Levengi or Lavangi ( az, Ləvəngi; tly, Ləvəngin, script=Latn) is a

national dish A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons: * It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

and is also present in

Talysh Talysh may refer to: *Talysh people *History of Talysh *Talysh language *Talysh Khanate, in existence from 1747 to 1828 *Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic, a self-declared autonomy, which existed briefly in the south of Azerbaijan in 1993 *Talysh M ...

, and

Iranian cuisine Iranian cuisine () refers to the culinary practices of Iran. Due to the historically common usage of the term "Persia" to refer to Iran in the Western world,Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 ( ...

. It is a fish or chicken stuffed with walnuts, onions and various condiments and baked in the oven. Lavangi is most prevalent in the

Absheron Peninsula The Absheron Peninsula ( az, Abşeron yarımadası) is a peninsula in Azerbaijan. It is the location of Baku, the biggest and the most populous city of the country, and also the Baku metropolitan area, with its satellite cities Sumqayit and Khyrd ...

of Azerbaijan and in the

Lankaran Lankaran ( az, Lənkəran, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a dis ...

, Lerik, Astara, Masally, Salyan and Neftchala districts. Lavangi is prepared from fish, chicken, duck and aubergine.

Stuffed fish (Balıq ləvəngisi)

Stuffed fish, also called "Balıq ləvəngisi", is usually prepared for

Nowruz Nowruz ( fa, نوروز, ; ), zh, 诺鲁孜节, ug, نەۋروز, ka, ნოვრუზ, ku, Newroz, he, נורוז, kk, Наурыз, ky, Нооруз, mn, Наурыз, ur, نوروز, tg, Наврӯз, tr, Nevruz, tk, Nowruz, ...

; The preferred fish is the

Caspian kutum The Caspian kutum (''Rutilus kutum'') or Caspian white fish is a member of the family Cyprinidae from brackish water habitats of the Caspian Sea and from its freshwater tributaries. It is typically a medium-sized fish, reaching 45–55 cm ...

asp Asp may refer to: Places * Asp, part of Densbüren, Aargau, Switzerland * Aspe (''Asp'' in Valencian), Alicante, Spain * Asp Lake, a lake in Minnesota Animals * Asp (fish) * Asp (snake), in antiquity, one of several venomous snakes ** ''Cera ...

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

, but white fish-

beluga The beluga whale (/bɪˈluːɡə/) (Delphinapterus leucas) is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus Delphinapterus. It is also known as the wh ...

can also be suitable. The ingredients for stuffing include peeled walnuts, chopped and well-fried onions, sour prune or sour cherry or a

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 ...

juice syrup called ''

narsharab Pomegranate molasses, also known as Dibs Ar-rumman ( ar, دبس الرمان, rakkaz rimonim he, רכז רימונים, robb-e anâr fa, رب انار, "pomegranate syrup"), and nar ekshisi ( tr, nar ekşisi, "pomegranate sour"), is a Middle Ea ...

'' ("nar" is the local name of pomegranate in Azerbaijan), dried cherry-plums, raisins and vegetable oil. They are mixed with a cup of water, and salt and pepper are also added to taste, if the fish has

caviar Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the ter ...

, it is also used in the filling. The fish is skinned and washed, and then filled with stuffing after it dries. The belly of the fish is sewed (in order to make the stuffing stay in) and then outside of the fish is rubbed with narsharab or cherry-plum sauce. The fish is baked in the oven until the top of it fries. It is served with pieces of lemon, bread and

Stuffed chicken (Toyuq ləvəngisi)

The stuffing is prepared by mincing the onions, squeezing them into a cloth to remove the left over juice and mixing all ingredients (crushed walnuts, onions, raisins, narsharab).The chicken is first wiped with salt and pepper and then stuffed with the mentioned mixture and then sewed''.'' Outside of the chicken is rubbed with vegetable oil and cherry-plum paste and baked in medium oven until turn red. Then it is served with lemon pieces and simple rice-

pilaf Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techniq ...

, in which the rice is fried in butter and then cooked in chicken broth with

sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

, salt and pepper and served with roasted almonds.Azerbaijani cuisine:Lavangi
www.tasty.az

References

{{Reflist Azerbaijani cuisine Iranian cuisine National dishes Stuffed dishes

Stuffed fish (Balıq ləvəngisi)

Stuffed chicken (Toyuq ləvəngisi)

See also

References