Piti (Piti)
Overview
Piti is a lamb soup from the town of Shaki in northern Azerbaijan. It is cooked slowly in individual clay pots with lamb, chickpeas, chestnuts, onion, dried cherry plums and a piece of tail fat, and coloured with saffron water. Like Persian abgoosht, it is eaten in two parts: the broth is first poured over pieces of bread and sprinkled with ground sumac, and then the meat and chickpeas are eaten from the pot. The result is rich, fragrant and slightly tart.
Pictures
History
Piti is closely tied to Shaki, an old Silk Road town in the Caucasus foothills, and similar dishes are known in Iran and other parts of the region. Local tradition values slow cooking in clay pots over embers. It is now served across Azerbaijan and is one of its best-known national dishes. Restaurants in Shaki still cook it in clay pots, and visitors are often shown the two-stage way of eating it.
Main ingredients
Lamb, chickpeas, chestnuts, onion, saffron, dried plums. The soup is built on lamb broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
Recipe outline serves 4 · ~260 min
Ingredients
- 500 g lamb, cut in chunks
- 100 g chickpeas, soaked
- 6 chestnuts, peeled
- 1 onion, 4 dried cherry plums
- pinch of saffron in hot water
- sumac, bread
Allergens: Contains: Gluten. Based on the typical recipe. Recipes and products vary; always check labels if you have an allergy.
Method
- Divide lamb and chickpeas among clay pots or one casserole, cover with water and simmer for 2 hours.
- Add onion, chestnuts and plums and cook for 1 hour.
- Add saffron water and season.
- Serve the broth over bread with sumac, then eat the meat and chickpeas.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.