Introduction to Kurdish Cuisine
Local cuisine is one of the most exciting parts of any trip that can be memorable. Kurdistan is one of the most attractive destinations for travel in Iran, where posses famous delicious foods along with its attractions and spectacular spots. Kurdish Cuisine are all prepared with fresh ingredients and vegetables without any additives are highly nutritious. The subject of food is so significant among the Kurds that all family members would gather with their grandparents in the past, enjoy cooking and eating a variety of traditional foods. Although some of these foods may be forgotten today, Kurdish women always prepare healthy and tasty meals.
Kurdistan is one of the stunning western provinces of Iran, located on the slopes and plains of the Zagros Mountains that have made the province one of the most spectacular spots in Iran, having given it fascinating attractions. A significant part of each trip is to relax and enjoy the delicious flavours. Memorable foods that double the pleasure of your voyage, creating memories in the human mind. The food of each region is related to the culture and taste of inhabitants. Kurdish Cuisine contains unique fragrant and natural vegetables due to the excellent mountainous climate, which are the raw materials of the rich local foods.
Kurdish Cuisine
The most famous and popular food of Kurdistan among Iranians is Kurdish kebabs, which have a particular and general reputation. Other Kurdish Cuisine such as stewed rhubarb, Ghayremeh, and leek stew are also prominent in the region. Among the well-known Kurdish Aush that you may find in some restaurants in Sanandaj, we can mention bulgur lentils, dooghava, and nettle. Barsagh and Kalaneh bread are also considered to be the most famous local bread of Kurdistan. Most of these foods are on Kurds’ tables in all cities of the province such as Sanandaj, Marivan, Saqqez, and Mahabad. Sanandaj is the capital of Kurdistan Province and the second largest Kurdish city in Iran. The people of Sanandaj are strict about food and are always looking for the best flavours, resulting in the places preparing food with particular sensitivity.
Shalkineh
Shalkineh is one of the Kurdish Cuisine, which you see mostly at parties and in the spring on the table. Shelkineh is a thin local bread that most people buy as a souvenir. Such delicious bread is made on a dish called Saj, which looks like an inverted pan; the Saj is placed on the gas to bake pieces of bread on it. Ingredients such as milk, flour, eggs, local oil, brewed saffron, and date or grape juice are used to prepare shalkineh. This tasty bread turns golden after baking. You can also add sugar when eating.
Kurdish Cuisine like, Barsagh Bread
Barsagh bread is a local bread of Kurdistan, which you can also find in the Ilam, Lorestan, and Kermanshah provinces. The bread has a slightly sweet taste, and its ingredients are milk, sugar, eggs, flour, and oil. After combining these ingredients, a dough is obtained; shaped into small round loaves, you should fry the bread in oil. You can also cook the bread with nuts. Pleasant Barsaq bread is prepared especially during Ramadan for the Iftar meal.
Kalāneh
Kalaneh is one of the most popular local fares, so similar to pizza except that it is prepared traditionally on Saj. To make Kalaneh, firstly, make a soft, thin, one-handed dough using flour, salt, and water, then add vegetables such as chopped onions inside the dough and cook on Saj. When consuming such food, Kurds grease it with butter or animal oil. They drink Doogh as a beverage beside it.
Stewed Rhubarb
Due to the mountainous nature of the Kurdistan territory, rhubarb is found in large quantities, and its stew is a famous food in the province. To make the stewed rhubarb, first, separate the raw rhubarb skin and cook it with meat and onion, then pepper, mint, salt, and parsley are added to make it taste good. If you are interested in sour foods, try this food certainly.
Kurdish Cuisine like, Ghayermeh
Ghayermeh, or fried artichoke, is pretty similar to the foreign appetizer. Since artichoke is a rare plant and is mostly found in April, celery is substituted in other months of the year to make the mentioned food. Preparing Ghayermeh, after peeling and chopping artichokes or celery, it is dipped in flour, water, eggs, saffron, butter, salt, and pepper and fried in oil in a sauce that has the same concentration as yogurt. Locals serve such food with both Kateh (Persian Rice) or bread.
Kurdish Leek Stew
Kurdish leek stew is a popular and easy food to cook in Kurdistan. In this stew, which is very similar to Ghormeh Sabzi stew, fresh leeks are used. The food ingredients are minced meat, chopped leeks, barberry, onion, tomato paste, and spices such as turmeric, lemon powder, black pepper, and salt. If you like sour taste, you can add verjuice or lemon juice to it. Kurdish leek stew is one of the main dishes at parties and ceremonies in Kurdistan.
Gilakheh Stew
Such nutritious food is prepared from a particular plant called Gilakheh (a kind of Allium species). Gilakheh plant has two parts, onion and leaf, and the onion is a rich source of fiber. Then meat, onion, red beans, Omani lemon and leek, parsley, or coriander are applied to make the stew.
Kurdish Kebab
To cook the traditional food of nomads and ranchers, use lamb; Chop the meat into large pieces and cook on the fire. In Kurdistan, as in most cities in Iran, kebabs are made at celebrations and parties.
Kurdish Shish Kebab
It is a specific type of kebab, known as Kurdish Shish kebab. To make Shish Kebab, put small pieces of mutton or lamb in a mixture of olive oil, garlic, fresh mint, saffron, onion, and pepper. After a while, the meat is skewered, then cook it on charcoal. You can also cook such a kebab in oil.
Reshteh Polo (fragrant rice and noodle dish)
Reshteh Polo is a food that can be found in most parts of Iran. In Kurdistan, such a dish is sometimes made without stew, and sometimes chicken or meat is served beside it. When Reshteh Polo is cooked without chicken, dates are added instead. The use of raisins is also common in some regions.
Kurdish Cuisine like Hatimcheh
Hatimcheh is one of the local dishes that Kurds less made today, but you may find it in restaurants in the province. The food consists of ingredients such as mutton, vegetables, and legumes.
Gerdol
To prepare such a fare, you must first pour rice or millet in doogh and put it on heat. Once cooked, add the walnut kernels and aromatic herbs; the food is ready to eat.
Tarag Khangan Kuku, One of the Kurdish Cuisine
Tarag Khangan is the local name of a leek species that grows in Kurdistan and is a plant with extraordinary properties, which is also known as blue celery. The Kurds combine the vegetable with eggs, onions, and spices to make a delicious Kuku (an egg-based and often vegetarian Iranian dish).
Goushte Barkhileh (Kurdish Cuisine)
This healthy food is so famous in Bijar city; you must cook it with a kind of spring leek. The food is rich in iron and folic acid.
Dizi cutlet
Kurdistan Dizi cutlet is similar to both Dizi and cutlet. In fact, the fare is made using Dizi ingredients and then fried as a cutlet. Meat, peas, potatoes, spices, eggs, and fragrant vegetables are combined and then fried.
Types of Kurdish Aush
Bulgur lentil soup
This soup is one of the most popular dishes in Kurdistan, which is very energizing. Bulgur lentil soup, also called Nisk Savar, includes potatoes, lentils, wheat semolina, and spices. Finally, garnish the soup with hot mint and fresh lemon.
Daneh Kolane Ash
This delicious Ash or soup is one of the particular dishes of Kurdistan, which usually is prepared when the growth of first baby teeth and is distributed among relatives and neighbors. Wheat, peas, beans, lentils, onions, dried savory, lamb bone broth, and spices such as turmeric, salt, and red pepper are the ingredients of Daneh Kolane.
Se Negah Sir Ash
Such food is a guest of the tables in this region in winter, also has a high nutritional value. To prepare it, cook a mixture of chicken or turkey meat with onions and spices, then add rice and lentils, and after the ingredients are completely cooked together, serve the food with the curd.
Nettle Ash, One of the Kurdish Cuisine
Nettle is the name of a plant that you can see in different areas in Iran. Unlike many cities where nettle is consumed as herbal medicine, Nettle Ash is one of the Kurdish foods, also known as Dookhin Ash. To make this Aush, they cook wheat and barley in buttermilk and use aromatic plants such as nettle, mint, and cockatiel to flavour it.
Sour Broishin Ash
Broishin Torsh (Sour) is a type of Ash served both as a main dish and as an appetizer. Ingredients for the food are semolina, chickpeas, onions, spices, salt, and oil. Kurds also add vinegar and apricots to make the Aush sour.
Jahan Nama Restaurant is the Best Place for Kurdish cuisine
Jahan Nama Restaurant is one of the reputable restaurants in the city that serves high-quality food. The restaurant with a traditional aesthetic design is one of the oldest and most popular places in Sanandaj, located in the city centre, near many city sights. The restaurant is one of the old ones in the bazaar and downtown of Sanandaj, near Hajar Khatoon Bazaar, where trades fabrics. Jahan Nama Restaurant includes both modern ambience filled with chairs and tables and traditional rooms where you can have your meal on the floor to double the pleasure of experiencing the traditional atmosphere of the restaurant. There are a variety of Persian and foreign fares, and one of the most prominent ones is Kurdish Dulma, which is the traditional cuisine of Sanandaj. With more than a thousand antiques, the complex is more like a museum than a restaurant; from old radios to nostalgic clocks and accessories of the last hundred years or even older, from guns to musical instruments can be seen in the interior design. From floor to ceiling is decorated with eye-catching pieces.
Sanandaj Dehkadeh Restaurant
Another of the best places in the city is the Dehkadeh restaurant. If you are looking for Kurdish Cuisine and would like to experience a different taste, the Dehkadeh restaurant is one of the best choices. The restaurant contains a traditional charming and clean interior design that increases its popularity among domestic and foreign tourists. The Dehkadeh restaurant started its work as an Ash maker in Sanandaj, however, over time, it expanded its scope of activity, becoming one of the best restaurants in the city by serving local foods. Ghormeh Sabzi and Dolmeh, along with a variety of local Aush (Ash) are among the high-quality tasty foods of the Dehkadeh restaurant.
Pearl Restaurant
Morvarid or Pearl Restaurant is one of the most famous places in Sanandaj, where you can enjoy the highest quality and most delicious seafood and Iranian or grilled dishes. Such a restaurant is one of the old ones, located near the bazaar. The cuisines are prepared with Persian rice and animal oil. Also, the stews are extremely popular, including plum stew. Morvarid Restaurant is in the middle of the road between the two main squares of the city, Azadi and Enghelab Squares.
Sheidaye Kordistan Restaurant
One of the most famous restaurants is known as Sheida Kebabi in Sanandaj. Sheida kebabi has varrious gratifying Persian stews and dishes with the best quality available, but the kebabs are more famous. The restaurant is in the street leading to the main square of the city, Azadi Square.