All the nations, tribes and societies which had relations with the island since very early periods of the history had left effective traces on today,s Cypriot cuisine. The two mostly original dishes of Cypriot kitchen are made by the vegetables Molohiya and Kolokas Molohiya , a close relative of jute, can be cooked either by using fresh or by dried leaves of the plant. It is cooked generally like spinach stew with lamb or chicken meat and served with the accompany of green or pickled hot peppers. Roots of a broad leaved plant, kolokas, which resemble huge potatoes are cooked with chicken in mousakka style and served with radish. Bulles, smaller roots of kolokas are fried and served.
One of the most delicious meals of the island,s kitchen is Sheftali kebab. It is named so, because of its marvellous smell and softness. It is prepared with minced meat mixed with chopped onion, spices and parsley, and wrapped in abdominal membrane of sheep. Afterwards, these wrapped pieces looking like fat, short sausages will be grilled on charcoal fire slowly.
Hirsiz (thief) kebab , lamb pieces wrapped in folios and cooked very slowly in village ovens or in big clay pots converted into pots and oven kebap, lamp or chicken segments cooked with potatoes in the oven are popular guest meals.
Artichokes are liked very much as raw with few drops of lemon, bowls of them could be fried with egg and dolma, artichokes stuffed with minced meat and rice are also favourite dishes. Bakla (broad beans) could also be eaten raw with black olives. Naturally, dishes made with broad beans with olive oil, with minced meat, and also dried broad beans prepared by boiling are popular menus. Bell shaped blossoms of courgettes are stuffed with stuffing material, cooked with olive oil, called cicek dolma (stuffed flower) and from one of the tastiest specialities of Cypriot kitchen.
Humus, Humus soup, stuffed Bulgur kofte, and Felafel are meals which reflect the Arabian influence on Cyprus kitchen. Humus is a special meze , a paste consisting of boiled chickpeas, sesame paste garlic, olive oil , lemon juice and red pepper, sumach and parsley for decoration. Felafel is kind of vegetable balls containing courgettes and sesame paste and fried in deep oil. Tarhana is a soup prepared by soaked bulgur (cracked wheat) and yoghurt, and fried hellim cheese particles are added before serving.
Hellim is a sort of full fat cheese becoming famous all over the world gradually. Because of its special Preparation method, it is hard and does not melt when cooked. It is widely used in breakfasts, as meze, as grated on almost all kinds of pastas and its famous aroma will be enriched by frying or grilling. Nor, another special type of cheese which has no salt content when fresh, could be used for boreks (PASTRIES)
Various herbs which are known better by the middle-age group are an important priority of the Cyprus kitchen. Generally they are consumed raw, pickled garnishing, as salad or as taste and aroma while cooking and they are also included in the folklore of Turkish Cypriots for, the majority of the population was involving with agriculture in the past.
Stem celeries are consumed very much as raw, in salad and pickles, in soups and in dried white bean meals. While fresh coriander adds a matchless taste to salads; the seeds of it are used to dress the tsakistes (crushed green olives) with garlic.
Besides capers, fennel, rocket different types of cabbages and wild asparagus, there are many greens that grow wild on our island which are regularly used by the locals in a variety of salads and pickles. Many do not have English names and are not available in other countries.
Fondness of Cypriots of the traditionally prepared pastry, causes these products to be a focus of interest for the tourists. Pumpkin pastries, pilavuna the Easter cake (with halloumi, eggs, linseed and dried raisins), small breads with halloumi and black olives, many sorts of pies, sesame covered dough-breads and various rusks are very much liked.
Because hunting is a very popular hobby, game bird are also very popular .Rabbits, hares, partridges, grouses, stock dove, large wild pigeon, wild ducks and wild geese, starlings and some other local game birds are hunt during the hunting season.
The most common fish are groupers, red mullets, coral fish, seebreem, sea bass, bluefish, tunny, and bonitos.
There are some unusual pickles, such as octopus squid, quail eggs, some small birds and snails; they are interesting and delicious.
Carops are one of the most important peculiarities of Cyprus flora. It is a raw material for cosmetics industry, its residue cake obtained after pressing is a major export material to be used as food for racing horses. The carob syrup and pastelli made by adding nuts and sesame are important organic foodstuffs.
It is time for the dessert, sweets of Cyprus. Sujuk and kofter, the sweetmeats very similar to Turkish delight are prepared by the excess boiling of grape syrup.
The halva of semolina with almonds or pine-kernel;Lokma , a sort of doughnuts fried in deep oil and soaked into sugar syrup; Samisi (Damascene), a kind of pie with semolina sweet inside fried in deep oil , are typical sweets liked very much by the locals and visitors.
One of the very important members of Cypriot kitchen is majun, this jam-like sweet is not for breakfasts, but for offering the guest. They are glazed fruit preserves very similar to maron glace. Fresh green walnuts prepared by adding almonds and clovers, bitter lemons, dates orange peels, bitter lemon blossoms, eggplant(a special white type) and watermelon rinds are used for these unforgettable tastes. Azarole or Neapolitan medlar which contain natural gelatine is also used for marmelades and it is very healthy sweet.
At the end our adventure in the Cypriot kitchen, we wish you “Bon Apetit” with a cup of Turkish coffee.
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Tags: A BLEND, A BLEND OF EAST AND WEST, AND, EAST, glazed fruit, OF, WEST