Uzbek Dough Products

Theme:National meals in Uzbekistan
Plan:

1. 
   Uzbekistan Food Tour
   
2. 
   Uzbek Meat Dishes
   

3. Uzbek Dough Products

Uzbekistan Food Tour

This 10-day Uzbekistan Food Tour will introduce you not only to the flavors of Uzbek national dishes, but will also teach you how to cook them. Enjoy the wines of this sunny land while visiting Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.
Uzbek food is among the most delicious in the world, for over the centuries it absorbed and adapted the best recipes from neighboring cultures to create a flavorful and satisfying cuisine. A highlight of Uzbek cuisine in comparison with its Central Asian neighbors is that they enjoy not only meat dishes but vegetables and salads too. In fact, Uzbek fruits and vegetables are so good that they are exported to other countries.
This was not always the case, however. Until the 19th century the local diet consisted mostly of meat, dough, milk and cereals. Meat, particularly beef and lamb, remain the basis of the local diet today. Horse meat is also enjoyed as a delicacy, while poultry is less popular. Fish dishes are rather uncommon in this double-landlocked nation. Uzbek food is rich in seasonings which accentuate the flavor of the dishes and leave a pleasant aftertaste.
Uzbeks are very hospitable people who will never let guests go hungry: First, because it will not be easy to decline a true invitation; second, because the Uzbek table is usually replete with food; and finally, because after a filling meal you are likely to be sent home with leftovers.

Uzbek Meat Dishes

Kebabs, called shashlik, are one of the main meat dishes in Uzbekistan. Shashlik comes in many varieties, including ground beef (lyulya), mutton, beef, chicken, liver and vegetable. Not just anyone can make these tender, juicy, and somewhat fatty kebabs, whose secret marinade recipes are often passed on by word of mouth.
The most famous local roast beef variation is kazan kabob, made with lamb meat still on the bone which is fried in a pot with onions, potatoes and herbs. Dimlama is a roast with vegetables which is layered in a large pot and steamed. Kovurdok (kavurdak) is a roast with onions, potatoes and a little gravy.
Uzbek cutlets called tukhum dulma are made with boiled eggs. Basma is a dish of vegetables and meat (usually lamb) which is stewed in its own juice. Narhangi resembles domlama and basma in the cooking method but is prepared from minced lamb and vegetables.
But the most renowned Uzbek meat dish is plov (pilaf). Traditionally, plov is cooked by men. There is even a special word for such cooks – oshpaz, a title which must be earned. Pilaf is never cooked for just 2-3 people; it is made in huge pots, with each ingredient measured in kilograms. Every region in Uzbekistan has its own pilaf, but the basis is always the same - meat, rice, onions, carrots and spices.
Shavla is a dish made from the same ingredients as pilaf, only easier to prepare. Dolma are stuffed grape or cabbage leaves. Hasip are boiled sausages made from minced meat and rice, and kazy is a horse meat sausage.