Bukharan Jewish cuisine


Bukharan Jewish cuisine is the traditional cuisine originating from the Bukharian Jewish community of Central Asia, who now mostly reside in Israel and the United States.

Overview

The cooking of Bukharan Jews forms a distinct cuisine within Uzbekistan, subject to the restrictions of Jewish dietary laws. The most typical Bukharan Jewish dish is oshi sabo, a "meal in a pot" slowly cooked overnight and eaten hot for Shabbat lunch. Oshi sabo is made with meat, rice, vegetables, and fruit added for a unique sweet and sour taste. By virtue of its culinary function and ingredients, oshi sabo is a Bukharan version of cholent or hamin.
In addition to oshi sabo, authentic Bukharian Jewish dishes include the following dishes.

Meat dishes

Osh palov – a Bukharian Jewish version of palov for weekdays, includes both beef and chicken.Bakhsh – "green palov", rice with meat or chicken and green herbs, exists in two varieties; bakhshi khaltagi cooked Jewish-style in a small bag immersed in a pot with boiling water or soup and bakhshi degi cooked like regular palov in a cauldron; bakhshi khaltagi is precooked and therefore can be served on Shabbat.Khalta savo – food cooked in a bag.Osh savo – rice cooked with meat and vegetables such as red pepper, tomato, and zucchini, and usually cooked on Friday night through Saturday morning in the oven.Yakhni – a dish consisting of two kinds of boiled meat, brought whole to the table and sliced before serving with a little broth and a garnish of boiled vegetables; a main course for Friday night dinner.Kov roghan – fried pieces of chicken with fried potatoes piled on top.

Rice dishes

Serkaniz – garlic rice dish, another variation of palov.Oshi piyozi – stuffed onion.Shulah – a Bukharian-style risotto.

Vegetable dishes

Boyjon – eggplant puree mixed only with salt and garlic, the traditional starter for the Friday-night meal in Bukharan Jewish homes.Slotah Bukhori – a salad made with tomato, cucumber, green onion, cilantro, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Some also put in lettuce and chili pepper.

Bread dishes

Noni toki – a crispy flatbread baked on the back of a wok. This method creates a bowl-shaped bread.

Fish dishes

  • Fried fish with garlic sauce : "Every Bukharian Sabbath... is greeted with a dish of fried fish covered with a pounded sauce of garlic and cilantro." In the Bukharan dialect, the dish is called or in full, where is fried fish and is garlic sauce. Bread is sometimes fried and then dipped in the remaining garlic water and is called.