Kurdish Lesson 09 - Food

Kurdish food can vary by region and even by family, so what I present below is a snapshot of the foods I enjoyed first in San Diego and later in Iraq. The families with whom we lived in California were from the Sulemania and Halabja areas which is also where I lived in Iraq. I don’t know much about Hewleri or Dohuki food let alone Kurdish food in Turkey or Iran.

Kurdish food is a blend of regional dishes with local ingredients. The dishes are often similar to what one might find in a Turkish, Lebanese or even Indian restaurant, but in Kurdistan, the dishes have their own unique flavors.

I, for one, have never had falafel better than the falafel I had in Sulemania. The same goes for Briyani.

Below, I will spell the names of the dishes and foods with latini. Remember to click here for a refresher on pronunciation.

Breakfast: A typical Kurdish breakfast is fairly light.

Kurdish	English
Mast	Yoghurt
Hangwîn	Honey
Nan	Bread
Moz	Bananas
Ḧelke Ron	Fried Egg
Ça	Tea
Penîr	Cheese

An everyday breakfast would just be nan u mast, but the others mix in as well. Of course, no breakfast is complete without Ça.

My favorite breakfast was to mix my mast with date syrup. It was great, but I have no idea what the Kurdish word for date syrup is. Sorry.

Lunch and Dinner: Lunch and dinner foods are usually the same. We often ate lunch at the office where we had a cook. She made some really great things! (Although, some of my co-workers complained about the excessive amounts of oil!)

Kurdish	English
Birinc	Rice
Zalate	Salad
Fasulîe	Beans
Kube	Ground meat wrapped in rice
Brîanî	Spiced rice with anything and everything in it
Kufte	Ground meat wrapped in wheat served in a tomato soup
Tepsî	Eggplant, zucchini, onions and potato fried with spices
Yapraẍ/ Dolme	Ground meat wrapped in grape leaves or stuffed in various vegetables
Şile	Tomato-based stew with one of many vegetables
Şufte	Little spiced-meat patties (My personal favorite!)

Miscellaneous Food Names: There are many other words you’ll need to cook and eat in Kurdistan. I have tried to include those below. I have also included separate tables for fruits and vegetables.

Kurdish	English
Goşt	Meat
Qȋme	Ground meat
Mirişik	Chicken
Qal	Turkey
Masȋ	Fish
Samun	Bread loaves or buns
Ron	Oil
Şekir	Sugar
Ard	Flour
Mast Aw	Yogurt and water drink
Do	Like Mast Aw, but when made traditionally, it’s semi-fermented in an animal stomach
Gȋpe	Meat cooked in a cow's stomach
Sȇr u Pȇ	Head and feet. Sheep’s brains and feet
Kabab	Meat patty on a skewer
Tike	Meat chunks on a skewer
Gwȇs	Nuts
Xwȇ	Salt

Fruits and Vegetables: The secret to Kurdish culture is this: when you are invited to dinner or visit someone, they will eventually serve you fruit. The fruit is your sign that it’s time to go.

Kurdish	English
Sȇw	Apple
Pirtikal	Orange
Hunir	Pomegranate
Tirȇ	Grape
Moz	Banana
Kişmiş	Raisin
Qeȋsȋ	Apricot

I don’t like vegetables all that much, so my vocabulary is slim. Sorry.

Kurdish	English
Pȋaz	Onion
Tomate	Tomato
Potate	Potato
Baȋinjan	Eggplant
Zȇtun	Olives
Bamȇ	Okra

This certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a good start.

If you have recipes for any of these foods, please post them in the comments. I can only make rice and şile.

A view of our neighborhood store. The lady on the right makes the world's best Kube and Şufte.

A small store like this is called a dukan.