Cuisine of Turkmenistan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Turkmen cuisine, the cuisine

Cuisine

Cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, often associated with a specific culture. Cuisines are often named after the geographic areas or regions that they originate from...

of Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...

, is similar to that of the rest of Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

. Plov is the staple, everyday food, which is also served at celebrations. It consists of chunks of mutton, carrot

Carrot

The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...

s and rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

fried in a large cast-iron cauldron similar to a Dutch oven

Dutch oven

A Dutch oven is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens have been used as cooking vessels for hundreds of years....

. Manty are dumplings filled with ground meat and onions or pumpkin. Shurpa is a meat and vegetable soup. A wide variety of filled pies and fried dumplings are available in restaurants and bazaar

Bazaar

A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...

s, including somsas, gutap (often filled with spinach) and ishlykly. These are popular with travelers and taxi drivers, as they can be eaten quickly on the run, and are often sold at roadside stands. Turkmen cuisine does not generally use spices or seasonings, and is cooked with large amounts of cottonseed oil

Cottonseed oil

Cottonseed oil is a cooking oil extracted from the seeds of cotton plant of various species, mainly Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium herbaceum...

for flavor.

Shashlyk, skewered chunks of mutton, pork

Pork

Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....

, chicken

Chicken (food)

Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...

, or sometimes fish

Fish (food)

Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...

, grilled over charcoal

Charcoal

Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...

and garnished with raw sliced onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

and a special vinegar

Vinegar

Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...

-based sauce, is served in restaurants and often sold in the street. Restaurants in Turkmenistan serve mainly Russian

Russian cuisine

Russian cuisine is diverse, as Russia is the largest country in the world. Russian cuisine derives its varied character from the vast and multi-cultural expanse of Russia. Its foundations were laid by the peasant food of the rural population in an often harsh climate, with a combination of...

fare such as pelmeni

Pelmeni

Pelmeni are dumplings consisting of a filling wrapped in thin, unleavened dough that originated in Siberia and is a dish of Russian cuisine. Pelmeni are common in Russia and have similar names in other languages: , pyal’meni; pilmän; , pel’meni; ; .- Ingredients :The dough is made from flour and...

, buckwheat

Buckwheat

Buckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...

(grechka), golubtsy

Cabbage roll

A cabbage roll is a dish consisting of cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings. It is common to the ethnic cuisines of England, and has also found popularity in areas of North America settled by English Settlers....

, and a wide variety of mayonnaise-based salads

Russian salad

Salade Olivier is a salad composed of diced potatoes, vegetables and meats bound in mayonnaise. The salad is usually called Russian salad in Western European and Latin American countries, and Salad Olivieh in Iranian cooking.-History:...

. Lagman

Lamian

Lamian is a type of hand-made or hand-pulled Chinese noodle. It is also the name of the dishes that use these noodles.-Etymology and preparation:...

, an Uyghur

Uyghur people

The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...

noodle dish, can also be found in some areas.

Melons

In the culinary arena, Turkmenistan is perhaps most famous for its melon

Melon

thumb|200px|Various types of melonsThis list of melons includes members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit e.g. gourds or cucurbits. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit...

s, especially in the former Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, where it was once the major supplier. Though very few melons are exported today, they are a great source of national pride in Turkmenistan and subject of their own Melon Day

Melon Day

Melon Day is an annual national holiday in Turkmenistan devoted to festivities to celebrate the country's muskmelon, in particular a recent crossbreed product named "Turkmenbashi melon" , which is praised for its aroma, taste and large size.This holiday was established by Turkmenistan’s previous...

holiday. Turkmen sources claim the country is home to up to 400 hundred distinct varieties.

Bread

Meals are almost always served with Naan

Naan

Naan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is typical of and popular in South and Central Asia, in Iran, and in South Asian restaurants abroad. Influenced by the large influx of South Asian labour, naan has also become popular in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.Originally, naan is a...

, Central Asian flat bread, known locally as "çörek." Turkmen bread is prepared slightly differently from other breads in the region in thick, round disc-shaped loaves baked in a traditional tamdyr

Tandoor

A tandoor is a cylindrical clay oven used in cooking and baking. The tandoor is used for cooking in Azerbaijan, India, Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Central Asia, as well as Burma and Bangladesh.The heat for a tandoor was...

clay oven. Bread has a high symbolic importance in Turkmen culture

Culture of Turkmenistan

thumb|right|250px|A Yomut Turkmen in a traditional attire, early XX century.The Turkmen people have traditionally been nomads and horsemen, and even today after the fall of the USSR attempts to urbanize the Turkmens have not been very successful. They never really formed a coherent nation or ethnic...

, and it is considered highly impolite to turn a loaf of bread upside down or to mistreat bread in any way. There are many superstitions based around bread and its preparation. Bread baked with meat inside ("etli çörek," or "meat bread") can be consumed as a meal in itself. "Ýagly çörek" (literally "oily bread") is a flaky, layered type of flat bread made with butter.

Beverages

As in the rest of Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

, green tea

Green tea

Green tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia. It has recently become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally...

is the primary drink, consumed at all hours. In the Turkmen language

Turkmen language

Turkmen is the national language of Turkmenistan...

, "chai" (tea) can refer to eating a meal or sitting down for a visit. In the Dashoguz region it is sometimes drunk "Kazakh

Kazakh cuisine

Kazakh cuisine is the cuisine of Kazakhstan. Traditional Kazakh cuisine revolves around mutton and horse meat and as well as various milk products. For hundreds of years Kazakhs were herders who raised fat-tailed sheep, Bactrian camels, and horses, relying on these animals for transportation,...

style" with milk, often to disguise the salty taste of the drinking water in that area.

Gatyk, a thick drinking yogurt similar to Kefir

Kefir

Kefir is a fermented milk drink that originated with shepherds of the North Caucasus region, who discovered that fresh milk carried in leather pouches would occasionally ferment into an effervescent beverage...

, is often served with breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...

and sometimes used as a condiment on börek or manty in lieu of the traditional sour cream

Sour cream

Sour cream is a dairy product rich in fats obtained by fermenting a regular cream by certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturally, sours and thickens the cream. Its name stems from the production of lactic acid by bacterial...

. The drink the nation is known for, however, is chal
Chal
Chal, or shubat , is a Turkic beverage of fermented camel milk, sparkling white with a sour flavor, popular in Central Asia — particularly in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. In Kazakhstan the drink is known as shubat, and is a staple summer food. Due to preparation requirements and perishable...

, a fermented

Fermentation (food)

Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...

camel

Camel

A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...

's milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

, which is a white sparkling beverage that has a sour flavour and is popular in Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

, particularly in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan

. Because of specific preparation requirements and its being extremely perishable, chal presents a great challenge for importers to ship outside Turkmenistan or the region for foreign consumption. It is similar to the Kyrgyz drink shoro. One source notes that Turkmen like to get agaran (a type of butter

Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...

) from the surface of chal.

Travelers have the following description of the cooling effect and preparation of the chal: "Where Turkmen cuisine positively shines is in its dairy foods, from both cows

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

and camels. I tasted the famous chal, fermented camel's milk, and it proved wonderfully cooling in the intense heat. To make chal, the cream is skimmed off the milk, and the milk is thinned with water and left to ferment slightly. (That skimmed-off cream, when it too is fermented slightly, becomes agaran, a rich, thick and extremely nourishing treat.)"

Alcoholic beverages

Vodka

Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....

is the most popular alcoholic beverage, due to its low cost, followed by beer

Beer

Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

, wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

, brandy

Brandy

Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...

, and sparkling wine

Sparkling wine

Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved , or as a result of carbon dioxide...

(Russian: шампанское / shampanskoye).

External links

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