Assyrian cuisine
Assyrian cuisine is similar to other Middle Eastern cuisines. However, it predates both Arab and Turkish cuisine in Western Asia. It is also similar to Armenian, Greek, Israeli, Persian, and Levantine cuisine. It may also be referred to as Chaldean cuisine or Syriac cuisine. It is rich in grains, meat, tomato, and potato. Rice is usually served with every meal accompanied by a stew which is typically poured over the rice. Tea is typically consumed at all times of the day with or without meals alone or as a social drink. Cheese, crackers, biscuits, baklava, or other snacks are often served alongside the tea as appetizers. Dietary restrictions may apply during special holidays in which certain types of foods may not be consumed; often meaning animal-derived. Howerver, unlike their Muslim or Jewish neighbors of the countries they originated from, they may consume pork or alcohol though pork is not a staple in the diet and is shunned by many. There are hold-overs from the Old Testament in which people slaughter animals a certain way and where some animals are considered unclean such as the aforementioned swine. The story of Jesus casting the demonic Legions into pigs that went over the cliff is a popular reason for some Assyrians not to eat pork. Alcohol on the other hand is rather popular specifically in the form of Arak.
There is a widely circulated story on the Web stating that the Assyrians invented baklava in the 8th century BCE,[1] but current scholarly work indicates that it is of central Asian Turkic origin.[2]
Ftarta or Thomta (ܦܛܪܬܐ; breakfast)
Common breakfast usually contains eggs (scrambled, sunny side up, hard boiled); usually with fried tomatoes, tahina (sesame seed paste) with either fig jam or date syrup, bastirma (dried sausage), geimar (kaymak), halawa, etc. Hareesa is also eaten as a breakfast by some because it is perceived as a heavy and nutritious meal. Eggs are usually scrambled and contain parsley cooked in it with lots of black pepper and salt. Often the bastirma is cooked in with the eggs as may other ingredients be added in as well. Tea is usually drunk in the morning along with the breakfast. Halawa is often wrapped in pita bread and dipped in tahina for a nutritious breakfast snack or like how eggs are consumed it may be eaten in bite-size scoops of pita.
Maza (ܡܙܐ; appetizer)
Assyrian Maza is similar to related cuisines' Mezze which may include Humous ou Tahina, Baba Ghanouj, Tapoula, Fattoush, veggies and dip, Burek, etc. Fava beans, known as baqilleh, and chick peas, known as lablabi or khirtamaneh (Syriac: ܚܪܛܡܢܐ), are very common in soups, salads, and find their way into many foods. Fried almonds and raisins are also used but not as appetizers but rather as garnishes for main dishes. Another popular maza is tourshi which means pickles. Many different types of vegetables are pickled such as cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, beats, and peppers. As mentioned in the main paragraph, tea is a staple in the diet even more so than coffee. Almost always the maza is accompanied with tea or Turkish coffee.
Khadaya w Ashaya (ܚܕܝܐ ܘ ܥܫܝܐ; lunch and dinner)
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Khadaya w Ashaya (ܚܕܝܐ ܘ ܥܫܝܐ; lunch and dinner) is also referred to as Kawithra w Kharamsha. Lunch typically consists of basmati rice which is prepared with fried miniature noodles called sha'riya or in place of rice burghul may be used which may also be prepared with the same type of noodles. It is usually accompanied with a stew; called shorba or maraqa, salad; called zalata, or yogurt; called masta. There are many variations in the salads and yogurt sauces. Khalwa is a common yogurt sauce and is similar to tzatziki. It contains yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, herbs, and spices. Also there is daweh which is a drink consisting of yogurt, water, and salt. It is known as shaneenah in Arabic or doogh in Persian. Lebanese varieties usually contain mint. Daweh is most commonly served as a complimentary drink with many meals.
The most common stews are potato which is referred to by the name of the main spice Curry; called kari, common bean; called fasulya, green beans; called chipti, fried okra; called bumya, and a crushed lentil soup; called tlokheh. There is also a rice and cabbage meal called tirkhena in which the rice and cabbage are cooked together with bits of steak meat.
Most stews consist of tomato paste, water, small pieces of steak or chicken, spices, and vegetables such as spinach for example which is called spenakh. The stews and dishes in general are usually referred to by the main ingredient in the dish.
During the Holidays there are special dishes. There are biryani, pacha, kubba, maqluba, dolma, quzi and many other dishes. There is a special type of kubba called kiddeldokeh which is prepared in yogurt. It along with kubba hamouth, kubba d-khoumsa, and kubba d-sawma are specific to the Assyrian community and very rare in other communities. There are many varieties of Kubba, Dolma, and Biryani specific to the cook that prepares them. Kufta is a meal prepared similarly to kubba hamouth meaning that it is cooked in a semi-sour tomatoe sauce, though it is more similar to a meatball than a kubba; which consists of lean meat and ground rice or burghul on the outside, and meat and onions on the inside. Many foods maybe prepared for sawma which means Lenten. During important holidays such as Ba'ootha no meat or dairy may be consumed. A fairly popular Lenten meal is Girtho which is rice cooked in yogurt. It is eaten with date syrup poured on top. However, it may not be consumed during Ba'ootha due to the restriction on all animal sources of food.
Due to the fact that Assyrians are minorities in all places they inhabit, their local cuisine may vary and also contain elements of the popular cuisine in their locale. The majority of Iraqi cuisine is incorporated into Iraqi Assyrian cuisine and the same is the case for Assyrians of Iran, Syria, or Turkey. Falafel with amba for example is very popular amongst Assyrians and are especially common during lent and other holidays requiring dietary restrictions that call for abstinence from animal-derived products and foods. Bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East are not only restricted from eating meat their whole lives but their mothers during their pregnancy are not allowed meat.[citation needed]
Desserts, Snacks, and Beverages
There are several different types of desert which include Baklava, Kuleicheh, different types of cakes and cookies, Kadeh, and others. Kadeh are usually prepared alongside Kulecheh and also Takhiryatha which are not dessert and often referred to as "Chaldean Pizza" because they resemble pizza; containing meat and tomatoes on top of bread but lacking cheese unlike pizza. A Kada looks like a thick yellowish flat bread though it contains plenty of butter, eggs, and sugar which renders it a very sweet pastry. Due to the influence from the post-Ottoman occupation of Iraq and Syria by the British and French many customs were picked up from the colonial administrators. Tea and Biscuits are often eaten as snacks or even as a breakfast. Turkish coffee which is a hold-over from Ottoman times is often used the same way though with a twist of fortune telling called finjan which is a form of tasseography. When the coffee is consumed the fortune teller will look at the bottom of the cup and read you your future. Arak is one of the most popular alcoholic beverages. It tastes like black liquorice and is clear until mixed with water, which then becomes milky-white.
References
- ^ History of Baklava, Turkish Culture: Baklava, Baklava War Intensifies, Baklava
- ^ Perry, Charles. "The Taste for Layered Bread among the Nomadic Turks and the Central Asian Origins of Baklava", in A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East (ed. Sami Zubaida, Richard Tapper), 1994. ISBN 1-86064-603-4; fuller scholarly bibliography at the baklava article.
