Piti in Kis

First up today we visited the Palace of Shaki Khan, a beautifully preserved and elegant palace where sadly we couldn’t take photos inside. But we could admire the beautiful Shebeke windows, the ornately painted ceilings (which once upon a time would have been a mirror image of the carpet below) and the stunning artwork on the walls. 

The wee tourist shop opposite contained some cute souvenirs and I couldn’t resist a ceramic pomegranate I saw. The pomegranate is Azerbaijans’s national fruit so it will be a fitting souvenir. 

The elaborate windows of the palace from a distance look like lead lights but are in fact a different type of mosaic where the pieces of glass are held together with intricately cut pieces of wood.

It’s truly amazing to see and becomes more so once you see the individual pieces up close and try to fit them together. The small pieces we made consist of five pieces of glass, eight finely crafted pieces of wooden joiners and the four wooden pieces making the frame. I was so chuffed with the piece I made that I had to buy that as well. 

The Russian language is more prevalent as we have moved north and Ani is getting to practice her Russian. She does not speak Azerbaijani so the Russian is our main form of connection. 

Next up we are collected by a lady called Ilhama in her blue Lada. Only 20 odd years old but true to Lada form lacking in any modern gadgets but built like a tank. 

Ilhama took us up to her village named Kis which has a rich history with the area being formerly Russian occupied. 

We checked out a small Albanian church where we discussed the idea that the Norwegians and the Albanians were somehow related. 

Ilhama gave us a demonstration making a traditional bread from Kis. Bread dough, rolled thin the spread with a mix of ground walnuts, chopped onion and cherry preserve. It is then rolled up and formed into a knot shape and cooked in an oven similar to a tandoor. 

The main reason for our visit was to sample the traditional Azerbaijani dish called Piti. A stew/soup of mutton, mutton fat, chick peas, saffron, sumac and chestnuts. Ilhama’s restaurant “Kis Cafe” specialise in Piti and have made quite a name for themselves recently securing funding to help modernise their kitchen to make catering for the many visitors easier. 

The Piti is served in an individual clay mug like vessel and then the broth is poured into a plate where torn up bread is added. Soggy bread aint my thing but the exquisite flavour of the broth meant I gobbled up the broth soaked bread with no argument.  Why we dont cook mutton back home I don’t know. It makes such amazing soups and stews. 

Once the broth/bread mix is finished you add rest of ingredients and mash them together. I can’t describe the flavour but believe me it was Sublime. 

In addition to the piti we also had the bread that Ilhama had made and that too was delicious. There was also 

Plum muraba (Spoon jam), 

Cherry muraba (spoon jam) , 

Tomatoes so sweet and meaty, cucumber and a feta style cheese. What a spread. Wow!  

To wash it down we had a sweet but delicious Rose water drink followed by tea with sugar cubes, lemon, rose spoon fruit (muraba). What a feast. 

We had the pleasure of some special company at lunch. 
For me its days like this that make travel so rewarding. 

Exhausted from eating we made our way back to the hotel so we could rest up before dinner which was at a lovely outdoor restaurant down the road. I’m running out of new dishes to try so settled for a simple kebab, fries and a beer. What a way to end a great day.  
Tomorrow we head to wine country, Georgia.