Culinary traditions of Circassia
Traditional Circassian house and cuisine Circassian cuisine is anethnic cuisine , based on the cooking style and traditions of theCircassian people of theNorth Caucasus . This region lies between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, within European Russia.
Haliva (Хьэлжъо ) andmataz (Мэтазэ ), two of the prominent traditional Circassian snacksCircassiancuisine consists of many different traditional dishes, varying by season.[ 1] [ 2] The summer time traditional dishes are mainlydairy products andvegetables .[ 3] In winter and spring, the traditional dishes mostly consist offlour andmeat . Traditional dishes includeficcin , seasonedchicken orturkey with sauce, boiledmutton andbeef with a seasoning of sourmilk along with salt and crushed garlic.
Among the many varieties of cheese in theNorth Caucasus ,Circassian cheese is the most popular one.
On holidays, the Adyghe people traditionally makehaliva (хьэлжъо ) from toasted millet or wheat flour.
In the Levant, there is a widely–recognized Circassian dish known astajen alsharkaseiah .[ 4]
Fresh meat dishes (Lisch'em qixasch'ich' shxinighwexer )[ edit ] Circassiangoulash (Libzche ) Meat goulash (Lits'ik'wlibzche ) Lamb boiled incream (Shateps-ch'e gheva schinel ) Liver in fat (Themschighwr schem k'wets'ilhu ) Liver sausage (Themsch'ighwnibe )Liver with sheep's-tail fat (Themsch'ighwre ch'apere zesch'ighwu ) Thick pancake with liver and eggs (Themschighwre jedich'ere zexelhu ) Sheep sausage (Zherume ) Fried sheep's tail fat with honey (Ch'ape ghezchare fore ) Sheep's tail fat cracklings (Ch'ape libzchaxwe ) Sheep's tail fat with honey (Ch'ape daghefo ) Shepherd's lamb (Melix'we li ghezchech'e ) Boiledmutton (Melil gheva ) Thin mutton sausage (Nek'wlh ) Dried and smoked meat dishes (Li gheghwamre gheghwpts'amre qixasch'ich' shxinighwexer )[ edit ] Shashlik Fried meat (Li teibech'e ghezchawe ) Fried meat and potatoes (Lire ch'ert'ofre zesch'elhu ghezchawe ) Fried meat with onions (Lim bzchin sch'elhu ) Meat and beansbroth (Lire jeshre xelhu leps ) Meat and noodles (Li xelhu x'inch'el ) Meat and potato broth (Lire ch'ert'ofre xelhu leps ) Meat roasted onskewers ,shashlik (Li dzasech'e ghezchawe ) Dried sheep's side (Dzazhe gheghwa ) Smoked meat goulash (Lighwpts'a libzche ) Poultry and egg dishes (Jedqazimre jedich'emre qixasch'ich' shxinighwexer )[ edit ] Boiled chicken with garlic (Jed gheva bzchinixw yi ghwsew ) Broasted chicken (Jedla ) Chicken fried in a brazier (Jed teibech'e ghezchawe ) Chicken with new potatoes (Jedisch'ere ch'ert'ofisch'ere zesch'elhu ) Chicken and noodles (Jedir x'inch'elim xelhu ) Chicken in pepper sauce (Jedlibzche shibzhiy ships sch'etu ) Chicken in soured cream sauce,Jadlibja (Jedlibzche ) Chicken in walnut sauce (Jed de ships sch'etu )Fried chicken with onion (Jed ghezcha bzchin sch'elhu )Stuffed chicken baked in dough (Thevim k'wets'ighezchihawe jed ) Eggs fried in soured cream (Jedich'eneqiyzh ) Boiledgoose orduck (Qaz, e babisch, gheva ) Goose (duck) with noodles (Qaz, e babisch, x'inch'elim xelhu ) Baked goose (duck) stuffed with Rice (Qaz, e babisch, ghezcha prunzh k'wets'ilhu ) Jadichevinsh (Jedich'evinsh, Schheqwtih )Sweetomelette (Jedich'ezchapx'e 'ef' ) Pastry straws, twiglets (Jedich'eripsch )Boiled turkey (Gwegwsh gheva ) Stuffed turkey (Gwegwsh ghezcha ) Fish dishes (Bdzezchey shxinighwexer)[ edit ] Dairy product dishes [ edit ] Bajina (Bejine )Baked milk (She sch'eghepschtha)Cheese (Q'wey ) Fried cheese (Q'wey ghezcha ) Hominy orpolenta (Zhemikwe )Kurt (Qwrt ) Shkuz (Shxwz ) – This kind of milk preserve is not used in contemporary times.[citation needed ] It used to be prepared for winter.Sour milk (Shxw )Soured cream sauce with cheese (Q'weyzchapx'e ) Flour, cereal and navy-bean dishes[ edit ] Lakum (Lequm ) Haliva stuffed withoffal (Helive zchenfen delhu ),cottage cheese (Helive q'wey lhalhe delhu ), potatoes (Helive ch'ert'of delhu ), potatoes and cheese (Helive ch'ert'ofre q'weyre delhu ),navy beans (Heliva jesh delhu ) or pears (Helive q'wzch delhu )Potato and cheese pie (Delen ch'ert'ofre q'weyre delhu ) Cottage-cheese (Delen q'wey lhalhe delhu ) and cottage cheese andscallion pie (Delen bzchin ts'inere q'wey lhalhere delhu ) Lapstaipkha (Lepsteipx'e )Flaky bread (Sch'aq'we zeteiwp'esch'ich ) Shalama (Shelame ) Tkhurimbey (Tx'wrimbey )Cornbread , unleavened (Nartixw chirzhin orNartixw mezhaje ) orleavened (Chirzhin gheteja )Maize lakum (Nartixw leqwm )Maize rolls, with (Sche zixelh hetiq ) or without fat (Hetiq ) Unleavened millet bread (Xw chirzhin orXw mezhaje ) Miramisa (Miramise )Hakurt orhakut (Heqwrt orheqwt )Boiled (Nartixwsch'e gheva ) or roasted (Nartixwsch'e ghezcha )corn on the cob Corn flakes (Nartixw ghep'ench'a ) Maize (Nartixw hel'ame ) or millet halama (Xw hel'ame ) Kilish (Qilish ) Wheat (P'aste ) or maize pasta (Nartixw p'aste ) Sok (Sok )Shopransy (Shopransiy )Khubala (Xwbela )Millet soup (Hentx'wps ) Boiled barley (Hegwlive ) Ashira (Eshiri, eshire, eshri oreshre )Khudir (X'wdir )Khudirbalatsa (X'wdirbelatse )Sweet ricepilaf (Prunzh'ef ) Dumplings (Psiheliva ) with meat (Psihelive melil delhu ) or chicken (Psihelive jedil delhu ) Navy-bean sauce (Jesh libzche ), soup (Jesh leps ) or soup with potatoes (Jesh leps ch'ert'of xelhu ) Potato and gourd dishes (Ch'ert'of, qeb shxinighwexer )[ edit ] Bakedgourd (Qeb ghezcha ) Boiled gourd (Qeb gheva ) Gourd sauce (Qeb ships ) Potatopaste (Ch'ert'of p'aste ) Fried potatoes (Ch'ert'of zcherikwey ) New potatoesstewed in soured cream (Ch'ert'ofisch'e shatech'e ghezchawe ) Potato stewed in soured cream or broth (Ch'ert'ofim ships sch'etu ) Kalmyk tea (Qalmiq shey ) Makhsima (Maxsime ) Maramazey (Meremezchey ) Sweets and desserts [ edit ] Dried pears Haliwa (Heliwe ) – sweet, dessert in ArabicMarazey (Merezey )Nuts with honey (Dere fore zexelhu ) Dried pears (Q'wzch gheghwa ) Watermelon honey (X'arbiz fo ) Zacharis (Zech'eris )