Turkmen cuisine

Shashlyk ({{langx|tk|çişlik}}), skewered chunks of mutton, lamb, chicken, or sometimes fish, grilled over charcoal and garnished with raw sliced onion and a special vinegar-based sauce, is served in restaurants and often sold in the street. Shashlyk from pork and beef was introduced during the Russian Imperial period, and is easily found in major cities. Kebabs of ground meat are commonly prepared from beef and occasionally camel. Kakmach ({{langx|tk|kakmaç}}) is preserved, dried meat prepared in individual portions or strips. Kakmach may be fried in fat or baked in a tandoor, but it is traditionally dried like jerky in the hot desert sun.{{citation | author-last1=Bagdasarov |author-first1=A. |author-last2=Vanukevich |author-first2=A. |author-last3=Hudaýşukurow |author-first3=T. |title=Tуркменская кулинария |trans-title=Turkmen Cuisine |language=ru |publisher=Izdatel'stvo "Turkmenistan" |date=1981 |place=Ashgabat |url = https://archive.org/details/Turkmen_cuisine }}

Gowurma is deep-fat-fried meat in bite-sized chunks, typically cooked in a cauldron ({{langx|tk|gazan}}, a large hemispherical iron pot placed over an open fire). Gowurma is used in various soups and can be eaten hot or cold, or put up for later use.

A wide variety of filled pies and dumplings are available in restaurants and bazaars. Manty are steamed dumplings filled with ground meat, onions or pumpkin. Typical fried dishes include somsa, gutap (often filled with spinach), fitchi (fitçi), börek, and ichlekli (içlekli). These are popular with travelers and taxi drivers, as they can be eaten quickly on the run, and are often sold at roadside stands.

Image:Prokudin-Gorskii-15.jpg, Russian Turkestan (picture taken around 1905 to 1915)]]

In the culinary arena, Turkmenistan is perhaps most famous for its melons ({{langx|tk|gawun}}), especially in the former Soviet Union, where it was once the major supplier. Turkmen state-controlled media have referred to the melon as the "tsarina of the garden" ({{langx|ru|царица бахчи}}).{{citation | url=https://tdh.gov.tm/ru/post/28337/4-festival-nacionalnyh-blyud-narodov-stran-centralnoj-azii-obogatil-tradicii-dobrososedskih-ugoshchenij |title=Фестиваль национальных блюд народов стран Центральной Азии обогатил традиции добрососедских угощений |date= 13 August 2021 | language=ru |publisher=Туркменистан сегодня}} Though very few melons are exported today,[http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPS/Pgrfa/pdf/turkmeni.pdf Turkmenistan: Country Report to the FAO International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resource], Leipzig, 1996, p. 6. Retrieved April 15, 2008 they are a great source of national pride in Turkmenistan and subject of their own Melon Day holiday.{{citation |url=http://static.iea.ras.ru/news/%21%21%20Book%20Flora%26Fauna_COLOR.pdf |title=Растения и Животные в Легендах и Верованиях Туркмен |place=Moscow |publisher=Старый сад |date=2020 |trans-title=Plants and Animals in Legends and Beliefs of Turkmen |language=ru|series=Этнография туркмен |pages=97–98 }} Turkmen sources claim the country is home to up to 400 distinct varieties.

Residents of oases use pomegranate ({{langx|tk|nar}}) as a flavoring, often crushing for juice to be added to or mixed into dishes.{{citation | url=https://tourstoturkmenistan.com/ru/about/turkmenskaya-kuxnya.html |title=Туркменская кухня |access-date=26 January 2023 |language=ru |publisher=Anur Tour}}

Pumpkins ({{langx|tk|kädi}}) are mainly used as a soup flavoring but, hollowed out, may be used as a vessel for baking casseroles or meats. Pumpkin seeds are crushed for cooking oil.{{citation |url=https://www.infoabad.com/517-turkmenskaja-nacionalnaja-kuhnja-i-ee-osobennosti.html |title=Туркменская национальная кухня и ее особенности |publisher=Infoabad |language=ru |access-date=26 January 2023 |trans-title=Turkmen national cuisine and its particulars |date=20 November 2021}}

Although a foreign import from the New World, tomatoes have become a major influence on Turkmen cuisine in the last two centuries. Tomatoes are pickled, dried, pureed, and chopped for adding to dishes, and made into tomato soup and juice.{{citation | author-last1=Bagdasarov |author-first1=A. |author-last2=Vanukevich |author-first2=A. |author-last3=Hudaýşukurow |author-first3=T. |title=Tуркменская кулинария |trans-title=Turkmen Cuisine |language=ru |publisher=Izdatel'stvo "Turkmenistan" |date=1981 |place=Ashgabat |url=https://archive.org/details/Turkmen_cuisine |chapter=Chapter XII, Jams and other preparations }}

File:Turkmenistan bread.jpg

File:FriedBreadInErbent.JPG

File:Turkmen-girls-greeting-guests.jpg

Meals are almost always served with naan, Central Asian flatbread, known locally as çörek. Turkmen bread is prepared differently from other breads in the region in thick, round disc-shaped loaves baked in a traditional tamdyr clay oven. Bread baked with meat inside (etli çörek, or "meat bread") can be consumed as a meal in itself. Ýagly çörek (literally "oily bread, buttery bread") is a flaky, layered type of flat bread made with butter. Pishme ({{langx|tk|pişme}}) are soft, bite-sized, sweetened, fried breads traditionally presented to arriving guests as a welcoming gesture.

Bread bears highly symbolic importance in Turkmen culture.[http://siyakhat.narod.ru/culture.html Sacred Words "Tamdyr" and "Chorek"] Paseviev, Ikar. Retrieved April 15, 2008 It is considered highly impolite to turn a loaf of bread upside down or to mistreat bread in any way. There are many superstitions surrounding bread and its preparation. In the words of Turkmen state-controlled media,

...the main role in the hospitality of the peoples of Central Asia is played by bread - çörek, which also serves as a symbol of hospitality, brotherhood, honor, hard work, prosperity, gratitude and the kindest wishes. Bread is baked in many kinds...ancient recipes have many modern variations, but the matter is not even in the ingredients themselves, which determine the softness, puffiness and taste of dough, but in the special ritual of its preparation, especially for festive meals...{{citation | url=https://tdh.gov.tm/ru/post/28270/mezhdunarodnyj-festival-nacionalnyh-blyud-narodov-stran-centralnoj-azii |title=Международный фестиваль национальных блюд народов стран Центральной Азии |date=6 August 2021 |language=ru |publisher=Туркменистан сегодня}}

And yet, despite the high authority of the horse, there was something even higher and more sacred in the Turkmen household, bearing the stamp of taboo from ancient times. This was the tamdyr, the oven for baking çörek - a symbol of life, well-being and family hearth, supported by the sanctity of bread and, perhaps, by echoes of Zoroastrian-Mazdean beliefs associated with fire. Therefore, in the scale of ethical values there might have been a judgment such as: "It is better to slit a horse's throat or rob someone than to destroy a tamdyr".{{citation |url=http://static.iea.ras.ru/news/%21%21%20Book%20Flora%26Fauna_COLOR.pdf |title=Растения и Животные в Легендах и Верованиях Туркмен |place=Moscow |publisher=Старый сад |date=2020 |trans-title=Plants and Animals in Legends and Beliefs of Turkmen |language=ru|series=Этнография туркмен |page=349 }}

Pilaf ({{langx|tk|palaw}}) is served at celebrations and to honored guests; one source calls it "king in Turkmen cuisine."{{citation |author-first1=Nicholas |author-last1=Awde |author-first2=William |author-last2=Dirks |author-first3=Amandurdy |author-last3=Amandurdyev |title=Turkmen Dictionary and Phrasebook |publisher=Hippocrene Books |place=New York |date=2005 |ISBN=0-7818-1072-8}}, page 133 It consists of rice typically cooked with chunks of mutton and carrots, onions, and garlic, prepared in a large cast-iron cauldron. Different pilaf recipes may call for addition of raisins ({{langx|tk|kişmiş}}), fruits, fish, and ground meat. Pilaf is traditionally eaten with the hands.

Yarma ({{langx|tk|ýarma}}, from the Turkmen word ýarym "half, split") is cracked wheat cooked in sheep fat with very small pieces of mutton mixed in for flavor. The dish is claimed to have existed for at least one thousand years.{{citation |last=Berdimuhamedow |first=Gurbanguly |title=Turkmen dastarkhan, Dishes of the national cuisine |place=Ashgabat |date=2014 |publisher=Turkmen State Publishing Service |author-link=Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow }} [https://neutrality.gov.tm/library/media/books/7c8f0405-bbe9-4cf4-a498-16731b917bd4/index.html Volume 1], page 154 Shule ({{langx|tk|şüle}}) is a watery rice porridge with meat, sometimes served with shredded carrots.{{citation |last=Berdimuhamedow |first=Gurbanguly |title=Turkmen dastarkhan, Dishes of the national cuisine |place=Ashgabat |date=2014 |publisher=Turkmen State Publishing Service |author-link=Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow }} [https://neutrality.gov.tm/library/media/books/7c8f0405-bbe9-4cf4-a498-16731b917bd4/index.html Volume 1], page 60 Sorghum porridge ({{langx|tk|etli köje}}) is a traditional dish for the Novruz festival; the dish is ancient, for sorghum was introduced to the Turkmen by trade on the Silk Road.{{citation |last=Esenova |first=Gyulshat |title=Sachak, Traditional Turkmen Recipes in a Modern Kitchen |date=2019 |ISBN=978-0-578-81405-6 |url=https://sachakcookbook.com/}}, page 151

Chekdirme ({{langx|tk|چکدرمه|çekdirme}}) is a mixture of boiled rice, fried meat, tomato, and chopped, sautéed onions, typically cooked in a cauldron.

Shurpa ({{langx|tk|şurpa}}), meat boullion, is the base of most soups. The most traditional Turkmen soups are various types of unash ({{langx|tk|unaş}}), made with milk and noodles or with beans and noodles. Other common soups include dograma (also dogramaly şurpa), made with diced organ meats and bread, onion, and tomato;{{citation | author-last1=Bagdasarov |author-first1=A. |author-last2=Vanukevich |author-first2=A. |author-last3=Hudaýşukurow |author-first3=T. |title=Tуркменская кулинария |trans-title=Turkmen Cuisine |language=ru |publisher=Izdatel'stvo "Turkmenistan" |date=1981 |place=Ashgabat |url=https://archive.org/details/Turkmen_cuisine |page=84}} dumpling soup ({{langx|tk|etli börek şurpasy}}); and mung bean soup ({{langx|tk|şurpa maş}}). Suytlash ({{langx|tk|süýtlaş}}, also süýtli unaş and süýtli aş) is a vermicelli pudding traditionally served as the second course at wedding feasts. Some variants use rice in lieu of vermicelli.{{citation |url=https://turkmenkitchen.com/en/2013/02/11/vermicelli-pudding/ |title=Vermicelli Pudding (Süýtlaş) |access-date=26 January 2023 |publisher=One Turkmen Kitchen}} Though considered by some Turkmen to be a type of porridge, Turkmen cookbooks categorize it as a soup.{{citation | author-last1=Bagdasarov |author-first1=A. |author-last2=Vanukevich |author-first2=A. |author-last3=Hudaýşukurow |author-first3=T. |title=Tуркменская кулинария |trans-title=Turkmen Cuisine |language=ru |publisher=Izdatel'stvo "Turkmenistan" |date=1981 |place=Ashgabat |url=https://archive.org/details/Turkmen_cuisine |page=90}}{{citation |last=Esenova |first=Gyulshat |title=Sachak, Traditional Turkmen Recipes in a Modern Kitchen |date=2019 |ISBN=978-0-578-81405-6 |url=https://sachakcookbook.com/ |page=134}} Drawing from culinary traditions of neighbors, lagman, a soupy Uyghur noodle dish, is also common.

File:Turkmen-brandy-bottle.jpg in a military uniform.]]

As in the rest of Central Asia, green tea ({{langx|tk|çaý}}) is the primary drink, consumed at all hours. In the Turkmen language, çaý (pronounced "chai") can refer either to a meal (typically breakfast) or to sitting down for a visit over tea.{{citation|title=Chai Budesh? Anyone for Tea?: A Peace Corps Memoir of Turkmenistan |url=https://www.amazon.com/Chai-Budesh-Anyone-Tea-Turkmenistan/dp/1633821536 |author-first=Joan |author-last=Heron |publisher=America Star Books |date=2014 |ISBN=978-1-63382-153-8 }} In the Dashoguz region, it is sometimes drunk "Kazakh-style" with milk, often to disguise the salty taste of the drinking water in that area.

Gatyk, a thick drinking yogurt similar to kefir, is often served with breakfast and sometimes used as a condiment on börek or manty, replacing the traditional sour cream. The drink the nation is known for, however, is çal ("chal"), fermented camel's milk, which is a white sparkling beverage with a sour flavour, popular in Central Asia, particularly in Turkmenistan.Anatoly Khazanov, Nomads and the outside world, Second edition, University of Wisconsin Press, 1994, p. 49 Because of specific preparation requirements and its being extremely perishable, çal presents a great challenge for exporters to ship outside Turkmenistan or the region for foreign consumption.[http://foodfind.ru/dictionary/1393/ Great Culinary Dictionary. "Chal"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013152555/http://foodfind.ru/dictionary/1393/ |date=2007-10-13 }} in Russian, retrieved April 11, 2007 It is similar to the Kyrgyz drink shoro. One source notes that Turkmens like to skim agaran (a type of butter) from the surface of chal.[http://turkolog.narod.ru/info/trkm-32.htm I.Barkhanov. Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051110050616/http://turkolog.narod.ru/info/trkm-32.htm |date=2005-11-10 }}, in Russian, August 9, 2001.

Vodka ({{langx|tk|arak}}) is the most popular alcoholic beverage, due to its relatively low cost, followed by beer, wine, brandy, and sparkling wine ({{langx|ru|шампанское}} shampanskoye). Spirits and beer were introduced during the Russian imperial period. Beer was introduced in the 19th century by German brewers and though not a traditional beverage is popular in urban areas. Two domestic beer brands, Berk and Zip, are produced in Turkmenistan.[https://zip.tm/biyat/index.php?lang=en ZIP company website]{{citation| url=https://www.hronikatm.com/2012/08/turkmenskoe-pivo/ |title=Туркменское пиво |date=8 August 2012 |language=ru |publisher=Turkmen.News}}{{citation |url=https://turkmenexpert.tm/upload/Newsletter_rus.pdf |title=Информационный бюллетень |number=3 |date=January 2017 |publisher=EBRD |series=Финансирование и консультации для малого бизнеса в Туркменистане |language=ru}}

Archeological exploration indicates viticulture in the oasis area north of the Kopet Dag Mountains dates to the 3rd-2nd centuries BCE. Wheat was cultivated in the lowlands and vineyards were planted in the foothills. Wine grapes were also grown in the upper Murghab Valley near the present-day Turkmenistan-Afghanistan border. Introduction of Islam to Central Asia did not impede continuation of wine production, in part because wine is central to Sufism.{{citation|url=https://www.academia.edu/40777975/Seven_Thousand_Years_of_Viticulture |title=Семь тысяч лет виноградарства |trans-title=Seven Thousand Years of Viticulture |first=Ruslan G. |last=Muradov |year=2019 |publisher=Форум плюс |number=5 |language=ru}} In the 21st century, Turkmenistan produces over 200 different grape wines and brandies from 100 grape varieties.{{citation |url=https://sng.today/ashkhabad/5175-v-turkmenistane-proizvodyatsya-vina-i-konyaki-200-naimenovaniy.html |title=В Туркменистане производятся вина и коньяки 200 наименований |date=22 November 2017 |publisher=SNG Today |language=ru |trans-title=In Turkmenistan 200 types of wine and brandy are produced}}

Fish forms part of the traditional diet of Turkmen tribes residing near the Caspian Sea and along the Amu Darya. The Caspian Turkmen recipes call for both grilling and frying fish, but serving with "sesame, rice, apricots, raisins, pomegranate juice."{{citation |last=Berdimuhamedow |first=Gurbanguly |title=Turkmen dastarkhan, Dishes of the national cuisine |place=Ashgabat |date=2014 |publisher=Turkmen State Publishing Service |author-link=Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow }} [https://neutrality.gov.tm/library/media/books/7c8f0405-bbe9-4cf4-a498-16731b917bd4/index.html Volume 1], page 148

Restaurants in Turkmenistan often also serve Russian fare such as pelmeni, buckwheat (grechka), golubtsy, and a wide variety of mayonnaise-based salads. The potato and tomato, both introduced from the New World, are widely used in meal preparation.{{citation | author-last1=Bagdasarov |author-first1=A. |author-last2=Vanukevich |author-first2=A. |author-last3=Hudaýşukurow |author-first3=T. |title=Tуркменская кулинария |trans-title=Turkmen Cuisine |language=ru |publisher=Izdatel'stvo "Turkmenistan" |date=1981 |place=Ashgabat |url=https://archive.org/details/Turkmen_cuisine }} Urban steakhouses have appeared in Ashgabat, the capital city.[https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/4790693121 Argentina Steak House][https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/5527473478 Nevada Steak House][https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/348381060 Alp Et Steakhouse]

In Turkmen cities of Iran, some restaurants serve common Persian foods such as Jujeh kabab and Chelow kabab, and some shops only cook kebabs and inner organs like liver and fat, which are cooked with skewers on mangal as in kebab shops in other parts of Iran.

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• {{citation | author-last1=Bagdasarov |author-first1=A. |author-last2=Vanukevich |author-first2=A. |author-last3=Hudaýşukurow |author-first3=T. |title=Tуркменская кулинария |trans-title=Turkmen Cuisine |language=ru |publisher=Izdatel'stvo "Turkmenistan" |date=1981 |place=Ashgabat |url=https://archive.org/details/Turkmen_cuisine }}
• {{citation |last=Berdimuhamedow |first=Gurbanguly |title=Turkmen dastarkhan, Dishes of the national cuisine |place=Ashgabat |date=2014 |publisher=Turkmen State Publishing Service |author-link=Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow }} [https://neutrality.gov.tm/library/media/books/7c8f0405-bbe9-4cf4-a498-16731b917bd4/index.html Volume 1], [https://neutrality.gov.tm/library/media/books/24e993bc-52c5-4fa6-aa5a-682c4c6e11e3/index.html Volume 2]
• {{citation |last=Eden |first=Caroline |title=Red Sands |publisher=Quadrille |date=2020 |place=London |ISBN=978-1-787-134829 |url=http://www.carolineeden.com/red-sands.html }}
• {{citation |last=Esenova |first=Gyulshat |title=Sachak, Traditional Turkmen Recipes in a Modern Kitchen |date=2019 |ISBN=978-0-578-81405-6 |url=https://sachakcookbook.com/}}
• {{citation |url=https://turkmenkitchen.com/en/ |title=One Turkmen Kitchen |access-date=25 January 2023 |publisher=One Turkmen Kitchen}}, website with recipes
• {{citation |url=https://www.infoabad.com/517-turkmenskaja-nacionalnaja-kuhnja-i-ee-osobennosti.html |title=Туркменская национальная кухня и ее особенности |publisher=Infoabad |language=ru |access-date=26 January 2023 |trans-title=Turkmen national cuisine and its particulars |date=20 November 2021}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=13187930&dopt=Abstract Vopr Pitan. "Chemical composition of chal (fermented camel's milk)", 1954 Jul-Aug;13(4):41-2]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110525082342/http://www.greenstone.org/greenstone3/nzdl;jsessionid=3373D1F2BB80999BC21D600A4A7E6D54?a=d&c=hdl&d=HASH01a561fe8c8ed1299b760e82.11&sib=1 Martinenko, N.l., Yagodinskaya, S.G., Adhundov, A.A., Charyev, K.C. and Khumedov, O. (1977). Content of trace elements, copper, manganese, molybdenum in culture of chal and camel's milk and their clinical significance. Dairy Sci. Abst., 40(7802), p. 824]
• [http://www.iospress.nl/flyers_b/fl9781586034733.pdf B. Faye and P. Esenov (eds.). Desertification Combat and Food Safety. The Added Value of Camel Producers. Volume 362 NATO Science Series: Life and Behavioural Sciences. OS Press Publication, February 2005, 240 pp., hardcover] {{ISBN|1-58603-473-1}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070407142627/http://eurasianet.org/departments/culture/articles/eav102502.shtml Filip Noubel, "GOLDEN CENTURY OF THE TURKMENS:" A BLEAK PICTURE OF VILLAGE LIFE IN THE DESERT. EurasiaNet photo essay], 25 October 2002

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Category:Central Asian cuisine