Kurdish cuisine facts for kids

Traditional Kurdish food

Paklawa (Baklawa)

Kurdish cuisine (Kurdish: خواردنی کوردی or Xwarina Kurdî) is all about the delicious foods made by the Kurdish people. Their food shares many similarities with their neighbors in Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Armenia. Some dishes, like biryani, are even found in places as far away as India. Overall, Kurdish food is a classic example of western Asian cooking.

Culinary Customs

Kurdish meals often include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. The main meats are lamb and chicken.

For breakfast, people usually eat flat bread, cheese, honey, and yogurt made from sheep or cow milk. They often drink a glass of black tea. Lunch is typically a stew made with lamb and vegetables, cooked in a tomato sauce. This stew is usually served with rice or flat bread (Naan).

The land where Kurds live, Kurdistan, is great for growing grapes, pomegranates, figs, and walnuts. Kurdish honey is known for its light, clear taste and is often sold with the honeycomb. Dairy products like sheep and cow milk are also very important. Kurds make many kinds of kofta and kubba, which are dumplings filled with meat.

Kurdish cooking uses a lot of fresh herbs.

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

Sweet black tea is a very popular drink. Another favorite Kurdish drink is "mastow" or "Ava Mast," which is yogurt and salt mixed with water. A fermented version of this drink is called Do (Doogh). Both drinks are often served with herbs like dill or mint.

Some common Kurdish dishes include berbesel, biryani, dokliw, kellane, kullerenaske, kutilk, parêv tobouli, kuki (meat or vegetable pies), and birinç (white rice served with meat, vegetables, or herbs). You'll also find many salads, pastries, and drinks unique to different parts of Kurdistan. Other popular foods are makluba, kofta, shifta, and various soups.

Sawarr is a traditional dish for Kurdish farmers. It's made from wheat grain that is boiled, dried in the sun, and then pounded to remove its outer layer. The wheat is then crushed in a mill and can be boiled and served.

Tapsi is a dish with aubergines, green peppers, courgettes, and potatoes in a slightly spicy tomato sauce. Tashreeb has layers of flat bread soaked in a sauce made with green pepper, tomato, onions, and chilies.

A typical Kurdish breakfast includes cheese, butter, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, jam (called reçel), and honey, often eaten with kaymak. Sometimes, sausage, baked goods, or even soups are eaten for breakfast. A common Kurdish breakfast specialty is menemen, made with roasted tomatoes, peppers, olive oil, and eggs. Black tea is always served at breakfast.

Dishes and Foods

Dairy Products

In Kurdistan, yoghurt is called mast. It's a very popular fermented dairy product, usually made from cow milk or a mix of sheep and goat milk using traditional methods. Dairy products are a big part of traditional Kurdish food.

Keşk, also known as Kashk, is a fermented and strained sour yogurt. It can be eaten like a cheese or used in soups.

Cheeses

The Kurds make many kinds of cheese, mostly from sheep's milk. Kurdish cheese is traditionally made from raw milk and ripened in goat's skin bags.

• Penîrê Kopê
• Penîrê salk
• Daleme

Soups and Ash

Bread

• Kalane bread
• Bersaq

Pilav and Pasta

In Kurdistan, bread comes in many forms, with different ingredients, shapes, and textures.

Pastries

Vegetarian Dishes

Vegetable Dishes

Kebabs

Egg Dishes

Meze and Salads

Stuffed Vegetables

Stuffed vegetables are known as Pelpêç (Sarma) or Pel (Dolma) in Kurdish areas. They are cooked slowly, filling the house with the wonderful smell of fresh herbs and tangy lemons.

Meat Dishes

For many centuries, lamb and chicken have been the main meats in Kurdish cooking, especially since many Kurds were nomads and herders.

Fish

Desserts

Non-alcoholic Beverages

Holiday Celebrations

During the Newroz festival, Kurds love to have picnics in the countryside. They eat traditional foods, often including dolma, and enjoy dancing the traditional Kurdish dance called Halperke.

Kurdish people also enjoy special Eid foods like chicken, rice, dolma, and biryani.

Related Cuisines

See also

In Spanish: Gastronomía kurda para niños