Mahyawa or mehyawa ( fa, مهیاوه) is an
Iranian cuisine
Iranian cuisine () refers to the culinary practices of Iran. Due to the historically common usage of the term "Persia" to refer to Iran in the Western world,Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 ( ...
tangy
sauce
In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...
made out of fermented fish.
History
Mahyawa originates in the southern coastal regions of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, but has become a popular food item in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...
countries, brought by the migration of the
Huwala
Huwala ( ar, الهولة, sing. Huwali هولي) also collectively referred to as Bani Huwala, is a blanket term usually used to refer to Iranian Arabs who originate from the Arabian Peninsula, initially migrating in the 13th and 14th century fr ...
and
Ajam
''Ajam'' ( ar, عجم, ʿajam) is an Arabic word meaning mute, which today refers to someone whose mother tongue is not Arabic. During the Arab conquest of Persia, the term became a racial pejorative. In many languages, including Persian, Tu ...
communities. It is typically served on top of a wafer thin crispy flat bread called
regag or tumushi, and
falazi.
Mahyawa is made from salted
anchovies
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...
and ingredients include: fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and mustard seeds.
Mahyawa is often sold at bakeries and by street vendors in the southern parts of Iran, especially Hormozgan, Bushehr and the southern parts of Fars province, in clear bottles, showing the brown-colored sauce.
See also
*
List of fish sauces
Fish sauce is an amber-colored liquid extracted from the fermentation of fish with sea salt. It is used as a condiment in various cuisines. Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in numerous cultures in Southeast Asia and the coastal regions of East A ...
Bahraini cuisine
Arab cuisine
Fish sauces
Iranian cuisine
Kuwaiti cuisine
Fermented fish
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