Samarkand plov
A layered plov in which nothing is stirred: the rice stays pale, and the carrots and meat are served on top of it.
Nisholda, holvaytar and other sweets
Snow-white whipped nisholda, dark holvaytar, parvarda and novvot — the traditional sweets Samarkand serves with tea.
© ElenaLitera, CC BY-SA 4.0
Nisholda and holvaytar
Nisholda is a snow-white, stretchy sweet made by whipping egg whites with sugar syrup and a decoction of etmak root for a long time. The root extract stabilises the foam: dip a wooden paddle in and the mixture pulls into threads. It is above all a Ramadan treat, set out at iftar with bread and green tea, and it was also a traditional delicacy among Samarkand’s Bukharan Jews.
Holvaytar is a different world: flour is toasted in hot oil until brown, sugar syrup is poured in, and the mixture is stirred until it becomes a thick, deep-red paste. It is made mainly for religious occasions and memorial gatherings, and in some families on Thursdays.
Parvarda, novvot and halva
Parvarda are small white pillows of pulled sugar dusted with flour, eaten with tea in winter and taken as a home remedy for coughs. Novvot is rock candy grown on threads, often from grape juice and sometimes tinted with saffron, and dropped into tea. Halva comes in dozens of forms — sesame, walnut, flour-based, the floss-like pashmak — and Samarkand’s, along with Kokand’s, is among the best known in the country.
The easiest place to try them all is the sweets and dried-fruit rows of Siyob Bazaar, where sellers will usually break off a piece for you to taste.
Cuisine
Cuisine
Samarkand bread
A tandoor-baked round with a thin, stamped centre, a plump rim and a glossy crust — Samarkand’s signature taste and the classic gift to carry home.
Tandoor samsa
Flaky pastries filled with lamb, onion and tail fat and baked on the wall of a tandoor — Samarkand’s favourite breakfast.
Kabob (shashlik)
Lamb, liver and minced-meat skewers grilled over charcoal and served with raw onion, vinegar and hot bread — the smoke that drifts down every Samarkand street.
Manti
Large steamed dumplings from a tiered steamer, filled with hand-chopped lamb, onion and tail fat — or with sweet pumpkin.
Shurpa
A hearty soup of mutton, carrots, potatoes and herbs, either simply boiled or browned first, served in a deep bowl with bread.
