Tasting local cuisine is an excellent way to learn about a people, their culture and history, and Uzbekistan is no exception. Its excellent mildly spiced cuisine has delighted the great Emirs for centuries, so you surely won't be disappointed either. Here are some specialties of local cuisine to taste during a stay in Uzbekistan.

Samarkand Bread

You cannot leave Uzbekistan without having tasted Samarkand bread, surely one of the best in the world. This round bread, called "lepioshka", is cooked throughout Central Asia, but it is best in Samarkand. Baked in a tandyr, a traditional well-shaped oven, it emerges deliciously tender. It is stuck to the edges of the oven with a little oil. Legend has it that Samarkand bread is the most tender and best in the world, capable of being kept for a few months. In fact, the Emir of Bukhara himself had his bread brought from Samarkand, because despite all the bakers' efforts, they were unable to produce such delicious bread in the Uzbek capital.

Samsa

The samsa is a small pastry filled with meat and onions, cooked the same way as local bread. As you've gathered: golden on the outside, it is tender and melting inside making it one of the best snacks in the region.

Plov

The plov is a dish widespread throughout Central Asia, but it is of Uzbek origin. This dish shared on a large plate is made of rice, onions, carrots and meat fried, cooked in sheep's fat. A good plov is judged by the amount of oil that remains on the spoon! Plov can be garnished with pomegranate for example, for a delicious sweet and savory mix. It is a festive and family dish, and men often gather in the evening to eat plov together at a restaurant.

Mantys

The mantys are large dumplings traditionally filled with meat, but you can also find them with onions or pumpkin. They are eaten by hand, accompanied by laza, a spicy sauce, or vinegar.

Shashlyk

If you love meat, this will surely be your favorite dish. Shashlyks are meat skewers, marinated in advance and cooked over a wood fire. The meat is very tender and flavorful and is eaten with onions and vinegar: truly delightful!

Lagman

The lagman is a dish found throughout Central Asia. A true mildly spiced treat: homemade noodles with meat, peppers, vegetables and a spiced broth. In Khiva, you will find it served with green noodles, a specialty of the region.

Dimlama

A perfect dish for warming up, dimlama is a kind of stew with meat, onions and vegetables simmered. It is traditionally cooked in a cast iron pot over a wood fire.

Narin

The narin is a traditional dish also served on special occasions. It is made of fine noodles and horsemeat, often kazi, a horsemeat sausage. Served with its meat broth, it is one of the locals' favorite dishes. It is sometimes served on bread. As you can see: it is generally only cooked when there is an occasion to sacrifice a horse.    

Khanum

Khanum is like a giant dumpling: it is a roll of dough filled with meat, potatoes or vegetables, and steamed in layers.

Khassip

The khassip is a traditional Uzbek sausage made of sheep's meat and liver. It is a festive dish, served at weddings and funerals for example, when a sheep is sacrificed.

Churchvara

These are small dumplings filled with ground meat and cooked in a broth with meat and vegetables.

Touhoum-barak

The touhoum-barak is a specialty of the Uzbek region of Khorezm. Its name means "cooked egg". It is actually spiced eggs in traditional dough, all boiled in water.