Secret recipes of the forest in Azerbaijan

By Euronews

Published on 19/09/2017 - 12:25

Kebabs and bread are on the menu in this forest retreat near Gabala.

In Azerbaijan the pull of the Caucasus is strong. The mountains attract both Azeris and foreign visitors.

Near Gabala, bears, deer and wild boar are never far away. But the forests hide other unexpected delights… for the taste buds.

Key facts about Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a country in the South Caucasus region, between Southwest Asia and Southeastern Europe.
The Azerbaijan Republic declared its independence in 1918 before being incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920. The modern republic declared its independence in 1991.
Its capital city is Baku
With a population of nearly 10 million, it covers an area of 86,600 square kilometres.

For this episode of Postcards euronews‘ Aurora Velez#! is in the forest of Gabala, which is populated by oaks, lime and chestnut trees… and little restaurants, where families and groups of friends come to eat traditional griddle-cooked kebabs in little wooden huts.

Women are in charge of bread; men in charge of meat. Nobody could tell us when this tradition of eating in the forest began.

#Azerbaijan #kebab # Gabala Bread is also important. Heating the stone owens pic.twitter.com/c4xM9zwDZR
— Aurora Velez (@goizlyon) July 8, 2017

The chef at Gabala Khanlar, Zahir Musayef, did, however, tell us why the Gabala kebab is so special:

??The tradition comes from the shepherds, who cooked their meat with dasarashi, between two slates. They take 25 minutes to cook properly.??

# Gabala’s #kebab. The secret of this famous kebab is… soon in Postcards euronews</a> <a href="https://t.co/wFMaipy9UD">pic.twitter.com/wFMaipy9UD</a></p>— Aurora Velez (goizlyon) July 8, 2017

Guests eat together, in the intimate atmosphere of the forest. They eat whilst the leaves on the trees tell stories to the rivers, right in the middle of nature, who reminds them, from time to time, that its her who’s in charge.

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