![Old Circassian traditional house](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Old_Circassian_traditional_house.jpg)
Circassian cuisine is an
ethnic cuisine, based on the cooking style and traditions of the
Circassian people
The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia i ...
of the
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
. This region lies between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, within European Russia.
Traditional dishes
![Circassian Cuisine P1150712](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Circassian_Cuisine_P1150712.JPG)
Circassian
cuisine
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...
consists of many different traditional dishes, varying by season.
[''www.circassianworld.com/AdygheCuisine.pdf''](_blank)
/ref> The summer time traditional dishes are mainly dairy products
Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are Food product, food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, dairy goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include commo ...
and vegetable
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...
s. In winter and spring, the traditional dishes mostly consist of flour
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...
and meat
Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...
. Traditional dishes include ficcin, seasoned chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
or turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
with sauce, boiled mutton
Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...
and beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus'').
In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...
with a seasoning of sour milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
along with salt and crushed garlic.
Among the many varieties of cheese in the North Caucasus
The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
, Circassian cheese
Circassian cheese ( ady, адыгэ къуае , russian: адыгейский сыр ''adygeyskiy syr'', is a cheese found across the North Caucasus, the Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to ...
is the most popular one.
On holidays, the Adyghe people traditionally make Haliva
Haleva or haliva ( ady, хьэлжъо ) is a fried dough turnover filled with either potatoes or Circassian cheese.
Variations
*Haliva stuffed with cottage cheese (''Helive q'wey lhalhe delhu'')
*Haliva stuffed with potato (''Helive ch'ert'of ...
() from toasted millet or wheat flour.
In the Levant, there is a widely–recognized Circassian dish known as .YouTube
/ref>
Fresh meat dishes ()
*Circassian goulash
Goulash ( hu, gulyás) is a soup or stew of meat and vegetables seasoned with paprika and other spices. Originating in Hungary, goulash is a common meal predominantly eaten in Central Europe but also in other parts of Europe. It is one of the ...
()
*Meat goulash ()
*Lamb boiled in cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
()
*Liver in fat ()
*Liver sausage
Liverwurst, leberwurst, or liver sausage is a kind of sausage made from liver. It is eaten in many parts of Europe, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Polan ...
()
*Liver with sheep's-tail fat ()
*Thick pancake with liver and eggs ()
*Sheep sausage ()
*Fried sheep's tail fat with honey ()
*Sheep's tail fat cracklings ()
*Sheep's tail fat with honey ()
*Shepherd's lamb ()
*Boiled mutton
Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...
()
*Thin mutton sausage ()
Dried and smoked meat dishes ()
*Fried meat ()
*Fried meat and potatoes ()
*Fried meat with onions ()
*Meat and beans broth
Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...
()
*Meat and noodles ()
*Meat and potato broth ()
*Meat roasted on skewer
A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". Skewers are used while grilling or roastin ...
s, shashlik ()
*Dried sheep's side ()
*Smoked meat
Smoked meat is the result of a method of preparing red meat, white meat, and seafood which originated in the Paleolithic Era. Smoking adds flavor, improves the appearance of meat through the Maillard reaction, and when combined with curing it ...
goulash ()
Poultry and egg dishes ()
*Boiled chicken with garlic ()
*Broasted chicken ()
*Chicken fried in a brazier ()
*Chicken with new potatoes ()
*Chicken and noodles ()
*Chicken in pepper sauce ()
*Chicken in soured cream sauce, ()
* Chicken in walnut sauce ()
*Fried chicken
Fried chicken, also known as Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or ...
with onion ()
*Stuffed chicken baked in dough ()
*Eggs fried in soured cream ()
*Boiled goose
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...
or duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
()
*Goose (duck) with noodles ()
*Baked goose (duck) stuffed with Rice ()
*
*Sweet omelette
In cuisine, an omelette (also spelled omelet) is a dish made from beaten eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan (without stirring as in scrambled egg). It is quite common for the omelette to be folded around fillings such as chives, ve ...
()
*Pastry
Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ma ...
straws, twiglets ()
*Boiled turkey ()
*Stuffed turkey ()
Fish dishes (Bdzezchey shxinighwexer)
*Fried fish
Fried fish is any fish or shellfish that has been prepared by frying. Often, the fish is covered in batter, egg and breadcrumbs, flour, or herbs and spices before being fried and served, often with a slice of lemon.
Fish is fried in many part ...
()
*Fried fish in soured cream ()
Dairy product dishes
*
* Baked milk
Baked milk (russian: топлёное молоко, ua, пряжене молоко, be, адтопленае малако) is a variety of boiled milk that has been particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. It is made by simmering m ...
(She sch'eghepschtha)
* Cheese ()
* Fried cheese ()
* Hominy
Hominy (Spanish: maíz molido; literally meaning "milled corn") is a food produced from dried maize (corn) kernels that have been treated with an alkali, in a process called nixtamalization ( is the Nahuatl word for "hominy"). "Lye hominy" is a ...
or polenta
Polenta (, ) is a dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. The dish comes from Italy. It may be served as a hot porridge, or it may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried, or grilled. ...
()
* Kurt ()
* – This kind of milk preserve is not used in contemporary times. It used to be prepared for winter.
* Sour milk
Soured milk denotes a range of food products produced by the acidification of milk. Acidification, which gives the milk a tart taste, is achieved either through bacterial fermentation or through the addition of an acid, such as lemon juice or vineg ...
()
* Soured cream sauce with cheese ()
Flour, cereal and navy-bean dishes
*Lakum ()
*Haliva
Haleva or haliva ( ady, хьэлжъо ) is a fried dough turnover filled with either potatoes or Circassian cheese.
Variations
*Haliva stuffed with cottage cheese (''Helive q'wey lhalhe delhu'')
*Haliva stuffed with potato (''Helive ch'ert'of ...
stuffed with offal
Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but usually excludes muscle. Offal may also refe ...
(), cottage cheese
Cottage cheese is a curdled milk product with a mild flavor and a creamy, non-homogeneous, soupy texture. It is made from skimmed milk by draining the cheese, as opposed to pressing it to make cheese curd—retaining some of the whey and keeping ...
(), potatoes (), potatoes and cheese (), navy bean
The navy bean, haricot, pearl haricot bean, Boston bean, white pea bean, or pea bean is a variety of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris'') native to the Americas, where it was first domesticated. It is a dry white bean that is smaller than ...
s () or pears ()
*Potato and cheese pie ()
*Cottage-cheese () and cottage cheese and scallion
Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, ch ...
pie ()
*
*Flaky bread ()
*Shalama ()
*
* Cornbread, unleavened ( or ) or leavened
Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...
()
*Maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
lakum ()
*Maize rolls, with () or without fat ()
*Unleavened millet bread ( or )
*
* or ( or )
*Boiled () or roasted () corn on the cob
*Corn flakes ()
*Maize () or millet halama ()
*Kilish ()
*Wheat () or maize pasta ()
*
*
*
*Millet soup ()
*Boiled barley ()
* or )
*
*
*Sweet rice pilaf
Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techniq ...
()
*Dumplings () with meat () or chicken ()
*Navy-bean sauce (), soup () or soup with potatoes ()
Potato and gourd dishes ()
*Baked gourd
Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and ''Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the earli ...
()
*Boiled gourd ()
*Gourd sauce ()
*Potato paste ()
*Fried potatoes ()
*New potatoes stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and ...
ed in soured cream ()
*Potato stewed in soured cream or broth ()
Beverages
*Kalmyk tea ()
*Makhsima ()
*Maramazey ()
Sweets and desserts
* Haliwa () – sweet, dessert in Arabic
*
*Nuts with honey ()
*Dried pears ()
*Watermelon honey ()
*
See also
*
References
{{Authority control
Circassians