Joshpara
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Joshpara is a kind of dumpling popular in Central Asia, South Caucasus and the Middle East. They are made of unleavened wheat dough squares filled with ground meat and condiments. In observance of the Islamic dietary laws, Islamic dietary rules, the meat filling is usually without pork.


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 language, Azerbaijani (''düşbərə'', ''dushbara''), Kazakh language, Kazakh (тұшпара, ''tushpara''), Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz (чүчпара, ''chuchpara''), Tajik language, Tajik (тушбера, ''tushbera''), Uzbek language, Uzbek (''chuchvara'') and Uyghur language, 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 Azerbaijani cuisine, Azerbaijani, Iranian cuisine, Iranian, Tajik cuisine, Tajik, Uzbek cuisine, Uzbek, Uyghur cuisine, Uyghur, and other Central Asian cuisines. The dough for Central Asian ''chuchvara'' or ''tushbera'' is made with flour, Egg (food), eggs, water, and salt. It is rolled into a thin layer, and cut into squares. A dollop of meat filling, seasoned with chopped onions, black pepper, salt and thyme, 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 until they rise to the surface. ''Chuchvara'' can be served in a clear soup or on their own, with either vinegar or sauce based on finely chopped greens, tomatoes and hot peppers. Another popular way of serving ''chuchvara'' is to top the dumplings with Strained yogurt, syuzma (strained qatiq) or with smetana (dairy product), smetana (sour cream). The latter is known as Russian-style. In Azerbaijan, the dumplings are smaller and the dough is thicker. ' are typically made from dough (wheat flour, egg, water), Lamb and mutton, mutton (boneless), onions, vinegar, dried Lamiaceae, mint, pepper, and salt. The dish is prepared either with water or meat broth. Mutton can be substituted with beef, 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 Seashell, 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 is added or served separately to taste. 5-8 ''düşbərəs'' typically fit on a spoon; however, in rural areas of Absheron Peninsula, Absheron, they are made small enough that a spoon can hold as many as 20.


Arab cuisines

''Shishbarak'' is prepared in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine (region), Palestine, Syria, Hejaz, and the northern area of Saudi Arabia. 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 for centuries, a recipe for ''shushbarak'' appears in the 15th century Arabic cookbook from Damascus, ''Kitab al-tibakha''.


Related dishes

* Finnic peoples 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 Russian cuisine, Russia in the 17th century, where the dish is referred to as ''pelmeni''. * Manti (dumpling), Manti is another type of dumpling popular in Central and Western Asia.


See also

* List of dumplings * List of stuffed dishes


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