Secrets of Azerbaijani Cuisine

Dolma, shah plov, juicy kebab — it's hard not to fall for Azerbaijani cuisine. I run this masterclass myself, at my own home: from a trip to the market for ingredients, to cooking together, to a real feast with stories behind every dish.

We start at Baku's most famous green market, where you'll feel the spirit of an Eastern bazaar: colours, spice aromas, and mountains of dried fruit and nuts. We'll pick out ingredients together, and I'll teach you the real art of Eastern bargaining.

Then we head to my home, where you'll have a choice for the first course: Sheki-style piti, lentil soup, dushbara (Azerbaijani dumplings in broth), or kufta-bozbash.

For the main course: pomegranate plov, one of Azerbaijan's 50 kinds of kebab, or dolma. I'll show you how to measure ingredients correctly and which spices to use, and you'll join in the cooking to get to grips with every detail of the process.

I pay special attention to dolma: the secret is in how carefully you wrap the grape leaf and how long you simmer it, so the flavour comes out exactly as it's been made in Azerbaijani families for generations.

We finish with a feast where you'll try everything we've cooked, plus Eastern appetizers — shepherd's salad, eggplant rolls, homemade cheese and spicy sauces. I'll tell you about the history of Azerbaijani cuisine, how local dolma differs from Armenian dolma, what "shah plov" really is, and the traditions behind our table.

The masterclass is conducted in Russian and takes about 8 hours. The price is 475 AZN for a group of up to 6, or 79 AZN per person for larger groups. Message me on WhatsApp to arrange a date and choose your dishes.