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,
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 Pash ...
,
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
The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', na ...
, and pieces of
meat, all fried together in
vegetable oil or mutton fat in a special
''qazan'' (a
wok-shaped
cauldron) 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
Kashk ( fa, کشک ''Kašk'', ku, keşk), qurut ( Tuvan and ky, курут, kk, құрт, tk, gurt, uz, qurt, az, qurut, ps, قروت, hy, չորթան-''chortan'', Turkish: ''kurut'') or aaruul and khuruud ( Mongolian: ''ааруул' ...
'' ( 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'' ( tg, нон),
flatbread found throughout
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a 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 the fo ...
. 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), 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), ''
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. Sam ...
'' (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" suggests ...
with either a meat and onion stuffing or a pumpkin and onion stuffing, baked in a
tandoor oven), and ''
belyash'' (pl. ''belyashi'', tg, беляши, deep-fried cakes made of yeast dough and filled with minced meat, similar to
pirozhki).
Soviet cuisine 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 (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, 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
Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or " ...
.
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 fres ...
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 partic ...
; 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". T ...
s were famous throughout the former
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. The
bazaar also sells
pomegranates,
apricot
An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus '' Prunus''.
Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are al ...
s,
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, n ...
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 ancest ...
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 (biology), family Rosacea ...
s,
figs, and
persimmons.
Beverages
Tea 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
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...
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 w ...
''). 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-caf ...
.
See also
*
Soviet cuisine
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