10 Most Popular Foods in Tajikistan

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Landlocked from all sides, Tajikistan is a Central Asian country that is known for its extraordinary natural beauty. This small country welcomes thousands of tourists every year, and they love the spicy Tajik cuisine.

The cuisine of Tajikistan has the influence of Russian delicacies, Iranian delicacies, and Afghan cooking. While in Tajikistan, you should try the following dishes from day one of your holidays.

1. Oshi palow

The people of Tajikistan prefer to call Oshi Palow Osh sometimes. This central Asian recipe is actually cooked rice packed with vegetables and meat. You can use either lamb or beef meat here. The chefs use whole garlic in this dish. The Oshi palow is quite popular among tourists for its aroma and color.

Recipe for Oshi Palow

2. Mantu

According to the language of Tajikistan, Mantu is nothing but dumplings. These dumplings are stuffed with good quality meat of chicken, beef, or lamb. To cook this recipe, they place a large pan on top of small water-filled bowls. The water keeps boiling and generates steam to cook the Mantu.

Recipe for Mantu

3. Shurbo

Many residents of Tajikistan call the recipe Khom-shurbo. This spicy soup is made from butter, potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and so on. For non-veg Shurbo there will be chunks of beef and lamb meat. You can have it with some bread.

Recipe for Shurbo

4. Qurutob

This is a vitamin-rich recipe popular in Tajikistan. The Qurutob is generally used as a side dish in Tajik cuisine. You will love the Qurutob with some fried meat. The entire recipe is cooked in vegetable oil. You can add a mixture of cheese, onion, tomato, cucumber, butter, etc., to the Qurutob.

Recipe for Qurutob

5. Shakarob

The key ingredients for Shakarob are onion, pepper, tomato, meat, cheese, etc. This light dish of Shakarob can be eaten during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Here, in Tajikistan, Shakarob means sweet water. The dish is very bright and quite healthy for your body.

Recipe for Shakarob

6. Lagman

In Tajikistan, Lagman is quite popular. This spicy soup is made with flour, water, fresh cabbage, onions, diced tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, etc. For aroma and pungency, chopped garlic is also added to this dish of Lagman. It is quite tedious to prepare Lagman at home, and it will take around 40 minutes.

Recipe for Lagman

7. Siyoh-alaf

In Tajikistan, the dish of Siyoh-alaf is prepared with black herbs. The dish is great for improving the immunity of the body. That is why the Siyoh-alaf is made in every home of Tajikistan. You can accompany the Siyoh-alaf with chakka any time. In both eastern and northern parts of Tajikistan, you will get to order the dish of Siyoh-alaf.

Recipe for Siyoh-alaf

8. Kabob

Kabob or Kabob pamir is a mouth-watering delicacy of Tajikistan. Here, the meat is actually stewed. You can use either the meat of venison or yak for kabob pamir. Other ingredients of the recipe are onions, ghee, cumin, pepper, salt, green onions, etc. The dish tastes great with bread and vegetable salad.

Recipe for Kabob

9. Mastoba

This Mastoba is a satisfying recipe made with several ingredients. These ingredients are garlic, carrot, tomatoes, onions, sweet peppers, potatoes, and spices. Grind the spice with the help of a spice grinder before applying it to the recipe. You can sprinkle chopped coriander on top of Mastoba at the end. The dish is served in an oval-shaped bowl.

Recipe for mastoba

10. Sambusa baraka

This is a traditional Tajik dish made with spicy meat filling. The main ingredients of Sambusa baraka are flour, egg, melted butter, meat, onion, cumin, etc. The chefs generally brush some raw egg yolk on top of the Sambusa baraka for its top golden crust. Ground beef and mutton are the best choice for Sambusa baraka filling.

Recipe for Sambusa baraka

Sources:

Wikipedia

Chef’s Pencil

Taste Atlas