Food in Uzbekistan: 21 Traditional Uzbek Dishes You Must Try Wandering Wheatleys

You’ve likely tried dolmas before as they are popular all over the world, especially in Mediterranean and Turkish cuisine.
You may think of dolmas as simply grape leaves stuffed with ground beef and rice, but the term actually refers to a number of different stuffed dishes.
Uzbekistan, you will often get a variety of different stuffed vegetables including peppers and cabbage leaves when you order dolmas.
14. Shivit Oshi
Shivit oshi is probably the most colorful food in Uzbekistan. The bright green noodles have been infused with dill which makes them both eye-catching and flavorful. They are topped with a stew of meat, peppers, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and carrots and served with a side of yogurt or sour cream.
Shivit oshi is traditionally served in Khiva. It’s actually on the menu of every single restaurant in Khiva’s old city, but you won’t encounter it anywhere else in Uzbekistan
15. Guzlama
Guzlama is yet another type of dumpling popular in Uzbekistan. These fried dumplings are pressed flat and then fried, giving them a taste closer to a Mexican empanada. We mainly encountered these in Khiva where, like shivit oshi, they were on every single menu.
16. Tukhum Barak
Guess what? More dumplings! Are you detecting a trend in the food in Uzbekistan?
Tukhum barak are filled with a mixture of eggs and milk that tastes a bit like cottage cheese. Sometimes a bit of fried onion is added as well. They are then steamed and served with yogurt for dipping.
You may also find a delicious pumpkin variety. We much preferred it to the cheese variety but it was not as common.
17. Bread
Bread is incredibly important in Uzbekistan. You’ll encounter people selling homemade bread in every market and on many street corners. And Uzbek bread is almost always made in a ring with the center not quite punched out, kind of like an oversized bagel.
Anytime you eat at a restaurant in Uzbekistan and fail to order bread the waiter will look at you like you have grown an extra head. And often they will bring you bread anyways, assuming your order (or lack thereof) was lost in translation.
One of the most interesting parts of the bread culture in Uzbekistan is the number of unique patterns that are stamped onto the bread before it is baked. You’ll actually see a variety of bread stamps available in the markets; they have intricate designs of metal pins inlaid in wooden handles. Pick one up if you’re feeling ambitious and want to start stamping your own bread when you return home from your Uzbekistan holiday.
18. Suzma