Kurdish cuisine

Cuisine of the Kurdish people

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Kurdish cuisine (Sorani Kurdish: چێشتی کوردی, romanized: cheshti kurdi or Kurmanji Kurdish: xwarina Kurdî) consists of a wide variety of foods prepared by the Kurdish people. There are cultural similarities of Kurds and their immediate neighbours in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Armenia.

## Culinary customs

[edit]

Various Kurdish dishes Kurdish kulere served with yogurt and Kurdish cheese

Kurdish cuisine makes abundant use of fresh herbs and spices.[1]

Traditional Kurdish bread, a crusty white loaf that is baked on a round hot iron, Hawraman

Sweetened black tea is a very common drink, along with bitter strong coffee. Another favourite Kurdish drink is Mastaw (ماستاو]) or Ava Mast, which is yogurt and salt mixed with water. The fermented version of this is called Dô (Doogh).[2]

Staples of Kurdish cuisine are Berbesel, Biryanî (بریانی), Dokliw (دۆکوڵیو), Kelane (کەلانە), Kulerenaske (ناسکە کولێرە), Kube (کوبە), Parêv Tobûlî, Kuki (meat or vegetable pies), Birinç (white rice (برنج) alone or with meat or vegetables and herbs), and a variety of salads, pastries, and drinks specific to different parts of Kurdistan. Other popular dishes are Makluba(مەقلوبە), kofta (کوفتە), shifta (شفتە), shilah/maraga, spinach with eggs, wheat & lentil soup, beet & meat soup, sweet turnip, cardamon cookies, burgul pilaf, mehîr, hûr û rûvî, pel (yaprakh) (یاپراخ), chichma this dish is common in Erbil (Hewlêr), tefti, niskene (نیسکێنە) and nane niskan.[3]

Sawar (ساوەر), a traditional dish among Kurdish farmers, is made of wheat grain that is boiled, sun dried and pounded in a mortar (curn) to get rid of the husk. The wheat is then crushed in a mill (destarr). The resulting grain food can be boiled and served.[4]

Tepsî (تەپسی) is a dish of aubergines, green peppers, courgettes and potatoes in a slightly spicy tomato sauce. Teşrîb (تشریب) consists of layers of naan in a sauce of green pepper, tomato, onions and chillies.[5]

Erbil yogurt

## Dishes and foods

[edit]

### Dairy products

[edit]

Yoghurt, or mast, as it is called in Kurdish,[6] is considered the most popular fermented dairy product in Kurdistan.

* Lorik, Kurdish cottage cheese
* Jajî, or Van herbed cheese, popularly produced in the Kurdish villages in Van Province, Turkey

### Rice Dishes

[edit]

* Perde pelav
* Biryanî
* Birinca sor (red rice)
* Birinc bi maş (mung beans and rice)

Perde Pelav پەردە پڵاو

### Stews

[edit]

Kurdish bean stew (metfiniya fasoliya)

### Bread

[edit]

Kelane کەلانە

In Kurdistan, bread can be found in various forms. Their ingredients differ as well as their shapes, densities, and textures.[7]

Sewik سەوک

### Stuffed vegetables

[edit]

Stuffed vegetables are widely known as Pelpêç or Îprax (Sarma) or Pel (Dolma) [8] in Kurdish regions. It is slowly simmered and they fill the house with an irresistible scent of fresh herbs, aromatics, and tangy lemons.[9]

* Pel (Dolma)
* Pelpêç[8] or Îprax (Yaprak or Sarma)

### Meat dishes

[edit]

As nomads and herders, lamb and chicken have been the main dishes of Kurdish cuisine for centuries.[10] Some dishes include:

* Kutilk, also used in the following stews:
* Tirşik
* Kutildewk
* Avşirînk
* Putête Çap
* Kebab
* Qelî, Kurdish stir fry
* Meqlûbî

### Dessert

[edit]

* Gilûl, a dish made from cooking yogurt and rice together and pouring date molasses onto it
* Xebîse, brown cookies unique to the city of Amedi
* Kade, ceremonial cookies usually with a date, walnut, or coconut filling
* Arxavk, a paste made from flour and water which can be done savory or sweet
* Kurds also use arxavk as a kade filling
* Apple salad (chopped apples in mayonnaise) is a popular appetizer in Kurdish cuisine
* Beqlave

### Non-alcoholic beverages

[edit]

* Kurdish coffee (Qehweya kezwanê or Kafêya Kurdî)
* Çay
* Dew or do[2]
* Also used in stews such as kutildewk
* Avamast or mastaw[2]
* Raisin juice

Kurdish yoghurt drink (Dew/mastaw)

## Related cuisines

[edit]

* Arab cuisine
* Armenian cuisine
* Assyrian cuisine
* Azerbaijani cuisine
* Balkan cuisine
* Caucasian cuisine
* Central Asian cuisine
* Cypriot cuisine
* Greek cuisine
* Iranian cuisine
* Levantine cuisine
* Mediterranean cuisine
* Mesopotamian cuisine
* Middle Eastern cuisine
* Ottoman cuisine
* Turkish cuisine
* Turkmen cuisine

## See also

[edit]

* Kurdish coffee, a hot drink made from terebinth

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Kurdistan's cuisine". Krg.org. 2010-06-27. Archived from the original on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
2. ^ a b c "Kurdistan's cuisine". Krg.org. 2010-06-27. Archived from the original on 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
3. ^ "Middle East". Web.archive.org. 2008-02-01. Archived from the original on February 1, 2008. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
4. ^ "The food that launched civilization". saradistribution.com. 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
5. ^ "Iraqi Kurdish, Life Style". London: Guardian.co.uk. 2007-04-07. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
6. ^ "Kurdish-English dictionary" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
7. ^ "Culture Tuesday: an Exploration of Kurdish Cuisine". 21 January 2021. Archived from the original on 1 February 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
8. ^ a b "Kurdische Spezialität". 6 December 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
9. ^ "Vegan Kurdish Aprax / Dolma (Stuffed Vegetables with Herbed Aromatic Rice)". 19 March 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
10. ^ "Kurdish Food". Retrieved 28 July 2021.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Barzinji, Ala, Traditional Kurdish Food: An insight into Kurdish culinary heritage, 2015, ISBN 1784624144.
* Sinjari, Emel, The Kurdish Cookbook, 2016, ASIN B01LZ0DZ5I.
* Zebari, Chiman, My Life, My Food, My Kurdistan, 2015, ASIN B0793Q93R8.
* Nikolovski, Goce, Taste of Kurdish Cuisine: Part 1, 2016, ASIN B01LXXAEUQ.

## External links

[edit]

* Kurdistan portal
* Food portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kurdish cuisine.

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