Turkmen cuisine

Melon vendor from Samarkand, Russian Turkestan (picture taken around 1905 to 1915)

In the culinary arena, Turkmenistan is perhaps most famous for its melons (Turkmen: 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" (Russian: царица бахчи).[6] Though very few melons are exported today,[7] they are a great source of national pride in Turkmenistan and subject of their own Melon Day holiday.[8] Turkmen sources claim the country is home to up to 400 distinct varieties.

Residents of oases use pomegranate (Turkmen: nar) as a flavoring, often crushing for juice to be added to or mixed into dishes.[9]

Pumpkins (Turkmen: 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.[10]

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.[11]

Turkmen bread baking in tandyr

Pishme

Turkmen girls at a Novruz festival greet guests with pishme and dried fruits.

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 (Turkmen: 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.[12] 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...[4]

The student of Turkmen culture Sergey Demidov wrote,

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".[13]

Pilaf (Turkmen: palaw, Russian: плов plov) is served at celebrations and to honored guests; one source calls it "king in Turkmen cuisine."[14] 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 (Turkmen: kişmiş), fruits, fish, and ground meat.[3] Pilaf is traditionally eaten with the hands.

Yarma (Turkmen: 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.[15] Shule (Turkmen: şüle) is a watery rice porridge with meat, sometimes served with shredded carrots.[16] Sorghum porridge (Turkmen: 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.[17]

Chegdermeh (Turkmen: çegderme) is a mixture of boiled rice, fried meat, tomato, and chopped, sautéed onions, typically cooked in a cauldron.

Vodka (Turkmen: arak) is the most popular alcoholic beverage, due to its relatively low cost, followed by beer, wine, brandy, and sparkling wine (Russian: 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.[26][27][28]

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.[29] In the 21st century, Turkmenistan produces over 200 different grape wines and brandies from 100 grape varieties.[30]