Tajik cuisine is a traditional
cuisine of
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
, and has much in common with
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
,
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
,
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
and
Uzbek cuisines. ''Plov'' (
pilaf) ( tg, палав, uz, palov), also called ''osh'' ( tg, ош), is the national dish in Tajikistan, as in other countries in the region.
Green tea is the national drink.
Common foods and dishes
Palav or osh, generically known as ''plov'' (
pilaf), is a
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
dish made with shredded
yellow turnip or
carrot, and pieces of
meat, all fried together in
vegetable oil
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or f ...
or mutton fat in a special
''qazan'' (a
wok
A wok (; Pinyin: ; Cantonese ) is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan from China. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in China and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as ...
-shaped
cauldron
A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...
) over an open flame. The meat is cubed, the carrots are chopped finely into long strips, and the rice is colored yellow or orange by the frying carrots and the oil. The dish is eaten communally from a single large plate placed at the center of the table, often in with one's hands in the traditional way.
Another traditional dish that is still eaten with hands from a communal plate is ''
qurutob'' ( tg, қурутоб), whose name describes the preparation method: ''
qurut'' ( tg, қурут, dried balls of salty cheese) is dissolved in water ( tg, об, ''ob'') and the liquid is poured over strips of а thin
flaky flatbread (''patyr'' or ''fatir'', tg, фатир, or more accurately фатир равғанӣ, ''fatir ravghani'', i.e., fatir made with butter or tallow for flakiness). Before serving the dish is topped with onions fried in oil until golden and other fried vegetables. No meat is added. ''Qurutob'' is considered the
national dish.
Meals are almost always served with ''
non Non, non or NON can refer to:
* ''Non'', a negatory word in French, Italian and Latin
People
*Non (given name)
*Non Boonjumnong (born 1982), Thai amateur boxer
* Rena Nōnen (born 1993), Japanese actress who uses the stage name "Non" since July ...
'' ( tg, нон),
flatbread found throughout
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
. If a
Tajik has food but not ''non'', he will say he is out of food. If ''non'' is dropped on the ground, people will put it up on a high ledge for beggars or birds. Legend holds that one is not supposed to put ''non'' upside down because this will bring bad luck. The same holds if anything is put on top of the ''non'', unless it is another piece of ''non''.
Breakfast usually consists of tea, kulcha (Tajik flatbread) or non with butter, kolbasa (sausage-like meat product), smetana (sour cream), kaymak, jam, Nutella, and eggs. Fruits such as berries, grapes, apples, peaches, and apricots are eaten too during the Summer. Kompot (a non-alcoholic sweet beverage that may be served hot or cold and is made with fruits) is often drunk as well.
Traditional Tajik soups include mainly meat and vegetable soups (such as
shurbo and
piti
Piti may refer to:
* Pīti, a mental factor in Buddhism
* PITI, the principal, interest, taxes, and insurance sum of a mortgage payment
* Piti (food), a soup dish of Central Asia
* Piti (footballer) (born 1981), Spanish footballer
* Piti, Guam
* Pi ...
), and meat soups with noodles (such as
laghmon and
ugro). Other dishes shared regionally, either as fast food or as an appetizer, include ''
manti'' (steamed meat dumplings), ''tushbera'' (
pelmeni
Pelmeni (russian: пельмени—plural, ; pelmen, russian: пельмень, link=no—singular, ) are dumplings of Russian cuisine that consist of a filling wrapped in thin, unleavened dough.
It is debated whether they originated in Ura ...
), ''
sambusa
A samosa () or singara is a fried Indian pastry with a savory filling, including ingredients such as spiced potatoes, onions, and peas. It may take different forms, including triangular, cone, or half-moon shapes, depending on the region. Samo ...
'' (a triangular
pastry
Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" sugges ...
with either a meat and onion stuffing or a pumpkin and onion stuffing, baked in a
tandoor
A tandoor ( or ) is a large urn-shaped oven, usually made of clay, originating from the Indian Subcontinent. Since antiquity, tandoors have been used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti and naan, as well as to roast meat. The tandoo ...
oven), and ''
belyash
Peremech ( tt-Cyrl, пәрәмәч / ''pərəməç'' / ''pärämäç''; ba, бәрәмес, tr. ''beremes''; russian: беляш, belyash) is an individual-sized fried dough pastry common for Volga Tatar and Bashkir cuisines. It is made from ...
'' (pl. ''belyashi'', tg, беляши, deep-fried cakes made of yeast dough and filled with minced meat, similar to
pirozhki
Pirozhki ( rus, пирожки́, r=pirožkí, p=pʲɪrɐʂˈkʲi, plural form of ; uk, пиріжки, ''pyrizhky'') are Russian and Ukrainian baked or fried yeast-leavened boat-shaped buns with a variety of fillings. Pirozhki are a popular str ...
).
Soviet cuisine
Soviet cuisine, the common cuisine of the Soviet Union, was formed by the integration of the various national cuisines of the Soviet Union, in the course of the formation of the Soviet people. It is characterized by a limited number of ingredi ...
both influenced and was in turn influenced by Tajik cuisine.
Dairy products
Dairy dishes, usually served as part of the spread of appetizers in a Tajik meal and scooped with pieces of flatbread, include ''chaka'' (a sour milk preparation), thick
yogurt
Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...
, and
kaymak
Kaymak, sarshir, or qashta/ashta ( fa, سَرشیر ) ( ar, قشطة or ar, قيمر ) is a creamy dairy food similar to clotted cream, made from the milk of water buffalo, cows, sheep, or goats in Central Asia, some Balkan countries, som ...
(high-fat clotted cream). ''Qurut'' balls may be served as a snack or an accompaniment to cold beverages. Although not a traditional Tajik drink,
kefir
Kefir ( ; also spelled as kephir or kefier; ; ; ) is a fermented milk drink similar to a thin yogurt or ayran that is made from kefir grains, a specific type of mesophilic symbiotic culture. The drink originated in the North Caucasus, in p ...
, a drinking
yogurt
Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...
, is often served with
breakfast.
Summer produce
In the summer, Tajikistan abounds in
produce
Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables (grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and g ...
and
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
; its
grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...
s and
melon
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a " pepo". Th ...
s were famous throughout the former
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. The
bazaar also sells
pomegranate
The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall.
The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...
s,
apricots,
plums,
peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...
es,
apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
s,
pear
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...
s,
figs
The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
, and
persimmon
The persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Oriental persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki'' ''Diospyros'' is in the family Ebenaceae, and a number of non-per ...
s.
Beverages
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
generally accompanies every meal and is frequently offered between meals as a gesture of hospitality to guests and visitors. It is served hot in a china pot with a lid, and is drunk with
sugar from small saucer-less cups without handles (''
piola Piola may refer to:
* ''Piola'' (beetle), a genus of beetles
* Piola (Milan Metro), a railway station in Milan, Italy
* Piyāla or piola, a type of bowl for drinking tea
* Valle Piola, a deserted village in the Abruzzo Region of Italy
People with ...
''). Because of the universal popularity of tea-drinking, the
''choykhona'', or teahouse, is the most common gathering place in Tajikistan, and is similar to the Western-style
coffee house
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non- ...
.
See also
*
Soviet cuisine
Soviet cuisine, the common cuisine of the Soviet Union, was formed by the integration of the various national cuisines of the Soviet Union, in the course of the formation of the Soviet people. It is characterized by a limited number of ingredi ...
References
* ''Tajik Cooking'', Irfon Publ. House, Dushanbe, 1991
* Vahob Khojiev, ''Traditional and Modern Tajik Cooking'', Irfon Publ. House, Dushanbe, 1990
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tajik Cuisine
Central Asian cuisine