Uzbek Food Guide

Food is one of the best reasons to visit Uzbekistan. Meals are shared, portions are large, and hospitality means your plate will be refilled before you finish. The cuisine draws on the oasis agriculture of the Silk Road: wheat, rice, fruit, vegetables, lamb and beef, dairy from the steppe and spices from the trade routes.

The essentials

Plov

Rice, yellow and orange carrots, onions and meat, slowly cooked in a kazan, often with chickpeas, raisins or quince depending on the region. Plov is traditionally a lunch dish: cooks start early in the morning and the best pots are finished by early afternoon. It deserves its own article, so see our guide to Uzbek plov.

Non

The round flatbread baked in a tandoor oven is present at every meal. Each city has its own style; Samarkand bread is famous for being dense and keeping for days. Bread is never placed upside down or thrown away, and it is broken by hand rather than cut.

Samsa

Pastries baked against the walls of a tandoor, filled with minced meat and onion, or with pumpkin in autumn and winter. Fresh samsa from a street oven is one of the best cheap snacks in the country.

Lagman

Hand-pulled noodles served in a broth or stir-fried with meat, peppers and vegetables. It is shared with the Uyghur and Dungan kitchens and especially popular in Tashkent and the Fergana Valley.

Shashlik

Skewers of lamb, beef, chicken or minced meat grilled over charcoal and served with raw onion and bread. Liver and fat-tail lamb are traditional choices for the adventurous.

Soups, dumplings and home cooking

• Shurpa: a clear soup of meat, potato, carrot and chickpeas.
• Mastava: rice soup with meat and vegetables, often with sour milk.
• Manti: large steamed dumplings with meat and onion, or pumpkin.
• Chuchvara: small dumplings in broth or with yoghurt.
• Dimlama: meat and vegetables stewed in their own juices, a late-summer favourite.
• Norin: finely cut cold noodles with horse meat, a Tashkent speciality.

Regional specialities

In Khiva and Khorezm, look for shivit oshi, green noodles coloured with dill, and tukhum barak, egg-filled dumplings. Bukhara is known for its slow-cooked dishes and sweets. The Fergana Valley has its own plov style and excellent fruit. Samarkand bread and Tashkent’s large plov centres are destinations in themselves; see Tashkent and Khiva for more on these cities.

Salads, dairy and vegetarian options

Achichuk is the classic salad of tomato and onion, served with plov to cut the richness. Suzma (strained yoghurt) and kurt (dried salty cheese balls) come from pastoral traditions. Vegetarians do well with salads, pumpkin samsa, vegetable soups, eggs, dairy, bread, nuts and dried fruit. Meat is common in stocks, so it helps when restaurants are briefed in advance, which we do for travellers with dietary needs.

Fruit, sweets and tea

Uzbekistan is famous for its melons, grapes, apricots, pomegranates and figs. In season, bazaar fruit is a meal on its own. Halva, parvarda (pulled sugar sweets), navat (crystallised sugar) and nuts are served with tea.

Green tea is the default drink, black tea is common in Tashkent, and both are poured into small bowls called piala. The host pours a little at a time, so a half-full bowl signals attention, not stinginess.

Table manners

• Wash hands before meals; you will often eat from shared plates.
• Bread is torn and placed on the table, never upside down.
• Accept tea with your right hand; placing the left hand on your chest is a polite gesture.
• Refusing food is fine, but tasting a little is appreciated.
• Meals often end with a short gesture of blessing, called omin.

Food during your trip

Our programs include meals at local restaurants, chaikhanas and, where possible, a home-cooked dinner or plov workshop. During the month of Ramadan, dining patterns change slightly; see travelling during Ramadan.

Taste Uzbekistan with us

Tell us about your food interests and dietary requirements, and we will build them into the program: cooking classes, bazaar walks with a guide, or dinners with families. Send a request and we will prepare a program and quote.