Uzbekistan will conquer you for its madrasas, mosques, and minarets among others, but it will also do so with its gastronomy. On our route through Uzbekistan, we were able to try typical Uzbek food in different restaurants in Samarkand, Khiva, Bukhara, and Tashkent.
When we visit a new country we find it important to familiarize ourselves with its gastronomy. That is why in this post we want to bring you closer to typical Uzbek food by showing you the most typical dishes that you should try on your trip.
Typical Dishes of Uzbekistan
Uzbek gastronomy positively surprised us. Within Uzbek cuisine, you will find a wide variety of dishes for all tastes. These that we tell you are without a doubt the ones you have to try if you visit Uzbekistan.
Plov
This is the typical dish par excellence. The main ingredients of plov are rice, carrots, chickpeas, raisins, lamb, and beef. You have the option of adding horse meat and egg. This dish is usually accompanied by salad, tomato, sauces, and typical Uzbek bread.
In all cities, there are dining rooms-restaurants that specialize in this dish. They do it in quantities of up to 3 tons and can feed up to 1,000 people. We recommend going early, no later than 1:00 p.m., as you may run out of your plov ration.
Shashlik
This dish is also known as Shashlik-kebab. The Shashlik is basically a roast beef skewer. You can order it from chicken, beef, lamb, etc. It is a very recurring meal and it is delicious. It can be a good option if you want to eat typical Uzbek food without leaving western gastronomy.
Sherpa
If you like soups this is your dish. Sherpa contains carrot, tomato, red pepper, potato, onion, spices, and herbs. Lamb, fish, meatballs, or other meats can be added as the main ingredient. As it is a thick soup, it is usually accompanied by bread cakes.
Lepyoshka, Uzbek bread
Lepyoshka is called the typical Uzbek bread. For us it was a great discovery, it is delicious and you can eat with everything you can imagine.
Depending on the city the elaboration may be somewhat different but we encourage you to try all its varieties.
Something that draws the attention of this bread is its aesthetics since the Uzbeks decorate the bread with different shapes. To do this, they use a tool called Chekich that you can buy as a souvenir in any city.
Samsa
Samsa is puff pastry dumplings that are baked with different fillings: meat (lamb, beef, chicken), vegetables (peppers, pumpkin, potato, onion), and other ingredients such as cheese. There are also sweet salsas.
Manti
Manti or dumplings are thin dough dumplings made steamed with meat and vegetables inside. If you don’t see anyone eating them with a knife and fork, don’t panic. The most normal thing is to eat them with your hands so that the juice does not fall from inside. It is usually served with yogurt cream and hot tea.
Lagman
Lagman is a type of Uzbek pasta with vegetables, meat, and spices. In some places, the Lagman can be served as if it were a one-piece spaghetti, although in others it will already be served cut.
Koumiss
Kumis is a refreshing drink that is usually drunk in summer. The classic ingredient in Kumis is mare’s milk, although in other parts of Uzbekistan it can be made from camel, goat, or cow’s milk.
By the way, you have to know that it is a fermented drink so it may have a little alcohol, although you may not even notice it.
You may also be interested in the Delicious food of the world in different countries
