time: 25 min Serves: 3-4

Azerbaijan has several varieties of chicken pilaf, one of which is chicken and egg pilaf (çığırtma plov). The word chigirtma (çığırtma) in the name of a dish means that it has been set in beaten egg. Preparation time: 30-40 mins Cooking time: 45-60 mins Serves: 3-4

Qiyma chigirtma (qiymə çığırtma) is an Azerbaijani dish of minced lamb or mutton cooked with eggs. The word chigirtma (çığırtma) in the name of a dish means that it has been set in beaten egg. Preparation time: 30-40 mins Cooking time: 40 min Serves: 2

Pickles are popular in Azerbaijan as an accompaniment to a main dish or as a starter, and are often served as one of a selection of appetizers. The name of this pickle of aubergines, cabbage, beetroot, carrot and herbs – haftabajar (həftəbecər) – means “ready in a week”. News.Az is …