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Azerbaijani cuisine (Azerbaijani:Azərbaycan mətbəxi) is a term describing the cooking styles and dishes of theRepublic of Azerbaijan. The cuisine is influenced by the country's agriculture that mostly developed ongrasslands allowing a culture ofpastoralism to develop, as well as to the geographical location of the country, which is situated between Europe and Asia with access to theCaspian Sea. This location has enabled the people that now live in the territory of Azerbaijan to develop a diet rich in produce, milk products, and meat, including beef, mutton, fish andgame. The location, which was contested by many historical kingdoms, khanates, and empires, also meant that Azerbaijani cuisine was influenced by the culinary traditions of multiple different cultures, includingTurkic,Iranian,Armenian andEastern European cuisines. Many dishes ofArmenian andGeorgian cuisine withTurkified orTurkic names are widespread in Azerbaijan.[1]
Azerbaijan's national cuisine is arguably closer toMiddle Eastern cuisine due to the taste and preparation of the dishes. Contemporary Azerbaijan cuisine retains the traditional methods of preparing dishes while incorporating modern cooking techniques.[2]
Azerbaijani dishes have been cooked with copper utensils and cookware. Copper bowls and plates are still commonly used to serve food.[2]
Azerbaijani cuisine utilizes fruits and vegetables such asaubergine,tomato,sweet pepper,spinach,cabbage, onion,sorrel,beet,radish,cucumber, andgreen beans. Rice and products made fromflour are widely used. Herbs, includingmint,coriander,dill,basil,parsley,tarragon,leek,chive,thyme,marjoram,scallions, andwatercress often accompany main dishes. The majority of national dishes are made with lamb, beef and poultry meat. Dishes prepared of minced meat are also prevalent. The sea, lakes and rivers of Azerbaijan are abundant with different fish species, particularly thewhite sturgeon. The Caspian Sea is home to manyedible species of fish, including thesturgeon,Caspian salmon,kutum,sardines,grey mullet, and others.Caviar from the Caspian Sea is a popular ingredient in Azerbaijan.[2][3]
The typical Azerbaijani meal involves three courses. One of the basic dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine isplov, served with various herbs and greens, a combination distinct from those found inUzbek plovs. Other second courses include a variety ofkebabs andshashlik, includinglamb, beef, chicken,duck and fish (baliq) kebabs. Sturgeon, a common fish, is normally skewered and grilled as a shashlik, served with a tart pomegranate sauce callednarsharab.Dried fruits andwalnuts are used in many dishes. The traditionalcondiments are salt,black pepper,sumac, and saffron, which is grown on theAbsheron Peninsula domestically. The third courses include soups. These includekufta bozbash,piti prepared of meat anddovga, as well asovdukh prepared of greens and yoghurt.[4][5]
Black tea is a popular beverage, and is drunk after food is eaten. It is also offered to guests as a gesture of welcome, often accompanied byfruit preserves.[5]
The Azerbaijani breakfast is heavy in dairy products such as butter, various types of white cheese, and cream, as well as honey, tandoori bread and eggs, sometimes prepared intokuku, but, alternatively, also scrambled.[6] Eastern European breakfast traditions adopted under theRussian Empire and theSoviet Union are also occasionally seen in Azerbaijan households, with foods such askasha,porridge,quark andcrepes included on the breakfast table.
Azerbaijani cuisine has a number of light snacks andside dishes to open or accompany the main meals: a plate of green leaves calledgoy, pieces ofchorek (bread),white cheese orqatik (sour yogurt) andturshu (pickles).[7] This culinary tradition is comparable to Turkishmeze. The richer main courses such as soups, meats and plov are served afterwards.[7]
Azerbaijani cuisine included large amounts of beef andgame. Consumption of camel meat was also widespread, although it has become increasingly rare in modern times. In order to preserve meat, it was historically jerked, or alternatively, roasted and stuffed into jars or animal stomachs. Apart from the cuts of meat, Azerbaijani cuisine features the use of heads, legs, tails and intestines of animals in numerous dishes.[8]
Azerbaijani cuisine features a wide variety of traditional meat dishes such asbozbash(parchabozbash, kuftebozbash, qovurmabozbash),piti (sheki piti)khash,shashlik andlula kebab. A variety of lamb dishes are also commonly eaten, traditionally during celebrations such asNowruz. Meatball dishes and forms ofdolma are regularly eaten as well. On particularly special occasions, local goose, turkey, duck, quail and pheasant meats are also cooked and consumed.
Azerbaijani cuisine also features a variety of seafood, especially fish which is obtained from the Caspian Sea as well as theKura andAras rivers. Fish is prepared in a variety of ways: stuffed, chopped, dried, grilled, fried, boiled, cooked in the oven, cooked on skewers, cooked intandoors, cooked intoplovs, and in other ways depending on the occasion and personal preferences.[8]
Although the population is predominatelyMuslim, Azerbaijani culture is largely secular.[9][10] However, pork is less popular than other meats.[11] In 2023, pork constituted about 2.4% of total meat consumption, primarily from imports.[12]
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Balıq | Fish, usuallysturgeon, normally skewered and grilled as akebab. |
| Dolma | The traditional recipe calls for mincedlamb or beef mixed withrice and flavoured withmint,fennel, andcinnamon, and wrapped in vine leaves (yarpaq dolması) or cabbage leaves (kələm dolması). There are also sour sweet cabbage dolma (turş şirin kələm dolması) and eggplant dolma (qarabadımcan dolması). In 2017,UNESCO listed dolma as part of Azerbaijan'sIntangible Cultural Heritage.[13] |
| Badımcan dolması | Tomato,sweet pepper, andaubergine stuffed with minced lamb or beef mixed withchickpeas. |
| Dushbara | Small dumplings stuffed with minced lamb and herbs, served in broth. |
| Lavangi | Stuffedchicken or fish with onions, walnuts and raisins. A specialty of theTalysh people in southern Azerbaijan, but very difficult to find common in restaurants. |
| Lula kebab | A mixture ofmutton, herbs, and spices squeezed around a skewer and barbecued, often served withlavash (thin sheets of unleavened bread). |
| Qutab | A sort ofpancake turnover stuffed with minced lamb,cheese, orspinach. |
| Shashlik | Chunks of lamb marinated in a mixture ofonion,vinegar, and spices, impaled on a large skewer and grilled on the barbecue. In Russian, it is also calledshashlyk (шашлык), from Turkicshishlyk (literally, "for skewer"). |
| Qovurma | Pieces of mutton or lamb on the bone (blade chops) stewed with onions, tomatoes, andsaffron.[14] There is alsosabzi qovurma, a lamb stew with herbs. |
| Tabriz meatballs | Large meatball dish named after the town of Tabriz in northern Iran. Prepared with minced meat, onions, peas, rice, potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, turmeric, and various herbs such as parsley, coriander and dill. |
Soups in Azerbaijan tend to have a thicker consistency and a larger ratio of dry ingredients to broth.[8] A common feature of numerous Azerbaijani soups is that the soup serves the role of both the first and second courses[8] – the soup is served in a large portion and the broth is drunk first as a starter, and then the dry ingredients of the soup such as the potatoes, meat, chickpeas and large vegetable chunks are consumed as a second course together with bread.
Another characteristic featured in several Azerbaijani soups is the addition of finely cut mutton tails. Tomato paste and tomato puree are rarely used in Azerbaijani soups and instead are substituted with fresh local tomatoes during the summer.[8] During winter, local tomatoes are not widely available and are frequently substituted with dried cherries. Spices such as saffron and turmeric powder are also traditionally used in Azerbaijani soups.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Piti | The national soup of Azerbaijan, made from pieces of mutton on the bone, cooked with vegetables in a broth; prepared and served in individualcrocks. |
| Kufta bozbash | Apea soup with lambmeatballs and boiledpotatoes. The meatballs inkufta bozbash are large, hearty, and made of minced lamb or beef andrice, sometimes with adried plum inside. |
| Dovga | A yogurt-based soup withsorrel, spinach, rice, dried peas, and small meatballs made from ground mutton; served hot or cold depending on the season.[15] |
| Dogramaj | A cold soup based on ayogurt–water mixture (ayran) poured over slicedcucumbers and greens (dill,coriander,basil,tarragon, and sometimes mint).[16] |
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Plov is one of the most widespread dishes in Azerbaijan and there are over 200 types of plovs in Azerbaijani cuisine. They are usually prepared with local vegetables, meats and spices. In Azerbaijani tradition, it is customary that the household prepares a plov for guests visiting the house.[18] Since plov is a heavy and fatty food, it is traditionally served together with sour drinks such as ayran, black tea with lemon juice. Plovs have different names depending on the main ingredients accompanying the rice:
| Name | Ingredients |
|---|---|
| Kourma plov | Mutton plov with onion |
| Chilov plov | Bean plov with fish |
| Toyug plov | Chicken plov |
| Shuyudli plov | Dill plov with beef |
| Shirin plov | Dried fruit plov |
| Sheshryanch plov | Six-color plov, eggs cooked "sunny side up" on a bed of fried green and white onions.[15] |
Azerbaijani plov consists of three components, served simultaneously but on separate platters: the first component is rice (warm, never hot); the second component isgara, consisting of fried meat, dried fruits, eggs, or fish prepared as an accompaniment to rice; and the third component comprises herbs. Rice is not mixed with the other components even when eating plov.[19]
Spices play an important role in Azerbaijani cuisine, especiallysaffron which is used in over 50 national dishes.[20] Other spices widely used in Azerbaijani cuisine includeanise,cumin,cinnamon,thyme,coriander seeds,curcuma,sumac,caraway,bay leaves,mint,dill,parsley,celery,tarragon, andbasil.[21]
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Typical Azerbaijani desserts are sticky, syrup-saturated pastries such aspakhlava andshaki halva. The former, a layer ofchopped nuts sandwiched between mats of thread-like fried dough, is a specialty ofShaki in northwest Azerbaijan. Other traditional pastries includeshekerbura (crescent-shaped and filled with nuts),shorgoghal (round pastry filled with spices and salt) andbadambura (decorated pastry filled with ground almonds, sugar, and cardamom).
Fruit preserves in Azerbaijan, as well as many other countries in the region, are calledmurabba and these are often served alongside tea, where they are eaten alongside tea, or placed directly into tea as a sweetener and flavoring.
Sweets are generally bought from a pastry shop and eaten at home or on special occasions such as weddings and wakes. The usual conclusion to a restaurant meal is a plate of fresh fruit that is in season, such asplums,cherries,apricots, orgrapes.
In March 2009, Azerbaijani bakers achieved an entry in the CIS book of records for baking the biggest and heaviest pakhlava in the CIS, weighing about 3 tons. More than 7 thousand eggs, 350 kg of nuts, 20 kg of almonds, 350 kg of sugar, and the same amount of flour was used in the preparation of the pastry.[23]
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Pakhlava | Azerbaijani baklava consists of pastry,cardamom, andsaffron are used for the preparation. Nuts (mostlyhazelnuts, almonds or walnuts) and sugar are used as the filling, and syrup is used as a sweetener.[24] There are some regional variations, like Quba, Ganja, Tenbel andSheki baklava.[25][26][27] |
| Shekerbura | Shekerbura (şəkərbura) is a popular Azerbaijani sweet pastry, filled with groundalmonds,hazelnuts, orwalnuts. It is covered in a pattern. |
| Samani halva | Samani halva is made from maltedwheat. One samani halva tradition in Azerbaijan is to make halva communally.[28] |
| Shorgoghal | Shorgoghal is a flaky pastry filled withturmeric,anise,caraway,cinnamon andblack pepper. |
| Badambura | Badambura is a pastry filled with plain sugar, almonds (badam in Azerbaijani language), cardamom, and vanilla.[29] |
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Milk and dairy products play an important role in the Azerbaijani diet. Milk, butter, cream, sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, buttermilk,dovga,ayran,qatiq,qurut, suzme and other dairy products are regularly consumed in the morning, as a snack, and incorporated into lunch and dinner. Cow's milk is most often used to produce local dairy products; however, sheep's milk is also sometimes used and goats' milk is consumed for its perceived health benefits. Rural communities in Azerbaijan produce local butter, buttermilk and cheeses using traditional churning techniques.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Ayran | A savory dairy drink. It is a staple of an Azerbaijani dinner/lunch table and is served cold. |
| Qatiq | A fermented, savory milk product. It is typically eaten withqutabs or with bread. |
| Qurut | It is made from grain mixed withsour milk oryogurt. |
| Dovga | A vegetarian,yoghurt-based soup cooked with a variety of herbs.Coriander,dill,mint andrice are mainstays of the soup. |
| Xinaliq pendiri | Cheese, produced in the village ofKhinalug by theKhinalug people. It is one of the most popular cheeses in Azerbaijan. |
Different types of bread are baked in Azerbaijan:lavash andtandoor bread. In theMiddle Ages,tandoor ovens were one of the common facilities of the population who lived inOld City (Icheri Sheher). This has been discovered during the archaeological excavations in different areas of Old City.During the meeting held in Ethiopia, theUNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of theIntangible Cultural Heritage decided to include lavash in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the organization.[30][31]
Black tea is a popular drink in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani people usually prefer tea made in asamovar. Jam (murabba) is often added to the tea as a sweetener.
Ayran is a cold yogurt beverage mixed with salt.
Asherbet (Azerbaijani:şərbət) is a sweet cold drink made offruit juice mixed or boiled withsugar, often perfumed withrose water. Sherbets (not to be confused withsorbet ices) are ofIranian origin and they may differ greatly in consistency, from very thick and jam-like (as inTajik cuisine) to very light and liquid, as in Azerbaijan.[32] Sherbets are typically prepared with either lemon, pomegranate, strawberry, cherry, apricot, or mint.[33]
Locally made brands of bottled water include:
| Brand | Origin | Originating area |
|---|---|---|
| Qax | Qakh district | North[34] |
| Kakh |
Unlike multiple other countries with a predominantly Muslim population, alcohol consumption in Azerbaijan is entirely legal, and a variety of alcoholic drinks, both locally produced and imported can be found in shops and bars across the country. Although alcohol consumption in Azerbaijan is relatively moderate,[35] alcoholic drinks still play a part in nightlife, festivities and celebrations.
Azerbaijan produces wine locally. In theKhanlar district of the Azerbaijan Republic, for example, archeologists have found jars buried with the remains of wine dating back to the 2nd millennium BC. One of the most ancient and notable regions known for its wine-making produce isTovuz in northwestern Azerbaijan. Archeological findings in this region speak of ancient vessels for wine storage, stones and remains oftartaric acid used for wine-growing.[36]
The contemporary wine-making in Azerbaijan is seen inGanja-Qazakh andShirvan economic zones.[37] Vineyards in these regions account to about 7% of the country's cultivated land. The regions are famous for 17 vines and 16 table grape varieties, the most common of the wine cultivars beingPinot Noir.[38] In Azerbaijan, wines made fromgrapes are calledsharab (Azerbaijani:şərab) while wines from other fruits including apples,pomegranates andmulberry are callednabiz (Azerbaijani:nəbiz). Other sorts are calledchakhyr (Azerbaijani:çaxır). According to historians, there are more than 450 different categories of wild grape found in Azerbaijan which had been used for wine-making throughout the history of Azerbaijan.[39]
Beer in Azerbaijan is typified by lighter lagers. Of the domestically produced beers, the most widely distributed is Xirdalan named after thecity of Xırdalan in Azerbaijan, formerly brewed by Baki-Castel (BGI) but bought byBaltika in 2008. In February 2017 company was renamed to Carlsberg Azerbaijan.[40] As a sponsor of Baku's Eurovision Song Contest, Xirdalan issued special commemorative Eurovision cans and bottles in 2012. Other widespread, locally produced brands include Novxanı, NZS, Afsana and Annenfeld. Beer popularity continues to grow in Azerbaijan as of 2018 and there are plans to fully localize malt processing for beer production, with a new malt processing plant being planned to be launched in 2024.[41] Unlike almost allCIS countries, the beerbottles in Azerbaijan are marked with excise duty sticker.
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