Dovga is a soup made by cooking yogurt with a variety of fresh herbs such as dill, mint, and coriander. It is the national dish of Azerbaijan and can be served either cold in the summer as a refreshment, or warm in the winter. If it's served chilled, it is often ladled into traditional, deep bowls called kasa, placed right next to the serving plates for the main dish.
Unlike regular soups, Azerbaijani soups are more concentrated and dense in consistency. Dovga is also traditionally served at the wedding tables, not as a first course but between meat dishes, acting as a digestion booster.
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Ovdukh is a refreshing Azerbaijani cold soup made with yogurt, water, cucumbers, and spring onions. In order to prepare it, yogurt is combined with water that has been boiled, then left to cool. The concoction is then mixed with chopped cucumbers, spring onions, and herbs such as cilantro, dill, and purple basil.
The soup can sometimes contain ground beef and chopped hard-boiled eggs, although the basic vegetarian version is much more popular. Ovdukh is especially popular on hot summer days.
Kufta bozbash is a traditional meatball soup. The essence of this soup is in the flavor of the köfte (meatballs). Ground meat (usually lamb) is mixed with finely chopped onions, rice, dried mint, and dried lime flowers. When shaping the meatballs, dried fruits such as dates, cherries, or plums are placed and sealed inside them.
The köfte are cooked by themselves in a saffron-seasoned broth, followed by potatoes, chickpeas, tomatoes, and carrots. When served, the individual portion calls for only one large meatball per person, but nowadays, restaurants will make smaller meatballs for a more balanced dish.
Parcha bozbash is a traditional meat dish originating from Azerbaijan. Although there are a few recipes, the dish is usually made with a combination of lamb shanks, potatoes, onions, chickpeas, saffron, mint, and salt. Tomatoes can be used as well, if desired.
The lamb is seasoned with salt and boiled in water with the onions over low heat until the meat is tender. It is then placed into a pot with cooked chickpeas, potatoes, mint, and saffron. Broth is poured over the mixture, and the dish is cooked for a few minutes over low heat until done.
Sulu khingal is a traditional meat soup originating from Azerbaijan. The dish is usually made with a combination of lamb or beef, onions, chickpeas, turmeric, butter, mint, vinegar, salt, and square-shaped homemade noodles consisting of flour, eggs, and salt.
The meat is sliced into pieces and boiled in water with chickpeas, turmeric, and salt. Homemade noodles are added to the pot near the end of cooking. The meat soup is simmered until the noodles are tender, and it’s then garnished with onions fried in butter and chopped mint before serving.
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