Food & Drink

Uzbekistan's cuisine is rich and varied. Its national dish, plov, is made of fried lamb, onions, and yellow or orange carrots. Samsas, delicious pastries stuffed with meat or vegetables, were introduced to the country by Central Asian traders in the 13th and 14th centuries. Original Uzbek samsas are stuffed with meat and onions and baked in clay ovens (tandyr). Manti, a dumpling filled with meat, is similar to samsa but steamed in a special pot. Lagman is a hearty soup of noodles, beef or lamb, and vegetables. It borrows from the country's Chinese and Nepalese heritage.

Bread is a staple at meals. Baked in tandyr, the bread is usually round and flat. Travelling across the country, you will find a variety of bread flavours and patterns. Yet another famous dish that you shoul is the shashlik, consisting of skewered and grilled cubes of meat. Uzbekistan's climate permits the production of different kinds of apricot, which can be bought at its bazaars and supermarkets.

Alcohol is a part of the daily life of many Uzbeks, particularly Russians. Most of the alcohol available is vodka, sweet champagne, and sweet wine. Uzbeks often drink vodka from porcelain tea bowls.

Uzbeks love their tea. They drink it straight without sugar and rarely add milk to their tea. Black tea is popular among Russians and inhabitants of Samarkand and Tashkent. Meals generally start and end with tea. Tea houses called chaykhanas dot cities and are frequented exclusively by men. Uzbek men sit around low tables on beds and enjoy plov, kebab, and cups of green tea.