Kurdish History Journal
Tepsî is a Kurdish layered vegetable casserole with aubergine, meatballs, and tamarind-pomegranate spicing. Wikipedia lists it as Kurdish and Iraqi — but the dish's own page says only Iraqi.
Read article →Berbesel is a foundational Kurdish dish where grain meets dairy — wheat cooked in sheep milk or a tangy yoghurt-meat soup. Listed as a Kurdish staple but unknown outside Kurdistan.
Read article →Ava Mast (Mastaw) is the Kurdish salted yogurt drink served at every meal. Known internationally as ayran or doogh, the Kurdish names are invisible.
Read article →Perde Pelav is a Kurdish wedding pilaf from Siirt, wrapped in dough with symbolic meaning for the bride. Every source traces it to this Kurdish city, yet it is labelled Turkish.
Read article →Arxavk is documented in Kurmanji dictionaries as a flour preparation, with meanings ranging from a snack to toasted flour mixed with fat. Regional recipes and family accounts show why it should not be reduced to one universal pastry filling.
Read article →Explore Kurdish Mythology: Gods, Heroes, Spirits and Ancient Tales. Dive into ancient stories and discover the rich tapestry of Kurdish mythology.
Read article →Amba brings sour mango and aromatic spices to sandwiches and other dishes. Its history connects Indian Ocean trade, Iraqi Jewish foodways and contemporary street food, including a documented example from Erbil.
Read article →Perde Pelav is a Kurdish wedding pilaf from Sîrt — rice sealed in dough symbolising family devotion. Always labelled "Turkish," its Kurdish origins are erased.
Read article →Torak is a traditional Kurdish sun-dried curd ball — a nomadic survival dairy product carried by herders on mountain migrations. Part of the same family as kashk and qurut.
Read article →Gezo is Kurdish mountain manna — a wild-foraged sweetener from oak forests, produced by aphids for only days per year. Known historically as Kurdish manna, this tradition is endangered.
Read article →Qara Xerman is the Kurdish name for fire-roasted green wheat, meaning "black harvest." Known globally as freekeh, the Kurdish name and survival heritage are erased.
Read article →Rhubarb brings tartness to a herb-rich stew documented in Kurdish regional cooking and in varied Iranian household and contemporary vegan recipes.
Read article →Jajî is a Kurdish herbed cheese made from sheep's milk and 25 wild mountain herbs. Sold as Van Otlu Peyniri, the Kurdish name never appears on the label.
Read article →Savar is the Kurdish name for traditional processed wheat grain — the mountain staple erased under the generic Turkish label bulgur pilavı.
Read article →Kutilk are Kurdish stuffed dumplings made in several forms. Named cooks document meat-filled rounds in yoghurt sauce, fine-bulgur dumplings and a contemporary mushroom-filled adaptation. Their recipes show how dough, filling, cooking method and family memory distinguish individual preparations.
Read article →Yaprax is the Kurdish name for stuffed vine leaves. Known internationally as dolma or sarma, the Kurdish version with fresh herbs, pomegranate molasses, and yoghurt is rarely credited.
Read article →Ser û pê is a traditional Kurdish stew of slow-cooked sheep head and feet, enriched with chickpeas, rice, and warming spices. A winter staple across all parts of Kurdistan.
Read article →Kürt böreği is a layered, unfilled pastry served with powdered sugar. Accounts by bakers and people from Bilece connect it with Kurdish migration from Bingöl to Istanbul, while interviews document the continuing dispute over the alternative name küt böreği.
Read article →Qehweya Kezwanê is a traditional Kurdish terebinth coffee once sold in France as Chicorée au Kurde before Turkish rebranding renamed it Menengiç Kahvesi.
Read article →The Republic of Ararat was a Kurdish state proclaimed on Mount Ararat in 1927, led militarily by Ihsan Nuri and the Xoybûn league, crushed by Turkey in 1930.
Read article →The Kingdom of Kurdistan was a short-lived Kurdish state proclaimed by Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji in Sulaymaniyah in the early 1920s, crushed by British forces by 1924.
Read article →The Emirate of Soran was a Kurdish principality centred on Rawanduz, famed for the warrior-queen Mir Xanzad and Mir Muhammad, the powerful 19th-century 'Mir Kor'.
Read article →Bohtan, also written Botan, was a Kurdish principality centred on Cizre on the Tigris. Its history joins hereditary local government, Ottoman imperial relationships and Kurdish literary culture with the violent expansion and defeat of Bedirhan Bey’s rule.
Read article →The Bradost Emirate was a Kurdish principality famed for the 1609–1610 siege of Dimdim, where Khan Lepzerin made a legendary stand against Shah Abbas.
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