Tag Archives: Azerbaijan

“Shah” Plov

Posted on by
Reply

This recipe is not mine. It is an adapted and combined version of the recipes I found on Russian websites.

INGREDIENTS

Lavash, enough to cover the bottom, sides and the top of a dutch oven. This flat bread can be found at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and any Russian or Middle Asian food markets.
4 cups of white, long grain rice (I prefer jasmine or basmati)
1/2 cup of butter
1 tbsp of salt
1 pinch of saffron (optional)
1/2 lb of dried apricots
1/3 lb of raisins

Put saffron in a small bowl and add 1/4 cup of hot water. Let if soak to infuse the water.

Add 4.5 cups of water to a medium pan and bring it to boil. Meanwhile wash and drain rice. Add salt to the boiling water and then add the rice. Gently stir the rice to eliminate lumps and make it cook evenly. Cook rice until half done. Ideally it should be soft on outside but hard inside. Take the rice of the stove, put into colander and wash it with hot water (I bring a some water to boil to avoid tap water). Set aside.

Preheat oven to 355F. Add butter to a small pan until melted (you can use a microwave for that). Butter the bottom and sides of the dutch oven. Arrange lavash so it covers the bottom and sides of the pan. Part of the lavash should overlap the sides of the pan so later it can be arranged on the top of rice. Add rice, drizzle it with 3/4 of the butter and add saffron. Cover rice with the lavash from the sides. Brush the remaining butter the top of the lavash. Put in the oven for about 1 hour. It is ready when the crust is golden brown and crusty.

Meanwhile saute dried apricots and raisins in 1 tbsp of butter until plum and translucent.

Remove the plov from the oven and let it cool for 5 min. Put it upside down on serving plate and serve with sauteed fruits and lyulya kabab.

"Shah" Plov

Shaker-Lukum

Posted on by
Reply

Saffron infused cookies that are somewhat resemble sugar cookies in texture but much more exotic in flavor.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cups of powdered sugar
  • 2 – 3 yolks depending on the size of the eggs
  • 4 tbsp softened butter
  • 1 tbsp vanilla sugar (or pure vanilla extract)
  • 1 tsp of rum
  • 1/4 tsp of saffron
 Shaker-Lukum Cookies

Preheat oven to 355F. Combine rum and saffron in a small bowl and set aside.

Beat egg yolks with sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add saffron and beat again. Add flour and butter. Make soft a little sticky dough. Form small balls (about the size of a walnut) and place them on the backing tray aligned with parchment. With a fork flatten each ball to a round shaped cookie. Bake in preheated oven for about 7 – 10 minutes.

“Mangal” Salad

Posted on by
Reply

This is traditional Azerbaijani salad. I made it during the Azerbaijani food week.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3-4 small eggplants (or 1-2 large eggplants)
  • 5 tomatoes
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 1/2 hot pepper
  • 1/2 red onion
  • fresh basil to taste
  • fresh cilantro to taste
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp of olive oil
 “Mangal” Salad

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.

Pomegranate Juice from Azerbaijan

Posted on by
Reply

Last week I bought a bottle of pomegranate juice that was made in Azerbaijan (from this Russian store in Philly). I knew there would be a difference between pomegranate juices from there and from the US, but I did not think it would be as big. It immediately reminded me what real pomegranate juice should taste like because I have already forgotten. When I was little, my mom used to squeeze pomegranate juice herself and it tasted like the one I bought, tart and sour with just a little hint of sweetness and incredible aroma. I mean, the US pomegranate juice tastes OK, but only when you try the real thing you do start to realize the difference.

Pomegranate Juice from Azerbaijan