Azerbaijan Recipes

http://flavorsofbaku.com/portfolio-view/gyurza-sheki-style/

SHEKI GYURZA (LAMB DUMPLINGS).
Gyurza (also spelled as Gyurze) is another Azerbaijani dish, similar to Dushbara. It is a dumpling soup cooked in a lamb broth. The difference between Dushbara and Gyurza is their shape. Gyurza has a long shape and its edges beautifully pinched with a special technique, similar to a French braiding style, which requires some experience to make.
Gyurza Sheki style is named after a beautiful small city in northern Azerbaijan. Sheki cuisine is famous of its dishes, such as Pakhlava Sheki style, Piti Sheki style, Gyurza Sheki style and others. Here is the recipe of Sheki style Gyurza.

Ingredients for the Broth:
Lamb – 450g (1lb)
Onion – 1 small size
Saffron or turmeric – ½ teaspoon
Salt

Ingredients for the Dough:
Flour – 2-3 cups
Egg – 1
Salt – ½ teaspoon
Water – ½ cup

Ingredients for the Filling:
Grounded lamb or beef with 15% fat – 250g (8oz)
Onion – 1 small size
Salt – ½ teaspoon
Pepper – ¼ teaspoon

Preparing the broth in advance.
Place meat into a saucepan and fill with water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil. Add pееled onion, a pinch of saffron or turmeric, and season with salt to taste. Simmer for about an hour. Strain through a fine mesh colander.

Preparing the dough.
Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the egg, salt and water, and start kneading the dough until it is soft and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball, cover with a plastic wrap, and set aside for 20 minutes to rest before rolling.

Preparing the filling.
In a bowl, combine the grounded meat with finely chopped or grounded onion, and season with salt and pepper. Mix filling well and set aside.

GyurzeShekiFOB1

Preparing Gyurza.
Dust your working place with flour and start rolling out the dough into a large thin circle, approximately 1-2 mm thick. Cut the dough into circles with upside-down drinking glass or round shape pastry cutter. Place a teaspoon of filling into the middle of each circle, fold them and pinch the ends together in a braiding style. Leave a small hole on the edge.

GyurzeShekiFOB2

Cooking Gyurza.
Put Gyurza in the boiling broth and gently mix them with a wooden spoon, so they don’t stick together. Lower the heat and simmer them for 10 minutes until dough is tender. Sprinkle with dried mint or fresh chopped cilantro.
Serve hot with vinegar mixed with chopped garlic.






http://www.baku.azerbaijan.travel/en/cusine-current/1-Shah-Pilaf-(Crown-Pilaf-)
National cuisine → Pilafs → Shah Pilaf (Crown Pilaf )
Saff ron petiole – 0.5 gr
Rice – 3 glasses
Salt – 1 tea spoon
Melted butter – 200 gr
Lamb fl esh – 600 gr
Melted butter – 300 gr
Bulb onion – 3-4 pieces
Dried alycha (cherry plum) – 150 gr
Raisin– 300 gr
Chestnuts – 200 gr
Season to taste with pepper and turmeric
Lavash (fl at unleavened wheat bread) – 10 Layers

The name of this festive pilaf derives from its external form that resembles the crown of a Medieval Eastern ruler.
Clean and wash rice. Soak in salted water for 4-6 hours. Boil it until it gets half ready. Salt a bit. Then, put on colander. Add saff ron.
Cut meat into rectangular parts. Grease with salt, pepper and alycha extract.
Grease bowl walls with butter. Note: To cook Shah Pilaf you will need a special bowl which has a smaller diameter at the bottom than at the top. Put 5 layers of lavash on the bowl bed. Place lavash sheets on the bowl’s sides in a way that they should cover a bit of the bowl bed and put each next lavash on the next one.
Place the lavash so that it hangs over the edges of the bowl. Grease each lavash with melted butter. For making lavash (fl at unleavened wheat bread): take wheat flour, eggs and water. Knead stiff dough by adding salt. Roll into a round pancake with a thickness of 2 mm and bake it on a very hot frying pan (without butter). Put a layer of rice on bowl bed (1/3 of total weight), then put meat and repeat a layer of rice (1/3 of total weight). Put chestnuts in the middle and then, place dried apricots and seedless raisin. Cover all with the remaining rice (1/3 of total weight). Then, put all lavash sheets to cover rice and then, place 5 remaining lavash sheets greased with butter on the top.
Grease top with butter. Close lid and put in oven at a temperature of 130ºС. After 40 minutes, take it out of oven and cover with butter.
After 80 minutes, take out of oven and open lid to pour out the butter. Turn bowl upside down on dish and put pilaf on dish.
Make a hole in the middle and cut pilaf into portions. Crust of lavash should be unfolded as petals.  


http://www.azerifood.com/?page_id=1085
Guymaq

Guymag is a rich Azerbaijani dish, high in calories, made from the simplest of ingredients – flour, clarified butter and water.

It is traditionally given to mothers who have just given birth and to patients after surgery to keep their strength up. Cinnamon adds a pleasant flavour to Guymag. Guymag also serves as a hot breakfast, when a weather is cold. Guymag should be served hot.

To 2 persons:



100 gr wheat flour
100 gr clarified butter
900 ml – 1 l water
pinch of salt

pinch of cinnamon
sugar to taste

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan and add the flour. Mix well over a medium flame until all the flour has been absorbed by the butter. Keep stirring to prevent the flour from forming lumps. The mixture should be a smooth paste, as in a roux for sauces. Add the salt. Cook until the mixture turns a golden colour. This usually takes around 8-10 minutes.



Bring the water to the boil while the flour is still cooking. Add the boiling water gradually to the flour and butter, stirring rapidly all the time to prevent lumps from forming. The flour and water must be blended fully.

Cook on a low heat for 40 minutes to 1 hour until a crust forms at the bottom and butter came up . Some of the fat will seep out at the top of the Guymag as it cooks.

guymaq 2

Serve the Guymag hot on saucers or plates. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

The crust can be scraped from the bottom of the pan and is very tasty sprinkled with sugar.



Nush olsun! Bon appetite!





http://azcookbook.com/2008/01/16/stuffed-grape-leaves/
Stuffed Grape Leaves
No Azerbaijani table is complete without dolma, the all-time favorite, and my favorite too as a matter of fact. The word “dolma” means “stuffed” in Azerbaijani. Variations of this dish are present in cuisines of other regions and countries, including Middle Eastern, Persian, Turkish, and Greek.
I’ve tried many different versions and liked most of them, but still there is something special about Azerbaijani dolma. There is this irresistible flavor of aromatic fresh herbs mixed with ground meat and rice.
Also, Azerbaijani dolma is smaller and rounder in shape than its foreign counterparts that usually have longer, tube-like shapes. I like my dolma to be of a bite-size, neither too small nor too big. Try it with a scoop of creamy garlic-yogurt sauce on top and you will promise to yourself to make this dish again!
Warning but a harmless one. Rolling grape leaves may require a bit of effort and time – but hang in there as the result is so worth it, I promise.
You can find canned grape leaves in gourmet food stores and in most Middle Eastern/Persian stores. Are you ready to cook? Let’s roll! I mean, let’s roll the leaves:)

Grape Leaves Stuffed with Meat (Yarpag Dolmasi)
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
1 pound (450g) ground lamb or beef
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
½ cup short or medium grain rice, washed and drained
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
½ cup chopped fresh dill
½ cup chopped fresh mint (you can substitute with 2-3 tablespoons dried)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon or to taste, pepper
80 small or 40 medium size fresh grape leaves or canned leaves (about ¾ of 16oz can)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
½ cup water
Garlicky Yogurt Sauce:
1 cup plain yogurt, mixed with 2-3 gloves peeled and crushed garlic
Directions:
1. To prepare the filling, in a mixing bowl combine the ground meat, onion, rice, fresh herbs, salt (add less if you are going to use salted canned leaves) and pepper and knead thoroughly.
2. If using fresh grape leaves, blanch them in small batches (about 10 at a time) in a pot with boiling water for 2 minutes. This will soften the leaves and make it easer to roll them and faster to cook. Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and drain. Cut off the stems or any hard veins.
If using canned leaves, put them in batches in colander and place the colander under a sink, then rinse the leaves under cold water and drain. Cut off the stems. If using medium or large leaves, cut them in half. If there are any torn or damaged leaves, do not discard – use them to patch holes in other leaves. NOTE: If canned leaves are too thick, blanch them in boiling water for about a minute, then drain and proceed as directed in the recipe.
4. Arrange the stuffed grape leaves close together seam side down in a medium non-stick pan, making several layers. If using fresh grape leaves, sprinkle a little salt in between each layer.
5. Pour butter over the grape leaves and add water. Place a small lid or a small ovenproof plate on top to keep dolmas tight and to prevent them from opening. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium to low and simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the leaves are tender and the filling is cooked. There should be little liquid left, reduced to the oily consistency.
6. Serve hot with garlic-yogurt sauce scooped on top, and fresh salad or pickles and bread on the side.