Cuisine of the peoples of the Caucasus or national Caucasian cuisine- this is a prefabricated concept that combines the cuisine of Abkhazian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian Lezgin, Ossetian, Chechen. Of course, each of them has its own dishes, but most of them are similar, such as barbecue. This dish is medium-sized pieces of pork or lamb, marinated and then fried on the grill. The principle of cooking is the same, the same marinades differ. They are the most varied.
The commonality of the previously listed Caucasian cuisines is that in each of them you will find snacks, salads, first courses in the form of thick soups, second hot dishes, desserts, pastries, preparations for the winter. A similar pattern can be traced in the food products used. So, for example, the basis of many dishes is meat. The most popular is lamb, followed by goat and beef, as well as poultry meat. Pork is practically not used, due to the religious factor. The thing is that many Caucasians adhere to Islam, which just imposes a haram ban on the consumption of pig meat. In addition, milk and dairy products are widely used. Sour milk and drinks based on it, as well as all kinds of cheeses, are quite popular. By the way, cheese making for the Caucasian peoples is an integral part of their traditional cuisine. Also on the traditional Caucasian table you will see a wide variety of greens, as well as local seasonal vegetables. Another similar feature is the use of wheat flour for baking cakes.
The peoples of the Caucasus jealously protect their traditions. So, for example, going to the Caucasus, you will see the tandoor more than once - a traditional brazier oven, in which a wide variety of dishes are made. Such a device has served faithfully for more than one hundred years, and will serve no less!
Speaking about the cuisine of the peoples of the Caucasus, we would like to note that every year it is gaining more and more popularity on a global scale. Today, millions of people are familiar with the following names: kharcho, pilaf, lobio, satsivi, khachapuri, kebab and many others. And this is not surprising, because these dishes are not only unusual and spicy in an oriental way, but also very tasty!
If you are interested in the national Caucasian cuisine, then we suggest getting to know it better. To do this, you do not have to go to an expensive restaurant, or look for a suitable cafe. You can join the Caucasian cuisine without leaving your own home. It is enough just to use those recipes with photos that are given here! We hope that the dishes prepared by you will turn out in the best traditions of real oriental cuisine!
This is delicious.
Caucasian cuisine is bright and unusual. This is, first of all, meat, herbs, cheese and spices, from which very tasty things are obtained.
Dagestan
Previously, lamb was used to prepare the Avar khinkal, now they often take beef.
Ingredients:
300 g beef
5 fresh tomatoes
salt, pepper, bay leaf
onion
1 head of garlic
1 tsp soda
vegetable oil
Tips:
Serve meat, dough, garlic sauce and broth separately.
The lid must be tightly closed while cooking.
Recipe:
Boil large pieces of meat.
Roll out the wheat dough kneaded with kefir into a layer 6 millimeters thick, cut into rhombuses or squares and throw into the boiling broth left after the meat. Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
As soon as the dough is ready, immediately take it out, not forgetting to pierce each piece with a fork or toothpick.
For the sauce, mix sour cream or peeled tomatoes stewed in broth with garlic.
Chechnya
Chepalgash
Chepalgash are thin cakes with cottage cheese. Despite the stereotype about kebabs, the basis of the North Caucasian cuisine is flour products, cereals and cheese, that is, simple, cheap and high-calorie food.
Ingredients:
100 g wheat flour
100 g kefir
0.2 g baking soda
For filling:
75 gr cottage cheese
several bunches of green onions
20 g butter
Tips:
Cook in a dry skillet
Recipe:
Knead wheat dough on kefir, divide into pieces weighing about 200 grams in the form of balls and roll thinly. In the middle, put a couple of tablespoons of the filling from homemade cottage cheese, green onions, eggs and salt. Connect the edges and pinch, roll out the cake to a thickness of less than a centimeter.
Fry on both sides in a pan (the first side with a lid, the second without a lid). Dip the finished cakes in hot water, stack on top of each other, thickly smearing each layer with butter.
Cut the whole hill like a cake into 6 parts. Eat before it gets cold.
Ossetia
In Ossetia, on holidays, pies with meat, beet tops, potatoes, and cabbage are often found. Tsaharajin contains both beets and cheese, it is a very tasty and satisfying pie.
Ingredients:
2 chicken eggs
400 g wheat flour
150 g suluguni cheese
150 g Ossetian cheese
80 g beet greens
30 ml vegetable oil
5 g sugar
5 g salt
10 g dry yeast
water
Tips:
After brushing with oil at the end, cover with a towel and let stand for 5 minutes
Recipe:
Knead the yeast dough with milk, salt and melted butter. Cover and leave in a warm place for an hour.
Make a filling of fresh young cheese and chopped strips of beet tops without stalks. For fat content, you can add ghee or sour cream. Salt and pepper.
Make a cake from the dough a little less than a centimeter thick. Place the filling in the middle. Pull the ends of the dough to the middle, pinch. Turn over, carefully level the surface of the cake, make a steam incision in the middle.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Then brush with oil.
Ingushetia
Birch
Meat in Ingushetia is usually served with a special sauce. Here is his recipe.
Ingredients:
meat broth
a few potatoes
bunch of greenery
salt pepper
1 onion
1 carrot
butter
Recipe:
Boil potatoes in meat broth, mash thoroughly, adding raw eggs in the process.
Mix with the broth so that the puree dissolves in it.
Simmer for a couple of minutes, then remove from heat, add finely chopped green onions and other herbs to taste.
Salt, pepper, simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add fried onions and carrots stewed in butter.
Adygea
Goedlibzhe
In addition to the Adyghe cheese, which everyone knows about, it is worth trying gedlibzhe. This is chicken stewed in sour cream or cream.
Ingredients:
5 pieces. chicken drumsticks
2-3 tbsp sour cream
1 bulb
1.5 tbsp flour
salt, paprika, pepper mixture to taste
Recipe:
Finely chop the onion and garlic and fry separately until golden brown.
Put everything together in a saucepan, sprinkle with paprika. Pour some water, salt, simmer for 15 minutes.
Add sauce of sour cream, flour and water, simmer for about half an hour until tender.
Azerbaijan
Dovga
Dovga is one of the most popular and favorite dishes of Azerbaijani cuisine. This dish is good because it is excellent both hot and cold.
Ingredients for a 2 liter bottle of homemade matsoni:
2 sour creams 200 g each
1 large bunch of cilantro, dill, spinach, tops, mint
1 small head of garlic
0.5 st. round rice
0.5 st. boiled chickpeas
Tips:
It is better to use homemade matsoni, you can buy it on the market
During cooking, you need to stir dovga continuously until boiling, otherwise the matsoni will curdle.
Stir better with a wooden spoon
Recipe:
Rinse all the greens well in advance, finely chop, dry. Boil rice separately. Pour the matsoni and sour cream into a saucepan and stir well. Crack 2 eggs into it. Add boiled rice along with water.
Place the saucepan over high heat and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil.
When the matsoni boils, put the greens and finely chopped garlic into the pan, without ceasing to stir.
Bring to a boil again.
Add boiled peas. Do not cover with a lid for the first couple of hours.
Armenia
Ishkhan in wine
Until now, ishkhan, or Sevan trout, is considered the main culinary masterpiece of Armenia. It is gutted with a spoon through the gills, without ripping open the stomach. The tender fish is then stuffed with tarragon and stewed in wine.
Ingredients:
1kg trout
1 bunch tarragon
300 g cherry plum
1 bulb
dry white wine
Recipe:
Remove the gills from the Sevan trout, take out the insides with a spoon through them. Rinse the cavity thoroughly and stuff with a crushed mixture of cherry plum, pomegranate, onion and tarragon.
You need to simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes in white wine at the rate of 1 glass per 1 kilogram of the dish, avoiding contact of the fish with the bottom of the pan. To do this, it can be placed on stones or wooden sticks.
Georgia
Chkmeruli
A delicious chicken recipe from the national cuisine of Georgia.
Ingredients:
500 ml cream
bunch of cilantro
bunch of parsley
a few cloves of garlic
salt, pepper, suneli hops
Recipe:
Cut the chicken along the breast, remove excess fat, tail and wing tips, lightly beat off.
Rub with salt, pepper and brush with vegetable oil. Put in a hot frying pan under oppression, fry on both sides until golden brown.
Pour in the sauce of cream, chopped garlic, cilantro, parsley and suneli hops. Close the lid, simmer in the oven for about 20 minutes.
Caucasian cuisine consists of the cuisines of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, which have many common characteristics. In the traditional recipes of these countries, a lot of vegetables, herbs, spices, meat and, of course, red wine are used. Even far from these states, lula-kebab and lobio, khachapuri and satsivi are known.
Caucasian cuisine widely uses various types of meat in its recipes. Most often, cooks put veal, lamb and beef in dishes. Moreover, the meat is minced manually with a knife.
Shish kebab occupies a special place among the traditional dishes of the peoples of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. It is a kind of visiting card of the Caucasus. There are many recipes with which you can cook this dish. A large number of vegetables and a variety of herbs are always served on the table for shish kebab.
Caucasian cuisine is widely known for thick and tasty soups. Familiar to many and rich broths. Kharcho soup of Georgian peoples is especially popular, as well as Azerbaijani kyufta-bozbash and piti.
Traditionally Caucasian cuisine is famous for its plov. Meat is the main ingredient in this dish. However, cooks often use berries, fish, vegetables or other products instead.
The cuisines of the peoples of the Caucasus are also remarkable for their desserts. The main ones are sherbet and kazinaki, Turkish delight and baklava. Ossetian pies, open chebureks, meat in Tsakhton sauce and kebabs are very popular.
The diet of the peoples living in the Caucasus largely depends on the climatic features of the region. The morning starts with a light meal. The afternoon meal is a bit denser. The evening table is served with spicy and fatty foods. After all, it is at dinner that relatives, friends and neighbors gather together.
Caucasian cuisine, recipes with photos that make you hungry, will delight you with wonderful soups, kebabs, sauces and desserts. Traditional dishes of the peoples of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia will become a real highlight of your
In the Caucasus, food is treated with love and sincere reverence: it is believed that Heaven sends food to people so that they can live and gain strength. Baking in this important matter is not the last role. Its exact recipes are passed down from generation to generation. Each family certainly keeps a special secret that makes pastries such that “you will swallow your own tongue, I swear by mom!” And anyone who has been to the Caucasus will confirm: being of sound mind and clear consciousness, one cannot refuse a crispy cheburek with minced lamb inside. No one will turn away from khachapuri - boats with a yellow egg eye in the middle. Only a fool will snort at the sight of nut baklava. And only a madman will say: “I don’t want to!” When he sees Caucasian pies, when baking which the rule applies: less dough, and fillings - juicy, spicy - more.
There are a great many fillings for pies: meat, cheese, chicken giblets, cottage cheese, herbs, beans, vegetables, fruits and ... love. True connoisseurs and connoisseurs assure that just mixing the ingredients is not enough. In addition to them, they say, you need to add a piece of the soul to the dish, otherwise it will be worthless. Sleeveless, they do not apply to baking pies - they are like a quality certificate: the better and thinner the dough is rolled out, the more experienced the hostess, and the more generous and richer the filling, the more hospitable the house.
Everything is perfect in a properly prepared Caucasian pie - both form and content. Therefore, make the dough yourself, not trusting the purchased one, and do not skimp on the filling - let it be the way you want: sweet, salty, spicy ... A cup of tea brewed with herbs, or a glass of wine and a good Caucasian toast will help shade the taste of a freshly baked pie, then there is a story in which sublime poetry, a fairy tale, edification, laughter at evil and stupidity are mixed (you must admit that this is a separate work of drinking art). In our case, this one is quite suitable: “Once a mountain eagle flew out to hunt. For a long time he flew in search of prey, but he could not choose it. The mouse was too small for such a horseman. The sheep bleated nastily. And the eagle did not look at the gopher at all - he was tired! Choosing, the eagle worked its wings, lost strength and returned to the nest without having eaten. So let's drink to the fact that we can always choose the right option! Choose the recipe you like and know: in any case, you will win, no one will remain hungry and dissatisfied. Cook, eat and enjoy!
For 8 persons: flour - 500 g, yogurt - 250 ml, milk - 100 ml, eggs - 1 pc., butter - 50 g, vegetable oil - 75 g, dry yeast - 6 g, sugar - 1 tsp, salt - 0 5 tsp, pork - 700 g, onion - 2 pcs., salted pork fat - 150 g, garlic - 2 cloves, hot red pepper - 0.5 tsp, ground coriander - 0.5 h l., zira - 1 hour. l., ucho-suneli - 1 tbsp. l., Georgian adjika - 1 tsp., salt
Dilute the yeast in milk with sugar, pour the mixture into flour and salt. Add yogurt and butter, beat in the egg. Knead the dough, add vegetable oil. Put the dough in a warm place for 2 hours. Cut the meat into slices, lard and onion into cubes, garlic into slices. Mix, salt, pepper, add spices, add adjika, leave for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into two parts, roll out. Put the filling on one layer, cover with a second layer, pinch the edges. Bake in an oven preheated to 180-200 ° C for about 20 minutes.
Calorie per serving 260 kcal
Time for preparing 180 minutes
6 points
For 4 persons: kefir - 125 ml, sour cream - 160 ml, butter - 125 g, flour - 300 g, hard cheese - 250 g, cheese - 100 g, salt - 0.5 tsp, soda - 0.5 tsp ., sugar - 1 tbsp. l.
Mix kefir with sour cream (125 ml), add salt, sugar, soda, stir. Pour in 100 g of melted butter. Add flour, knead the dough. Leave it while you prepare the filling. Grate the cheese, add 25 g of butter, the remaining sour cream and mix. Divide the dough and filling into four parts. From each part of the dough form a cake, put the filling in the center. Gather the dough from the edges to the middle, flatten the cake with your hands. Fry khachapuri in a hot frying pan, without adding oil. Fry with the lid closed. Grease the finished khachapuri with butter.
Calorie per serving 344 kcal
Time for preparing 100 minutes
Difficulty level on a 10-point scale 4 points
For 4 persons: soda - 1 tsp, flour - 1 kg, salt - 1 tsp, potatoes - 800 g, eggs - 2 pcs., kefir - 500 ml, green onions - 1 pc., butter - 400 g
Sift flour, combine with salt. Add soda to kefir, mix. Pour kefir into flour, knead the dough, leave under a towel for 20 minutes. Peel the potatoes, boil them, mash them with the addition of an egg, finely chopped onion and salt. Divide dough and filling into equal portions. Roll out the dough into layers. Put the filling on each, wrap it on all sides and roll it out again to make a thin cake with the filling. Fry the cakes in a preheated pan, grease with a beaten egg and pour well with melted butter.
Calorie per serving 280 kcal
Time for preparing 2 hours
Difficulty level on a 10-point scale 4 points
For 6 persons: flour - 250 g, dry yeast - 2 tsp, deodorized sunflower oil - 2 tsp, whole milk - 130 ml, suluguni - 300 g, sour cream - 50 g, butter - 30 g, parsley - 30 g , green onion - 30 g, sugar - 1 tsp, salt - 1 tsp.
Warm up 50 ml of milk. Add yeast, granulated sugar, mix, leave for 10-15 minutes. Pour the dough into a bowl with sifted flour, add the remaining milk with salt and sunflower oil. Knead soft dough, cover with a towel, leave for 40 minutes. Grate the cheese. Add finely chopped herbs and sour cream. To stir thoroughly. Roll out the dough, put the filling on it. Roll up the dough so that the filling is inside. Press with your hands, cover with a towel, let stand for 3-5 minutes. Flatten the cake with your hands so that you get a large thin cake. Make an incision in the form of a cross to release hot air, bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 200 ° C, after the process is completed, grease with butter.
Calorie per serving 240 kcal
Time for preparing 100 minutes
Difficulty level on a 10-point scale 4 points
For 3 persons: flour - 400 g, salt - 1.5 tsp, sugar - 1.5 tbsp. l., dry yeast - 0.5 tsp., butter - 100 g, eggs - 4 pcs., suluguni - 400 g
Pour 300 ml of water into a deep dish, heat slightly. Add salt, sugar, mix. Add a little flour, mix with a whisk. Add yeast and portions of the remaining flour. Knead until the dough pulls away from your hands. Cover the finished dough with a towel, put in a warm place for 30-40 minutes. Grate suluguni on a coarse grater, mix thoroughly. Divide the dough into three equal parts, roll each into a cake. Put on each filling, spreading over the entire area, wrap the sides, shape into a boat, slightly expand the middle and add a little more filling. Brush khachapuri with beaten egg. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 25-30 minutes. Put the egg yolks in the center of the finished khachapuri and bake for another 3-4 minutes. Then smear khachapuri with butter.
Calorie per serving 255 kcal
Cooking time 90 minutes
Difficulty level on a 10-point scale 5 points
For 5 persons: vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. l., melted butter (or butter) - 3 tbsp. l., onion - 1 pc., flour - 3.5 cups, greens (any) - 400 g, salt
Sift flour, add a pinch of salt. While kneading the dough, gradually add water mixed with vegetable oil so that the dough does not turn out too steep. Cover the dough with a towel and leave for 30 minutes. Finely chop the onion, 1 tbsp. l. heat ghee in a frying pan, put the onion in it, simmer for 7 minutes until soft. Finely chopped greens add to the onion, mix, remove from heat. Salt the filling, cool. Divide the dough into 15 parts, roll into thin cakes. Place a dry, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Put the filling on half of each cake, cover with the second half and carefully press the edges. Fry kutabs on both sides for one and a half minutes. Lubricate the finished kutabs with the remaining melted butter. Serve hot or warm.
Calorie per serving 236 kcal
Time for preparing 90 minutes
Difficulty level on a 10-point scale 5 points
For 8 persons: flour - 500 g, sour cream - 200 g, butter - 300 g, eggs - 2 pcs., baking powder - 1 tsp, walnuts - 2.5 cups, finely ground sugar - 2.5 cups, vanillin, cardamom , cinnamon, honey - 50 g
Soften 200 g of butter, add an egg, sour cream, mix, combine with flour, add baking powder. Knead soft dough, send to the refrigerator. Set aside quarters of walnuts (24 pieces) for decoration, chop the rest. Add 1.5 cups of sugar and spices. Divide the chilled dough into four parts, roll into a thin layer. Divide the filling into three parts, put the layers of dough in a greased form, alternating them with the filling. Mark the top layer into portioned pieces by cutting parallel lines with a knife, without cutting the bottom layer of dough. Make a few more cuts to get rhombuses. Lubricate the surface with yolk mixed with 1 tbsp. l. cold water, stick a nut into each rhombus. Place the mold with the workpiece in the oven, heated to 200 ° C. Remove after 15 minutes, "refresh" the cuts, pour 100 g of melted butter, return to the oven for 35-40 minutes. Boil the syrup: bring water to a boil (150 ml), add 1 cup of sugar, cook until slightly thickened, cool. Mix with a portion of honey and spill the baked baklava.
Calorie per serving 338 kcal
Time for preparing 80 minutes
Difficulty level on a 10-point scale 8 points
For 6 persons: flour - 300 g, pressed yeast - 10 g, kefir - 350 ml, sugar - 5 g, margarine - 30 g, beans - 100 g, mutton tail fat - 50 g, onion - 50 g, oil - 100 g, salt , pepper
Sift flour, pour it on the table, pour in kefir, put softened margarine, salt, yeast, sugar. Knead the dough and put in a warm place for 2-3 hours. Rinse the soaked beans, cook until fully cooked, salt, fold in a colander. Pass through a meat grinder, add finely chopped fat tail fat and finely chopped onion. Salt, pepper, mix. Divide the finished dough into two parts, roll it into cakes 0.5-1 cm thick. Put the filling in the middle of one cake, smooth it so that 3-4 cm is left to the edges, cover with a second cake. Wrap the edges of the cakes to the middle, pinch. Put the pie in a slightly warmed frying pan, greased and sprinkled with flour. Make an incision in the middle and put in the oven, preheated to 210-230 ° C. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve brushed with oil.
Calorie per serving 160 kcal
Time for preparing 4 hours
Difficulty level on a 10-point scale 6 points
Photo: Istock.com/Gettyimages.ru
Famous Caucasian pastries
Caucasian cuisine is no less diverse than the Caucasus itself. Adjika, kebabs, vegetable dishes with spices and spices are firmly included in our diet. Yes, and any hostess can pamper the family with traditional oriental pastries.
Khachapuri is a real masterpiece of Georgian cuisine. You can cook them in different ways: there are a huge number of different recipes in which the dough and filling are not repeated. In the variety of cooking techniques, you are sure to find one that will be to your liking.
What is oriental cuisine without baking? Dishes prepared according to the recipes of Caucasian culinary specialists are very popular all over the world.
Caucasian pastries can be sweet and salty, with honey, fruits, vegetables, different types of meat and fish. Almost every recipe has a lot of spices and herbs. There are always a lot of toppings, it is juicy and very tasty.
Khychin, Ossetian pies, khachapuri with a hundred different fillings - this is not the whole list of dough products that the cuisine of the Caucasus is famous for. Recipes have been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years, each family has its own secret ingredient that makes baking unique. The serving of pies is also unique - 3 pies are brought to the table as a tribute to water, sun and earth.
By the quality of the dough, it is easy to distinguish a skilled housewife from an inexperienced one. The better and thinner the dough is rolled out, the more praise a woman deserves.
The amount of filling in pies speaks of the generosity and hospitality of the owners. In no house you will find pastries without filling. Onions, cheese, mushrooms, lamb - everything that the owners of the house are rich in is served with flatbread.
It’s not enough just to mix all the ingredients; for a successful result, you need to put your soul into the dish and cook it with love.
Pastries of the Caucasus are not only cakes and pies. In this section of our virtual cookbook you will find not only traditional Caucasian dough products, but also many original recipes, the existence of which you may hear for the first time. It is enough to look into our section, and your feet will carry you to the stove, try to cook pies according to new recipes.