I remember asking my mom when I was little which cuisine is the most delicious in the world. Without hesitation, she answered — “Caucasian”, meaning Transcaucasian: Azerbaijani, Armenian and Georgian. Well, I think she wasn’t familiar with many cuisines outside of the USSR at that time, but I have to agree with her now. In terms of the diversity of ingredients and flavors, this region will probably beat any other.
Dinner Menu
| “Mangal” Salad — roasted vegetable salad |
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My kids were not impressed. Eggplants? Ehhh… Eugene (my younger) hasn’t even INGREDIENTS:
Wash and fully dry eggplants, tomatoes, and bell peppers. Grill them until tender. Ideally, the vegetables for this salad have to be cooked on a grill (or a mangal, which is a Caucasian type of grill), but home oven will do, too. I baked them for 30 min in an oven preheated to 375F (tomatoes might be done faster so keep a watch on them). Let them cool. Peel skins and cut the vegetables into small cubes. Put them in a strainer and squeeze to remove excess of juices. Transfer them to a bowl. Wash, dry and finely chop basil and cilantro. Also finely chop onion, garlic and hot pepper. Add everything to the roasted vegetables, add vinegar, olive oil, and salt (to taste). Mix and transfer to a serving bowl. Let stay in a fridge for 30 min and enjoy. |
| “Shah” Plov — Azerbaijani style rice pilaf |
Until I took upon myself the task of cooking Azerbaijani food, I always associated the word ‘plov’ with  Uzbek cuisine. Oh, I was wrong! I ate an authentic Uzbek plov and it was delicious, but the “Shah” plov is even more so. It is sophisticated, light and airy. There is no heavy feeling that you sometimes get from eating rice dishes. Plus it is easy to cook! |
| Lyulya Kabab — Azerbaijani style (very famous) lamb kebob |
This is the only dish on the menu I knew the taste of, and of course it didn’t taste right! I had lyulya  kebab numerous times (it is being served in most Russian restaurants around US) but the best one was in Moscow in a small cafe near Taganka Theatre. Anyway, mine didn’t even come close. I guess you need the right type of fat/lard and correct combination of spices in order for it to work. There are too many recipes and discussions of how to make the right lyulya kebab so maybe next time I will get it right. That said, my guys liked it a lot and ate everything. I even think that if I made more of them they wouldn’t finish eating until they ate them all. |
| Shaker-Lukum — saffron cookies |
A curious thing happened to these small, yellow, saffron infused cookies.  No one seemed to especially like them because of their strange aroma (due to saffron, of course). I did liked them and quietly decided that it is even better that they are unpopular with my family so I can take them with me to work for an after-lunch snack. However, in the morning I couldn’t find any. They were gone, disappeared! I guess (update: confirmed!) my husband enjoyed his time alone with the cookies while I was sleeping. I do love my husband, but I’m not going to be responsible for him gaining extra pounds! |
| Pomegranate Sherbet — non-alcoholic pomegranate drink |
| You cannot go wrong with this one. It is so delicious and yet so simple to make. Although I did use Azerbaijani made pomegranate juice, which is much richer in taste than US made juice. (I bought it in a Russian store, and it tastes freshly squeezed.) So, I guess, you can go wrong with it. I would recommend adjusting the amount of sugar to your taste, and it should be OK. |
considered it for a moment as if it never existed. Matthew, on the other hand, put a spoonful of it on his plate but cautioned us that these are not his favorite vegetables so we shouldn’t get any hopes up that he’d like it. Whatever they may say, I like it and think the salad was the tastiest dish on the table this evening. I can see it as an alternative to salsa for dipping or snacking and it should go well e.g. with a shot of vodka (not that we drink vodka). So here is my recipe (which is an adapted version of the