Kavurma
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Kavurma is a broad type of fried or sautéed meat dish found in
Turkish cuisine Turkish cuisine () is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, Ottoman cuisine (Osmanlı mutfağı), European influences, Seljuk Empire, Seljuk cuisine and the Turkish diaspora. Turkish cuisine with traditional Turkic peoples, Turkic elements s ...
. The name also refers to canned or preserved versions of a similar dish, prepared by dry frying the meat to render down the fat. Similar dishes are known in
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
as
kuurdak Kuurdak (, Quyrdaq, , ; Говурдак, , , ), transliterated with various spellings, is a traditional meat dish made in Central Asia. The name comes from a nominalization of the word "roast", "fried", referring to how the food is made. It is ...
. It is present in cultures and cuisines of
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and neighbouring countries, including the
Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
, most notably in
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
and
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
.


Etymology

Its name comes from the Turkic word for the technique of frying, ''qawirma'' (" fried thing")Perry, C. "Korma, Kavurma, Ghormeh: A family, or not so much?" in Hosking (ed.) ''Food and Language: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2009'', p.254 which subsequently was adopted into other languages such as Persian,
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
, and
Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
-
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
. ("kavurma" (frying) is decidedly a Turkish word and ..it is widely used with minor changes in Arabic, Persian and Urdu") Through these, the word - ''kavurma'' in the modern
Turkish language Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...
- was the root of the names for other widely different dishes, such as the braised korma of the
Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
,"korma, n.". OED Online. June 2013. Oxford University Press the stewed qovurma of
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
and the stewed ghormeh of
Iranian cuisine Iranian cuisine comprises the culinary traditions of Iran. Due to the historically common usage of the term "Name of Iran, Persia" to refer to Iran in the Western world,Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. ...
.Perry, C. "Korma, Kavurma, Ghormeh: A family, or not so much?" in Hosking (ed.) ''Food and Language: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2009'', p.254 Despite the use of the same root word, it is quite possible that the dishes themselves are not related.Perry (2009), p.256 In
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
the dish is known as
Kuurdak Kuurdak (, Quyrdaq, , ; Говурдак, , , ), transliterated with various spellings, is a traditional meat dish made in Central Asia. The name comes from a nominalization of the word "roast", "fried", referring to how the food is made. It is ...
.


Ingredients and technique

In Turkey, ''kavurma'' or ''saç kavurma'' refers to a dish made by sautéing or frying onions and meat such as lamb,
beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...
, hare or other game briskly over a high heat. Peppers such as urfa biber are nearly always used, and the dish is cooked and often served in a shallow two-handled pan or ''saç'' which has its origins in the cooking utensils used by nomads. ''Çoban Kavurma'', "
shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...
's kavurma", similarly comprises meat fried with onion, tomato and
capsicum ''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their edible fruit, which are generally known as "peppers" or "capsicum". Chili peppers grow on five s ...
, while ''sahanda kavurma'' is served in a small metal pan called a ''sahan''. A related dish, also known as ''kavurma'', involves frying the finely minced meat slowly to render down the fat in a technique analogous to
confit Confit (, ) (from the French language, French word ''wikt:confire#French, confire'', literally "to preserve") is any type of food that is cooked slowly over a long period as a method of food preservation, preservation. Confit, as a cooking term, ...
.Perry (2009), p.255 Like confit, the meat can then be stored in jars or other containers sealed with a layer of fat: commercially produced versions are available from Turkish grocers. This type of "winter" ''kavurma'' was in the past an important part of the diet of the Turkish military,''Proceedings of the Armed Forces International Nutrition Conference'' (1958), Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Defense, p.14 and was particularly used in times when fresh meat was scarce. It was often prepared from the meat of sheep slaughtered in the autumn, for storage during the winter,Halıcı (1999), p.39 when small amounts would be used to flavour vegetable and cereal dishes. In
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
and
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, the same preserving method is known as ''qawarma'', and as ''qāwurma'' in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, though in the latter the word is also used for the simple sautéd meat dish also found in Turkey. The same confit-like technique is also used in
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
to preserve lamb or camel meat.


Meatless ''kavurma''

In parts of northern and western Turkey ''kavurma'' refers to a vegetable dish. Like other versions, it begins by frying onions, but then adds chopped vegetables, often including pickled vegetables, along with water and cooking everything together. It is possible that this meatless form of ''kavurma'' has its origins in older fast day dishes of the region.


References

{{Cuisine of Turkey, kavurma Turkish cuisine Turkish words and phrases food preservation