Azerbaijani food is delicious and diverse. It stands out for its grilled meat (and delicious lamb), rice dishes, fruit sauces, and fresh vegetables. Don’t miss these must-try dishes to get a real 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 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 popular. At some restaurants, like Otdix in Baku, 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 then baked. The dish is served at the table by cutting into the casing to reveal what’s baked inside.
Shah plov is often served for celebrations or groups of people, but solo travelers can try it at SAHiL Restaurant in Baku, where they offer individual-sized portions.
ALSO TRY: There are many pilaf dishes in Azerbaijan. Fisincan plov is one of my favorites. The dish includes saffron-flavored rice served with a stew of meat, pomegranate, and walnuts. Other fruit juices or pastes, like sour plum and quince, are sometimes added to the dish.
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. Sadj is served in a beautiful arrangement along with sumac-sprinkled lavash bread.
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. When served, 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 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 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, as the snake’s pattern resembles the pleating on the dumplings.
Qutab
Qutab is fried, thin dough 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.
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