Kurdish History Journal
Nanê sajî is Kurdish flatbread cooked on a metal saj. Family testimony, regional food research and Kurdish Jewish memories document the tools, handling, ingredients and occasions that give griddle baking its varied forms.
Read article →Liver Taplama is Kurdish wedding food from Bitlis — lamb liver ground with bulgur, shaped into patties with a thumb-pressed centre, boiled and sauced. Relabelled “ancient Anatolian” by Turkish media.
Read article →Gilûl, also recorded as gulol, gulul and gilol, combines yogurt and grain with a rich butter accompaniment. Hakkâri recipes, a remembered village supper and recent field research show several ways of preparing and sharing it.
Read article →Ecîn is the Kurdish raw meat-and-bulgur dish the world calls çiğ köfte. Its Aramaic name Acin predates Turkish. Its soul ingredient isot is a Kurdish pepper from Riha.
Read article →Ava Kişmîş is a Kurdish raisin drink — dried raisins boiled with cardamom and served cold after heavy meals. The seventh product of the Kurdish grape vine.
Read article →Xoşav is a Kurdish cold compote of dried apricots, figs, prunes, and raisins in cardamom syrup. The closing course of every Kurdish feast — served cold after heavy meals.
Read article →Kuki appears in published lists of Kurdish foods. Named recipes for kalaneh and kadeh show why the filling, dough and cooking method need their own description.
Read article →Birinca Sor is Kurdish red rice — basmati cooked in tomato broth with meat stock. The everyday rice of Kurdish households, served alongside every stew, kebab, and dolma.
Read article →Erbil and the surrounding Kurdish regions have rich traditions of grain cultivation and communal cooking. Local reporting helps distinguish documented dishes and methods from unsupported claims attached to the name chichma.
Read article →A firsthand account of a meal in Iraqi Kurdistan and Fadime Tiskaya’s savar recipe show how bulgur can accompany meat or become a vegetable dish with butter. The sources document specific cooks and meals.
Read article →Şexmahşî is the Kurdish stuffed eggplant — lamb and pine nuts in pomegranate-tomato sauce. Wikipedia records the Kurdish name; every recipe blog calls it Lebanese or Syrian.
Read article →Şekalok is a Kurdish lamb stew with spinach and dried apricots — savoury-sweet balance where the Kurdish sour tradition and Kurdish sweetness meet in one pot.
Read article →Tirşıkli Dolma is Kurdish stuffed cabbage simmered in sour sumac broth. The fourth dolma variant in the series — where the Kurdish sour tradition meets the Kurdish stuffing tradition.
Read article →Ayran Dolma is a Kurdish variant of stuffed vine leaves simmered in diluted yogurt broth instead of tomato. Where the dolma tradition meets the mast tradition.
Read article →Meqlûbî, also written maqluba or makloubeh, brings rice and vegetables together in a pot that is turned onto a serving dish. Recipes from Iraqi Kurdistan sit within a wider tradition of Palestinian and Iraqi family cooking.
Read article →Lobiyên Çêkirî is Kurdish green beans sautéed with tomato, garlic, and dried mint in olive oil. The most everyday Kurdish home dish — the quiet centre of Kurdish cooking.
Read article →Şirin Kaynana (“Sweet Mother-in-Law”) is a Kurdish pastry of fried dough strips layered with walnuts and cardamom syrup. Its name encodes a family relationship — food as diplomacy.
Read article →Kaysefe is a Kurdish dried apricot dessert — sun-dried apricots rehydrated in butter and honey, topped with walnuts. Summer fruit preserved for winter, from the Zagros orchards.
Read article →Pelûl is a thickened grape preparation documented around Mardin. A producer’s account connects it to fruit leather and walnut strings, while regional food memories describe related puddings under other names.
Read article →Zalobiya is a Kurdish fried pastry carried from Kurdistan to Israel by Kurdish Jews. Prepared for Hanukkah, Purim, and Shavuot, it proves Kurdish food survives displacement.
Read article →Kürt tatlısı (Kurdish pastry) was created by a Kurdish baker from Bitlis and sold across Istanbul. In the 1960s, the Istanbul governor banned its Kurdish name by state decree.
Read article →Taskababi is a Kurdish lamb-and-onion stew historically cooked in clay pots. Called “onion water” in Kurdistan, it symbolises Kurdish cuisine in its simplicity and is pure winter comfort food.
Read article →Tirşik is a Kurdish lamb and eggplant stew slow-cooked in pink sumac broth. Named from the Kurdish word for sour, it is the closest thing to a national dish for a people without a country.
Read article →Terxena is a Kurdish fermented herb preservation technique — spring greens shaped into disks, fermented, and sun-dried for winter stews. The most sophisticated food science in Kurdish mountain culture.
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