Helise: The Kurdish Wedding Wheat and the Cauldron That Takes All Night In the Kurdish province of Ağrı — Agiri, the land named for Mount Ararat, the great volcanic peak that stands on the edge of the Kurdish highland and the Armenian plateau — a dish called helise is made for weddings and feasts. It is the same dish known as keşkek across Anatolia and as herse or harisa across the wider region: whole wheat berries and lamb slow-cooked together in huge cauldrons for an enti