Uzbek spice names: a glossary with English and Latvian equivalents

Why the names get confusing in Riga

Uzbek cooking relies on a fairly short list of spices, but in Riga each one can turn up under three or four names. A recipe gives the Uzbek word, a supermarket label gives the Latvian one, the trader at a market stall may use Russian, and English adds a few traps of its own.

The entries below are grouped by family. Each gives the Uzbek name, the English name, the Latvian name you will see on labels in Latvia, and a line on use. The Uzbek word for spice is ziravor; the plural is ziravorlar.

Seeds

• Zira: cumin (Latvian: kumīns). Warm, earthy and the defining spice of plov, shashlik and lagman. Rub whole zira seeds between your palms just before adding them.
• Qora zira: black zira, the wild mountain cumin Bunium persicum. Darker and thinner than ordinary zira, with a finer, more complex aroma; prized with meat.
• Kashnich: coriander seed (Latvian: koriandra sēklas). Mild and citrusy. Toast the seeds for a minute in a dry pan and crush them for shurpa, marinades and many plovs.
• Sedana: nigella (Latvian: melnās ķimenes). Small, matt black seeds scattered over non before baking.
• Kunjut: sesame (Latvian: sezams). The other classic topping for bread, also used in sweets.
• Arpabodiyon: fennel seed (Latvian: fenheļa sēklas). Sweet and anise-like; use it sparingly.

Coriander keeps its aroma far longer as whole seed. Buy whole coriander seed (kashnich) and grind only what you need.

Berries and fruits

• Zirk: dried barberry (Latvian: bārbeles). Small, sour, ruby-red berries that go into the zirvak of plov to cut through the richness of the meat and fat. Choose whole, bright red zirk without stalks or dust.

Raisins also go into some festive plovs, Tashkent wedding plov among them, but they are there for sweetness and texture. Zirk is the dried fruit that works as a seasoning.

Peppers

• Qalampir: pepper, most often chilli (Latvian: čili pipari). Qizil qalampir is red pepper and achchiq qalampir is hot pepper. Whole dried pods often go into plov; flakes season soups and marinades.
• Murch: black pepper, often called qora murch (Latvian: melnie pipari). Ground into dumpling fillings such as manty and into shashlik marinades.

Roots, barks and flowers

• Zarchava: turmeric (Latvian: kurkuma). Earthy, with a strong yellow colour; used in shurpa, marinades and some plovs. You may also see the name zerchub, which is close to the Tajik word. Good ground turmeric is bright orange-yellow.
• Zafaron: saffron (Latvian: safrāns). Expensive and used sparingly. Turmeric is the everyday spice for colour; saffron is kept for special occasions.
• Dolchin: cinnamon (Latvian: kanēlis). Mostly for sweet dishes and drinks.
• Qalampirmunchoq: cloves (Latvian: krustnagliņas). The name joins qalampir, pepper, and munchoq, bead. Use whole, and only a few at a time.

Herbs and greens

• Kashnich, fresh: coriander leaves, called cilantro in American English (Latvian: koriandrs). The same word as the seed. Chopped over shurpa and lagman, into achichuk tomato salad, and scattered over plov.
• Rayhon: basil, often the purple kind (Latvian: baziliks). Served fresh with shurpa and shashlik.
• Yalpiz: mint (Latvian: piparmētra). Used fresh or dried, in tea, salads and soups.
• Jambil: thyme (Latvian: timiāns). Often brewed as a herbal tea.
• Shivit: dill (Latvian: dilles). Chopped over soups and salads, and served with plov.

Fresh herbs count as seasoning in Uzbek cooking: plov, shurpa and shashlik all come to the table with a handful of greens. Buy them on the day, keep them wrapped in a damp cloth in the fridge, and chop them just before serving.

Blends

Market stalls often sell ready-mixed spices for particular dishes, labelled in Uzbek, Russian or both. A plov blend (palov uchun ziravorlar, literally "spices for plov") is usually built on zira, with barberries, coriander seed and dried chilli; some add turmeric. Blends for shashlik and lagman lean on zira, coriander, black pepper and chilli.

Blends are convenient, but whole spices bought separately keep longer and let you adjust the balance. A middle way is the plov meal kit, which packs laser rice, zira, barberries and coriander with a recipe card.

The plov spice trio, plus two

Three spices define plov: zira, zirk and kashnich. Two more are common additions.

• Zira brings warmth and the characteristic smell of plov. Part goes into the zirvak, and many cooks scatter a little more over the rice before covering it to steam.
• Zirk adds a sour note that balances the fat. Put it into the zirvak, not on the rice, so the acidity spreads through the broth.
• Kashnich, as seed, rounds out the cumin with a softer, citrus note.
• Black pepper and whole dried chilli add heat. The chilli pods are usually cooked whole in the pot.
• Zarchava, turmeric, is optional: a little gives plov a deeper golden colour.

For quantities and timing, follow our classic Uzbek plov recipe: a heaped teaspoon of zira and a small handful of zirk go into a family-sized pot.

Which spices go with which dish

• Shashlik: zira and black pepper rubbed into lamb with finely chopped onion; served with fresh coriander and basil.
• Manty: black pepper and zira in a filling of chopped meat and onion.
• Shurpa: zira and coriander seed with bay leaves in the broth; fresh coriander and basil at the table.
• Achichuk: black pepper and plenty of fresh coriander, with a fresh hot pepper for those who like heat.
• Non: sedana or kunjut scattered over the dough before baking.

At a market stall in Riga you may hear the Russian names instead. The four you need most are zira for cumin, barbaris for barberry, koriandr for coriander and kurkuma for turmeric; fresh coriander leaves are kinza.

Buying and storing Uzbek spices

• Buy whole where you can. Whole seeds keep their aroma far longer than ground spice; crush or grind them just before cooking.
• Smell before you buy. At a market stall it is normal to ask for a sniff. Fresh zira smells strong and warm when rubbed, coriander smells lemony, and old spice smells of dust.
• Check the colour. Zirk should be bright red with a slight waxy sheen, not dark or dusty. Turmeric should be bright orange-yellow; a pale powder is usually old.
• Do not confuse cumin with caraway. In Latvia, ķimenes means caraway, the seed in many rye breads and in midsummer cheese. Cumin is kumīns, and Uzbek recipes need cumin.
• Store spices well: airtight jars, away from light and the heat of the stove. Barberries keep best in a dry cupboard, not the fridge.
• Buy small and often. A small bag used within a few months beats a large one fading at the back of the cupboard.

For importers and trade buyers, our guide to importing Uzbek cumin into the EU covers quality, contaminant limits and labelling.

In Riga, Arkan Bazar, the Uzbek bazaar at Riga Central Market, weighs out spices from open jars, so you can see and smell them before you buy.