Azerbaijan: Lamb Plov, Kuku and Shekerbura
First off, some geography! (Hopefully I’m not the only one who had no idea where this country was!) Azerbaijan is an easter European country bordered by the Caspian Sea, Russia, Georgia and Iran!
One thing I found interesting about Azerbaijani food is that there’s a really big emphasis on presentation- pressing designs into pastries and arranging dishes in artistic ways, for example. Unfortunately presentation is NOT my strong suit, so, while the flavors of the dishes were really good, I don’t feel that I represented this country well, aesthetically lol.
The first dish I made was a yummy appetizer called kuku, which is essentially an herby quiche. I made mine with dill, cilantro and green onions and it was so light and tasty with all the fresh herbs! I also topped it with a garlicky yogurt, which was perfection. I’m about to start putting garlic yogurt on everything because it is so freaking good.
For the main dish, I made lamb plov, which is one of the most common dishes in Azerbaijan. It’s a saffron-infused rice dish that’s traditionally served at weddings, the top of which is set on fire and presented to the bride and groom!! This dish has over FORTY ways of preparing it, so I combined 4 different recipes to include the ingredients and techniques that I wanted.
I picked the style of plov that has a rice “crust” called qazmaq that’s broken up and arranged over the rest of the rice. I’ve never had anything like this and I thought it would be a fun challenge to make! I ended up overcooking the crust a touch, but it was still delicious!
The lamb was cooked separately in a cumin, barberry (these reminded me of tiny cranberries) and chestnut sauce and was spooned over the rice before serving. I haven’t mastered a perfectly tender lamb dish yet, but it was still really tasty and VERY filling!
As you can see, it wasn’t the prettiest thing, but it was so good and had such new (to me) and unique flavors!
For dessert, I made shekerbura, which is an empanada-like pastry filled with almond meal, sugar and cardamom. Traditionally there are pretty designs impressed on the pastries, but my attempts weren’t even visible after cooking lol! They also turned out a bit dry (I’m not sure if I should have done something differently or if that’s just how they’re supposed to be…), but I added a sweet cinnamon butter drizzle and that was a big improvement.
While I probably wouldn’t make this meal again, as it was a bit labor intensive, I really enjoyed the new flavors and it was fun to try some new techniques! It was also fun to share this meal with family that was visiting us in Denver! Now that’s it for the A’s! B countries, here I come!!