"Lola" gazagi (Tulip salad)

This salad surely will give great look for your table! Use elongated, small and hard tomatoes for tulips. Also different kinds of chopped green can be used with the filling, but I prefer it to be white:)
Ingredients:
8 tomatoes
100 gr of cottage cheese
2-3 tbsp of plain yogurt or cream cheese
Salt to taste
1 clove of garlic
Green onions and corn for decoration
Cut out plus shape (+)on top of tomatoes. Carefully open up each side with sharp knife and scrub out all the flesh. Sprinkle with salt and put in ice cold water.
Grate or blend cottage cheese and mix with yogurt or cream cheese. Add in mashed garlic and salt. It must be thick enough.
Take out tomatoes and dry them with paper towel. Fill tomatoes with a cheese filling. Decorate with green onion and corn.
Serve and enjoy!
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Garmdori va pomidorli gazak (Salad with tomato and green chili)

This recipe is for those people who love hot salads. It is spicy and refreshing, useful and good looking salad. If you don't like hot, then replace green chili with green capsicum. But take into account that green chili will help you immune system to be stronger. Surely eat chilies in hot summer.
Ingredients:
3 tomatoes
1 medium sized green chili or capsicum
Salt to taste
Some pepper
Cut tomatoes in cubes, clean green chilies from seeds and chop or slice well. Mix with tomatoes adding salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy!
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"Roziya" salati (Salad "Roziya")

I named this salad after my mom as she invented it:) I love the taste and a beautiful look of this salad. It is also useful and nutritious, you can use it for your hot dog, sandwich or hamburger fillings.
Ingredients:
50 ml of vegetable oil
250 gr grated or cut in long thin strips red carrot
200 gr fresh cucumbers
1 tbsp of vinegar (I used apple, my mom uses cider one)
2-3 cloves of garlic, mashed
1 tsp of ground pepper
half a tsp of red chili powder
Salt to taste
First of prepare all of your ingredients, just to be sure you have everything under your arm. Grate or cut carrots, cut cucumber. Cucumbers must be cut in this way: halve the cucumber and quarter each piece, then again cut every piece in two.

Now heat up the oil and fry carrots on a high heat for about 2 min, then add in cucumbers. Continue frying until cucumbers are slightly soft, for about 3-4 min.

Now add in vinegar, pepper, salt and chili powder and fry for 2 min more. Take from the heat and immediately take salad to the other dish to prevent further cooking. Add in garlic and mix well. Your salad is ready! You can serve it as hot and as cold, but I prefer it to be served as cool as you can feel every flavor. Enjoy!
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Lavlagi, kartoshka va ku'k nu'hotli gazak (Beetroot salad with green beans and potatoes)

This salad is healthy and easy to make. For richer taste you can replace the oil to the mayonnaise. But I prefer healthy option with oil:)
Ingredients:
3 beetroot
2 medium potatoes
200 gr green beans, boiled or canned
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander leaves
3 tbsp of olive or any other vegetable oil or mayonnaise
Boil potatoes and beetroot in their skin. After they are ready, peel and cut in cubes. Add in green beans, salt, oil and chopped fresh coriander leaves and mix well all together. Serve and enjoy with soups.
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Hursh-hursh salati (Eggplant crunchy salad)

As I said earlier, I like experimenting in the kitchen, so this salad is one of my creations. I love the crunchiness of this salad. That's why I called this salad "Hursh-hursh":) It is tasty and nutritious salad, which will be good for lunch or a dinner.
Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants, sliced
1 egg slightly beaten
1 big potato, peeled and grate or cut in very thin strips
2 medium sized carrots
3 small cloves of garlic
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of ground coriander
1 tsp of ground pepper
1 tbsp of dried greens or fresh chopped greens
Salt to taste
oil for frying potatoes and eggplants
2 tbsp of mayonnaise
Take your thinly cut or grated potatoes:

Deep fry them until crispy and gold in color. Set aside.

Soak sliced eggplants in salty cold water for 20 min, drain all the water. Dip them in egg and fry until golden color, then slice them in thick strips as in recipe "Baqlajon va pomidorli salat".
Make "Chim chi" from carrots. Just thinly cut or grate them, add in salt, oil and mashed garlic cloves and mash with hands until half soft. Set aside.
Now take your serving plate and place eggplants, potatoes and carrot. Put 2 tbsp of mayonnaise in the middle, sprinkle some dried or fresh greens (chopped) and serve. Mix all the ingredients just before eating to keep the crispiness of the salad.
Enjoy and crunch this wonderful salad of mine:)
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Baqlajon va pomidorli salat (Eggplant and tomato salad)

One of my favorite recipes, as I am mad about eggplant:) It's soft and tender, juicy and fresh salad. Try to select harder but dark red tomatoes for it.
Ingredients:
3 medium sized eggplants, sliced
3 medium sized tomatoes
2 eggs, slightly beaten with a pinch of salt
Oil for frying
1 tbsp od coriander or 1 bunch of fresh chopped coriander leaves
Slice eggplants in to the circles. Put the eggplant circles in to the salty cold water for 20 min. Drain well and put on to the paper towel. Fry all of the circles dipping them in to the egg mixture on a little oil, until nice golden color.

Then cut them in strips like this:

Now quarter the tomatoes and cut out seeds, and cut the rest in to the same strips as an eggplant.

Mix together tomato, eggplant, chopped coriander or just ground coriander and salt. Mix carefully, don't mash up tomatoes. Your tasty salad is ready! Serve and enjoy:)
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Yongoqli chim chi (Korean carrot salad with walnuts)

This recipe is almost the same with the earlier recipe of "Koreyscha sabzili salat", but here we will add some walnuts.
Ingredients:
4 red carrots, peeled
4-5 cloves of garlic
Salt as taste
3 tbsp of vegetable or olive oil
200 gr of crushed walnuts
Grate or cut carrots in thin long strips, mash the garlic cloves and add in to carrots, also add salt and oil. Mash again until carrots are half soft. Add in walnuts, mix and put in fridge for 2 hours. Later serve and enjoy orangy, healthy, yummy salad:)
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"Kamalak" gazagi (Salad "Rainbow")

This salad is so colorful and beautiful, that every time you look and eat it you will surely enjoy it:)Besides it's very healthy and useful. Low calorie and helps to digest heavy food like meat and eggs. I call it "Kamalak" because it has so many colors.
Ingredients:
1 yellow capsicum
1 red capsicum
1 green capsicum
1 big tomato
1 medium cucumber
Salt to taste
1 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 tsp of Chinese salt
Wash and clean all the vegetables. Don't peel them. Cut all the vegetables in small cubes. Mix in a bowl with salt, oil and Chinese salt. Serve and enjoy:)
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"Yangilik" salati (Salad "Yangilik")

In Uzbekistan we use pickled cucumbers in many different salads and meals. This salad is light and tasty, goes good with soups. Don't skip fresh chopped coriander leaves, as they give main flavor and interesting combination. I would recommend to bake potatoes, rather than boiling them, baked potatoes have more rich flavour, which is important for this salad.
Ingredients:
2 baked potatoes
4 medium sized pickled cucumbers
1 medium onion, peeled
1 can of green beans
1 cup of chopped coriander
2 tbsp of vegetable or olive oil
Salt to taste
Peel baked potatoes and cut in small cubes, slice onions thinly, then mash them with hands and add in to potatoes. Drain all the water from bean can, cut pickled cucumbers in small cubes. Mix all the ingredients together and add salt, chopped coriander and oil, mix once again. Serve and enjoy!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Pomidor va rediskalik salat (Tomato and radish salad)

Radish is used in many salads in Uzbekistan, we have different types of radishes, especially famous "turp" which is green in color and very juicy. For todays recipe use regular red radishes. If they are bitter in taste (that happens sometimes) then soak them in cold water before adding in salad.
Ingredients:
3 tomatoes
3 medium sized radishes
Fresh chopped your favorite greens
Salt to taste or 1 tbsp of soy souse
Cut tomatoes in small cubes. Cut radishes in thin strips, chop greens. Combine all ingredients adding salt or soy souse. Some people also add sour cream, about 1 tbp to make this salad richer.
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Nuhotli salat (Chickpea salad)

"Nuhotli salat" is very nourishing and rich in protein, it is healthy and useful salad.
Ingredients:
200 gr of meat, boiled separately until it is soft and ready, about 2.5 hours
200 gr of chickpeas, soaked at least for 8 hours and boiled until soft, about 1 hour, you also can use canned chickpeas
Fresh chopped coriander
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp of vegetable oil or olive oil
Salt to taste
Cut in meat in small cubes, like the size of chickpeas, add in chickpeas, onion, coriander, salt and oil. Mix all the ingredients well and serve. Enjoy with a dinner or just for lunch:)
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Pomidor va piyozlik salat (Tomato and onion salad)

Usually "Pomidor va piyozlik salat" or as we also call it the second type of "Achchiq chuchuk" is served with pilafs. It goes good with pilaf and it helps digestion, as pilaf is not easily digested:) It is fresh and juicy salad. My mother likes the juice of tomatoes that remains at the bottom of the dish, and used to pour it into cup and drink it. Use juicy and ripe tomatoes for it.
Ingredients:
2 big, ripe and ruby tomatoes
1 medium sized onion, peeled and very thinly sliced
Salt to taste
it is your choice to peel or not to peel tomatoes, I usually peel them, as they will give more juice. So, peel tomatoes and cut them in cubes or just slice it with sharp knife, add in onions, salt and mix carefully, don't over mix it, as tomatoes are very delicate as peeled. This is it! Your salad is ready, just serve and enjoy it with any kind of pilaf:)
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Loviyalik salat ( Kidney bean salad)

This salad you can serve as an appetizer, salad or as a side dish. If you add boiled meat to it, then serve it as a main dish. I love the taste of this salad. Very good source of protein, as it is important for vegetarians.
Ingredients:
300 gr of kidney beans
3 cloves of garlic
2 onions, peeled and sliced
30 gr of butter or olive oil
Salt to taste
Fresh chopped coriander
Wash kidney beans and put them in cold water, pour enough water to cover beans for 3 inches. Bring water to boil, then reduce the heat on medium, half cover the lid and let it simmer until kidney beans are soft and ready. Then add in some salt and drain all the water. Melt the butter in a pan and fry onions until golden color, add in to beans, add also mashed garlic cloves and fresh chopped coriander, mix all the ingredients well. Serve and enjoy this healthy and delicious salad ever!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Anor va turplik salat (Pomegranate salad with daikon)

This salad is beautiful and very useful, as it will cleans up the blood cells and helps digestion. Usually in Uzbekistan this salad is made from a special type of radish called "turp" - it is fresh, juicy and green in color. That looks very beautiful too. But today I make it from daikon, which was also very tasty and interesting. You can also use turnip for this salad which is also a very healthy substitution. Just put the turnip in cold water to get rid of that bitter taste. This salad is very good with meat.
Ingredients:
1 big daikon, peeled
1 medium sized pomegranate
Salt(optional)
Grate the daikon or cut it in thin long strips. Clean up pomegranate and add in these beautiful red seeds to the grated daikon, mix together well, add some salt if you want. Serve and enjoy this crunchy and healthy salad!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Karamli salat (Cabbage salad)

"Karamli salat" is a very healthy and full of needed vitamins. It is good for people who have poor eyesight as it contains much of vitamin "A". Very useful for growing child.
Ingredients:
2 big, fresh, juicy red carrots, peeled
3 cloves of garlic
Half of small cabbage, washed and shredded
1 big apple, cleaned from seeds
1 tbsp of vegetable oil
Salt to taste
1 tomato and 2-3 olives for decoration (optional)
Cut or grate carrots in thin long strips, mash the garlic cloves, add in carrots. Put some salt and 1 tbsp of oil. Mash carrots with hands until juice will start to come out. Set aside. Thinly shred the cabbage, cut an apple in long thin strips. Now combine carrots, cabbage, apple and finely mix together. Taste to saltiness, if needed add some. Serve decorating with tomato or just itself:) Always be healthy with this salad!
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Baliqli salat (Fish salad)

This salad originally called "Shuba" and originated from Russian cuisine. It is very popular and favorite salad in Uzbekistan. You can also substitute the fish with boiled meat. I decorate the salad in fish shape to give more dramatic look. I love my fish shaped dish:) And not only this, I love different and interesting crockery:) It is pleasure and fun serving delicious meals in beautiful plates:)
"Baliqli salat" is very delicious and very delicate. It just melts in your mouth:)
Ingredients:
One can(200 gr)of any type of fish (I usually use tuna or sardines)
2 red carrots
2 medium sized potatoes
2 medium sized beetroot
4 eggs, hard boiled
Mayonnaise
Some olives and sweet corn for decoration
Boil potato, beetroot and carrots in skin. Make sure that you put vegetables in to the boiling water to keep their vitamins. When they are ready, take out and let them cool. Peel the skins and grate each vegetable separately. Save a little carrot for decoration (for the fish's lips). Finely mash the fish with fork. Now take your plate. Place the fish as a first layer. Spread with 1 tbsp of mayonnaise. For the second layer place beetroot, again spread 1 tbs of mayonnaise. Then layer potato, spread 1 tbsp of mayonnaise. Carrots will come as a next layer. Spread mayonnaise evenly on top. Now grate egg whites over the carrots. Slightly press the salad layers with hands. Now grate egg yolks on top of the egg whites. Cut an olive in two and place as eyes. Put just a small drop of mayonnaise on top of the olive. Decorate your salad as it shown in a picture. It is not necessary to decorate the salad exactly in this manner, use your imagination:) Sometimes I use thinly sliced egg or a thinly sliced pickled cucumbers as a scale of a fish. Anyway just serve this salad as you wish:) Just enjoy this yummy salad!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Koreyscha sabzili salat (Korean carrot salad)

Originally this salad is called "chim chi" or "kim chi", and belongs to Korean nation. As in Uzbekistan there are more than 200,000 ethnic Koreans living nowadays, "kim chi" became national salad of Uzbek people as well. You can find this salad in all markets and almost all restaurants of Uzbekistan. it is healthy and delicious salad! There are some different ways preparing this salad, today I am giving you the simplest one:)
Ingredients:
4 red carrots, peeled
4-5 cloves of garlic
Salt as taste
3 tbsp of vegetable or olive oil
Grate or cut carrots in thin long strips, mash the garlic cloves and add in to carrots, also add salt and oil. Finely mash all the ingredients with hands, until carrots will give their juice. Put in a bottles, cover them and let it stand in fridge for 1-2 hours. After, serve and enjoy this crunchy and healthy salad, which is reach in vitamin A!
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Yashil nuhotli tovuq salati (Chicken salad with green beans)

This salad is served as a side and as a main dish. It is very nourishing and very healthy salad.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp of vegetable or olive oil
300 gr of boiled chicken breast
1 can of mushrooms, sliced
300 gr of green beans, boiled or canned
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 leek, chopped
Salt to taste
Fry sliced mushrooms in 1 tbsp of oil for 5-6 min. Separately fry onions in 1 tbsp of oil until they are soft and slightly golden. Cut boiled chicken breast in small cubes.
In a large bowl combine mushrooms, onions, chicken, leek, beans, salt and mix well.
You can serve it as hot and as cold. Enjoy this healthy salad:)
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Pomidor va brinzalik salat (Tomato and cottage cheese salad)

This salad is good with fish. Because it contains a lot of calcium, body will absorb the vitamin D, that exists in fish.
Ingredients:
4 tomatoes, peeled and cubed
150 gr of cottage cheese
Salt to taste
Fresh chopped coriander
1 tbsp of vegetable oil
Cut cottage cheese and tomatoes in cubes, combine them with, coriander leaves, salt and oil. Mix very carefully.
Serve and enjoy:)
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!

Sholgom salat (Turnip salad)

"Sholgom salat" is served mostly in winter times, as it helps to strengthen immune system. It will prevent from catching cold and flu.
Ingredients:
1 big turnip, peeled
3 big red radishes, or one daikon, peeled
2 tbsp of apple vinegar
1 tsp of salt or to taste
2 tbsp of dried basil and dill
Grate or cut in thin long strips turnip and radishes. Combine with salt, vinegar, dried greens and mix well. Serve with a main dishes.
Yoqimli ishtaha!!!