Azerbaijani food combines Turkish and central Asian elements. Rising pollution levels have given rise to alarm about falling fish stocks, but sturgeon is still widely available at a price. Baku has a reasonable selection of Western style restaurants which have opened recently. In the
chai khanas (tea houses), men linger for hours drinking sweet black tea out of tiny glasses. A special place in the cuisine belongs to salads prepared from fresh vegetables. Salads are served together with main course. The national cuisine includes more than 30 kinds of soups.
Things to know: Although the majority
of Azeris are nominally Shia Muslims, alcohol is widely available.
National specialties:• The much celebrated
plov is a delicious, spicy specialty made with pine nuts, vegetables and dried fruit, in addition to rice and mutton; certain types of
plov use chicken instead of mutton and include chestnuts.
• Grilled kebabs of various kinds are popular, including
lyulya kebab made from spiced, minced lamb pressed onto skewers.
• Meals often start with rich, heavy soups:
piti is a mutton soup bulked out with chickpeas and slowly cooked in individual earthenware pots in the oven and served in the same pots;
dogva is a sharp, yogurt and spinach-based soup containing rice and meatballs.
• Sturgeon is served both smoked and fresh.
• Caviar has traditionally been fished from the Caspian Sea.
•
Kutab pastries are stuffed with spinach or pumpkin and are similar to Turkish
birekas.
• Kutum Lavangy is stuffed fish with cherries, walnuts and raisins.
•
Dolma is minced mutton flesh with onions.
•
Badimjan Dolmasi is mutton served with plenty of aubergine and tomatoes, basil, sour cream and butter.
National drinks: • Wines and brandies are produced locally.
•
Sherbets are popular soft drinks made of sugar, lemon, saffron, seeds of mint and basil and other fruit.
• Tea is often served accompanied by various jams such as quince, fig, apricot, white cherry and plum. Sometimes dried leaves or flowers of savory, clove, cardamom and other spices are added to tea. Tea made of cinnamon (
darchin) and ginger is popular. Sometimes rose water is added.
Legal drinking age: No minimum age.
Tipping: Expected by waiters and doormen in restaurants – sometimes in advance to ensure service. It is advisable to make enquiries about ’going rates’ before entering into negotiations with taxi drivers, market stallholders, etc. It is also customary to tip car park supervisors.
NightlifeSeveral restaurants, late-night bars and nightclubs have opened in Baku in the last few years, catering largely for the foreign business community and wealthy local business people. Popular bars include
Chaplin,
Finnegan’s and
Lancaster Gate. Concerts, theater, opera and ballet are a source of local pride and very popular.
Next Page »
