Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku International Multiculturalism Centre Azerbaijani Multiculturalism Textbook for Higher Education
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4.8.8. Cuisine
Unlike painting, literature and other art forms, cuisine has not often been researched as an independent sphere of culture in terms of national identity. This study of Azerbaijani cuisine considers historical dishes that have been forgotten for various reasons (nomadism, migration, war), dishes from the cuisine of other peoples that have been adopted (for example, pizza and borsh in Azerbaijan and the post-Soviet space, potatoes and tea in the Middle Ages) or dishes that have become alienated (for example, gakhaj, which is smoked meat or sürhüllü, small dough balls, which are now foreign to Azerbaijan, but traditional to the Turks of Central Asia and the Mongols). There are lucky foods and dishes that are spread throughout the world but have retained their historical, national affiliation; tea, coffee, potatoes and tomatoes are examples of these foods that have become part of many different cuisines. For example, there are various tea ceremonies in Japan and Azerbaijan, though the motherland of tea is China. The motherland of coffee is Ethiopia, but Turkey, the USA and Italy have all developed their own version of coffee. Beer and wine are drinks that many nations consider their own. But wine is thought to have emerged in the Caucasus 7,000 years ago. The epic Book of Dada Qorqud, which was written down in the 16th century, notes that the wine drunk by the Oghuz led by Salur Qazan was the produce of their own land. Dali Domrul tells Azrael: We have many mountains covered in vineyards where black grapes grow. Squeeze the grapes and you will have wine. Sup the wine and you will be drunk. Spices are popular in the cuisines of Azerbaijan and many oriental peoples. They are known all over the world not only as additions to dishes, but as biologically active substances. Do spices have a national identity, or to which culture do they belong? There are regions where butter, flour and rice are the basic ingredients of dishes; in these regions where people live long and healthy lives this is the result of good food, fresh air and the spices that help to dissolve the fats in food. In recent years plant oils have become more common in national dishes, as part of a healthy lifestyle. Recently, the nutritional branch of modern medicine has investigated the spices, or biologically active substances, used widely by oriental people in their food. Quymaq is an Azerbaijani dish made of flour and butter (in Kazakhstan quymaq is called blinchik). Quymaq is a dish that is gradually disappearing in Azerbaijan. It is made like halva, but cinnamon and coriander seeds are added to quymaq while turmeric is added to halva. Biologically active supplements (herbal supplements) made of these two spices are sold in the American and European markets and recommended in the treatment of cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Unlike other spices, turmeric is officially recommended because it has no harmful side effects, even in high doses. In the Indian epic Ramayana Vashishta (sage, elder and spiritual father) gives names to new-borns, as Dada Qorqud does in the Turkic epic. When Vashishta names Bharat, he lays on him the obligation of feeding all mankind, appreciating that he has the force of harvest and the reincarnation of power. The word bharat is retained as baharat (spice) and bahar (spring) in Modern Turkish. It
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is worth noting that India’s second official name is Bharata, which is also connected with the name of the emperor Bharata. The most commonly used spice in Azerbaijani soups, pilaffs and desserts is turmeric (sarikok). Turmeric is also known internationally as haldi and curcuma, while one type of the spice is known as zedoara or zerdechal in some countries. It would be wrong to say that this spice comes from a specific region or belongs to the food culture of a specific nation. It grows naturally in two regions and is known as curcuma, croc+us in two language groups – in Proto-Indo-European in the Indian subcontinent (cumcuman in Sanskrit) and in Proto Semitic in the Middle East (carcom in Hebrew and curcum in Arabic) and also as saffron (zafaran) and yellow root (sarikok). These spices are widely used in the region today in Indian, Azerbaijani and Arab dishes. Many dishes in Azerbaijan are begun by frying onion in clarified butter (ghee). In Russian cuisine this is known as sauce (соус), dressing (заправка) or seasoning (приправа). The dish known as bozbash in Azerbaijan, which gained its name not from its taste, but from its popularity in the countryside (it is not served as a celebration dish or to guests) starts with this basic technique. Clarified butter is also used in non-traditional Azerbaijani dishes such as borsh (beetroot soup). A similar method is also used in Spain and Latin America. Ukrainians consider borsh to be their own dish, and find that Azerbaijani borsh has a different taste from the Ukrainian variety. While the Spanish enjoy Azerbaijani bozbash, they do not associate it with their own dishes, although both of them are based on fried onions. Now let us find the component in the words, existing in different nations. 258 sofreir (Spanish) – to fry gently, to fry sofrito-sofreir – fried onion (to add to a dish) sofregar (Spanish) – to rub frigo (Latin) – to fry, to freeze It is apparent that this important component of Azerbaijani cooking is known as sofrige (to fry slightly) and sofritto (fried onion) in Spain and is also popular in Portugal and Latin America. It is natural that the details should vary from region to region. A classic Azerbaijani dish is qutab, which combines the food of nomads or herders (meat) with the food of sedentary farmers (wheat and flour), as do many dishes. Qutab also bring together such produce as flour and herbs (known as afar in some regions), flour and curd cheese (shor in some regions, cottage cheese in the USA and UK, ricotta in Italy), flour and pumpkin. Another remarkable similarity between traditional Italian and Azerbaijani food is in their cheese. For instance, ricotta is the Italian equivalent of Azerbaijani shor (magash in some variants), which is considered a local, regional food. Moreover, Italian pizza and Azerbaijani qutab, half-moon shaped khingal and Georgian khachapuri, which all use shor, can be considered related dishes. Dishes ignore political borders. Another interesting example of multicultural roots is ash (pilaff, plov or rice), one of the most important dishes in traditional Azerbaijani cuisine. One of the customs connected with ash is its flamboyant presentation at weddings to the bride and groom, and then the other guests, all to the accompaniment of music and dance. This ceremony emphasizes the high status accorded to the dish in Azerbaijani cuisine. In modern Azerbaijan rice cooked for guests has the status of an elite dish and has two names – aş and plov. Though both refer to the same dish, that is, rice boiled in water and strained (aş+ırmaq in Azerbaijani), the popular name
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pilaff of Proto-Indian origin which is used in the Persian language could not squeeze ash out of use. Tea is an important attribute at mourning ceremonies and is served with with halva, in place of cake or other sweets. It is not hot food but tea and halva that are the essential attributes of mourning ceremonies in Azerbaijan. Halva made of flour is a type of bloodless sacrifice or oblation in the Middle East. In some cases shor goghal, a kind of salty pastry, is served. This moment in Latin is expressed in the quotation ‘mola tantum salsa litant, qui non habent tura,’ (whoever has no incense to sacrifice may sacrifice mola – flour and salt instead). If we take into consideration that the Jewish Bible, translated into Greek and then Latin, forms the basis of the Christian Bible, we can say that this rule originated not among Christians, but probably in Phoenicia. It is acceptable to take halva to mosques and places of pilgrimage. Tea is now established as the libation or ritual drink in modern mourning ceremonies in Azerbaijan. It is not mentioned in medieval sources. Neither tea nor coffee were popular in the Arab world in the Middle Ages, though coffee did have a place in the cuisine of a sect known as the Qahveyi-Manevi. During this period wine was in daily use and even became a major symbol in classical Islamic poetry. We can also see it in the Book of Dada Qorqud and the Rindi-zahid (The Carouser and the Hermit), a classic example of poetry written by Mahammad Fuzuli. In Sufi poetry man forgets himself and becomes a symbol of unity with the love of God. Yüklə 2,25 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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