{"id":4279,"date":"2023-06-06T22:00:28","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T02:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/?p=4279"},"modified":"2024-09-16T11:12:30","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T15:12:30","slug":"my-life-my-food-my-kurdistan-by-chiman-zebari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/oldsite\/my-life-my-food-my-kurdistan-by-chiman-zebari\/","title":{"rendered":"“My Life, My Food, My Kurdistan” by Chiman Zebari"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\"My Life, My Food, My Kurdistan,\" by Chiman Zebari<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Zebari\"Chiman Zebari, My Life, My Food, My Kurdistan. Self-published, 2015. With Ingrid Parker<\/strong><\/p>

Discussed at our Book Club on June 6, 2023, with the <\/span>author\u00a0present.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>

Chiman Zebari has a \u00a0background in language analysis, linguistics, and translation. Holding a master\u2019s in public administration, she worked for the National Security Administration, specializing in Kurmanci and Farsi.<\/span><\/p>

The four regions of Kurdistan, Chiman explained to our Book Club, have similar cuisines, in terms of ingredients, but they differ in flavorings and spices. In Bashur, Kurds use a lot of Arab spices, but in Rojhelat, they use saffron. \u201cThe spices make the difference,\u201d she told us. \u00a0<\/p>

Kurish food is healthy, she continued, resembling the Mediterranean diet, with fresh vegetables. \u201cWe use a lot of yogurt base, herbs, dill, mint, parsley, garlic.\u201d<\/p>

Chiman herself uses turmeric almost all her dishes. It\u2019s healthy and anti-inflammatory and is delicious. She usually uses organic turmeric. In Iran they use a lot of turmeric, she said, but in Turkey, not so much.<\/p>

A Kurdish breakfast, her book explained, typically consists of the flatbread called naan,<\/em> yogurt, cheese, tahini, eggs, and tea. \u201cYou will find the same breakfast menu on Kurdish tables, \u2026 everywhere, regardless of where you are in Kurdistan.\u201d \u00a0For lunch, Kurds eat a full meal, while dinner is usually much lighter.<\/p>

But Kurdish recipes aren\u2019t fixed, she said. \u00a0You can change them according to taste. \u00a0Her own mother told her, \u201cThis isn\u2019t how you make Dolma.\u201d Chiman responded, \u201cThis is how I make it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

The recipes in her book are a combination of traditional dishes and those she altered to her preferences. \u00a0The list of recipes alone is mouthwatering:<\/p>

Entrees:<\/h3>

Carrot Rice, Cabbage Rice, Fava Bean Rice, Lentil Rice, Spnach Rice, Rice with Fish, Kale Rice, Chicken and Rice Casserole (Tah-Chin), Beef Meqlobe (Upside-down Rice Dish), Kurdish Biryani, Red Rice with Chicken, Plain Couscous<\/p>

Vegetarian Barley Soup, Mung Beans Soup, Noodle Pottage (Ash-e Reshteh), Broccoli Soup, Vegetable Soup<\/p>

Chickpeas and Chicken Stew, Green Bean and Meat Stew, Celery Beef Stew, Persian Herb Stew (Ghormeh Sabzi), White Bean and Meat Stew, Potato and Meat Stew, Kurdish Lamb Shanks, Okra and Beef Stew, Spinach Stew, Split Peas and Beef Stew, Walnut Stew (Fesinjon), Zucchini and Beef Stew<\/p>

Eggplant Casserole (Tapsi), Stuffed Eggplant (Sheikh Mahshi), Stuffed Peppers, Stuffed Vegetable (Dolma), Rice and Dill Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolma)<\/p>

Kofteh in Tomato Sauce (Tirkshik), Kofteh in Yogurt Sauce (Dooghavah), Beef Shish Kabob, Chicken Tikka, Kurd Burgers (Shifte), Roasted Potatoes and Broccoli, Chuck Roast, Beef Liver, Kurdish Beef Pocket (Borek)<\/p>

Rice Kubba (Kubba Halab), Kubba Bulgur, Vegetable Samosa, Kurdish Beef Egg Roll, Roasted Stuffed Chicken, Stuffed Potato with Cheddar, Stuffed Biscuits with Spinach, Garlic Pasta, Salad Olivieh (Persian Style), Kurdish Grilled Chicken Salad<\/p>

Side Dishes:<\/h3>

Kurdish Salad, Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce (Khiyar Mast), Purslane and Yogurt Salad (Pirp\u00eane), Yogurt and Shallot Dip (Mast o Musir), Cilantro Sauce, Kurdish Pickled Vegetables (Torshi)<\/p>

Sweets:<\/h3>

Baklava, \u00a0Ladyfinger Baklava, Sweet Cheese Kunafa, Zolobia, Luqm Qazi, Kolicha with Walnuts, Kolicha with Dates, Mahalabia, Cardamom-Flavored Cookies (Shakirlama), Raisin Cookies, Almond Brittle<\/p>

Drinks:<\/h3>

Chai\/ Chay, Yogurt Drink (Mast Av or Doogh)<\/p>

Several of us made recipes and took photos.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Vegetable Barley Stew<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce (Khiyar Mast)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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In the spirit of experimentation, another Book Club member improvised a Spinach and Feta dinner:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Spinach\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Chiman said she makes bread (naan<\/em>) every few days. \u00a0Bread \u00a0is essential to the Kurdish diet, she explained, because not everyone can afford meat every day, or fruit and vegetables, but everyone can afford flour. \u201cAnd with bread you can put things on it, onion, cucumber, eat it, and you\u2019re full. Or bread, onion, and feta cheese, and you\u2019re done.\u201d<\/p>

When she and her family were in the mountains escaping from Saddam, she said, \u201cwe carried dried bread and put it in our pockets. \u00a0You can\u2019t do that with vegetables and fruit.\u201d<\/p>

Kurdish cuisine has strong resonances with Kurdish culture and identity, but it also reflects a communal spirit with neighbors of all ethnicities and religions. In \u00a0the region in Bashur where Chiman comes from\u2014Aqrah, Zaxo, and Barzan\u2014harmony prevails among Kurds, Jews, Assyrians, and others, she recalled. \u201cPeople eat each other\u2019s food, and they intermarry without conversion.\u201d<\/p>

Today, food is basic to Chiman’s own family and community life. \u201cCooking for me is therapy,\u201d she said. \u201cI entertain every week. People sit around, we have coffee, it\u2019s fun. It takes several hours to make food. But rice doesn\u2019t take long, and meat just marinates overnight.”<\/p>

The book is available for purchase here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>

Follow Chiman Zebari on Instagram, where she\u2019s \u201cKurdish Cuisine<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“My Life, My Food, My Kurdistan,” by Chiman Zebari Chiman Zebari, My Life, My Food, My Kurdistan. Self-published, 2015. With Ingrid Parker Discussed at our Book Club on June 6, 2023, with the author\u00a0present.\u00a0 Chiman Zebari has a \u00a0background in language analysis, linguistics, and translation. Holding a master\u2019s in public administration, she worked for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-club","category-cuisine"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4279"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11552,"href":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4279\/revisions\/11552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nykcc.org\/oldsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}