Circassian cuisine is an ethnic cuisine, based on the cooking style and traditions of the

Circassian people The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia i ...

of the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

. This region lies between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, within European Russia.

Traditional dishes

Circassian cuisine consists of many different traditional dishes, varying by season.''www.circassianworld.com/AdygheCuisine.pdf''
/ref> The summer time traditional dishes are mainly

dairy products Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food items in ...

and

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s. In winter and spring, the traditional dishes mostly consist of flour and meat. Traditional dishes include ficcin, seasoned

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

with sauce, boiled

mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

with a seasoning of sour

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...

along with salt and crushed garlic. Among the many varieties of cheese in the

, Circassian cheese is the most popular one. On holidays, the Adyghe people traditionally make

Haliva Haleva or haliva ( ady, хьэлжъо ) is a fried dough turnover filled with either potatoes or Circassian cheese. Variations *Haliva stuffed with cottage cheese (''Helive q'wey lhalhe delhu'') *Haliva stuffed with potato (''Helive ch'ert'of ...

() from toasted millet or wheat flour. In the Levant, there is a widely–recognized Circassian dish known as .YouTube
/ref>

Fresh meat dishes ()

*Circassian

goulash Goulash ( hu, gulyás) is a soup or stew of meat and vegetables seasoned with paprika and other spices. Originating in Hungary, goulash is a common meal predominantly eaten in Central Europe but also in other parts of Europe. It is one of the n ...

() *Meat goulash () *Lamb boiled in

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

() *Liver in fat () * Liver sausage () *Liver with sheep's-tail fat () *Thick pancake with liver and eggs () *Sheep sausage () *Fried sheep's tail fat with honey () *Sheep's tail fat cracklings () *Sheep's tail fat with honey () *Shepherd's lamb () *Boiled

() *Thin mutton sausage ()

Dried and smoked meat dishes ()

*Fried meat () *Fried meat and potatoes () *Fried meat with onions () *Meat and beans

broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...

() *Meat and noodles () *Meat and potato broth () *Meat roasted on

skewer A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". Skewers are used while grilling or roasting ...

s, shashlik () *Dried sheep's side () *

Smoked meat Smoked meat is the result of a method of preparing red meat, white meat, and seafood which originated in the Paleolithic, Paleolithic Era. Smoking adds Flavor (taste), flavor, improves the appearance of meat through the Maillard reaction, and ...

goulash ()

Poultry and egg dishes ()

*Boiled chicken with garlic () *Broasted chicken () *Chicken fried in a brazier () *Chicken with new potatoes () *Chicken and noodles () *Chicken in pepper sauce () *Chicken in soured cream sauce, () * Chicken in walnut sauce () * Fried chicken with onion () *Stuffed chicken baked in dough () *Eggs fried in soured cream () *Boiled

goose A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

() *Goose (duck) with noodles () *Baked goose (duck) stuffed with Rice () * *Sweet

omelette In cuisine, an omelette (also spelled omelet) is a dish made from beaten eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan (without stirring as in scrambled egg). It is quite common for the omelette to be folded around fillings such as chives ...

() *

Pastry Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" sugges ...

straws, twiglets () *Boiled turkey () *Stuffed turkey ()

Fish dishes (Bdzezchey shxinighwexer)

Fried fish Fried fish is any fish or shellfish that has been prepared by frying. Often, the fish is covered in batter, egg and breadcrumbs, flour, or herbs and spices before being fried and served, often with a slice of lemon. Fish is fried in many parts ...

() *Fried fish in soured cream ()

Dairy product dishes

* *

Baked milk Baked milk (russian: топлёное молоко, ua, пряжене молоко, be, адтопленае малако) is a variety of boiled milk that has been particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. It is made by simmering m ...

(She sch'eghepschtha) * Cheese () * Fried cheese () * Hominy or polenta () * Kurt () * – This kind of milk preserve is not used in contemporary times. It used to be prepared for winter. * Sour milk () * Soured cream sauce with cheese ()

Flour, cereal and navy-bean dishes

*Lakum () *

stuffed with

offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but usually excludes muscle. Offal may also refe ...

(),

cottage cheese Cottage cheese is a curdled milk product with a mild flavor and a creamy, non-homogeneous, soupy texture. It is made from skimmed milk by draining the cheese, as opposed to pressing it to make cheese curd—retaining some of the whey and keep ...

(), potatoes (), potatoes and cheese (), navy beans () or pears () *Potato and cheese pie () *Cottage-cheese () and cottage cheese and

scallion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus '' Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, c ...

pie () * *Flaky bread () *Shalama () * * Cornbread, unleavened ( or ) or leavened () *

Maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

lakum () *Maize rolls, with () or without fat () *Unleavened millet bread ( or ) * * or ( or ) *Boiled () or roasted () corn on the cob *Corn flakes () *Maize () or millet halama () *Kilish () *Wheat () or maize pasta () * * * *Millet soup () *Boiled barley () * or ) * * *Sweet rice pilaf () *Dumplings () with meat () or chicken () *Navy-bean sauce (), soup () or soup with potatoes ()

Potato and gourd dishes ()

*Baked

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the ear ...

() *Boiled gourd () *Gourd sauce () *Potato paste () *Fried potatoes () *New potatoes stewed in soured cream () *Potato stewed in soured cream or broth ()

Beverages

*Kalmyk tea () *Makhsima () *Maramazey ()

Sweets and desserts

* Haliwa () – sweet, dessert in Arabic * *Nuts with honey () *Dried pears () *Watermelon honey () *

References

{{Authority control Circassians