The term "oriental cuisine" refers to traditional dishes of the peoples of the East, India, Asia and the Caucasus, as well as the Balkan Peninsula. This also includes dishes that are popular in China, Japan and Islamic countries.

Oriental cuisine: features and traditions

The characteristic features of oriental cuisine include the fact that the basis of many dishes is lamb and rice. In the east, pork is unpopular, as most nations profess Islam. Also, fish, eggs and cheeses are not in great demand here.

In addition to lamb, in the East they consume beef, chicken and turkey poultry. But this does not apply to all nations. For example, in India, where a cow is considered a sacred animal, the indigenous people of the country do not eat its meat.

In addition, soups prepared in the traditions of the East, have significant differences from similar European dishes. They are thick and rich, and the broth is more like gravy.

Another feature of oriental cuisine is the use of a large number of seasonings in the cooking process. Most dishes have bright spicy aromas and pronounced taste.

Desserts in the East are fragrant, sugary-sweet and very satisfying. They add various spices, nuts, honey and molasses. The taste of these sweets is simply amazing, and their calorie content and nutritional value are very high.

The most popular dishes of the East

Many oriental dishes have gained immense popularity among European gourmets. Moreover, in their historical homeland, these dishes are not so in demand.

Most often, restaurants and cafes of oriental cuisine offer visitors the following dishes:

  • Lagman (spicy noodles). This is the first dish containing a lot of burning spices. The basis of it is lagman noodles, which are prepared by hand, stretching the dough.
  • Shurpa. This is a soup made from lamb or veal. The main ingredient is supplemented with vegetables, tomato and herbs.
  • Pilaf. In the classic version, this dish is based on lamb and long-grain rice. Prepare it in large cauldrons at the stake.
  • Dolma (tolma or sarma). This is the second dish, which is a mixture of minced meat and rice, wrapped in grape leaves. The “relative” of this dish is the Kuban cabbage rolls, only the stuffing is wrapped in cabbage.
  • Shawarma or shawarma. This dish is a roll of fresh flat cakes or pita bread stuffed with meat, herbs and vegetables seasoned with hot sauce.

The most popular oriental dishes served for dessert are baklava, halva, sorbet and Turkish delight. They are eaten in small portions, washed down with strong black coffee.

Let us consider in more detail the composition and methods of preparing dishes, which are the “hallmark” of oriental cuisine.

Characteristics and recipes of first courses

As mentioned above, soups of oriental cuisine are very thick, they contain very little liquid. Below are the recipes of the most famous first dishes of the East - lagman and shurpa.

Lagman

The basis of this first dish is noodles, which are easy to cook on their own. And for the broth, you can take lamb or beef pulp.

For cooking you will need:

  • 450 g of meat;
  • bulb;
  • 5 to 7 garlic teeth;
  • 1 radish;
  • 2 to 3 tomatoes;
  • some vegetable oil;
  • any greens;
  • hot ground pepper;
  • 450 g of flour;
  • 250 ml of water;
  • salt.

Operating procedure:

  1. From flour and water, knead a cool noodle dough, do not forget to salt. Then leave it for a couple of hours, covering it with a towel.
  2. Roll the workpiece with a layer no more than 5 mm thick and cut into wide strips, then grease them with oil and leave for a quarter of an hour.
  3. Roll up “sausages” from the strips, stretch them, fold them in half and repeat the procedure until you get thin noodles.
  4. Boil the products in salt water, then discard in a colander, rinse and add vegetable oil.
  5. Cut the meat pulp into small pieces and place in a pan with thick walls, after pouring vegetable oil into it. Fry the meat until crusty.
  6. Add chopped onion and radish shredded with straws, continue cooking.
  7. Add tomatoes, salt and fry for another quarter of an hour.
  8. Pour meat and vegetables with water and simmer under the lid for about an hour, then add herbs, garlic and mix thoroughly.

Serve the lagman warmed up noodles, bay with a sauce of meat and vegetables.

On a note. If you don’t want to spend time making noodles, you can purchase a ready-made version marked “for lagman” on the package.

Shurpa

Shurpa is a traditional dish of Uzbek cuisine, which is prepared from lamb and vegetables.

For work you will need:

  • 350 - 400 g of mutton;
  • several potato tubers;
  • 2 carrots;
  • 2 to 3 onions;
  • some juicy tomatoes;
  • hot peppers;
  • spice;
  • salt;
  • parsley greens.

Operating procedure:

  1. Wash the lamb, separate the meat from the bones and cut into medium sized pieces.
  2. Put bone, chopped meat and a whole peeled onion in a saucepan, add water and salt, boil for 2 hours.
  3. Peel the carrots, chop it coarsely and add to the pan. To send chopped potatoes there.
  4. Cut onions and hot peppers, and when the potatoes are half-ready, add them to the shurpa.
  5. Season the soup with seasonings, herbs, finely chopped pulp of tomatoes and stew on the fire for some more time.

Attention! After the container is removed from the heat, the dish will need to be infused for at least an hour before serving.

Oriental style salads

Oriental-style salads are a great addition to stews, kebabs or fish. Consider two simple and original recipes.

Pomegranate salad with onions and herbs

Despite the strange combination, this salad perfectly complements the main course and gives it a special piquancy.

For cooking you will need:

  • pomegranate fruit;
  • red onion;
  • dill and parsley in equal proportions;
  • hot pepper to taste;
  • salt.

Operating procedure:

  1. Disassemble the pomegranate fruit into seeds, remove the peel and septum.
  2. Cut the onion and hot pepper in half rings, then add the vegetables to the pomegranate and mix, slightly crushing the seeds.
  3. Add salt, chopped greens to the dish and serve.

The advantage of this salad is that it does not need dressing. The role of the sauce is pomegranate juice.

Warm Chickpea Salad

Chickpea is a bean crop that is very popular in Asia. It is added not only to salads, but also to the first and second courses.

For cooking you will need:

  • 250 g canned chickpeas;
  • 1 onion;
  • 1 carrot;
  • a bunch of cilantro;
  • salad oil (preferably olive);
  • salt.

Operating procedure:

  1. Finely chop the onion, chop the carrots on a coarse grater.
  2. Fry the ingredients until soft in vegetable oil, then add chickpeas, salt, mix and cover.
  3. After 5 - 7 minutes put the contents of the pan in a salad bowl and sprinkle with herbs.

On a note. If it is not possible to purchase chickpeas, you can replace it with green peas in fresh or canned form.

Traditional meat dishes

For the preparation of meat dishes in the East, lamb is most often used, but in Europe such dishes are often cooked with pork, beef and poultry. Consider the most common meat dishes - dolma and shawarma.

Dolma

To prepare this dish you will need delicate grape leaves by the number of servings.

Dolma is made from the following products:

  • meat;
  • rice
  • grape leaves;
  • greenery;
  • onion;
  • Tomatoes
  • tomato paste;
  • butter;
  • seasonings;
  • salt.

Work sequence:

  1. Grind meat, onions and tomatoes in a meat grinder.
  2. Add the boiled cooled rice, chopped greens, butter, salt, seasonings to the minced meat and mix thoroughly.
  3. Pour boiling vine leaves and leave for 5 minutes.
  4. Put the filling in the center of each sheet and wrap it. Then lay the blanks in a pan, pour cold water, add tomato paste and simmer under the lid.

Serve a dish with sour cream, mayonnaise or natural unsweetened yogurt.

Shawarma

Lavash roll with meat and herbs can be bought today at almost every fast food point, but it is better to make this dish at home.

For cooking you will need:

  • thin Armenian pita bread;
  • grilled meat;
  • cucumbers
  • Tomatoes
  • lettuce leaves;
  • onion;
  • mayonnaise sauce.

Operating procedure:

  1. Fry meat with salt and spices, then cool.
  2. Tear lettuce leaves with your hands, cut the greens and onions, chop the tomato and cucumber into thin slices.
  3. Lay out the pita bread, grease the third part with a thin layer of mayonnaise.
  4. Proceed to the component tab. First comes the meat, then onions, cucumber, lettuce and tomatoes.
  5. Sprinkle the preparation with herbs, pour sauce and wrap, bending the edges.
  6. Fry the cooked shawarma in a pan or heat in the microwave.

On a note. This dish needs to be eaten right away, because as a result of storage, pita bread is saturated with sauce and softened.

Oriental pastries and oriental sweets

In the East, sweets that do not need to be baked are very popular, due to the hot climate. But baked recipes in oriental cuisine are also many. Consider the most famous oriental sweets - sorbet and baklava.

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Sherbet

This sugary sweet, high-nutty treat is popular not only in the east, but also in Europe.

For cooking you will need:

  • 100 g of walnuts, pistachios and hazelnuts;
  • a pack of butter;
  • 500 g of sugar;
  • 2 cans of condensed milk.

Operating procedure:

  1. Peel nuts, fry in a dry pan and cool.
  2. In a pan with a thick bottom, put half the sugar, butter, condensed milk and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
  3. When the mass becomes homogeneous, pour out the remaining sugar, add heat and as soon as the sand has dissolved, remove the pan from the stove.
  4. Without waiting for the sweet mixture to cool, add nuts and mix thoroughly.
  5. Form portions, cover with foil and put in the cold for 6 - 8 hours.

Sherbet will be ready to eat when completely frozen.

Baklava

This baking is popular not only in the East, but also among many peoples of the Caucasus.

For cooking you will need:

  • 350 g nuts
  • 350 g of granulated sugar;
  • 3 eggs;
  • 600 g of flour;
  • 450 g butter;
  • 10 g dry yeast;
  • a teaspoon of milk;
  • a pinch of saffron;
  • 300 ml sugar syrup.

Operating procedure:

  1. Moisten dry yeast with milk and leave for a while.
  2. Add 100 g butter, 2 eggs and saffron to the sifted flour. Stir thoroughly, then introduce yeast.
  3. Knead the dough, cover with a towel and remove to heat for 3 hours.
  4. Mix nuts with sugar, if desired, add cardamom.
  5. Divide the dough into 10 parts so that two of them are larger than the others, they will make up the upper and lower layers.
  6. Lubricate the baking sheet with vegetable oil and put on it a sheet rolled up to a thickness of 5 mm, then sprinkle it with nut filling. Repeat these manipulations with other parts. The last layer of dessert should consist of dough.
  7. Lubricate the tops of the baklava with egg yolk and send to the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then remove and cut with rhombuses.
  8. Garnish each serving with walnuts, pour plenty of melted butter and bake for an hour.
  9. Flavor ready baklava with syrup and leave for impregnation. The treat will be ready for use in 2 to 3 hours.

Do not get involved in oriental sweets, you need to use them in very small quantities, because they are very nutritious and high-calorie. And if women of the East can enjoy baklava, kurabye or sorbet as much as they like, because in many countries magnificent ladies are considered beautiful, then Europeans have a slightly different point of view on female beauty.

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