Gluten-free qutab!

Maybe a first in the world?! ; p

Sooooooo yummy!

Back again! So much work to do - no time for the old blog.

Lovely comments here, but I don't do Facebook. Please send me an email if you want to explore projects.

Baku dosa

Wow! I've just invented a new recipe. I call it the Baku dosa. It is scrumptious and easy peasy to make.

Mix equal amounts of lentil flour and rice flour (I grind my own flours and highly recommend this - fresh and tasty!). Then add water that is a bit more than the two flours combined. For example, half cup of each flour plus a little over a cup of water. Stir. Let it sit for at least five hours or overnight. Sounds strange but it needs to ferment. Spread in a circle on a hot non-stick pan. Flip when done (surface will look dry) and then quickly add grated mozzarella, chopped aci biber, and qurudulmuş pomidor zeytun yağında (Bizim Tarla brendi). Wait a bit and flip one third over and then again to make a wrap. It's a wrap! Nuş olsun!

I will adapt this gluten-free recipe to qutab next. Stay tuned.

More pictures below of this very more-ish Baku summertime meal.

New song - Shur tesnifi

OK, I just learned this new song - and it ain't easy to sing! Quite fast and a lot of difficult-to-pronounce words. So be kind in your comments!

Wonderful song though. Will keep working on it.

Watch it here and below.

Şur təsnifi

This is a new song I have just learned. It is very lively and fun to sing. I will try to translate today. I'll make a recording on Tuesday when I have a lesson with my singing teacher. I won't translate the Gəl-gəl ay aman exactly - it is Come, come, oh mercy (doesn't sound so good in English...) As usual I begin thinking it will be a piece of cake and it turns out to be harder to translate than I thought. Comments from native speakers are most welcome!

Atlandın keçdin daşdan,
  Gəl-gəl ay aman.
Yaşmağın düşdü başdan,
  Gəl-gəl ay aman.
Məhəbbət yoxmuş səndə,
  Gəl-gəl ay aman.

Gözüm qurudu yaşdan,

  Gəl-gəl ay aman.

nəq.:

Atəşim var, külüm yox,

Bülbül oldum, gülüm yox.

Mən bu eşqə düşəni,

Ağlanmaqdan günüm yox.

Əzizim xuda səni,

  Gəl-gəl ay aman.

Saxlasın xuda səni,

  Gəl-gəl ay aman.

Xəyalınla yatıram,

  Gəl-gəl ay aman.

Görüm yuxuda səni,

  Gəl-gəl ay aman.

You jumped over a rock,

Your veil fell from your head,

If you have no love,

My eyes are dry from crying.

Chorus:

There is fire but no coals,

There is a nightgale, but no flower.

I have fallen in love,

My days are destroyed with crying.

God knows you are my dear,

God preserve you!

I sleep and dream,

I see you in my dreams.

More yummy food in Azerbaijan

Pickled alça and pomidor from Qabala. Leftover salmon. Homemade falafel with tahini sauce. Azerbaijani chickpeas. Soak overnight and grind in a meat grinder with onion, garlic, coriander and parsley. Add spices. Form into balls and deep fry. Yum! A great summertime meal for hot Baku weather.

Sizdə pomidor var?

I had a friend who struggled to learn Azerbaijani. Practically all she could say was "Salam" and "Sizdə pomidor var?". But she got a lot of mileage out of that one phrase!

I have just returned to Baku from beautiful Qabala. So fresh, so serene! We stopped by the farmer's market. I got two kilos of beautiful plum tomatoes. Can't beat an Azerbaijani tomato. Better than Italian! Cook with some white wine and garlic. Reduce, strain, add cream and enjoy! Perfect summertime meal.

Recipe inspired by "Pomegranates and Saffron" cookbook

I'm so excited about this new cookbook that I had to try a recipe. I have adapted it to suit my taste.
Original has wheat flour but I substituted my homemade red lentil flour because it is healthier and besides I can't eat wheat. No ham, onion, or green pepper in the original. Original calls for sugar as well, but my version is savory.

The name in Azerbaijani is lalanqa. It is a specialty of western Azerbaijan.

Here's the recipe:

Yogurt Pancake

1/2 cup yogurt
1 egg
Salt and pepper
Bit of red onion finely chopped
Bit of green pepper finely chopped
Bit of ham finely chopped
1/2 cup red lentil flour

Here's the picture (with homemade basil pesto on the side):

New Azerbaijani recipe book in English

I've talked about her wonderful blog before. Now there is a great new book. I love all the pictures and the "words of wisdom". Here's the cover:



My cat likes it too!