Assyrian cuisine Facts for Kids

Typical Assyrian cuisine

Assyrian cuisine is the traditional food of the Assyrian people. These are people who speak Eastern Aramaic and are Syriac Christians. They live in places like Iraq, northeastern Syria, northwestern Iran, and southeastern Turkey. Assyrian food is very much like Iraqi food. It also shares many similarities with other foods from the Middle East, Greece, Turkey, and Armenia. This cuisine uses lots of grains like barley, different meats, tomatoes, and many herbs and spices. You will also find cheese, potatoes, and pickled foods.

Main Meals: Lunch and Dinner
- Popular Rice Dishes
- Other Special Dishes
Warm and Comforting Soups and Stews
Sweet Treats: Desserts
Refreshing Drinks
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Main Meals: Lunch and Dinner

For Assyrians, lunch and dinner are quite similar. They are called kawitrā w kharamsha or ˁurāytā w ḥšāmtā. These meals often feature basmati rice. Rice can be plain, red (smooqah), or yellow (shaootah). Sometimes, small fried noodles called sha'riya are added to plain rice. There is also green rice (reza qeena). This rice gets its green color and flavor from lima beans and dill.

Instead of rice, some meals use gurgur, which is a type of cracked wheat. It can be prepared in the same ways as rice. Grilled beef and chicken Kebabs are also popular. They are cooked on skewers or a rotating spit.

Popular Rice Dishes

Biryani is a special Assyrian rice dish. It includes sha'riya noodles, green peas, fried cubed potatoes, almonds, and raisins. Sliced hard-boiled eggs and chicken are also added. Rezza Smooqah (red rice) is often made with chicken or meat.

Rice usually comes with a stew called shirwah. This stew has a broth made with tomato paste, water, and spices. It features a main vegetable like potatoes, beans, okra, string beans, spinach, cauliflower, or zucchini. Beef, chicken, or ox tails can be added. During Lent, meat is not eaten for religious reasons.

Other Special Dishes

A common Assyrian salad has cubed tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and red onions. It is dressed with lemon, vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Other unique Assyrian dishes include:

Thlokheh: Lentils cooked with curry and sha'riya noodles.
Kofta (kipteh): Ground beef meatballs flavored with parsley, rice, onion, and spices. They are served in a tomato-based stew.
Kuba hammouth: Long ground beef meatballs with an outer shell made of cracked wheat.
Girdo: A porridge made from rice and sour yogurt. It is served with date or fig syrup.

Tepsi is a layered casserole. It has fried potato, eggplant, green peppers, onions, meat, and tomatoes. All these layers are covered in tomato sauce and baked. Shamakhshi is fried rolled eggplant stuffed with ground beef in tomato sauce. Dolma consists of rice and tomato sauce stuffed into grape leaves, cabbage, peppers, zucchini, and eggplant.

Masgouf is a fish dish. The fish is spiced with olive oil, salt, and turmeric. It is topped with tomatoes, potatoes, and onions, then baked. Lahmacun is a flatbread topped with ground beef, tomato paste, spices, and onions.

Sesame seeds are very important in Assyrian cooking. They are used to make tahini. There is even an old Assyrian story about gods drinking sesame wine before they created the Earth.

Warm and Comforting Soups and Stews

Assyrian cuisine has many delicious soups and stews.

Boushala: One of the oldest known dishes. It is a yogurt-based soup with greens like Swiss chard or spinach and cracked wheat. It can be served hot or cold.
Dikhwah: A thick stew made with dried yogurt, barley, and meat.
Harissa: A porridge made with wheat berries and deboned chicken or beef. It is sometimes eaten with butter or cinnamon.
Tashrib: A soup with chickpeas, onions, and chicken or lamb meat. It is often served over bread for breakfast.

Sweet Treats: Desserts

Assyrians enjoy various desserts, including cakes and cookies. Some popular ones are baklava, kulecheh, kadeh, and nazoochi. Due to historical influences, tea and biscuits are often enjoyed as snacks.

Kadeh looks like a thick, yellowish flatbread. It is very sweet because it contains lots of butter, eggs, and sugar. Kadeh is usually made with kulecheh and served during Christmas. Nazoochi is similar to kadeh but even sweeter. It is cut into a triangle shape and served during tea time or social gatherings.

Refreshing Drinks

Drinks are an important part of Assyrian culture.

Arak: A popular alcoholic drink made from grapes or dates. It is strong and often served with food. It tastes like black licorice and turns milky-white when mixed with water.
Daweh: A popular yogurt drink, especially in summer. It is made with yogurt, water, salt, and sometimes mint.

Black tea is almost always drunk in the morning with breakfast. Assyrian tea is usually sweetened and served with evaporated milk. Dried lime tea, or chai noomi basra, is an herbal tea. It is sometimes drunk to help with upset stomachs.

Traditional Assyrian coffee is made in a large bronze pot called a jezve. This pot is often decorated with Assyrian designs. The coffee is served sweetened, similar to Turkish coffee.