The Azerbaijan first courses differ from usual soups by their concentrated and dense consistency because they usually contain a small amount of broth. Very often they include small peaces of a tail fat, which must be placed into the saucepan at the start of the cooking. Local ingredients and various spices as well as special process of cooking give the National first course dishes specific flavor. Several National dishes can be used as the first and main course. So are piti, kufta-bozbash etc. In this case the broth is served separately and then the rest (meat, peas, potatoes) as the main course, while they were cooked together.

Long ago South Azerbaijan (Tabriz) was known as an area of perfect piti cookers. Later piti a-la Shaki turned to be even much more popular. In the end of XIX century in Shaki there lived famous cooker Khoruz-oghlu, and he was well-known as the best specialist of piti cooking. Since his times the people from all regions of Azerbaijan aspire to visit Shaki and try the true piti a-la Shaki

Rishta Pakhlava

They cook this dish using boneless mutton and saffron. They put every portion of the previously soaked peas along with few pieces of mutton and tail fat into a separate jug (pitibardaghi), fill it with water and place onto a mild fire. Number of such jugs matches the number of persons supposed to have this meal. The farm formed before boiling must be periodically removed as it appears. When the broth has boiled, onion cut into pieces, chestnuts, quince, cherry-plum, salt and one whole potato can be added. When ready, spices and saffron can be added, too. Before serving they use to sprinkle the dish with grinded to shallow dry peppermint. They serve piti in burning hot jugs, used for its cooking. While you enjoy the broth, poured into your deep plate (this is the first course), all ingredients remain in pitibardaghi and stay hot. Having finished with the broth you start with the main content of pitibardaghi. Indeed, so many people keep in their mind this moment and dream to visit the ancient city of Shaki again and again.

A. Dumas (senior), known not only as a talanted author of history novels, but as an outstanding cooker as well, had visited Azerbaijan, including Shaki (at that time named Nukha) just little before times of famous Khoruz-oghlu. And the following words appeared from A.Dumas: - Oh! What a pity that in Poti (town in Georgia), when I'm writing these lines, I don't have at my disposal the most tasteful jyzbyz, cooked at the butcher in Nukha. If I had, you would see my fiesta. (jyzbyz - a lamb liver fried with tail fat and some potatoes).

Gurza a-la Shaki (kind of ravioli)

Same as all over Azerbaijan, they in Shaki love to have their guests to the black tea and sweets. Special tea can be prepared with cinnamon (darchin-chay) and ginger (zenjefil-chay). Sometimes they add also water of roses. Besides, the water of roses is used for production of a special drink - sherbet, known in the Shaki-Zaqatala region as "ovshala".

The Shaki confectionery served with the tea are extremely popular all over Azerbaijan. They include the Shaki pakhlavasi, peshvang, tel (thar-halva), qyrmabadam etc., which are cooked from the rice flour, sugar, nuts, butter, eggs and spices.