Azerbaijani Nights

For those of you who are wondering, Azerbaijan is a country in the Caucasus region straddling Europe and Asia, a member of the former Soviet Union.   It borders Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Iran and Turkey.  Oh, and it also borders the Caspian Sea - home of the sturgeon - so Azerbaijan is a major caviar producer.

Azerbaijani (or Azeri) cuisine has a lot in common with Turkey, Iran, and countries of the Middle East.  One particularly interesting factoid I discovered:  Azerbaijan boasts nine of the world's eleven climate zones.  The land is very fertile, producing a wide range of fruits and vegetables.  Fresh herbs are an important component of the cuisine. 

This picture of light snacks, Azeri style, sort of drives home the importance of fresh produce:

The national dish is Plov, otherwise known as rice pilaf.  To Americans this may seem like a humble dish but to the Azeris it is the star of the show, the guest of honor at every wedding feast.  Plov comes in a mind boggling number of different varieties involving various meats, herbs and dried fruits.  It is usually prepared in layers and includes saffron.   Here are some visuals:

As I was reading about the cuisine, especially the extensive use of herbs, I became more excited about it than I expected, so I decided to have a small dinner party rather than just fixing a single dish.  Plov for sure would be a prominent item on the menu.  Kebabs are also popular in Azerbaijan but without a charcoal grill I wasn't sure I could do them justice.  So I went searching on the web for recipes.

Compared to some other countries (Egypt and Argentina, for example) it was difficult to find Azeri recipes written in fluent English.  Many of the recipes I found appeared to be Russian in origin, written by people for whom English was obviously a second language.  Not that I'm being critical - my Russian is terrible - just saying...

Finally, I discovered this wonderful website created by an Azeri woman living in California:  http://www.azcookbook.com/  What a life-saver! 

Here I discovered a terrific recipe for plov made with chicken, chestnuts and dried fruit:    http://www.azcookbook.com/layered-rice-pilaff-with-dried-fruits-chestnuts-parcha-dosheme-plov

And some other great recipes:

-  Olive-walnut-pomegranate medley (to serve as an appetizer with bread):  http://www.azcookbook.com/olive-walnut-pomegranate-medley-zeytun-perverde/

- Braised lamb with chestnuts and pomegranate: http://www.azcookbook.com/braised-lamb-with-pomegranates-and-chestnuts/

- Lemony fish with vegetables and herbs (calls for sturgeon but helpfully recommends swordfish steaks as a substitute): http://www.azcookbook.com/fish-bughlama/

On another website I found this recipe for eggplant with tomato: http://www.news.az/recipes/27251

Bread is extremely important - tandoor bread cooked in a clay oven:

So I decided to order a selection of breads from an Indian restaurant to serve my guests.

Stay tuned for the results of my Azerbaijan experiment!