Tajikistan

       Today I learned all about Tajikistan.  In the morning, I left the home and headed to our house to help make a dish called Plov for the school kids. They are currently learning about Central Asia and Tanya was their special speaker. Tanya is one of my friends here who is originally from Tajikistan.  One of the dishes that is common in Tajikistan is Plov.  The first time I had this dish we were at the home and Tanya made it for a Christmas party.  It is so delicious and I had to refrain from eating all of it!!!!  The really cool thing about learning how to make the Plov with Tanya was that she taught me all about her culture and where she comes from.  Plov is a common food in Tajikistan.  All of the ingredients are prepared by the women or wife, and then the actual cooking is done by the man. Often times it is sold by small street vendors as well. It consists of meat (beef, lamb, or chicken), rice, carrots, a lot of oil, whole garlic, and onions.   It took about 4 hours to make!  While it was cooking she showed me pictures of her country and some of her traditions.  One of the interesting things I learned is that weddings are celebrated for an entire week. I also learned that New Years is a very big holiday for them and filled with a lot of festivities.This is similar to Moldova.  After it was finished, we all sat on blankets on the floor, and ate the goodness with our hands as is traditionally done in Tajikistan.  By the time it was done, we had about 25 people in our apartment eating Plov, so fun.   It was a great day!

Below are some pictures of what Plov looks like and what it is made in.

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