Eating Around the World (From Home....And Gluten Free...): Azerbaijan

Welcome to Azerbaijan! (Bonus points if you can pronounce this name correctly without looking it up...I couldn't...). After a small hiatus, we're back at it. This is a country in Europe that borders the Caspian Sea, and actually has two geographic areas that are separated completely by another country, Armenia - fascinating! According to Google, their population is 10.13 million people, and their capital is Baku. Their national dish is...

Plov!

What is Plov, you ask? It's a fancy rice pilaf dish! In reading how to make the recipe that I did, it sounded very similar to Afghanistan's national dish - rice, chicken, and other spices cooked together in a pot. Along with the Plov, I made String Beans in Azeri Tomato Sauce, and Dovga, which is a cold soup. All of the components took a while to make - especially the soup, as it needed time to chill. I didn't give it enough time to chill, so mistakes were made! Here's what I did:

PLOV

3 C rice

4 tbsp butter

1 C roasted and peeled chestnuts

1/2 C pitted dried apricots

1 C plums

1/2 C pitted dates

1/2 C golden raisins

1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch cubes

1 onion, cut in half and sliced thinly

1/2 tsp ground saffron threads, dissolved in 3 tbsp hot water

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the rice in a fine-mesh strainer and wash under lukewarm water until the water runs clear.
Soak the rice in a large container filled with lukewarm water mixed with 1 tbsp salt.
In a medium frying pan, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat.
Add the chestnuts and stir-fry them for about 3 minutes.
Add the apricots, plums, and dates to the chestnuts, and stir-fry for another 3 minutes.
Add the raisins to the mixture and stir-fry for another minute, then remove the pan from heat and set aside.
In a large pot, combine 10 C water and 2 tbsp of salt and bring to a boil.
Drain the soaked rice, and add the rice to the pot, little by little, until it is all in the pot.
Boil for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally - the rice should not be completely cooked.
Drain the rice and set aside.
Rinse the pot you boiled the rice in and melt 1 tbsp butter over medium heat.
Add the chicken cubes to the bottom of the pot, as close to one layer as possible.
Salt and pepper the chicken, to taste.
On top of the chicken, place a layer of onions.
Simmer over medium heat, without stirring, for 2 minutes.
Place half of the rice over the onion layer.
Place the dried fruit mixture over the rice layer.
Place the remaining rice on top of the dried fruit mixture.
Place 1 tbsp melted butter over top the rice.
Place a clean dishtowel over the pot and cover with a lid to absorb the steam.
Reduce the heat to low, and cook 25 minutes.
At the end of 25 minutes, pour the saffron water on top of the rice.
Cover the pot again with the towel and a lid, and cook for another 25 minutes.
When you are ready to serve, spoon a big heap (get down to the bottom of the pot!) on a plate, and enjoy!

(Source: Plov)

GREEN BEANS WITH AZERI TOMATO SAUCE

1 lb green beans

4 tbsp butter

2 onions, sliced thinly into crescents

Sauce

8 oz tomato sauce

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 C plain yogurt

1/4 C sour cream

2 tsp white vinegar

Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat.
Add the onions, and saute for 5 minutes.
Add the green beans, stir, and cover to cook for 25 minutes, or until the beans are your preference for doneness.
For the tomato sauce, combine the tomato sauce and basil, and let warm for 5 minutes.
Stir in yogurt, sour cream, and vinegar.
Cover and cook for 5 minutes, on low heat, stirring often.
Add salt to taste.
When the beans are almost done, pour the tomato sauce over the beans, cover, and let them steam for 3-5 minutes.
Enjoy!

(Source: Green Beans in Azeri Tomato Sauce)

DOVGA

3 C plain yogurt

1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

1 bunch dill, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

5 mint leaves, finely chopped

1/4 lb spinach, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 C water

1 tbsp gluten free flour

1 egg

1/3 C rice

Salt and pepper to taste

Place all the herbs and the spinach in a colander to drain, and wash in cold water without squeezing.
In a pot over medium heat, combine yogurt, water, flour, and egg, until smooth.
Add the rice, and mix until combined.
Stir continually until the mixture comes to a boil.
Add the herbs, spinach, garlic and celery and continue stirring for 10 minutes on medium-low, until rice is cooked.
Cool to room temperature, or in the fridge, to get a cold soup.
Add salt and pepper before serving.

(Source: Dovga)

The verdict? The meal as a whole seemed very disjointed - the elements didn't go together at all. This may be my fault, but that was one of the things we noticed first. The plov was good, but nothing special. We preferred Afghanistan's version much better! If I were to make it again, I would use half the rice (there was SO much rice!) and I would chop the dried fruits and chestnuts to small pieces. The fruit was almost too sweet combined with the other elements of the dish. However, we did think that they were necessary for the flavors of the dish overall.

The green beans were very interesting. That sauce had a bite to it from the vinegar. Combined with the green beans, however, didn't really make much sense. It was good, but after a few bites of green beans, it got old and I found myself not wanting to eat any more (and I LOVE green beans!).

The dovga was terrible. I literally spit it out as soon as it touched my tongue (glad no one was visiting!). I don't have anything nice to say about this at all. Handsome Husband ate his bowl of it, but we did not keep leftovers. Don't try this recipe.

Taste of Plov (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6