Meat dishes are very popular in Tajikistan. Tajiks do not eat pork as they are Muslims. Traditional dishes are mostly prepared from goat and mutton. Kazi, a sausage made from horse meat is also eaten in some regions and popular with Tajikistan travel and tours. Meat dishes have their unique taste and color because of the way of cooking. Fatty meat with bones usually cut and fried in qazan, a wok shaped cooking pot. After frying it generally stewed on a small fire with onions, carrots and tomatoes. Tajik meat dishes include: roast meat, kabob, shish kebabs, golubtsi, game and poultry.
Shish kebabs are very delicious. Generally, they are prepared from mutton or beef. There are a large variety of kebabs. Mostly they are made of chunks of meat or chopped meat with tail fat, which is considered as a delicacy. Traditional shish kebab made from mutton flesh cut in pieces with tail fat and marinate in salt, pepper, lemon juice and onions for two or three hours. After spending some time in a cool place pieces of meat, alternated with fat slices are put on skewers and fry over the hot coals. Tomatoes, also cooked on skewers serve with shish kebab, sprinkled with vinegar or lemon juice.
Kabob is a very tasty meat dish. It is mostly made of minced mutton, mixed with spices, onions, salt and pepper. Sausages, formed from this ground meat are fried until gold brown in fat. Onion rings are browned separately and then put with partly cooked floured meat and some broth. All ingredients stewed together until ready and served with garlic and greens.
“Kaurdak” is a roasted meat dish. Tajik shakhlet or golubtsi are made from crushed beef mixed with onions and boiled rice. This ground mass is fried and used to make sausages, fastened with thread and then boiled with meat broth. The dish usually serves with sauce, made from sour cream and garlic.
Tajiks never eat pork. People treat food with great respect and every part of meal is a ceremony. Bread is considered sacred and must not be placed upside down, thrown or even dropped. Tajiks never cut it with a knife but broke it carefully and set upright. The traditional drink is tea, which is served to meats dishes with bread and sweets. Alcoholic beverages are forbidden by the Islamic law, though some people often ignore the prohibition.
