Uzbek Food Guide: An Insight

Uzbek food is predominantly non-vegetarian. Soups and rice usually are cooked with hunks of meat but also with generous portions of vegetables. Plov or the Central Asian pilaf is rice cooked with meat, turnips and carrots. Noodles, meat and dough cooked items, soups called shorpa, shurpa or sorpo, different kinds of bread called lipioshka here, milk products, fish, salads and desserts are the other items eaten in Uzbekistan. Bread is never cut with a knife but broken or torn by hand.

Though mutton is the preferred meat, and sheep’s head is a delicacy, beef and horsemeat are also common. In the countryside camel and goat meat is eaten. Sausages made of horsemeat are served at special occasions. Shashlik or kebabs of fresh or marinated mutton, beef, liver, minced meat or in restaurants chicken is served with non (a thick soft bread) and pickled onions.

The influence of Persian cuisine is easily distinguishable because of the subtle seasoning, vast use of vegetables and fancy sweets. The food here is mildly seasoned, though the gravies and chillies offered can be hot. The main spices used are black cumin, red and black pepper, barberries, coriander and sesame seeds. The herbs commonly used are fresh coriander, dill, parsley, celeriac and basil. Other seasonings include wine vinegar and fermented milk products.

In Uzbekistan steamed pumpkin is a delicacy. Moshkichiri and moshkurda are meat and bean gruels. Dimlama or bosma is meat and potatoes, onions and vegetables cooked slowly in their own juices. Sabzavotli dimlama is the vegetarian version. Hunan or honum is the noodle roll, usually with meat or potato filling. Uzbeks like stuffed cabbage and grape leaves (dulma), tomatoes, pepper and quinces. Specialities also include chickpea samsa (nahud sambusa) or porridge (nahud shavla), bean and milk soups among which oshi siyo halav is an unusual herb soup. Tuhum barak is an egg filled ravioli coated with sesame seed oil. Chakka or yakka is curd or suzma mixed with herbs and tasty with flat bread.

Plenty of seasonal fruits and vegetables, and dry fruits are available.

The most widely available alcoholic drink is vodka. That and tea are the beverages of choice here, and shots of either are on hand at every nook and corner and along the highways at chaikhanas or choyhonas, literally, tea houses. There’s also shampanski, a light sparkling wine, beer, local and Russian, and kefir, which is thick cooling drink made of yoghurt that can be either sweet or salty.