Traditional Uzbek dishes to try

Uzbek food is the cuisine of a land of oases, pastures and bazaars, shaped by Persian, Turkic, Mongol, Russian and Chinese influences along the Silk Road. It is based on meat (mutton and beef), rice, wheat, vegetables, dairy and abundant fruit. Food is generally mild, flavoured with cumin, coriander, black pepper and herbs rather than chilli. Meals are generous and shared, and hospitality is central.

1. Plov (osh): rice with meat, carrots and onions, the national dish. See Uzbek plov.
2. Shashlik: skewers of grilled mutton, beef, chicken or minced meat, served with onions and bread.
3. Lagman: hand-pulled noodles with meat and vegetables, in soup or stir-fried; a Uyghur-influenced dish.
4. Manti: large steamed dumplings filled with meat and onion, or pumpkin, served with yoghurt.
5. Chuchvara: small dumplings, in broth or fried.
6. Shurpa: a hearty soup of meat, potatoes, carrots and herbs.
7. Mastava: a rice soup with meat and vegetables, served with yoghurt.
8. Dimlama: meat and vegetables stewed slowly in their own juices, popular in autumn.
9. Kazan kabob: meat and potatoes fried in a cauldron.
10. Hanum: a steamed roll of dough with meat or potato filling.

1. Samsa: baked pastries filled with meat and onions, pumpkin or greens, often baked in a tandir oven. Try ko‘k somsa with herbs in spring.
2. Non: the round bread at every meal. See Uzbek bread.
3. Gumma and belyash: fried pastries sold as street food.

1. Shivit oshi (Khiva): green noodles made with dill, served with a meat and vegetable stew and yoghurt. See Khiva food.
2. Tukhum barak (Khorezm): dumplings filled with egg, a Khiva speciality.
3. Norin (Tashkent): finely cut cold noodles with horse meat or beef, served with broth. See Tashkent food.
4. Oshi sofi and bakhsh (Bukhara): local plovs. See Bukhara food.
5. Kuksi (Fergana Valley and Korean community): cold noodle soup, refreshing in summer. See Fergana Valley food.
6. Beshbarmak (Karakalpakstan): boiled meat with flat noodles.
7. Sumalak: a sweet paste of sprouted wheat, made only for Navruz in March.

• Achchiq-chuchuk: tomato and onion salad, served with plov.
• Suzma and qatiq: strained yoghurt and drinking yoghurt.
• Chalop: a cold soup of yoghurt, cucumber and herbs, perfect in summer.
• Qurt: dried salty yoghurt balls, a snack.
• Pickles and fresh herbs on every table.

Uzbekistan is famous for its fruit: melons, grapes, apricots, peaches, pomegranates, figs and cherries, fresh in season and dried all year. Sweets include halva, navat (crystallised sugar, often eaten with tea), parvarda, chak-chak and nut-filled pastries. Bazaars sell dried fruit and nuts in endless variety.

In bazaars and on street corners, look for hot samsa from the tandir, fried belyash and fresh bread.

Green tea is drunk with every meal; black tea is popular in Tashkent. See Uzbek tea culture. Ayran and qatiq (yoghurt drinks), kompot (fruit drink) and fresh juices are common. Uzbekistan also produces wine, especially around Samarkand, and local beer.

Vegetarian food is possible but requires some effort: look for vegetable samsa, pumpkin manti, salads, soups (ask for them without meat), dairy, bread, eggs and fruit. Learn to say go‘shtsiz, "without meat". Meat stock is often used in soups.

Eat in chaikhanas (teahouses) for traditional dishes at low prices, in bazaars for street food, and in restaurants in the old towns for a wider choice. Plov is best at lunch. See also food of Central Asia and Samarkand food.