5 months ago
When I first stepped into nan Tashkent Supermarket successful Brighton Beach, I could hardly get around. The shop was bustling, packed pinch nan acquainted unsmiling faces of post-Soviet group eager to get their hands connected foods for illustration manty – intricately shaped dumplings filled pinch minced beef, bulb and, depending connected wherever you’re from, pumpkin for nan subtle sweetness. Or chak-chak, a dessert made of mini pieces of fried aureate mixed held together by chromatic syrup. Kompot, too, a portion made by simmering seasonal aliases dried fruits.
Growing up successful Kazakhstan, these were staples successful schoolhouse cafeterias and astatine home. Manty was 1 of nan first dishes my mom taught maine to make – I thought she was a magician, nan measurement she rolled nan stretchy mixed retired truthful wide and thin, yet heavy capable to clasp nan filling without tearing. I was seldom allowed to person soda aliases sugary drinks, but homemade kompot pinch fruits and berries from our plot was an exception. And though I ne'er mastered chak-chak, nan store-bought type was ever a treat. As I sewage older and traveled crossed different erstwhile Soviet republics, I recovered comfortableness successful knowing I would ever find plov and samsas astatine eateries successful Moscow, Baku and Tbilisi.
When I moved to New York City successful 2019, I felt that instant consciousness of familiarity astatine Tashkent, nan largest and astatine nan clip closest supermarket specializing successful Central Asian food. I would regularly make nan hour-and-a-half travel to nan acold extremity of Brooklyn, stocking up connected my favourite spices and grains for illustration buckwheat, aliases grechka, earlier lugging each nan equipment backmost connected to nan B train to precocious Manhattan.
Bottom: Plov pinch lamb.
Photograph: Julius Constantine Motal/The GuardianThis year, nan travel felt little for illustration a pilgrimage, arsenic nan newest Tashkent Supermarket opened successful Manhattan’s trendy West Village, known not only for its easy subway entree but besides for its abundance of influencers. Since March, nutrient bloggers person brought a newfound fame to nan shop connected social media, turning often overlooked Central Asian nutrient into must-tries for funny New Yorkers. Perhaps astir notorious is Tashkent’s basking bar, pinch its plov – a atom and nutrient crockery infused pinch cumin and carrots – and samsas, nutrient aliases murphy pastries wrapped successful nan flakiest mixed imaginable and dotted pinch achromatic sesame seeds. Accounts specified arsenic sistersnacking and babytamago person taken viewers done this basking bar, its countless dishes dispersed crossed illuminated warming trays, and urged them not to slumber connected nan smoked food counter. Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani gave his ain rave review for Tashkent’s manty.
When Odiljon Tursunov and his family arrived successful nan United States successful nan early 2000s, they couldn’t find nan accepted breadstuff and homemade legal sausages they ate backmost location successful Uzbekistan. So they opened nan first Tashkent successful 2012 successful Coney Island, correct aft Hurricane Sandy hit, naming it for nan superior of Uzbekistan. Over nan years, it grew from 1 storefront to 5 New York locations, arsenic good arsenic a wholesale sausage institution and slaughterhouse installation successful New Jersey.
Bottom: Customers cheque out.
Photograph: Julius Constantine Motal/The GuardianAs of 2019, much than 1.2 million group from erstwhile Soviet republics unrecorded successful nan US. Part of Tashkent’s occurrence came from strategically opening locations crossed Brooklyn and Queens wherever a ample number of Central Asian immigrants – Kazakhs, Kyrgyzes, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Turkmens – arsenic good arsenic eastbound Europeans settled. “Forest Hills has a very ample Uzbeki Bukharian population,” said Misa Khayriddinova, caput of accounting and quality resources for Tashkent, who herself is primitively from Bukhara, Uzbekistan. “The Coney Island and Brighton Beach locations are predominantly wherever Uzbeki group settled aft immigrating here, and there’s a batch of Russians and Ukrainians who immigrated present successful nan 1990s.”
With nan West Village location, nan owners are accommodating their existing customer guidelines while besides introducing caller customers to chopped flavors from nan Central Asian diaspora.
Historically, group successful regions that are now Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan were nomadic, relying connected dishes dense successful nutrient and dairy, while group successful settled populations that are now Uzbekistan and Tajikistan cultivated crops specified arsenic carrots, atom and cumin. Proximity to China and Iran affected nan gastronomy of nan region, erstwhile nan bosom of nan Silk Road. But thing was arsenic important successful reshaping nan cuisine arsenic nan statement of nan Soviet Union successful 1922. The astir 70-year norm not only dispersed Russian and Slavic dishes to Central Asia but besides brought connected shortages of food, shifts successful agriculture and collectivization of farms, transforming nan flavors of nan region arsenic group adapted.
Tashkent sources products from nan erstwhile Soviet Union, including a assortment of cheeses from Georgia, breadstuff from Ukraine, and wholesale nuts and raisins from Uzbekistan. “It’s a fusion of some American products and Central Asian products,” Khayriddinova said.
Due to Manhattan existent property costs, on pinch nan effect of congestion pricing connected transportation trucks, Tashkent raised nan prices connected basking foods by astatine slightest a dollar this year. Aziz Muzdybayev, a Kazakh immigrant, besides noticed nan West Village location had less deals erstwhile he stopped by pinch his family. “We don’t really spell to Trader Joe’s aliases Whole Foods,” Muzdybayev said. “When [we] miss nan nutrient from location and want nan nutrient your assemblage is craving, we for illustration driving down to Brighton, getting a information of plov and a mates of ayran drinks, and past stepping complete to nan formation to walk clip pinch family.”
Jesse Badash, who lives successful Queens and useful successful Manhattan, excitedly anticipated nan West Village location opening for a while. “I’m very willing successful Georgian and Azerbaijani food. The prices look a small spot much costly than nan 1 successful Brighton, but reasonable. The figs were ridiculously cheap,” Badash said arsenic he browsed nan shop pinch a friend.
For Khayriddinova, seeing Tashkent’s signature greenish market bags successful nan chaotic is simply a awesome constituent of pride. “Central Asia is not good known,” she said. “For america to beryllium nan first marque to present nan beautiful sensation and authenticity of Uzbeki civilization and nutrient is wonderful. It highlights a batch of what Central Asia really is: nan hospitality, nan unsocial sensation of what we offer.”
One Tuesday evening, I headed to nan West Village Tashkent during nan post-work meal rush. I didn’t perceive arsenic overmuch Russian aliases different Central Asian languages arsenic I would successful Brooklyn. But arsenic I shuffled from 1 extremity of nan crowded marketplace to nan other, I watched personification astatine nan crockery barroom curiously inspect nan herring nether nan fur overgarment while different filled a instrumentality pinch olivier, both staples of New Year’s Eve. Among nan agleam lights and crowded shelves, I saw newcomers consenting to effort unfamiliar dishes, and instantly recognized nan longtime patrons searching for acquainted tastes that brought backmost memories. It gave maine a uncommon consciousness of nickname – nickname of my nutrient and civilization that for truthful agelong had been flattened into nan bequest of nan erstwhile Soviet Union, contempt having a rich | personality of its own.
