Nakhchivan-Ordubad qovurma
Both a winter provision and a ready meal. A kitchen classic that gave rise to the saying «it is sealed in its own fat».
Qovurma is considered the king of Nakhchivan-Ordubad cuisine: both a provision laid in for winter and a ready meal. Among the food stores created over the centuries for Nakhchivan's harsh winter, qovurma comes first, because it can be kept for months without losing its quality.
Qovurma is usually made from the meat of a two- or three-year-old ram, billy goat or bull calf. One of the best loved is «Sibir qovurması», made from the meat of a 6–7-year-old goat. The animal for qovurma is fed on the grasses and flowers of the mountains from spring onwards, which is why the meat is bought from village farms that know this craft.
Traditionally it is made in a copper pot. For long keeping, only the animal's own tail fat or suet is added — enough to cover it completely. This is where the saying «it is sealed in its own fat» comes from. Meat fried in any other fat is not considered Nakhchivan qovurma — it neither keeps long nor tastes right.
It is laborious to make: 1 kg of qovurma requires about 1.6–1.8 kg of mutton (or 1.8–2 kg of beef) and 0.6–0.8 kg of tail fat. Finished qovurma is kept in glass or cast-iron vessels in a cool place.
Making qovurma is a household ritual in which the whole family takes part. Whenever qovurma is cooked in someone's yard, the whole neighbourhood hears of it: the broth left after the meat is boiled — called «təngov» in some villages and «işgənə» in others — is shared with the neighbours, with children and the elderly especially remembered. Eaten with torn lavash, this dish may surprise those who see it for the first time, but they love it from the first bite.
All winter long, dishes such as bozbash with qovurma, arishta noodle soup and cracked-wheat broth never leave the table. In early spring, qovurma is cooked with fresh wild greens gathered in the mountains, and the taste of the winter table gives way to the scent of spring.
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