Cuisine · Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani cooking

Azerbaijani recipes tested and adapted for the home kitchen — 5 dishes from Azerbaijan, each with step-by-step instructions and ingredient notes.

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🌍AzerbaijanAdvanced

Flour and Confectionery Products

Baklava (Azerbaijani Pakhlava)

Azerbaijani pakhlava is a layered walnut pastry cut into diamonds and soaked in honey — the centerpiece of the Novruz spring table alongside shekerbura and gogal. Unlike Greek-style baklava made with paper-thin phyllo, the Baku version uses a soft yeast dough layered with walnut-cardamom filling. Each diamond is topped with an egg yolk and saffron glaze and a whole walnut half, and warm honey is poured over after baking.

120 min420 kcal25 serves

🌿Vegetarian

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Soups

Dushbara

A classic Azerbaijani soup of tiny meat-filled dumplings simmered in a clear lamb broth. The dumplings are famously small, and the soup is served with crushed garlic and vinegar, dried mint, and cilantro for a sharp, tangy finish.

90 min420 kcal5 serves

Lavangi (Azerbaijani Walnut-Stuffed Fish)

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Fish and Seafood Dishes

Lavangi (Azerbaijani Walnut-Stuffed Fish)

Lavangi is an Azerbaijani fish stuffed with a paste of walnuts, onion, and sour plums with narsharab. The grated onion must be squeezed dry, or the filling turns watery. The fish is stuffed, sewn shut, rubbed with narsharab, and baked until the skin is dark and glossy. It's a festive Talysh and Lankaran dish, a classic of the Novruz table.

75 min450 kcal4 serves

💪High protein🌾Gluten-free

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Meat Dishes

Lyulya Kebab (Azerbaijani Lamb Skewers)

Lyulya kebab is Azerbaijani ground-lamb skewers grilled over a mangal. The meat is kneaded long with grated onion and lamb tail fat until it turns dense and tacky — with no egg or bread, that kneading is what keeps it on the skewer. It grills to a browned crust and is served with sumac, pickled onion, and lavash.

95 min400 kcal4 serves

🥑Keto💪High protein🌾Gluten-free

🌍AzerbaijanMedium

Sauces and Dips

Narsharab

An Azerbaijani sauce of 100 percent pomegranate juice slowly reduced to a thick ruby syrup and seasoned with warm spices like cinnamon, coriander, and basil. Its name means pomegranate wine; traditionally unsweetened and tart, it is served with grilled meat and fish.

55 min35 kcal16 serves

🌱Vegan🌾Gluten-free