Kurdish cuisine


Kurdish cuisine consists of a wide variety of foods prepared by the Kurdish people. There are culinary and cultural similarities of Kurds and their immediate neighbours in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.

Culinary customs

Kurdish cuisine makes abundant use of fresh herbs and spices.
Sweetened black tea is a very common drink, along with bitter strong coffee. Another favourite Kurdish drink is Mastaw or Ava Mast, which is yogurt and salt mixed with water. The fermented version of this is called Dô.
Staples of Kurdish cuisine are Berbesel, Biryanî, Dokliw, Kelane, Kulerenaske, Kube, Parêv Tobûlî, Kuki, Birinç, and a variety of salads, pastries, and drinks specific to different parts of Kurdistan. Other popular dishes are Makluba, kofta, shifta, shilah/maraga, spinach with eggs, wheat & lentil soup, beet & meat soup, sweet turnip, cardamon cookies, bulgur pilaf, mehîr, hûr û rûvî, pel, chichma this dish is common in Erbil, tefti, niskene and nane niskan.
Sawar, a traditional dish among Kurdish farmers, is made of wheat grain that is boiled, sun dried and pounded in a mortar to get rid of the husk. The wheat is then crushed in a mill. The resulting grain food can be boiled and served.
Tepsî is a dish of aubergines, green peppers, courgettes and potatoes in a slightly spicy tomato sauce. Teşrîb consists of layers of naan in a sauce of green pepper, tomato, onions and chillies.

Dishes and foods

Dairy products

Yoghurt, or mast, as it is called in Kurdish, is considered the most popular fermented dairy product amongst Kurds.

Rice dishes

  • Perde pelav
  • Biryanî
  • Birinca sor
  • Birinc bi maş

Bread

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

Stuffed vegetables

Stuffed vegetables are widely known as pelpêç or îprax or pel in Kurdish regions.Pel Pelpêç or îprax

Meat

As nomads and herders, lamb and chicken have been the main dishes of Kurdish cuisine for centuries. Dishes with meat involved include:
  • Kutilk, also used in the following stews:
  • *Tirşik
  • *Kutildewk
  • *Avşirînk
  • Putête çap
  • Kebab
  • Qelî, Kurdish stir-fry
  • Meqlûbî
  • Skewered meat

Dessert

  • Gilûl, cooked yoghurt and rice topped with a layer of date molasses
  • 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 is a popular appetizer in Kurdish cuisine
  • Peqlave

Non-alcoholic beverages

Related cuisines