Uzbek cuisine

Uzbek cuisineshares the culinary traditions of peoples across Central Asia.Grain farming is widespread inUzbekistan, making breads andnoodlesan important part of the cuisine, which has been described as "noodle-rich".
Bread (nanornon) is  baked in atandur, which is frequently a pot rather than the deep pit or oven of India and Afghanistan. Many varieties of rice are eaten.Potatoes were introduced by the Soviets, and some elder Uzbeks still refuse to eat them.
The most popular meat is mutton. Beef is common, and goat is eaten only rarely. Horse meat is used as well; there are sausages made of horse meat, as is the case with many otherTurkic peoples.Karakul sheepprovide meatbut also fat, particularly the fat from the tail end, calledqurdiuq.
Uzbekistan's signature dish ispalov(plovor osh or palov, "pilaf"), a main course consisting ofrice, chunks ofmeat, gratedcarrotsandonions. It is cooked in akazan(ordeghi) over an open fire.Chickpeas,raisins,barberries, or fruit may be added for variation.
Although often prepared at home for family and guests by the head of household or the housewife, palov is made on special occasions by theoshpaz, or theoshmaster chef, who cooks the dish over an open flame, sometimes serving up to 1,000 people from a single cauldron on holidays or occasions such as weddings.Nahor oshi, or "morning plov", is served in the early morning (between 6 and 9 am) to large gatherings of guests, typically as part of a wedding celebration.
Other national dishes includeshurpa(shurvaorshorva), asoupmade of large pieces of fatty meat (usually mutton) and fresh vegetables;norinandlagman, noodle-based dishes that may be served as a soup or a main course;manti(also calledqasqoni),chuchvara, andsomsa, stuffed pockets of dough served as an appetizer or a main course (ranging from "wonderfully flaky and rich" to "heavy, stodgy");dimlama(a meat and vegetable stew) and variouskebabs, usually served as a main course.
Green teais the national hot beverage taken throughout the day;teahouses(chaikhanas) are of cultural importance.Black teais preferred in Tashkent. Both are taken withoutmilkorsugar. Tea always accompanies a meal, but it is also a drink of hospitality, automatically offered green or black to every guest.Ayran, a chilled yogurt drink, is popular in the summer.
The use of alcohol is less widespread than in the West. Uzbekistan has 14wineries, the oldest and most famous being the Khovrenko Winery inSamarkand(est. 1927). The Samarkand Winery produces a range of dessert wines from localgrapevarieties: Gulyakandoz, Shirin, Aleatiko, and Kabernet likernoe (literallyCabernetdessert wine inRussian).Uzbek wines have received international awards and are exported toRussiaand other countries inCentral Asia.
A festive meal ends withfruitor a compote of fresh ordried fruit, followed bynutsandhalvahwith green tea.
The cooking ofBukharan Jewsforms a distinct cuisine within Uzbekistan, subject to the restrictions ofJewish dietary laws.The most typical Bukharan Jewish dish isoshi sabo(alsoosh savoorosovoh), a "meal in a pot" slowly cooked overnight and eaten hot forShabbatlunch. Oshi sabo is made with meat, rice, vegetables, and fruit added for a unique sweet and sour taste.By virtue of its culinary function (a hot Shabbat meal in Jewish homes) and ingredients (rice, meat, vegetables cooked together overnight), oshi sabo is a Bukharan version ofcholentorhamin.
In addition tooshi sabo, authentic Bukharian Jewish dishes include:
Palov was not available to the general population until the 1930s, the Soviet era. Traditionally only men cooked the dish, but when the Soviets took over control of the country, they liberated women, who were then also allowed to prepare it. Since then, however, according to food scholar Nancy Rosenberger (writing in 2012), "the pendulum was swinging back, if it had ever swung very far".
The basis is meat, usually mutton, with vegetables (carrots and onions), fried inqurdiuq(fat from thefat-tailed sheep). The mixture of onion and thinly cut carrot is calledzirvak, and it is compared to Europeansoffrito. Oftengarbanzosand raisins are added, and instead of mutton all kinds of other basic ingredients can be used, including stuffed grape leaves or poultry.
The meat is either boiled or fried with thezirvak. The rice is cooked by being soaked and then placed on top of the other ingredients, so it steams--in contrast to other popular ways of making pilaf, where rice is fried, and the other ingredients added, and then the entire dish being cooked in water.
Traditional Uzbek bread, called genericallynoniorpatyr, is baked in the form of circular flat loaves (lepyoshkain Russian) with a thin decorated depression at the center and a thicker rim all around. Nons are brought to the table with the decorated side up, then torn into irregular chunks which are stacked on the bread plate. Every region has different varieties of non, most prominent are: