The Baku breakfast has about the same relation to the daily meal as the performance of scales – to the performance it is a necessity, a boring duty, the second – art, pleasure and delight. The minimum number of dishes on the table is ten, the maximum is limited only by the size of the table, the imagination of the cook and the capacity of your stomach. All dishes are served at once: sweet, salty, spicy, fried, baked. And tea, necessarily black tea in an armud (a small glass similar to a pear). By the way, it is served not only before breakfast, but also before lunch and before dinner. Tea will be brought to you every time the armud is empty. Oh, and keep in mind: it is better not to put granulated sugar in tea, if you like sweets – drink it with a bite, having previously dipped a cube of refined sugar in the glass. Or, even better, with jam – from white cherry, dogwood or rose petals. By the way, what should you try first?
It is essentially a pudding (or porridge) made from flour, butter and sugar syrup. Sprinkled generously with cinnamon. Mmmm… very tasty. Or, say, butter with honey. Only in Azerbaijan do they know how to mix butter and honey to make honey butter. And what about mutton cheese motal? By the way, you can eat it with butter and honey. Baku breakfast is a virtuoso expansion of horizons. Including gastronomic. There is also shor (curd cheese with caraway seeds). You can also try shor with honey butter. Caraway seeds add brightness to any dish, like Photoshop. But if you are guided by common sense, it is better to start with hot dishes – while they are hot. About kyukyu (this is an omelet with lots of greens.) Sometimes, in addition to greens, crushed walnuts are added to kyukyu. Another hot morning dish is an omelette with tomatoes. Many people mistake it for shakshuka, but in fact, shakshuka and an omelette with tomatoes have little in common except for tomatoes and eggs. Baku omelette with tomatoes begins with scalding the fruit, peeling it and grating it. Then add melted butter, put it in a frying pan and evaporate until the excess liquid goes away. Well, then everything is simple: beat the egg, salt and pepper to taste. Shakshuka has much more spices and complexities. And here’s what’s also important: that same omelette with tomatoes, should not be eaten with a fork. Namely, with bread and hands. Break off a piece of tandoor, dip it in the frying pan – and into your mouth. Much tastier than with a fork, proven.
And let’s not forget about pancakes with meat. Pancakes with meat are a classic of Azerbaijani cuisine. What is their charm, besides the delicious beef or lamb and the thinnest dough? Of course, in the fact that in Baku they are served with sour cream. Pancakes should be hot, sour cream – cold. From the contrast of temperatures, taste buds come to life, come into tone. What is worth telling separately is the phirni pudding. They don’t make it anywhere else. No matter how many times they tell you that they can make it in Afghanistan or India, don’t believe them! They make it completely differently there, don’t even compare it. It seems simple: you need round rice, milk, sugar. But there is one secret – you need to grind the rice into flour. Then brew the flour with milk, you can also beat it with a mixer, just to be sure. Add sugar, of course. And, if desired and in your mood, pistachios, cashews, cardamom, raisins. Firni is ready. And of course, for last. Breakfast does not end with firni, because the most necessary seasoning for a Baku breakfast is a good conversation. So, be sure to have breakfast with friends, with family, with loved ones. Remember only good people and happy moments.
BAKU MAGAZINE – JULY-AUGUST 2023