* Calculations use average data for Russia

1. SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT

This business plan considers the opening of a small-format khinkal cafe for 70 seats in the city of Omsk. Khinkali, as well as other dishes of Georgian cuisine will be chosen as the main dishes of the institution. The aim of the project is to acquaint the townspeople with the best traditions of Georgian cuisine, to meet the population's demand for high-quality and tasty Caucasian dishes, as well as to make a profit and achieve high profitability of the cafe.

The conditional life of the project for which the calculations were made is 3 years. Investments in the opening of a cafe-khinkalnaya amount to 2,133,000 rubles. To start the activity, own funds will be attracted in the amount of 1,700,000 rubles. and borrowed funds in the amount of 433,000 rubles. The loan term will be 3 years. The interest rate on the loan is 18%.

According to the calculations given in this business plan, the khinkalnaya cafe will pay off for 19 months of work. The project seems to be attractive for investment, as evidenced by the table. 1 integral performance indicators.

Table 1. Integral performance indicators

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY AND COMPANY

Cafe-khinkalnye, despite the seemingly narrow specialization in the name, are not “one-course” establishments. The word “khinkalnaya”, which is popular today, does not imply any strict format, but rather pays tribute to the fashion for the khinkali dish in particular and Georgian cuisine in general. Cafe-khinkalnye are part of catering establishments specializing in Georgian or Caucasian cuisine, and those, in turn, are part of the catering market. Therefore, considering the industry as a whole, it is advisable to talk specifically about the public catering sector as a whole.

Today we can say that the catering industry is one of the most promising and rapidly developing areas of the food industry in Russia. The main indicator that reflects the rate of market growth is the dynamics of its turnover. According to the Federal State Statistics Service for the period from 2005 to 2015, presented in Fig. 1, it is possible to trace a steady trend towards an increase in market turnover.

Figure 1. Turnover of the public catering market in Russia for 2005-2015, mln. Rub.

Growth factors include such reasons as an increase in the incomes of Russians and their purchasing power, a change in culture and eating habits (more and more Russians are starting to eat in public institutions), the automation of technological processes and the acceleration of the sales process, the emergence of new types of food and drinks, the impact of fashion and other reasons. It should be noted that the market is sensitive to the situation in the economy, slowing down the growth rate during economic crises. A similar situation has been observed since the end of 2008, as well as after the 2014-2015 crisis. During such periods, Russians are forced to abandon the so-called "haute cuisine" and expensive dishes, giving preference to establishments of the middle and lower price segments. Changes in market turnover in such periods are better characterized not by monetary, but by physical indicators. You can clearly see the decrease in speed in Fig. 2, where the indices of the physical volume of turnover are given.

Rice. 2. Indices of the physical volume of public catering turnover in the Russian Federation for 2005–2015, in% to the corresponding period of the previous year

The structure of the public catering market in Russia today includes fast food establishments, restaurants, café-bars, cafeterias, street kiosks and food delivery. Conventionally, the catering market is also divided into three price segments: fast food organizations with an affordable check, establishments of the middle price segment, and gourmet cuisine. With regard to khinkal, as already mentioned, we can talk about any of the price segments. Most often, the owners of such establishments emphasize the democratic prices with this name and work in the middle and low segments. However, sometimes khinkalnaya can be a restaurant with a lot of Georgian cuisine at a high price. In our case, the format of a cafe-khinkalny, operating in the middle price segment, will be chosen.

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Given the diversity and variety of formats of catering establishments presented today in Omsk, in order to further describe the market and competitors, we will focus on those establishments that specialize in Georgian cuisine. It should be noted that, in comparison with other Russian cities with a population of over one million, the density of such establishments in Omsk is not high and amounts to less than 1 establishment for every 100 thousand of the population (see Table 2). Thus, this niche can be considered unfilled.

Table 2. The number of catering establishments specializing in Georgian cuisine per every 100 thousand people of the population among Russian cities with a population of over one million

* according to 2GIS service data as of 08/18/16

Our khinkalnaya will be located in a rented building on one of the central streets of the city. Due to the location of the building on the first line of houses, the cafe will be clearly visible from the street and attract the attention of the townspeople. Shops, office buildings, places of culture and recreation of Omsk residents will be located nearby. There will be a car parking (parking pockets) in front of the building. The institution will operate in the middle price segment, focusing on the largest part of the city's population. Our key dish will be Georgian khinkali, but the menu will also feature a large number of traditional national dishes (for more details, see Table 4 of the business plan). Healthy, inexpensive and tasty food served in our khinka should be an excellent alternative to fast food that is harmful to human health. Khinkalnaya will work without days off and breaks, working from 10:00 to 24:00.

Investments in the opening of a cafe-khinkalnaya will amount to 2,133,000 rubles. The largest funds will require the purchase of equipment (723,000), working capital (600,000) and repairs (525,000). For the implementation of our project, our own savings will be attracted in the amount of 1,700,000 rubles. The remaining amount in the amount of 433,000 rubles. will be collected by taking out a loan. The loan term will be 3 years. The interest rate is 18%. The deferral of the first payment set by the bank is 3 months. Investment costs of the project and sources of financing are detailed in Table. 3.

Table 3. Investment costs of the project

3. DESCRIPTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES

The dishes that will be served in the khinkalnaya cafe will be affordable, and their preparation will not require expensive ingredients. Considering that khinkali are sold by the piece, and one person can eat 5-6 khinkali, the cost of one dish will be 225-270 rubles. The average bill will be increased by other hot dishes, salads, drinks and desserts. The average markup of the institution will be 217%. Thus, the size of the average check will be about 900 rubles. Detailed information on the prices of the establishment is given in Table. 4. In the course of work, the specified menu will change depending on demand, new dishes will be added.

Table 4. Nomenclature and variable costs

* costs are calculated based on the average prices of the products included in the dish. Prices are valid as of 08/18/16

The concept of our cafe will take care of the client's health, therefore, trusted companies will be selected as suppliers of products, and only fresh food will be served on the table. In the evening, guests of the institution can enjoy live music and Caucasian dances (hired musicians and dancers will be invited in the evening). Private and corporate festive events will be available as additional services, the price of which will be set by prior arrangement. Cafe customers will also be able to book tables, make pre-orders, pay by credit card, use free wireless Internet via Wi-FI.

4.SALES AND MARKETING

As a rule, customers of cafes and restaurants of Georgian cuisine are not casual passers-by. People do not come to establishments of this type by accident. They already have certain requirements for both the quality of the kitchen and the level of service. The atmosphere of the place is also important. Its components, namely the interior and the attitude towards each guest, often become decisive factors in favor of choosing a particular institution. Caucasian cuisine and Georgian cuisine in particular are associated with people not only with delicious food, but also with the cordiality and hospitality of guests, a family and cozy atmosphere. Ignoring or any neglect of the client is perceived by visitors in such establishments doubly sharply.

Basically, the clients of restaurants and cafes of Georgian cuisine are divided into two types. The first is made up of people who are accustomed to and loving Georgian cuisine, who visit cafes constantly for reason and without reason. As a rule, such clients were born or lived in Georgia for a long time and are well acquainted with Georgian cuisine. The second type of clients are gourmets who love to discover new gastronomic experiences and new cuisines of the world. Such clients can become permanent in the event that the first experience of acquaintance with the institution was successful. Then they can serve the establishment well by sharing their experiences with friends and acquaintances.

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Considering the market of our city, it should be said that Georgian dishes are presented in one way or another in most catering establishments. However, such establishments do not necessarily position themselves as Georgian restaurants and cafes. In addition, the dishes served in these establishments can refer not only to Georgian, but also to Caucasian cuisine. As for specialized establishments or catering outlets that include a large number of Georgian dishes in the menu, there are 9 of them in total in Omsk. A detailed analysis of direct competitors is presented in Table. 5.

Table 5. Analysis of competitors

As you can see from those given in Table. 5 data, due to its format, our cafe cannot fully compete with large restaurants of Georgian cuisine and Caucasian cuisine (Competitor 2, Competitor 3, Competitor 8 and Competitor 9), which mainly operate in the “Above average” price segment. Thus, our cafe-khinkalnaya still has 5 direct competitors. At the same time, Competitor 4 operates in the “Above average” price segment, which gives an advantage to our project aimed at the population with an average income level. Competitor 1 serves as the standard of Caucasian hospitality and democratic prices, but the owners do not have the opportunity to create the necessary cozy atmosphere in their establishment. Competitor 5, Competitor 6 and Competitor 7 operate in the middle price segment, but Competitor 6's café is located on the outskirts of the city, and the other two have serious problems with the level of service. Moreover, Competitor 5 has “established” itself as an institution serving stale meat, Competitor 6 has a small cafe area, and its format can be described as an entertainment “eatery”. It is also worth noting that three competitors in the price segment do not have their own website. This will also be used as an advantage: in our case, a page on the Internet will be created for the cafe, where menus and prices will be presented.

Considering the great influence of word of mouth in our direction, the work of the café-khinkalnaya will be based on the high quality of cuisine and the level of service, creating a comfortable atmosphere including a cozy and colorful interior, live music, and a friendly attitude towards the client. The following tools will also be used for advertising purposes:

Days of the promotional menu with reduced prices for certain dishes and drinks;

Carrying out entertainment events for guests;

Creation of an official website and maintaining a group on a social network;

5. PRODUCTION PLAN

To implement the project, you will need to rent a room with an area of ​​150 sq. meters. This area will house the main hall for 70 seats, a kitchen, a cutting room, a small warehouse, as well as an administration room, a bathroom and a utility room. The building will require repairs in the amount of 525 thousand rubles. (at the rate of 3.5 thousand rubles per square meter). In addition, the cafe will need to be equipped with the necessary equipment, a list of which, along with costs, is given in Table. 6. The cost of the equipment does not include the creation of a ventilation system and fire alarm equipment, which are available initially.

Table 6. Equipment list

The planned sales volume in the first year of the café's operation will be set at 30 thousand rubles per day or 900-930 thousand rubles. per month. However, given the fact that the townspeople will need time to get acquainted with the new establishment, the establishment should reach the planned sales volume for 3 months of operation. Consequently, during this time, you will need a supply of cash for rent, wages, utilities, etc. When reaching the planned mark, the net profit of the cafe will be about 100 thousand rubles. A detailed financial plan of the cafe-khinkalnaya is presented in Appendix 1 of this business plan.

6. ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN

A limited liability company (LLC) will be chosen as the organizational and legal form of the café-khinkalny, the taxation system will be simplified (“income minus expenses”). The staff of the cafe will include 13 people. The management structure of the cafe-khinkalny is shown in Fig. 3.

Table 7. Staffing table and payroll

The organization of a cafe will require going through a number of bureaucratic procedures at the start of the activity. In particular, it will be necessary to register with the tax authorities, notify the territorial body of Rospotrebnadzor about the start of activities, and obtain a license for retail sale of alcohol. The processing time for the latter is usually from 1.5 to 2 months. The size of the state duty for 1 year will be 65 thousand rubles.

7. FINANCIAL PLAN

The total investment in the project will amount to 2,133,000 rubles. The structure of investment costs and sources of financing are presented in detail in Table. 3 real business plans.

The financial plan is developed for a three-year perspective. The calculations take into account tax and social contributions, the seasonality factor (a decrease in demand for cafe services in the summer period by up to 20%), an annual increase in turnover by 20%, taking into account the growth of the institution's recognition. The fixed costs of the cafe-khinkalny are shown in Table. 8. The statement of cash flows, revenue and net profit is given in Appendix 1. Depreciation charges are calculated on a linear basis for a period of 10 years.

Table 8. Fixed costs of the enterprise

8. EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE

The project considered in the business plan is investment-attractive, as evidenced by the integral performance indicators given in Table. 1. So, the indicator of the net present value (NPV) is 3 544 571, which exceeds the volume of initial investments, the profitability index (PI) is 1.66, which is more than 1, and the internal rate of return (IRR) - 7.99 - is higher discount rates. It is worth noting that these indicators are calculated for a three-year period and can be significantly improved.

9. RISKS AND WARRANTIES

The cafe opening project has a low level of risk. This direction is well mastered, the organization of business and the process of providing services do not require any specific and difficult tasks. Several factors influence risk reduction, including the convenient location of the establishment in the city center, the low level of competition in the considered niche, and the affordable pricing policy of the cafe.

It should also be noted that the new enterprise will operate in one of the most crisis-resistant sectors of the economy, in public catering, which relies on basic human needs for food. In the event of a worst-case scenario and bankruptcy, a ready-made business can be sold for an amount that significantly exceeds the initial investment. Possible risks that the cafe management may face are analyzed in Table. nine.

Table 9. Possible risks and ways to prevent them or their consequences

10. Applications

ANNEX 1

Production plan and key financial indicators in a three-year perspective

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Today it is not at all necessary to go shopping, because everything you need can be ordered online. Moreover, there is no need to even waste time preparing food - it is much better to order food delivered to your home.

A business created in this service sector can become very profitable, and besides, it has many prospects. Undoubtedly, there is competition for him and even great, but having the desire and working hard, you will find your niche that will make you successful.

Food delivery: features and nuances of business

Food belongs to the kind of goods that under no circumstances leave the market, because “you always want to eat,” everyone and constantly, despite the crisis or other troubles. Food delivery services, although they have appeared relatively recently, are rapidly gaining popularity for many reasons:

• busy people in big cities do not have time to buy groceries in the store or do not find time to cook;
• some firms provide their employees with the delivery of ready-made meals, so-called business lunches (or the employees of offices and corporations themselves order such services);
• many establishments (pizzerias, sushi bars or restaurants, etc.) immediately have their own production and delivery (you can eat with them or arrange courier services);
• on a large scale, this business is already called catering and assumes that you can serve large events (banquets, various celebrations, meetings or special events).

Of course, you can and should start small, because not everyone will be able to immediately conquer the market. Before you open home delivery of food, you need to carefully prepare. It is best to create a business plan, because this way you can gradually distribute all the points and not miss anything.

1. To make your business profitable and successful, analyze this market segment, collecting all the relevant information about your city.
2. Decide on the form of your business. There are several options:
   • use ready-made food from a restaurant (cafe), but sell it with a certain margin due to the delivery service;
   • cook yourself (this can be an absolutely family, home business, when you do everything at home, or in a specialized kitchen). In this case, you can also sell your services in different ways, that is, either involve other relatives in the business, or hire a courier with a car;
   • sell not only ready-made food, but also semi-finished products (you need to be able to prepare them), as well as independent products, carrying out business through online orders and delivery.
3. Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages. To choose where to start, assess your financial capabilities and try to analyze all possible risks. After that, go to prepare the material and legal base. Serious work awaits you.
4. Already in the course of the organizational process, you will have to find a place suitable for preparing and storing food, suppliers of goods, deciding on transport and other working moments.
5. Next, you need to do advertising and search for clients. This is a very important point, because it will be possible to talk about the payback or profit of a business only if it has an established customer base and constant development.

As you can see, it will take a lot of effort, time and money to implement this idea. But, having a clear plan of action, you can begin to translate your idea into reality.

Where to begin?

Before starting a food delivery business, you need to figure out how you can stand out from your competitors. To succeed, you need to constantly be on top, pleasantly surprise your customers and make them contact you again and again. It is good if you manage to organize a full cycle of services, that is, from food preparation to delivery.

If you already have your own restaurant or other establishment (cafeteria, canteen, pizzeria), then you can simply add a new service - food delivery by courier. Then you do not have to search for premises, suppliers and personnel. Also, the issue with the registration of permits and other documentation will be removed, the business concept will also be clear.

However, having your own restaurant is not acceptable for everyone. Perhaps, at the initial stage, you do not have the necessary amount or experience to start such a business. While opening a food delivery service as a small company or a family business is quite possible. That is, you can start from the other side, and having unwound and gain a foothold in the market, you can already invest in the institution of your dreams.

We create our own website

You can order website development from scratch or buy a ready-made project. The second option will cost you less, moreover, you can immediately start working with it.

The best option for money and speed of creation is to use the services of freelancers. Also, feel free to entrust them with any tasks that arise as you build and grow your business - writing articles, creating a logo, finding clients, etc. It is best to use a specialized platform, for example, Execute.ru, where the process of interacting with performers will be simple and safe.

Try to think over an interesting design for the site and work out various marketing strategies so that it does not just “hang” on the Internet as a dead weight, but really works and attracts customers. By the fact of attendance and interest, it will be possible to judge in what other directions you need to move.

Everything according to the law: the main points of legal preparation

The content of the package of necessary documents will depend on whether you are already the owner of any catering company. Some entrepreneurs do not want to initially start a fuss with legal registration and begin to do this only after a lapse of some time or in case of unexpected troubles. But you need to understand that you can't just cook at home in the kitchen and sell food to people: you may have serious problems with the law.

The business should be formalized correctly:

• register with the tax office, choose the form of taxation and prepare a package of documents for registration;
• pay the required state fees and apply for entry into the USRIP;
• if a bank transfer is planned, you need to open a bank account;
• obtain the appropriate permits from the sanitary and epidemiological service for the premises you have chosen and the implementation of all planned services (cooking, food storage, transportation, etc.). SES checks both working conditions and food preparation conditions. Your employees must have valid medical records, where the data of professional examinations and confirmation of passed hygienic training / certification will be entered;
• obtain permission from the fire service, whose employees will also check the room and document that it meets the necessary standards and requirements, and your employees have passed the necessary certification and can work with food;
• papers authorizing your activities must be signed by both the consumer market committee and Rospotrebnadzor;
• register a cash register and purchase a seal.

Remember that your business activity must be related to delivery services (you also need permission!), Because you will have to conclude supply contracts, sign consignment notes and waybills for drivers.

Here's what it takes to open up a food delivery service from scratch. However, you will only need a full package of documents if you buy and equip your own premises.

Important organizational issues

You need to decide how you will start working: can you manage on your own at first, or will you hire a staff? It is also worth considering the order of work, that is, how and where you will purchase, store and prepare food. There are several options.

1. Products are purchased in advance and stored in cold rooms and other appropriate equipment. Of course, this means that the money has already been invested. However, there is also a plus: you can post information on the site about the availability of a particular product, and the buyer will be immediately interested. We also make a preliminary menu for clients, based on their requests.
2. The second option involves the purchase of food and cooking with subsequent delivery only after the accepted order. On the one hand, you are less likely to be at a loss, but on the other hand, you will not be able to quickly accept and fulfill customer orders, which will lead to their leaving in search of someone quicker.

Equipment and raw materials

If you yourself equip your premises for a full production cycle, then you will need to spend a lot to acquire at least the most necessary things. The names and amount of investment will depend on the specificity of your food, how you will cook it, what figure you expect, etc. Initially, you can not take imported and expensive equipment, because at a much reasonable price you can buy it and used at.

However, you will definitely need:

• all kinds of kitchen utensils (pans, pots, graters, knives, forks, spoons, cutting boards, etc.);
• get at least one good multifunctional harvester that will replace your meat grinder, blender, mixer and other necessary devices;
• gas or electric stove;
• microwave or pressure cooker (ideally both);
• special refrigerators and freezers for storing food.

In addition, be sure to take care of the equipment of the delivery (transportation) of food itself: buy special containers, thermal bags, etc. You can order napkins or plastic dishes, which will have the logo (brand) of your company. This should be done before opening a food delivery service.

What's on the menu?

The assortment depends on the specifics of your business: do you prepare a varied menu for every taste or only dishes of a specific cuisine? Here you can advise not to get hung up on one pizza or sushi, since the competition with permanent establishments of this kind is very strong. It is better to focus on the variety of choice. This will help you attract more customers.

You can buy products on your own (at wholesalers and markets) or negotiate with suppliers. Remember that all products must be fresh and of high quality, be sure to check the documents.

Assemble a worthy team

Finding good people will also be essential for your business to succeed. Give preference to people who have work experience and relevant references, as you cannot risk your reputation.

With a full production cycle (from order acceptance to preparation and delivery), you will need to hire:

• operator (dispatcher) who will receive calls and place orders;
• cooks (one or more - according to the situation);
• couriers (usually they hire employees with their own cars);
• the rest can be hired as needed as your business grows and expands (security guards, warehouse workers, cleaning lady, full-time accountant, etc.).

Your employees must be honest, executive, and responsible.

In the future, it will be possible to purchase special vehicles that will be equipped with a thermal body. Transportation costs will need to be included in the cost of meals, while you should calculate the real costs of depreciation of the car and fuel.

tell us about yourself

A competent pricing policy with various loyalty programs (discounts, bonuses and promotions) and a well-thought-out advertising concept will be able to attract the attention of people and bring you your first stable earnings.

Do not forget to talk about yourself on the Internet. It is good if the site has positive reviews from your customers, because word of mouth is the best advertising campaign.

Estimated costs

Business profitability indicators are quite high (up to 60%), and it can pay off even in six months (maximum in a year and a half).

Figures are presented in rubles.

conclusions

Now you know how to open food delivery step by step. Despite the fact that at first you may even have to work yourself, performing all the functions and responsibilities, very soon your business will pay off and begin to bring a stable income, and over time you will be able to expand your business, gaining good momentum and replenishing your client base of regular customers.

Unlike their nomadic neighbors, the Uzbeks have been sedentary for many millennia in the fertile plains between the desert and the mountains. They cultivated cereals, vegetables and fruits, raised livestock, and hunted small game and poultry.

Uzbeks are very hospitable and cheerful people. They are happy to treat guests with dishes that were prepared by their distant ancestors. Uzbek cuisine is open to influences from other cultures, but every borrowed dish prepares in its own Uzbek way... In modern Uzbek cuisine, one can distinguish elements of Tatar, Kazakh, Mongolian, Russian, Ukrainian, Jewish, Caucasian, Uyghur, Tajik, Iranian and other national cuisines, although many dishes look as if they appeared many centuries ago in Samarkand or Bukhara.

The main source of protein and fat in northern livestock regions is lamb and lard... Beef, horse meat, camel, goat and poultry meat are used in many dishes. Uzbeks don't eat pork considering the pig to be an unclean animal. Fish and fatty poultry are not held in high esteem by the Uzbeks. Eggs are mainly used for baking for the holidays.

Uzbek cuisine is famous not only for the unique set of ingredients, but also methods of processing products, perfected for millennia. Uzbek cuisine knows many ways of cooking. Salts, marinades, jerky and dried meat and fruits are prepared without using fire. In Uzbek cuisine, six methods of thermal processing of food are used: open frying on a skewer or on skewers, in a large or small amount of fat; boiling in water or milk or combined boiling in water, and then in milk; steaming in a special two-tier saucepan (cascan); extinguishing; baking in a vertical or horizontal tandoor or in an oven; and a complex combined method of cooking dishes with frying in a cast-iron pot (cauldron).

Many traditional Uzbek dishes combine dozens of ingredients and require a lot of experience and care in preparation. Their recipes are passed down from generation to generation. Such is, for example, Uzbek pilaf, which in its simplest version consists of rice, carrots, onions and meat, and in complex versions it includes quince, raisins, barberry, apricots, apples and numerous spices. It is said that there are 1,200 pilaf recipes. Classic Samarkand pilaf of light color, pilaf according to Fergana recipe is much darker.

Uzbek pilaf will not work without a deep kagan, in which the products are evenly heated and do not burn. To cook real pilaf, you need to find freshly harvested rice, grind and fry vegetables in a special way, harden rice in salt water, mix and prepare several types of oil, and accurately determine the time of cooking and simmering the finished dish. In different parts of Uzbekistan, pilaf is prepared from various products, but with the observance of a single technology. In Uzbekistan pilaf is usually cooked by men approaching business seriously and prayerfully.

The pilaf master bears a proud name oshpaz... During weddings and other holidays, an experienced oshpaz can feed up to a thousand people with pilaf cooked in a single cauldron. His services are not cheap, but the results are worth it. Oshpaz controls the entire process, starting with the purchase of products. When the oshpaz buys groceries at the bazaar, he is accompanied by a crowd who wants to know which merchant to trust.

Women traditionally cook sumalak- wheat bread for the Navruz holiday. They gather at the house of one of the women and chat, sing and dance while the dish is being prepared. Preparations begin 7-10 days before Navruz. Wheat is soaked, dried and kneaded in a special way. The dough is boiled over low heat for 13-14 hours, constantly stirring. Seven pebbles at the bottom of the cauldron prevent the sumalak from burning. When Navruz comes, everyone reads a prayer and tries sumalak.

The everyday dishes of Uzbek cuisine are not as labor intensive as sumalak, but most of them require experience and dexterity. An important place in Uzbek cuisine is occupied by hot soups (shurpa) in a strong broth. As a rule, they are thick, spicy, with a lot of vegetables and herbs. Shurpa is made from fresh or fried meat. Vegetables are placed in large chunks to preserve their flavor.

In Uzbek traditions, it is customary to cook soups over low heat and salt at the very end. Unique soups of Uzbek cuisine - mastava (made from meat, rice and vegetables, served with sour milk, pepper and spices); mashhurda (bean soup with rice, potatoes, onions, herbs and sour milk); mash-atala (thick soup made from fried bacon, onions, carrots, beans and flour); moshubirinch (made from lamb, tomato, beans and rice); cholop (cold soup with sour milk made from radishes, cucumbers and herbs). Uzbek noodles are almost always prepared with meat.

Of the second courses of Uzbek cuisine, the most common meat dishes: cutlets, kebabs, manti, kebab, langman, samsa and all kinds of pies with meat, rice, pumpkin and other fillings. Vegetable salads are served with meat or meat is stewed along with vegetables. The meat for many cooking dishes does not separate from the bone. Meat is usually fried in calcined oil or in a mixture of vegetable and animal oils, which improves its taste and smell. Many meat and vegetable dishes are steamed.

Fermented dairy products are the pride of Uzbek cuisine. Sour sheep's milk is used to make katyk(yogurt) and suzma(strained curdled milk, similar to curd). These foods with high nutritional value and unusual taste can be eaten as separate dishes, or they can be seasoned with salads and soups. Ayran- a cold invigorating drink made from suzma or sour milk diluted in cold water.

Uzbeks are very respectful of bread. The main Uzbek bread is unleavened flat cakes obi-non... On holidays, patyr is baked - flat cakes with the addition of lamb fat. Bukhara flat cakes are sprinkled with sesame seeds. In spring, the dough for obi-non is prepared with an infusion of fresh shoots of mint, dandelion, spinach, quinoa and many other herbs. For the bride, cakes are prepared with butter and sour cream. In different regions of Uzbekistan, different additives are used in obi-non, but the technology has not changed for centuries.

The flat cakes prepared according to different recipes are called by different names: lochire, screen, chevat and katlama, but they are all cooked in tandoor. The word "tandoor" has the same roots in many languages: Sanskrit, Persian, Turkish, Azerbaijani. Tandoor was used in the Akkadian culture, before Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau were inhabited by Semitic tribes. In India and Iran, meat with spices is cooked in ovens resembling tandoors. Although you can also cook barbecue in the Uzbek tandoor, its main purpose is baking obi-non tortillas.

Flatbreads are sacred for Uzbeks. Their round shape symbolizes the sun. Patterns of holes and lines must be applied to the cakes. Uzbek flat cakes are at the same time bread, plates for pilaf, meat and other fatty dishes, and works of art. Dry cakes are stored for a long time, so especially beautiful ones are even hung on the walls for decoration. The traditions of making obi-non flatbread include about 5,000 years... Today, adherents of Uzbek cuisine can cook obi-non in a horizontal tandoor.

To prepare traditional Uzbek obi-non, coal and wood are placed in the tandoor and heated for several hours. The walls of the tandoor are sprayed with salt water so that the finished cakes are easily separated, and dough is applied to them with the help of a rapid (round cotton pillow). Hot walls are sprinkled with plenty of water to steam the dough. Tandoor cakes have a unique aroma and taste due to the fact that they are prepared very quickly at high humidity and temperatures of 400-480 degrees. Avicenna wrote about Samarkand tandoor flat cakes: “Whoever eats obi-non with raisins, dried pears or peanuts in the morning will be full all day”.

Almost half of the dishes of traditional Uzbek cuisine are flour products with various fillings. Pastries and sweets are not served at the end of a meal, but repeatedly: before, during and after meals. The most popular are puff pastry pies with meat or sweet fillings.

Exotic oriental sweets are common in Uzbekistan. Almost 50 types of halva are brewed here, sweets are made from nuts, fruits and juices. The abundance of fruits and berries is used in Uzbek cuisine for the preparation of sweet compotes, medicinal infusions, and refreshing sorbets. Melons and watermelons serve as separate desserts. Uzbek cuisine is almost does not include alcohol, except for dry and vintage wines from local grapes. This is not surprising, because only a very healthy person can drink strong alcohol after fatty pilaf without consequences. If you have to choose - vodka or pilaf, a real Uzbek will choose pilaf.

Uzbek cuisine would be incomplete without tea... For centuries in the teahouse, over a cup of fragrant tea, serious questions were resolved and sincere conversations were conducted. Gathering in a teahouse is a traditional privilege of men. Green tea in the teahouse is served with pilaf and meat dishes. Tea helps to assimilate fatty meat food, which is rich in the Uzbek table. A cup of green tea is a traditional symbol of hospitality. Black and green tea in Uzbekistan is drunk without milk and sugar, but with a lot of sweets. On cold days, black tea is brewed with lumps of sugar and infused for about 5 minutes.

Uzbek green tea turns out to be very tart and rich, because it is brewed for five minutes in the heat. Black tea with black pepper is used as a remedy for colds. Heart pain can be relieved with green tea with saffron. With heaviness in the stomach or drowsiness after a hearty meal, make tea with basil.

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