One thing that surprised me about my trip to Azerbaijan? The food. It turns out Azerbaijani food is amazing. It’s healthy, varied, and fresh, with lots of sour notes and pickled components.

Overall, Azerbaijani cuisine is most similar to Turkish food. You’ll also see influences from other neighboring countries: lots of pomegranates (commonly used in Persian cooking), as well as dill (predominant in Russian food).

How meals work in Azerbaijan

A meal in Azerbaijan usually begins with some light snacks to open the meal: bread, yogurt, cheese, cucumber and tomato, pickles, and fresh herbs. It’s a bit like mezze in Turkish food.

Then you move onto richer main courses: soups, meats, and most commonly, plov, a rice pilaf dish (more on that later).

So if you ever find yourself in Azerbaijan, here are the Azerbaijani foods you have to try:

Tea and jam

The first thing you will

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