Joshpara is a kind of

dumpling Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, ...

popular in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. They are made of unleavened

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavenin ...

squares filled with

ground meat Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, includ ...

and condiments. In observance of the Islamic dietary rules, the meat filling is usually without

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved ...

Etymology

''Josh'' means "to boil" while ''para'' is a term for "bit" in early Persian. This word was commonly used prior to the 10th century, when it was replaced by the modern Persian name ''gosh e-barreh'', meaning "lamb's ear". There are several variations of the name in other languages including

Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

(''düşbərə'', ''dushbara''), Kazakh (тұшпара, ''tushpara''),

Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...

(чүчпара, ''chuchpara''), Tajik (тушбера, ''tushbera''), Uzbek (''chuchvara'') and Uyghur (چۆچۈرە, ''chöchürä''). The Arabic word ''shishbarak'' ( ar, شيشبرك) or ''shushbarak'' ( ar, شُشْبَرَك) is thought to be derived from ''joshpara'' in pre-Islamic times. Another theory about the words' etymology is that the word comes from the Turkic word ''düşbərə''. The words ''tosh'' and ''dash'' mean "filled up" and "spill out", and ''berek'' means "food" (dishes made from dough). This alludes to the fact that ''düşbərə'' should be added in when the water is boiling and spilling out of the saucepan. A common Azerbaijani joke suggests that the word comes from “''düş bəri''”, which means "fall here": in other words, asking to fill the spoon with as many dumplings as possible.

Regional variations

Turkic and Persian cuisines

The dish is found in

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

, Tajik, Uzbek, Uyghur, and other Central Asian cuisines.

The dough for Central Asian ''chuchvara'' or ''tushbera'' is made with

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 cul ...

, eggs,

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

, and salt. It is rolled into a thin layer, and cut into squares. A dollop of meat filling, seasoned with chopped

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

and

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus '' Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigen ...

, is placed at the center of each square, and the corners of the dumpling are pinched and folded. The dumplings are boiled in meat

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, ...

until they rise to the surface. ''Chuchvara'' can be served in a clear soup or on their own, with either

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

or sauce based on finely chopped greens,

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es and hot peppers. Another popular way of serving ''chuchvara'' is to top the dumplings with syuzma (strained

qatiq Qatiq is a fermented milk product from the Turkic countries. It is considered a more solid form of yogurt than ''ayran''.''Food on the Move'' (ed. by Harlan Walker). Oxford Symposium, 1997. . Page 245. In order to make qatiq, boiled milk is fe ...

) or with smetana (

sour cream Sour cream (in North American English, Australian English and New Zealand English) or soured cream (British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial cultu ...

). The latter is known as Russian-style. Dushbara Azerbaijani cuisine

In Azerbaijan, the dumplings are smaller and the dough is thicker. ' are typically made from dough (wheat flour, egg, water),

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 ...

(boneless), onions, vinegar, dried

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAE ...

, pepper, and salt. The dish is prepared either with water or meat broth. Mutton can be substituted with

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 quantit ...

, or even with chicken. The broth is made from mutton bones, and the ground meat is prepared with onions and spices. The dough is then rolled, cut into small squares, and stuffed with ground meat. The squares are wrapped like triangles and the edges are pasted together, making shell-shaped figures. The dumplings are added into the boiling salty water and cooked until the dumplings come to the surface. ' are served with sprinkled dried mint. Vinegar mixed with shredded

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...

is added or served separately to taste. 5-8 ''düşbərəs'' typically fit on a spoon; however, in rural areas of Absheron, they are made small enough that a spoon can hold as many as 20.

Arab cuisines

''Shishbarak'' is prepared in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, Palestine,

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Prov ...

, and the northern area of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. After being stuffed with ground beef and spices, thin dough parcels are cooked in yogurt and served hot in their sauce. A part of

Arab cuisine Arab cuisine ( ar, المطبخ العربي) is the cuisine of the Arabs, defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab world, from the Maghreb to the Fertile Crescent and the Arabian Peninsula. These cuisines are centuries old an ...

for centuries, a recipe for ''shushbarak'' appears in the 15th century Arabic cookbook from Damascus, ''Kitab al-tibakha''.

Related dishes

Finnic peoples The Finnic or Fennic peoples, sometimes simply called Finns, are the nations who speak languages traditionally classified in the Finnic (now commonly '' Finno-Permic'') language family, and which are thought to have originated in the region of ...

in Western Siberia were exposed to the dish by Iranian merchants during the Middle Ages and named it ''pelnan,'' meaning "ear bread". It was adopted in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

in the 17th century, where the dish is referred to as ''

pelmeni Pelmeni (russian: пельмени—plural, ; pelmen, russian: пельмень, link=no—singular, ) are dumplings of Russian cuisine that consist of a filling wrapped in thin, unleavened dough. It is debated whether they originated in Ura ...

''. * Manti is another type of dumpling popular in Central and Western Asia.

References

External links

AZ Cookbook

Chuchvara in Uzbek cuisine
(with a photograph) {{Dumplings Arab cuisine Azerbaijani cuisine Caucasian cuisine Central Asian cuisine Dumplings Iraqi cuisine Jordanian cuisine Kazakhstani cuisine Kyrgyz cuisine Lebanese cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine Palestinian cuisine Stuffed dishes Syrian cuisine Tajik cuisine Uyghur cuisine Uzbek dishes