National Dish Uzbekistan: Qazi (Recipe)
In this article
Qazi is Central Asia’s most prized sausage — traditionally made from horse meat, seasoned with cumin and garlic, packed into natural casing and air-dried until firm. It is served in thin slices as an appetiser or laid over a mound of plov at celebrations, where it counts as a mark of genuine hospitality. This version uses beef or lamb, which is what most kitchens outside the region can realistically source.
About Qazi
Qazi is a traditional Uzbek cured sausage and one of Central Asia’s most valued specialities. Seasoned meat is packed into a natural casing, air-dried and lightly smoked, developing a robust, spiced aroma over several weeks. It is served in thin slices, often as an elegant addition to the famous plov, or as a starter in its own right. Making it is a piece of craft with centuries of history behind it.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 400 g beef brisket or lamb with a good proportion of fat (substituting for traditional horse meat)
- 1 short length of natural sausage casing (from a butcher)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon salt (curing salt is preferable for keeping quality)
- ½ teaspoon coriander seed, ground
Shopping for the ingredients
The meat needs a genuine fat content, around a quarter to a third, or the finished sausage turns dry and hard. Ask your butcher for natural casings, which usually come packed in salt and need soaking. Curing salt (nitrite salt) is strongly recommended for anything that will be air-dried for weeks; ordinary salt is fine only if you intend to cook the sausage fresh.
Preparing the dish
Chill the meat thoroughly before working with it, cold meat cuts cleanly and the fat stays firm rather than smearing. Rinse the casings and soak them in lukewarm water for half an hour, then flush water through them. Mix all the spices together in advance so they can be distributed evenly.
Step-by-step instructions
- Cut the chilled meat and fat into small cubes or coarsely mince them.
- Mix thoroughly with the garlic, cumin, pepper, coriander and salt.
- Cover and leave in the fridge overnight so the seasoning penetrates.
- Rinse and soak the casing, then fill it with the mixture, avoiding air pockets.
- Tie off both ends and prick any visible bubbles with a needle.
- Hang in a cool, airy place (10–14 °C) for 2–4 weeks to dry.
- Alternatively, simmer the fresh sausage gently in water for 1½–2 hours and serve warm.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Qazi contains neither gluten nor dairy. It is meat, salt and spices in a natural casing. Served with rice or flatbread, only the bread needs attention for a gluten-free meal; the sausage itself requires no adaptation at all.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
A cured meat sausage has no genuine plant-based equivalent. If you want something that plays the same role on a plov, a salty, spiced, sliceable element, thick slices of smoked tofu or seitan, marinated in the same cumin-garlic-coriander mixture and briefly fried, come closest in flavour if not in tradition.
More tips and tricks
Air-drying meat safely requires cool temperatures, good airflow and moderate humidity, if you cannot provide those, cook the sausage fresh instead, which is entirely traditional and completely safe. Use curing salt for any drying, avoid air pockets when filling, and discard the sausage if anything smells wrong at any stage.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Some recipes add a little dried chilli or a pinch of paprika. In Uzbekistan the sausage is sometimes lightly smoked over fruitwood after drying, which adds real depth. For a milder version, reduce the garlic and increase the cumin, which is the dominant flavour in most Central Asian preparations.
Ingredient substitutions
Beef brisket and lamb shoulder are the practical substitutes for horse meat and give an excellent result. Beef fat or lamb fat should make up the fatty portion, pork fat would be inappropriate in the dish’s cultural context. Whole cumin, toasted and ground, is far better than pre-ground.
Drink pairing ideas
Green tea is what actually appears alongside qazi in Uzbekistan, served in bowls throughout the meal and cutting the richness perfectly. For something stronger, a robust red wine or a shot of vodka is the usual celebration pairing. Ayran also works well against the fat.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve qazi cut into thin slices, arranged in a fan on a plate with flatbread, raw onion rings and fresh herbs. At weddings and celebrations it is laid across the top of a communal plate of plov, which is the highest compliment the dish can be paid. Slice it cold, never warm, when it has been air-dried.
A bit of history
Horse meat has been central to the diet of the Turkic peoples of the steppe for millennia, and preserving it as sausage allowed nomadic communities to carry protein across long distances. Qazi survives as a festive food throughout Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, where the finest examples still command high prices at bazaars. It offers a genuine window onto Uzbek cuisine and its nomadic inheritance.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Qazi
Qazi is Central Asia’s celebrated cured sausage, spiced with cumin and garlic, packed into natural casing and either air-dried for weeks or simmered fresh. Sliced thin over plov it turns a good meal into a feast, and it carries the taste of the steppe in every bite.
