Baku 
Gyanja 
In ancient times, nomadic Turkic tribes who roamed the region of present-day Azerbaijan spent their evenings around fires barbecuing the catch of the day. Today in Azerbaijan, whether you're in a restaurant or at a wedding, you'll find that meat is still cooked basically the same way, as "kababs". No Azerbaijani restaurant would be without "LBT" kababs - meaning Lula (ground lamb), Balig (fish, referring to sturgeon) and Tika (lamb chops).
In the summertime, Azerbaijanis love to go out to their dachas and make kababs outdoors. Kabab is one food that men take responsibility for preparing. It's considered a man's job and women can finally take a rest!
To make kababs, cut large cubes of meat and thread them onto metal skewers. Then barbecue them over coals or fire. Once the kabab is well-done (but still tender), the meat is taken off the skewers and served with roasted tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. The meat is often sprinkled with finely chopped white onion and a sour burgundy-colored spice known as sumag. Fish kabab is served with concentrated pomegranate juice.
Sturgeon Shashlyk
Sturgeon - 347 g; vegetable oil - 5 g or sour cream - 10 g; onions - 24 g; spring onions - 32 g; lemon - 115; narsharab (pomegranate sauce) - 5 g; sumakh - - 1 g; pepper -0.1 g; salt to taste.
Dress sturgeon as usual, cut into 40-50 g pieces, sprinkle with salt and pepper, brush with sour cream and roast on charcoal fire for 7-10 minutes. Lay the cooked fish out on the dish, garnish with fresh tomatoes and shredded onions. Serve narsharab and sumakh separately.
Fried Meat Azerbaijan-style
Mutton - 330 g; mutton kidneys - 85 g; butter - 25 g; onions - 50 g; fresh tomatoes - 100 g; wheat flour - 90 g; coriander and dills - 12 g; pepper -0.1 g; salt to taste.
Cut mutton into pieces, 4-5 pieces for a helping. Remove the membranes from the kidneys and cut each kidney into two pieces. Sprinkle the meat and the kidneys with pepper and salt, brown in butter and add simmered onions. Bake lavash (flat bread). To prepare lavash, roll heavy unleaven dough 1 mm thick and bake on a tray. When serving, put lavash on the plate, lay the fried meat on it, garnish with tomatoes and sprinkle with greens.
Lyulya-Kebab
Mutton - 330 g; rump fat - 20 g; onions - 20 g; spring onions - 40 g; parsley and basil - 15 g; wheat flour - 45 g; sumakh - 3 g; salt and pepper to taste.
Put mutton flesh with onions and fat through the mincer, add pepper and salt and mix thoroughly. Cool the minced meat in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Shape short sausages from the minced meat and hook on a spit which should be a little thicker than a shashlyk spit. Roast over burning charcoals. Fold into lavash cakes before serving. Bake lavash, as for fried meat.
Lyulya-kebab is seasoned with onions cut in rings, sumakh or tomatoes roasted on a spit.
Mutton Shashlyk
Mutton - 330 g; onions - 60 g; spring onions - 40 g; parsley and basil - 10 g; sumakh - 3 g or narsharab - 5 g; salt and pepper to taste.
Take meat from the loin or hind leg, cut into 35-40 g pieces, sprinkle with pepper and salt, put on a spit and roast over a charcoal fire. Serve shashlyk as soon as it is cooked. Season with onions cut in rings or spring onions. Sumakh or narsharab, as well as salt and pepper are served separately. In summer, serve 100 g of tomatoes roasted on a spit or fresh tomatoes.
P.S. All kebabs go very well with sumac. Sumac has a tart flavor that is very nice sprinkled on fish, chicken, over salad dressings, rice pilaf, or over raw onions. Try substituting in any dish on which you might squeeze fresh lemon juice. If you enjoy hummus, try topping it with a sprinkling of sumac. It's delightful!
The same berry that we ignore growing on a roadside bush is considered essential for cooking in much of the Middle East, in the same manner as we use lemon juice or vinegar. Sumac has a very nice, fruity-tart flavor which is not quite as overpowering as lemon. The Romans used sumac frequently before lemons were available to them. In addition to their very pleasant flavor, flakes from the berry are a lovely, deep red color which makes a very attractive garnish.
