Kurdish cuisine
Kurdish cuisine consists of a wide variety of foods prepared by the people of Kurdistan.
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[edit] Culinary customs
The Kurdish diet includes a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Cucumbers are especially common. Lamb and chicken are the primary meats. Breakfast is typically flat bread, honey, sheep or buffalo yoghurt, and a glass of black tea. Savoury dishes are usually served with rice or flat bread. Lamb and vegetables are simmered in a tomato sauce to make a stew usually served with rice. Kurdistan has a climate and soil suited to grapes, pomegranates, figs, and walnuts. Kurdish honey has a clear light taste and is often sold with the honeycomb. Kurdistan also produces dairy products from sheep and buffalo milk. Kurds make many types of kofta and kubba, dumplings filled with meat.
Kurdish cuisine makes abundant use of fresh herbs.[1]
Sweetened black tea is a very common drink, along with bitter strong coffee. Annother favourite kurdish drink is "mastow" (sorani) or "Ava Mast", which is yougurt and salt mixed with water. (kurmancî).[2]
Staples of Kurdish cuisine are Kutilk, Berbesel, kellane, kullerenaske, dokliw, biryani, parêv Tobouli, kuki (meat and/or vegetable pies), birinç (white rice alone or with meat and/or vegetables and herbs), and a variety of salads, pastries, and drinks specific to different parts of Kurdistan. Other popular dishes are makluba, kofta, shifta, maraga, spinach with eggs, wheat & lentil soup, beet & meat soup, sweet turnip, cardamon cookies, burgul pilaf, melemen, ûr û rûvî, mehîr, yaprakh, chichma, tefti, niskene and nane niskan.[3]
Savar, 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 (destar). The resulting grain food can be boiled and served. [4]
Tapsi is a dish of aubergines, green peppers, courgettes and potatoes in a slightly spicy tomato sauce. Tashreeb consists of layers of naan in a sauce of green pepper, tomato, onions and chillies. [5] A typical Kurkish breakfast consists of cheese , butter, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, reçel (jam/marmalade; a preserve of whole fruits) and honey usually consumed on top of kaymak. sausage, baked goods and even soups can be taken as a morning meal in Kurdistan. Perhaps more so than traditional breads such as pide, a crusty white loaf is widely consumed. A common Kurkish speciality for breakfast is called menemen, which is prepared with roasted tomatoes, peppers, olive oil and eggs. Invariably, black tea is served at breakfast.
[edit] Holiday celebrations
During the festival of Nawroz, Kurds enjoy picnics in the countryside, often taking a large pot of Dolma, Dolma is a dish of freshly picked vine leaves stuffed with rice, meat, herbs and garlic.
