Central Asia

Silk Road cuisine — lamb and mutton, hand-pulled noodles, rice pilafs, fermented dairy, with Persian, Turkic, and Russian influences layered through.

Beshbarmak as the national feast — horse meat and hand-rolled noodles. Kymyz fermented mare's milk, baursak fried bread.

Plov as cultural cornerstone — each region with its own version. Samsa from the tandoor, lagman noodles, non bread as ritual.

Shorba broths, dograma feast bread, and the desert oasis cuisine of the Karakum.

Beshbarmak in the Kyrgyz style, kuurdak organ stew, boorsok fried dough, and the high-altitude pastoral tradition.

Persian-rooted cuisine of the Pamirs — oshi palov, qurutob with non bread, mantu, and the tea-house culture of the Silk Road.