Таджикское блюдо КУРУТ-ОБ или что такое национальная кухня? | Сталик Ханкишиев

What do we mean by the term "a dish of a certain cuisine"? Most traditional dishes are not national, but regional. Recipes and cooking techniques spread across regions where the necessary ingredients and conditions are available. As a result, the same dishes can be found in various national cuisines. Thus, a national cuisine is a set of dishes prepared by representatives of a given nationality. The same dishes can be prepared by representatives of different nationalities, and each nationality can rightfully consider these dishes its own. But sometimes, when attributing a certain dish to a particular nationality, people are referring to the question of its origin. And this is an entirely different matter. All attempts to establish the true origin of traditional dishes can be purely hypothetical and nothing more. All indications—from the etymology of the name to the area of ​​distribution of the dish—are indirect, not direct, evidence of the invention of these dishes by representatives of a particular nationality. Although etymology and the study of culinary geography can lead to fairly coherent discussions about the origins of certain dishes, one can still only speak of geographical origin, not national origin. Only a small fraction of dishes have their origins definitively known and documented, and most modern cooking technologies were invented by humanity long before the formation of modern nationalities. It's possible that those who invented some dishes no longer have descendants. And even if they do, that raises no fewer questions. For example, if the biblical Abraham invented a certain dish, and both Jews and Arabs descended from him, who would now own the dishes Abraham invented? On the other hand, it is sometimes possible to trace the spread of certain dishes across regions and even across the planet. For example, many dishes and technologies spread simultaneously with the spread of ingredients and spices. It is for this reason that the dissemination routes of many technologies coincide with caravan and sea routes. The spread of certain dishes also coincided with the migration of peoples and even ethnogenesis. Indeed, very often the same dishes with similar names are prepared by related peoples. Peoples can have strong and enduring ties not only through language and shared ethnic roots, but also through religion or a common history. If one country was ruled by representatives of another, the culinary culture would initially spread in the same direction, and after colonization ended, in the opposite direction. Russia's example is typical in this regard – right now, culinary culture is spreading in the opposite direction, from former colonies to the mother country. Fifty to sixty years ago, the same processes were taking place in Great Britain, and even earlier in Turkey, Byzantium, Persia, and other empires of the past. What did Assyria and Mesopotamia contribute to the culinary world? What did Byzantium contribute? What did Rome contribute? Do you know how the Arabs influenced the cuisine of southern Italy? And Valencia? And who influenced the Arabs? Who influenced the Persians? Who were influenced by Poles and Russians? The development of national cuisines and, consequently, the emergence of new dishes can occur in two ways. The first is the refinement of cooking methods within a particular national cuisine, often forced by changes in conditions and habitat. The second is the adoption and transfer of technologies from one landscape to another, with the substitution of ingredients due to their absence or the emergence of new, previously unknown products. There is nothing shameful in the development of national cuisine by borrowing from neighbors—it is a completely normal process. Even today, we can observe how new dishes emerge as a result of the advancement of culinary techniques from one people to another and the gradual substitution of some ingredients for others. For example, shashlik is not prepared the way it is prepared in Russia today in its supposed countries of origin. Therefore, shashlik can be called a Russian dish for two reasons: it is unique and widespread, has taken root, and is prepared more often than some traditional Russian dishes. The name of the dish itself remains Turkic, while the traditional Russian name "verchenoe" has practically fallen out of use. Therefore, attributing a specific dish to a specific people is possible in three cases: 1. When we want to say that a given dish was created by representatives of a given people. However, this should be done with extreme caution, only with documented evidence. 2. When we indicate that this dish is not exclusively part of the national cuisine of a given people (i.e., other peoples also prepare it). 3. When we want to emphasize that this particular dish has unique cooking methods not used by other peoples. However, even in this case, it is more accurate to speak of the regional characteristics of the dish, as is the case, ...