Azerbaijani food is delicious and diverse. It stands out for its grilled meat, rice dishes, fruit sauces, and fresh vegetables. Don’t miss these eight must-try dishes to get a flavor for the local cuisine!
To explore Baku like a local, check out Top 10 Things to Do in Baku and Baku Travel Guide.
Kebabs
Azerbaijan specializes in grilled kebabs of lamb, beef, veal, chicken, and fish. There are many types of kebabs that use either ground meat or meat chunks and are sometimes marinated in or served with a savory fruit sauce. Classic lülә kәbab is a combination of ground lamb and onion. Dana bastırma is marinated beef chunks or strips. Lamb chops are also a popular grilled dish. At some restaurants, like Otdix in Baku (pictured above), you can call several hours ahead to order an entire lamb rib cage that’s served at the table as individual chops.
Grilled vegetable kebabs of eggplant, tomato, peppers, and potatoes are also popular.
Shah Plov
Shah plov is a spectacular rice dish. A mix of rice, lamb, saffron, dried apricots, plums, raisins, and chestnuts is put into a lavash-lined pan and baked. The dish is served at the table by cutting into the casing to reveal what’s inside. Shah plov is often served for celebrations or big groups, but solo travelers can order individual-sized portions at SAHiL Restaurant in Baku.
ALSO TRY: Azerbaijan has many pilaf dishes. Fisincan plov is one of my favorites. It’s saffron-flavored rice with a stew of meat, pomegranate, and walnuts. Other fruit juices or pastes, like sour plum and quince, are sometimes added too.
Sadj
Sadj is the name of a traditional Azerbaijani pan that’s used over hot coals, but it’s also the name of a popular dish cooked and served in a sadj pan. The dish includes meat fried with onions, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, or potatoes that’s beautifully arranged on the pan.
Piti
Piti is a hearty stew made of lamb, sheep tail fat, chickpeas, chestnuts, dried plums, saffron, and onion. It’s cooked inside a clay pot, which gives it some of its unique flavor. When serving piti, the broth is poured into a bowl of day-old bread and onions sprinkled with sumac, which is eaten first. What’s left in the pot is then mashed and eaten next as the main course. Piti is so hearty that it was traditionally served to laborers to keep them full for the day!
Nar Qovurma
Azerbaijan’s savory fruit-based dishes with pomegranate, cherry, sour plum, and quince are unique and delicious. Nar qovurma is a popular pomegranate-forward dish, usually with lamb or chicken that’s pan-fried with pomegranate, chestnuts, onion, and saffron.
ALSO TRY: Try pan-fried beef or veal tenderloin in a cherry sauce for another wonderful, fruity meat dish. Fish lovers should go for pan-fried Caspian sturgeon in a pomegranate sauce (narsharab). A vegetarian option, and my favorite non-meat dish in Azerbaijan, is salad with cherries – don’t miss it!
Gurza
Gurza are delicious dumplings filled with ground lamb, onion, and seasonings. They are boiled or fried and typically served with garlicky yogurt. Gurza are named after the gurza (Viper) snake because the snake’s pattern resembles the pleating on the dumplings!
Qutab
Qutab is fried, thin dough that is typically stuffed with meat, herbs, or pumpkin. You can also find qutab stuffed with camel, for example, at Art Club Restaurant in Baku.
Three Sisters Dolma
Photo: AZ Cookbook
Three sisters (uch baji) dolma is a main dish of baked tomato, pepper, and eggplant stuffed with minced lamb, rice, and herbs. Dolma are served with a garlicky yogurt sauce.
ALSO TRY: Stuffed vine-leaf (yarpaq) dolma are very popular, especially as an appetizer to share, given their bite size. Stuffed hornbeam-leaf (pip) and cabbage-leaf (kələm) dolma are two other popular varieties to try.
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