FabulousFusionFood's Azerbaijani/Azeri Recipes Home Page

The flag and coat of arms of Azerbaijan. The flag of Azerbaijan (left) and the arms of Azerbaijan (right).
Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Armenian recipes, part Asia. This page provides links to all the Azerbaijani/Azeri recipes presented on this site, with 22 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Azerbaijani/Azeri recipes added to this site. Baku is the capital and largest city.

Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası in Azerbaijani), is a transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe.

Azerbaijani cuisine uses an abundance of seasonal vegetables and greens. Fresh herbs, including mint, cilantro (coriander), dill, basil, parsley, tarragon, leeks, chives, thyme, marjoram, green onion, and watercress, are popular and often accompany main dishes on the table. Climatic diversity and fertility of the land are reflected in the national dishes, which are based on fish from the Caspian Sea, local meat (mainly mutton and beef), and seasonal vegetables and greens. Saffron-rice plov is the flagship food in Azerbaijan, and black tea is the national beverage. Azerbaijanis often use traditional armudu (pear-shaped) glass as they have very strong tea culture. Popular traditional dishes include bozbash (lamb soup that exists in several regional varieties with the addition of different vegetables), qutab (fried turnover with a filling of greens or minced meat) and dushbara (dumplings filled with ground meat and spices).

Azerbaijan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia's republic of Dagestan to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia and Turkey to the west, and Iran to the south. Baku is the capital and largest city.

Location of Azerbaijan in the Caucasus.Location of Azerbaijan in the Caucasus with the land mass of Azerbaijan
picked out in red.
The territory of what is now Azerbaijan was ruled first by Caucasian Albania and later by various Persian empires. Until the 19th century, it remained part of Qajar Iran, but the Russo-Persian wars of 1804–1813 and 1826–1828 forced the Qajar Empire to cede its Caucasian territories to the Russian Empire; the treaties of Gulistan in 1813 and Turkmenchay in 1828 defined the border between Russia and Iran. The region north of the Aras was part of Iran until it was conquered by Russia in the 19th century, where it was administered as part of the Caucasus Viceroyalty.

By the late 19th century, an Azerbaijani national identity emerged when the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed its independence from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic in 1918, a year after the Russian Empire collapsed, and became the first secular democratic Muslim-majority state. In 1920, the country was conquered and incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijan SSR. The modern Republic of Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991, shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In September 1991, the ethnic Armenian majority of the Nagorno-Karabakh region formed the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, which became de facto independent with the end of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994, although the region and seven surrounding districts remained internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, the seven districts and parts of Nagorno-Karabakh were returned to Azerbaijani control. An Azerbaijani offensive in 2023 ended the Republic of Artsakh and resulted in the flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.

Azerbaijan is a unitary semi-presidential republic. It is one of six independent Turkic states and an active member of the Organization of Turkic States and the TÜRKSOY community. Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 182 countries and holds membership in 38 international organizations, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Non-Aligned Movement, the OSCE, and the NATO PfP program. It is one of the founding members of GUAM, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the OPCW. Azerbaijan is an observer state of the World Trade Organization. The vast majority of the country's population (97%) is Muslim. The Constitution of Azerbaijan does not declare an official religion, and all major political forces in the country are secular.

Etymology: The term Azerbaijan derives from Atropates, a Persian satrap under the Achaemenid Empire who was reinstated as the satrap of Media under Alexander the Great. The original etymology of this name is thought to have its roots in the once-dominant Zoroastrianism. In the Avesta's Frawardin Yasht ('Hymn to the Guardian Angels'), there is a mention of âterepâtahe ashaonô fravashîm ýazamaide, which translates from Avestan as 'we worship the fravashi of the holy Atropatene'. The name 'Atropates' is the Greek transliteration of an Old Iranian, probably Median, compounded name with the meaning 'Protected by the (Holy) Fire' or 'The Land of the (Holy) Fire'. The Greek name was mentioned by Diodorus Siculus and Strabo. Over the span of millennia, the name evolved to Āturpātākān (Middle Persian), then to Ādharbādhagān, Ādhorbāygān, Āzarbāydjān (New Persian) and present-day Azerbaijan.

The name Azerbaijan was first adopted by the government of Musavat in 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, when the independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was established. Until then, the designation had been used exclusively to identify the adjacent region of contemporary northwestern Iran, while the area of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was formerly referred to as Arran and Shirvan. On that basis Iran protested the newly adopted country name.

Azerbaijani/Azeri Cuisine:

Azerbaijani cuisine (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan mətbəxi; اذربيجان متبخى) is the cooking styles and dishes of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan. The cuisine is influenced by the country's diversity of agriculture, from abundant grasslands which historically allowed for a culture of pastoralism to develop, as well as to the unique geographical location of the country, which is situated on the crossroads of Europe and Asia with access to the Caspian Sea. The location has enabled the people to develop a varied diet rich in produce, milk products, and meat, including beef, mutton, fish and game. The location, which was contested by many historical kingdoms, khanates, and empires, also meant that Azerbaijani cuisine was influenced by the culinary traditions of multiple different cultures, including Turkic, Iranian, and Eastern European, and many dishes of Armenian and Georgian cuisine with Turkic names are widespread in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan's national cuisine is arguably closer to Middle Eastern cuisine due to the taste and preparation of the dishes, as well as adding a dark spice and flavor additives. Contemporary Azerbaijan cuisine retains the traditional methods of preparing dishes while incorporating modern cooking.

Azerbaijani cuisine utilizes fruits and vegetables such as aubergine, tomato, sweet pepper, spinach, cabbage, onion, sorrel, beet, radish, cucumber, and green beans. Rice and products made from flour are widely used in national cuisine. Fresh herbs, including mint, coriander, dill, basil, parsley, tarragon, leek, chive, thyme, marjoram, green onion, and watercress often accompany main dishes. The majority of national dishes are made with lamb, beef and poultry meat. Dishes prepared of minced meat are also prevalent. The sea, lakes and rivers of Azerbaijan are abundant with different fish species, particularly the white sturgeon. Sturgeons are widely used in preparation of national dishes. Particularly, the Caspian Sea is home to many edible species of fish, including the sturgeon, Caspian salmon, kutum, sardines, grey mullet, and others. Black caviar from the Caspian Sea is one of Azerbaijan's best-known luxury foods.

The typical Azerbaijani meal involves three courses. One of the basic dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine is plov prepared with saffron-covered rice, served with various herbs and greens, a combination distinct from those found in Uzbek plovs. Other second courses include a variety of kebabs and shashlik, including lamb, beef, chicken, duck and fish (baliq) kebabs. Sturgeon, a common fish, is normally skewered and grilled as a shashlik, served with a tart pomegranate sauce called narsharab. Dried fruits and walnuts are used in many dishes. The traditional condiments are salt, black pepper, sumac, and especially saffron, which is grown on the Absheron Peninsula domestically. The third courses include soups, of which there are more than 30 types. These include kufta bozbash, piti prepared of meat and dovga, ovdukh, dogramach, bolva prepared of greens and yoghurt.



The alphabetical list of all the Azerbaijani/Azeri recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 22 recipes in total:

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Azerbaijani Plav
(Azerbaijani Pilaf)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Dovga
(Pea and Sorrel Soup with Meatballs)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Sabzi Gutab
(Green Gutab)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Azeri Chicken Skewers
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Gozinakh
(Walnut Honey Candy)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Shaker Ghurek
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Bozartma
(Lamb Stewed with Vegetables and Cherry
Plums)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Home-made Qurt
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Shashlyk
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Chrov Plav
(Rice Pilaf with Dried Fruit and Nuts)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Karabakh Khorovats
(Skewered Pork with Pomegranate Syrup)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Suzma
(Milk Spread)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Chuchkella
(Grape and Walnut Candies)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Karabakh Loby
(Broad Beans in Sour Cream and Tomato
Sauce)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Yarpakh Dolmasy
(Vine Leaves Stuffed with Lamb and Rice)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Churek
(Flatbread With Sesame Seeds)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Khalva
(Syrup Walnut Dessert)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Zaphulis Tolma
(Stuffed Summer Vegetables)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Dill Pilaf
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Liula-Kebab
(Minced Lamb Kofte)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Dolma
(Stuffed Grape Leaves)
     Origin: Azerbaijan
Qatiq
(Fermented Milk Drink)
     Origin: Azerbaijan

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