O‘zbekiston Respublikasi

Uzbekistan, formerly part of the Soviet Union, is not one of the more well-known countries.  It changed hands many times throughout history, from Iranian nomads to Alexander the Great to Genghis Khan to the Russian Empire, so there are a lot of different ethic influences on this region.

The Uzbek signature dish is palov, or plov.  a dish which typically consists of rice, pieces of meat and vegetables.  Because it is a totally landlocked country, grains and meats factor heavily in the country's cuisine. But mutton, or lamb, falls within my "too cute to eat" rule, so I opted for a plov with chicken and dried fruit, which was delicious.  Uzbekistan is largely secular, so there are wineries there (a bit surprising for a Muslim country), but I wasn't able to find a Uzbek wine here, so I went with black tea, which apparently always accompanies a meal in Uzbekistan.

                                               oldick!

Sakartvelo

I discovered a few interesting things about Georgia when researching its cuisine.  The country borders the Black Sea, and is one of the first countries to have adopted Christianity in the 4th century.  It also plays a role in Greek mythology, as the location of the golden fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts, which may be based upon the practice in Colchis (western Georgia) of using fleece to sift for gold dust in rivers.  

We started off with Bostneulis Kharcho, a tomato soup with walnuts and vermicelli.  I must say, once the walnuts were added, the soup turned an unappealing brownish colour, but the soup was quite delicious!  Our main course was Chkmeruli, a garlic-fried chicken which also called for walnuts in the recipe - and way too much garlic, in my opinion!  Soko Arazhanit, or mushrooms in cream accompanied the chicken, along with the hit of the meal Khachapuri, an absolutely delightful, delicious cheese bread, definitely something we will be making again.  As I wasn't able to find any specific beverages at the local MLCC, I went with Baltika, a Russian beer, since it was as close as I could get.

                                          

                                                    На здоровье

Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān

Persia brings to mind images of beauty and luxury, and Iran brings to mind images of an oppressed people - two distinct images that are hard to reconcile.  The beauty of Persia remains, but it is obscured by the current government regime.  But enough political commentary, that is so far away from what this blog is all about!  

I'll stick with the beauty of the country, and the interesting options for its cuisine.  Like the entire European and Middle Eastern areas, all of these countries have a lot of influence on each other's cuisine.  It was hard to find a national dish, other than rice!  So, of course, I made rice - Kateh, to be specific.  There are more than a few ways of making rice in Iran, which I found surprising!  Kateh is pretty much the most basic method of making basmati rice, but that being said, it turned out perfectly - not too wet & clumpy and not burnt & dry, so it made the perfect bed for the Khoresht Ghaarch - a simple chicken dish with mushroom sauce, made deliciously tasty by the addition of lime juice and saffron.  On the side I had Salad-e Shirazi, a simple salad of diced cucumber, tomato & onion. flavoured with lime juice & mint.

As for my choice of beverage, I had water with my meal.  There were no alcoholic beverages available, which is not surprising since the use of alcohol is forbidden by sharia law, so water seemed like a reasonable choice!  I must say, the meal was so flavourful that water was the perfect choice!

                             be salâmati!

Österreich

Austria is another country to which I claim an ethnic connection, one of my paternal grandparents was born in Austria.  It is a country of beautiful contrasts, from the rustic alps to the sophisticated beauty of Vienna, and one which I fully intend to visit, not just by way of cuisine!

For our menu, I chose the infamous Weiner Schnitzel, which my daughter was thrilled to learn did not involve wieners at all!  Rather, they are named after the lovely city of Vienna, and all of us really enjoyed them.  Yet another food added to our regular weekly menus, as it was quite simple to make and very tasty.  They were accompanied by Kaese Spaetzle, which was really good, even though my dough was a bit too soggy.  For dessert, I made some Vanille Kipferl, small tasty treats.  

For beverages, the food preparation was accompanied by a bottle of Wachau Gruner Veltliner, from a grape apparently native to Austria.  For the meal itself, first a can of Stiegl Salzburg Beer, and then a can of Gosser Beer.  I am finding myself with lots of  leftover wine in my cupboard and fridge, which I am definitely going to have to do something about!

                                       mahlzeit!