That kurutob looks absolutely delicious!
1 Like
Congrats on finding the kurotob. Iām now in Tajikistan and I havenāt found it here, although knowing the concept of the dish, Iām not sure I could have found the words to ask for āno tomatoesā (I have a serious intolerance). My research indicated the bread was also āspecialā and the Tajik version also includes very small cheese balls (smaller than a marble). I did find those sold almost everywhere, but not the Kurotob itself.
And the Plov here is different - the veggies are diced and cooked with the rice, so essentially fried in a little oil (or a lot, depending on the hand of the cook). But again, definitely beef.
And a little history as background for why the dish is found in Uzbekistan - that region (Bukhara and Samarkand) was āhistoricallyā part of Tajikistan - during the USSR period there was some āborder adjustmentā.
2 Likes
Having only been to Xinjiang in China plus Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, I had only tasted plov made with mutton. Didnāt realize they use beef for it in Tajikistan.
I got more information about plov, kurotob, and norin from the proprietor of our small hotel, who is a native Bukharan (although he is also amazing well traveled, he says he has visited 80 countries).
He says that in Bukhara, everyone speaks Uzbek, but some also speak Tajik (but not very do out in Bukhara Province outside the city). However, the city is not culturally Tajik, so kurotob is not often eaten in Bukhara.
He says that norin is also not a common dish in Bukhara and is more popular in Tashkent. Thatās because, according to him, Bukharans believe that it is too hot in Bukhara to eat either horsemeat or mutton.Traditionally, they believed that eating these meats will make them break out in hives. So norin, which is made with horsement is not popular here, and the plov is made with beef, not mutton.
Interestingly, he said that plov is made with mutton in Tashkent, Andijan, and Samarkand. That would be different from the plov you had in Samarkand that was made with beef. Iām sure there are variations from restaurant to restaurant ā Iāve seen a couple of menus in Tashkent that feature Bukhara-style plov, which is presumably made with beef.
Despite Bukharansā traditional aversion to mutton and lamb, the owner-proprietor of our hotel insisted that the best place for us to eat was Kafe Chor Bakr, which is way out in a suburb of Bukhara. He said that he takes out-of-town friends and relatives when he visits. We did eat there tonight and Iāll report on that meal later.
3 Likes
Internet VERY spotty, so Iāll be brief, but tonight made sure I got the local lamb. And it was superb.
First in a soup - more like a stew; then as Shashlik. I found it slightly sweeter than the North American versions - approaching Australian in both flavour and texture, but slightly sweeter and with a saltier finish (or maybe that was just the spicing).
And much tastier than the beef!
1 Like
Thanks, I hope youāll keep updating us on your food on this trip. Our phone service simply stopped working today in Bukhara and has never returned, though the internet works fine in our room. Our hotel manager got pretty animated when he told us Uzbekistanās internet is one of the worst in the world.
DMād you re phone service
1 Like
Iām in Khujand right now. Yesterday was Independence Day in Tajikistan and the President was here in person (sort of - hidden behind multiple security), so everything was shut down. All roads; armed police on roof of our hotel and many restrictions - no Internet or phone service.
Apparently border to Kyrgyzstan is closed āto foreignersā, so have to detour back through Uzbekistan, so may be quiet until I can plan some foodā¦
Great fireworks though!
2 Likes
Would you be upset if I told you that through @DaveCookās research and ordering we enjoyed kurutob at Urgut Osh Markazi last week? On its separate thread. It was cooked s little differently from what you had; to me the bread appeared to have been fried a bit in butter and it did not have lots of oil, but all delicious! More and better pic on that thread
6 Likes
Ha!
Not at all upset. Iām glad to hear itās available somewhere closer than Tajikistan or Uzbekistan.
I had actually read Dave Cookās post, but somehow didnāt realize that the dish he wrote about was actually kurutob. Jet lag?
Other than a brief remark, I havenāt seen a reference to the plov at Urgut Osh Markazi. Was it not to everyoneās liking? We enjoyed it a lot, especially as leftovers.
Youāre a braver man than I.
I just went over to the discussion of Urgut Osh Markazi and see that you and others have now updated the report to include the plov, samsas, kebabs, etc. Iām jealous of all the variety you got, which you canāt really get when there are only two people eating.
I will also say that the kurutob at UOM is so radically different from that at Kurutobxona that theyāre hardly the same dish. What we had here was almost literally a yogurt soup ā the bread wasnāt smeared with yogurt, it was soaked through and through with yogurt.
Iāll add a note to the UOM discussion about our experience back in July (spoiler - our plov was much better with lots more fat), but probably not for a while ā weāre headed to Samarkand this afternoon.
1 Like
Just adding that the apples were MUCH better in Tajikistan. Must be the cooler climate that ramps up the acidity and crispy texture.
Sped back through Uzbekistan, stopping only for some more lamb.
Now in Osh, Kyrgyzstan - not hungry enough for the various horse dishes (and drinks).
5:00am start tomorrow to get to Bishkent.
And a diversion - ALL the bananas I saw in Tajikistan came from Ecuador - not that I anticipated Tajikistan bananas - but I certainly wasnāt expecting vast quantities of Ecuador bananas to have made their way here at prices competitive with North America.
4 Likes
did you find any place to recommend in Dushanbe? may be there in the spring. I think any apple issue probably relates to proper refrigerator storage - most apples will fade rapidly without the refrigeration.
interesting, I dont recall seeing much if any beef (we had lots of plov but few kebabs except in samarkand), it was pretty much all lamb, all over the country (including Bukhara). Id say plov is more likely to be cooked with veg oil and fatty lamb cuts, more so than tail fat but wow, I dont know. FWIW iwhich may not be much in the same connection, I am not sure about your hotel proprietorās information, there is a large tajik population in Bukhara (tho the Jewish component have moved on); Jim was able to converse and understand around town. Id say it is a very sensitive situation since there is a lot of cultural nationalism , with the use of the tajik language (and therefore tajik identity) being somewhat repressed by the adoption of uzbek as the language of education and the national language.
There is a residual concern specifically about tajik nationalism since the tajik people are split between tajikistan, uzbekistan, afghanistan and iran which may be viewed as destabilizing.
3 Likes
The topic of Tajik speakers in Bukhara and Samarkand is interesting, but very complex. It also has nothing to do with food, so Iām taking this private. If anyone is interested in more discussion of Tajik in Bukhara and Samarkand, let me know and Iāll forward my long response to Jen.
Yes!
Our best meal of the trip was at Traktir Konservator - a Ukrainian restaurant.
Potato pancakes w crackling and fried onions (although needed sour cream as well).
Sour cherry dumplings (they were good but the sauce was too sweet)
Lamb ribs (chops) with a dusting of zaāatar (or possibly sumac)
I tried to order the rabbit cooked in sour cream, but it wasnāt available [no more!], so instead had the pan fried trout - served whole with lemon (both trout and salmon are caught locally in the streams and rivers). This was excelllent; moist and flavorful.
Iāll try to add pictures in a few days (dropped my camera and having difficulty uploading right now - hopefully can still upload to computer when I get home).
In general Dushanbe is very cosmopolitan with the main difficulty being that signs are bilingual - Russian (cyrillic) and Farsi - except for KFC!
3 Likes
Now in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, after a 12 hour drive through the mountains from Osh [take the plane people!]. A bustling thriving city (with more KFC).
Searching for Kumis - ordered it last night [sorry, itās no more] but had a respectable meal of
Gyuro-Lagman - hand pulled noodles - a vegetarian version with multi-coloured bell peppers which had been sauteed. Pleasantly spiced with the noodles cooked separately, so still al dente.
Beshbarmak (flat noodles) with horsemeat in Chyk (meat broth with onions and black pepper) - less successful with the noodles very wet and lacking spicing - although, to be fair, all the food in the āStansā has been very mildly spiced (although occasionally screamingly hot raw/toasted peppers are served on the side).
The above two dishes are very reminiscent of Uyghur cuisine - definitely a major change in style from everywhere else so far. Hoping and planning for wine tonight - the major item missing throughout the trip.
4 Likes
A very serviceable Albarino to accompany Pizza Margherita and a āclassicā Tarte Flambee at Vinoteka.
Great to have some wine again (the local versions werenāt always successful).
Needed some plainer food as āChingis Revengeā has made an appearance.
The pizza was much spicier here in Bishkek, and the Tarte Flambee had authentic toppings (bacon at last) but the crust was more like a Lahmacun.
Followed with an Apple Tarte Flambee which I expected to be too sweet, but excellent acidity in the crisp apples.
Another early start tomorrow for Kazakhstan.
5 Likes
I love besbarmak but always thought it was a Kazakh dish? I loved having it in 2008 and was so happy to eat it again when I went back to Kazakhstan in 2017. The noodles are always overcooked and flabby but I was more focused on the horsemeat sausagesā¦
2 Likes
