Tajik Cuisine

Tajik cuisine is a traditional cuisine of Tajikistan and has much in common with Iranian, Afghan, Russian, Chinese and Uzbek cuisines. Palov, also called palav or osh, a rice dish made with julienned carrot and pieces of meat fried together in vegetable oil or mutton fat, is the national dish of Tajikistan, as in other countries in the region. Qurutob, in which dried balls of salty cheese called qurut are dissolved in water and poured over strips of thin flaky flatbread, then topped with fried onions and fresh seasonal vegetables with no meat added, is also considered a national dish, predominantly consumed in the southern regions. Meals are almost always served with non, the flatbread found throughout Central Asia. Traditional soups include meat and vegetable soups and meat soups with noodles. Green tea is the common national drink, and tea generally accompanies every meal and is frequently offered between meals as a gesture of hospitality.