Uzbek cuisine
Uzbek cuisine is very rich, tasty and varied. Meat dishes (lamb, beef), chicken and fish predominate. Portions in restaurants are generous
Uzbek cuisine is very rich, tasty and varied. Meat dishes (lamb, beef), chicken and fish predominate. Portions in restaurants are generous.
If there are problems with the digestive tract, then you should be careful with the local cuisine. It's very tasty, but quite greasy.
What dishes should you definitely try in Uzbekistan:
- Pilaf is the main culinary brand of Uzbekistan. Pilaf is always cooked in the morning to be ready for lunch. (11:00 – 14:00), and after lunch, he's almost nowhere to be found. These are the traditions. Pilaf is a rather difficult dish for digestion, so we recommend eating it with a salad of fresh vegetables with onions (achik-chuchuk) and washing it down with hot tea.
In Tashkent, be sure to visit the Central Asian pilaf Center "Besh Qozon" - it has the best pilaf in the city. Every day, 10 tons of real Tashkent pilaf are cooked in several giant cauldrons, and all 10 tons are eaten for lunch by the citizens and guests of the capital. Be sure to make it before 2 p.m. to taste your portion of the most delicious pilaf and marvel at the volumes – this is a truly memorable sight!
Try pilaf in every city you are going to visit. Each region prepares pilaf according to its own traditional recipe, and you will see how much pilaf from different cities can differ.
There are restaurants that serve pilaf throughout the day, until 23:00. - Kebabs, tandoor kabob – Uzbeks are amazing at cooking any meat. You definitely won't try this kind of barbecue anywhere else! In Uzbekistan, they prefer mostly mutton and beef, less often chicken, but they practically do not eat pork.
- Manti is a steamed dish made from the most delicate thin dough with juicy meat filling inside.
- Samsa is a tandoor–baked "pie" made of puff pastry with different fillings. Although the word "pie" doesn't quite fit samsa. Samsa comes with mutton, veal and chicken, as well as pumpkin and potatoes, cheese and herbs.
- Lagman is specially prepared noodles with a fragrant sauce of meat, vegetables and herbs.
- Shurpa is a thick and rich Uzbek soup. Even those who don't eat soups at all will like Shurpa.
- Dolma – stuffed grape leaves.
- Kazy is a very tasty homemade horse meat sausage.
You should drink only bottled water, and after a meal, hot tea. You can't drink water from the tap. In bars and restaurants, we recommend asking for drinks without ice.
Alcohol can be bought in specialty stores, or in cafes and restaurants. It is not customary to drink alcoholic beverages on the street or in public places.