Uzbek Non and other Uzbek food we tried

Uzbek Non

Everywhere we were in Uzbekistan, we came across lots of Uzbek bread called non. Round in shape, each non had a very unique pattern stamped on it. Some non have meat fillings or sesame seed toppings, other are plain. There are also special and more elaborately decorated non that are prepared for festive occasions such as birthdays etc. Non are usually baked in tandyr oven / clay oven.

Uzbeks considers non as sacred and respects it. There is even a local saying that translates to "Respect for non is respect for country". Non are always placed with the patterns facing up and never
the other way around. They are also never cut with knives, instead locals would tear them to pieces by hand. 

The locals believe that non is a sort of amulet. If someone leaves their house (eg. to travel or perhaps a soldier off to serve his country), the person takes a small bite of the non and the remainder is kept at home awaiting his/her safe return. There are even rituals involving non at weddings.

The non is a staple food and non are served at each meal without even having to ask for them.



Bread stamp called  "chekich" used by the baker to stamp designs on the dough before it is slapped onto the oven wall to be baked. Each baker have their own design.



The tandyr oven used to bake non. The dough are slapped onto the oven wall and left to bake to a crisp. Traditionally, non are baked by men. Photo taken at Fergana.




A typical sight across Uzbek... non pushed and sold in old fashion prams. Photos taken in Rishton and Fergana.



Busy street vendors selling non on old pram at Tashkent (26 Jul 2013).

Left: ring shaped non with meat filling we bought at Rishton (29 Jul 2013)
Right: Non with meat given to us by the son of a bread factory owner at Fergana (28 Jul 2013)

We also tried the plain non but found them to be too dry for our liking. Perhaps, they might taste better if eaten when they are still warm from the oven.

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Plov

Plov is the Uzbek national dish made of rice, carrots and meat (usually mutton).
Each cook have their own way of making plov.



Plov are traditionally cooked by men in large cast iron pot called 'kazan' / 'qazan'.



Plov at Samarkand Bazaar, ready to serve..

Left: The plov we had for lunch at Bukhara had raisins and chick peas in it.
Right: The plov we had in Tashkent which has more meat in it. The rice is also more brown from the mix of spices used.



The plov we had for lunch at Samarkand Bazaar. This is a simpler version without raisins.

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Shurpa

Uzbek soup are called Shurpa. There are many varieties of Shurpas, mostly made with vegetables such as carrot, potato, turnip and chick peas. Some have meat in them, others do not.



Left: Shurpa for our lunch Bukhara. Right: Shurpa for dinner at Bukhara.
Both with a different cut of meat.



The Shurpa we had at Andijon

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Dolma Shurpa

This is a soup with bell peppers stuffed with rice and meat.

We had this for lunch at Bukhara

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Mashkurda

Mashkurda is a soup with rice, mung bean and vegetables such as potatoes and carrots served with a dressing of soured milk and local herbs.



We had the Mashkurda for dinner at Chust.

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Lagman

Lagman is a thick noodle soup with vegetables and meat

The lagman we had for dinner at Bukhara.

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Kaurma Lagman

Fried noodle with vegetable and meat



We had Kaurma Lagman for brunch at Andijon

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Manti

Manti are dumpling stuffed with meat (usually fatty meat) and onion and seasoned with spices. The dumplings are either steamed or boiled.



This particular dumpling given to us by the son of a bread factory owner at Fergana is the baked version. It still had the typical ingredient of a manti which is meat and onions.

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Samsa

Triangular flaky pastry with meat filling and onion typically baked in a tandyr/tandoor oven.



Samsa at Tashkent

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Kurt / Kurut

Kurt are dried cheese balls made from soured milk seasoned with salt and pepper that are left to completely dry out. They can be kept for years. The cheese balls are really hard and not easy to bite into. Once you manage to bite some off, they are very salty.



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Uzbeks typically sit on the floor or at a low tables to have their meals. They call this dastarkhan.



Each meal is served with a salad (ie Shakarap).. typically a mix of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and local herbs.



as well as some bread or non. Drinks are served in small bowls. This meal we had at Samarkand Bazaar even included a bowl of Ayran or chilled yogurt drink.
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Filled bread

At Navoi, we came across a small shop selling various buns. We could not read the sign, so we decided to order a few of the buns we saw on the display shelves.

This bun is filled with potatoes and dill

 This one is stuffed with rice, beef and lung. Not our favourite but tasted alright.



more meat... hotdog bun and another with meat and onion filling.

Our breakfast at Navoi - tea with a selection of filled buns and a cone biscuit
Uzbek food sure does use a lot of meat, usually either mutton or lamb.

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Dessert

We had this for dessert at Samarkand. Not entirely sure what it is called but guessing this might be a Pavlava.