Assyrian Cuisine

On May 23rd, Nar Restaurant and TCF-Culinary Arts Center collaborated to organize a special evening dedicated to Assyrian cuisine, one of the oldest cuisines of Anatolia. The evening started with a seminar, presented by food culture researcher Nedim Atilla. During the seminar, there was a showing of a video shot by Banu Özden, YESAM’s Project Executive, featuring the Assyrian ladies who volunteer at the Virgin Mary Church in Bakırköy. Nedim Atilla interviewed the ladies regarding their culinary culture, types of food they cook and the typical ingredients used in Assyrian cuisine. The ladies who are from Mardin, Diyarbakır, and Adıyaman, all have one common goal, and that is to keep the traditions going by passing it onto next generations.  During the seminar, the participants were offered a special cookie called “kiliçe.” Mr. Atilla explained the significance of this cookie with the following words:

 “Kiliçe is something like life. It is a type of cookie typical to Assyrians. Don’t bite this cookie, please break it. If possible, break it together with the person next to you. Break it together so that you can witness life together. This cookie is distributed at the church entrances before the ceremony, at funerals, and when asking for a girl’s hand in marriage and weddings.  When you break this cookie together with someone it symbolizes that you will witness the rest of his or her life.”

After the presentation, the guests were taken to NAR Restaurant to enjoy a feast of stuffed lamb ribs, eggplant salad, tabule, şembörek (savoury pastries filled with ground beef), kibe (stuffed tripe) and kitel raha (cracked bulghur shell filled with ground beef) while listening to the melodies of Southeastern Anatolia.  

23 May 2015

Lecture video is in Turkish.