In Russia - soup, in Ukraine - borsch, and inAzerbaijan - of course, piti. Fragrant and hearty piti - a very popular Azerbaijani soup, prepared in special pots - pitišník. Its main ingredients are lamb and chickpeas. The recipe for this soup of pita includes baked chestnuts. But if desired, this exotic ingredient can be replaced with potatoes.
Pea soup in pots
But the chickpea in the recipe is replaced with ordinary peasworth it. It is chickpea - a sort of pea, which is preferred in Western and Central Asia - is a highlight of the recipe for this delicious soup. In shape, it resembles the head of a ram with a bird's beak, so in Azerbaijan it is also called mutton peas. Compared with the usual peas, the chickpeas are more tender, less caloric and contains high-quality proteins and fats. It also includes magnesium, potassium, calcium and vitamins A and C. Owing to the abundance of nutrients in its composition, chickpea can improve digestion and heart function, and with constant use it can lower cholesterol in the blood and prevent the appearance of cataracts. That's such amazing properties this product has! Azerbaijan is famous for its dishes based on chickpeas. This sort of pea is present in the recipes of soups, side dishes and salads. Appreciated chickpeas and vegetarians, as well as people who hold fasts. Nut easily replaces meat, has a pleasant nutty taste and is very rich.
The recipe for soup
On 6 pots you will need:
- lamb (brisket or neck) - 700 g
- dry peas 200 g
- potatoes - 6 pcs.
- onions - 4 pcs.
- tomato - 2 pcs.
- plum - 6 pcs.
- mint - 2 tbsp. l.
- saffron - 6 stamens
- parsley and coriander - 4 tbsp. l.
- salt, pepper - to taste.
With all the positive properties of chickpeas, he hasone feature - he's been preparing for a very long time. Therefore, if you want to eat soup for lunch, then for the night, chickpeas should be soaked in cold water. In the morning, drain the water and rinse the chickpeas. Mutton cut into pieces of 30-40 grams and put in pots, so that in each of them was 3-4 pieces. Then add the chickpeas to the pots, pour over ¾ with water and put in the oven for 40 minutes. When the meat and chickpea are in a semi-ready state, the pots get out, add potatoes, onions, tomatoes and cherry plum there. Potatoes are better to take small and put whole tubers. If you take a large one, cut it into four pieces. Cut the tomato and onion into cubes. If the heads of the onions are small, then they can also be put entirely. Alycha is placed to make soup "sour". A special feature of cherry plum is that it has little sugar and a lot of malic and citric acids. It is better to use fresh fruits, but for the soup, the dried ones will do too. If you can not buy cherry plum, add a little lemon juice. Then in the pots, you need to add more water, salt to taste and put in the oven for 30 minutes. The peculiarities of Azerbaijani soups are an island taste and an unusual aroma, so there must always be spices in recipes. At the end of cooking, put green, pepper, mint and saffron in each pot, cover with lids and hold in the oven for another 5 minutes. Mint will give a refreshing taste, saffron - an appetizing yellowish shade. Saffron is a very useful spice, helping to digest food and to remove irritation in the stomach. However, it should be added in small amounts, otherwise the soup will turn out to be bitter. An important ingredient in the preparation of piti is your good mood. It will serve as an excellent dressing. Your guests will be satisfied with the soup and will be asked to share the recipe for its preparation. Here is such a simple recipe! Serve the soup of piti to the table in the pots in which it was cooked, in a hot state.