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Sarah Mohammadi
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Copyright Š 2011 Sarah Mohammadi 6 Victoria Road Camden, Maine 04843 smohammadi@meca.edu Maine College of Art 522 Congress Street Portland, Maine 04101 Design: Sarah Mohammadi Photography: Sarah Mohammadi Typeface: Corbel, Baskerville
Turkmen Damegh Turkmen Cuisine
Turkmen Damegh Turkmen Cuisine
Sarah Mohammadi
16 Chekderma 20 Blamagh
24 Jigar
30 Choreg
36 Diye Chal
42 Pishme
46 Boreg
50 Ekmeg
54 Ghatlema
I am Turkmen.
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My people are from Turkmanistan, which is a small independent state from the old Soviet Union. I come from the small town of Gonbad-E Kavos in the northeastern part of Iran. My ancestors migrated there
Yomut tribe
from Turkmanistan, which is where most of the world’s Turkmen population resides. Although we live in an Iranian environment, our traditions and culture have survived the modern customs.
Turkmanistan
Ashgabat Gonbad–E Kavous
Iran Afghanistan
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Turkmens consist of four main tribes: the Yomut, Guklan, Nokhorli and Tekke. I am from the Yomut tribe. My tribe consists of two sub tribes –The Atabay and Jafarbay. Until the beginning of this century, my tribe was nomadic, but now only a few of us migrate and within a limited area.
Guklan
Yomut Atabay
Tekke
Jafarbay
My mother’s tribe My father’s tribe
Me
Nokhorli
Due to our past nomadic lifestyle, we traveled light.
Turkmen cuisine is the cuisine of Turkmanistan. It is similar to the cuisine of the rest of Central Asia. We do not use spices or seasonings, instead, we cook with large amounts of oil for flavor. A woman cooking alone is a stereotype routine for the Western culture, but in my culture, a woman preparing meals alone is uncommon. Cooking is a large part of our culture, involving every person in a family to participate. Our nomadic lifestyle allowed men to hunt, as women and children prepared the rest of the meals at the villages. This tradition can be found today as all members of a family have a role in preparing each meal. Almost all meals are made in a ghathan, which is similar to a large wok.
Being nomadic submitted us to limitations of pots, utensils and even food supply. Different ingredients are thrown in depending on the season, time of day, and or tradition being celebrated. We ate with our hands. The presentation of a customary meal of a traveling nomadic family would consist of a ghathan and a few smaller serving plates. Each family gathers around a serving plate, using their hands to scoop up the various foods. Nothing was passed around. Traces of this lifestyle can be found in our cuisine.
Turkmen cuisine is the manner in which Turkmens bond on a daily basis.
Aysha cooking checkderma for a family wedding.
Chekderma in the process of being prepared for a wedding.
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Chekderma [CH-eck-der-mah]
The most popular and distinguished Turkmen dish is Chekderma. It is a mixture of rice, meat (usually lamb, chicken, or fish), and vegetables as desired. My families favorite is with sweet potatos. Chekderma has been around as long as Turkmens have. This dish was significant during our nomadic years since it requires very little, and only one pot to prepare
1 large onion 4 TBS tomato paste 2 cups of basmati rice
everything in. All the ingredients are mixed in together, making it easy for our nomadic tribes by eliminating unecessary material. Today, chekderma is served at weddings and all other major gatherings because of its importance in our culture as well as its ability to produce large amounts of food from very few ingredients such as rice and meat.
1/2 cup olive oil 1 lb. beef/chicken/lamb Salt and pepper to taste
Soak rice in water for two hours in advance. Chop onion to fine pieces. Sautee the onion until golden brown in olive oil. Add tomato paste. Sautee once agian until the paste turns light brown. Add salt and pepper, meat, and four cups of water. Simmer for two hours until meat is very tender. Drain rice. Take the meat out of the sauce and add in rice. Cook the rice until all the sauce has evaporated. Add meat back in and let simmer for thirty minutes.
Three ghathans of blamagh being prepared.
Blamagh ready to be served.
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Blamagh [Bel-eh-megh]
Since our traditions are based around food, a baby shower is no different, infact the name for a baby shower (blamagh) is the name of the food that is served at the gathering. In a Western culture when a woman is pregnant with a child, a baby shower is thrown in her honor. During the shower, gifts are received from the family and friends. These gifts are supposed to make the raising of the new born
1 cup rice 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 cup sugar
an easier process on the parents as well as the baby. In my culture, a baby shower is a completley different concept. As tradition has it, the new mother has to consume blamagh equal to the weight of the new born child to fill the space in her stomach where the baby resided for the previous nine months. This is so that she will be healthy enough to fulfill her role as a new mother.
8 cups of water Pinch of salt
Wash rice. Sautee in oil until golden brown. Add eight cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and let sit for two hours. Stir occasionally while cooking. Add sugar ten minutes before the cooking time is done.
Jigar on skewer.
Jigar after a sacrifice.
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Jigar [Jee-gar]
Eide Ghorban is a Muslim holiday which contributes a substantial role in my culture. This Eid is when the leader, Abrahim, felt obligated to sacrafice his son to God, but instead, God sent a ram in replacement. During this holiday, every family sacrafices a sheep (ghoyin) or a cow (thighir) for each male memeber. This sacrafice is split three ways: first the owner, then family and friends, and finally the poor. Most families donate a huge portion to the poor, as they
Lamb liver
can not afford to sacrafice a sheep to God. It is tradition to eat the liver (jigar) of a ghoyin or thighir on the day that it is sacrificed. This compliments our belief that by eating the liver, we are gaining the pure blood of the sacrified sheep. This became important to our nomadic tribes due to our dependancy on these sheep for not only survival, but also food, which provided strength and nutrition.
Salt
Cut the liver into small cubes. Sprinkle with salt and put through skewer. Grill.
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Diytha baking choreg in a tamdyr.
Fresh baked choreg.
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Choreg [CH-ou-reg]
In Turkmen tradition, not even the smallest amount of choreg is misused. If a piece is dropped it is picked up at once and put it aside for crumbs. Although Choreg is all that some families can afford to make, the process of how it’s made makes it more unique than other dough based dishes. Choreg is a meal for many Turkmens. We prepare specific amounts of this sacred meal each day, so that no choreg goes to waste. It is tradition to make new choreg everyday because only fresh choreg is cunsumed. Choreg is
Flour Warm water
baked in a clay oven (tamdyr) which makes it more unique. Diytha (the baker) lights a fire in the tamdyr, allowing it to heat up. Once the tamdyr is at the required temperature, the flames are extinguished by applying small amounts of water so only coals remain. The dough is then pasted on the tamdyr’s internal walls to be baked. When the dough is golden brown, Diytha removes the Choreg before it peels off of the wall. Many families enjoy this meal simply by itself.
2 TBS salt 1 TBS yeast
Mix salt, yeast and warm water until everything is dissolved. Add flour and knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about an hour in a warm place. Knead just once more and split the dough into small round sections. Flatten and make indentations with a fork or your finger. Stick to the side of the tamdyr until golden brown.
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Diytha milking a camel for diye chal.
Diye chal before water is added.
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Diye Chal [Dee-yeh Ch-Al]
Diye Chal is a refreshing and common drink that is a simple mixture of camel milk and water. Our nomadic culture took advantage of diye chal being transported by the camel naturally, compared to carting bottles of water. Along with being nomadic comes the necessity of adaptation. Due to the thick consistency of camel milk, our tribes started mixing water into the milk to cut down the thickness to a more appealing and drinkable state. My family still carries on this tradition by having diye chal with
Camel milk
any meal. The process of milking a camel is very quick, allowing our tribes to change locations at a quicker rate while having time to nourish themselves. It was necessary to our nomadic lifestyle to obtain as much nutrients as they could from their surroundings. Since the nomadic lifestyle was a physically demanding process, diye chal provided the necessary nutrtious values. Today, diye chal is considered to be the healthiest, natural drink in Turkmen culture.
Water
Mix the camel milk with water, about half and half. Serve over ice.
Food as a gift.
Our tradition values dough based snacks, therefor, they are presented as a gift to family and friends on any occasion. All of our dough based snacks are thought to be sacred, as bread itself is believed to be the most sacred food of the culture. The tradition of giving food as gifts comes from our nomadic lifestyle. Due to our migration routines, having a stable shelter to celebrate occasions in was difficult. This prevented our tribes from having the ability to store food for guests, therefore food was brought to the occasions from each family, as a way to help out with the cost and time of these events.
Pishme in the process of frying.
Pishme ready for an occasion.
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Pishme [Peh-sh-meh]
Pishme is a very unique, small ball of fried dough. Although it does not taste like American fried dough, it is very similar in terms of its preparation, and how it is fried. This snack is one of the gifts that are provided to family and friends during special occasions. The beauty of pishme not only lies in its simplicity to
1 TBS yeast 1 cup sugar Cooking oil
execute, but also in the opportunity the process provides to make large quantities of the snack at once. This provided our nomadic tribes with snacks for the days coming as they traveled and couldn’t stop to make food everywhere.
Flour Warm water 2 TBS salt
Mix salt, yeast, sugar and warm water until everything is dissolved. Add flour and knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about an hour in a warm place. Knead just once more and split the dough into small round sections. Heat oil and drop the dough into oil. Cook until brown on each side (usually about two minutes).
Boreg being prepared.
Boreg fried and ready to be eaten.
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Boreg [Bow-reg]
Boreg is a thin piece of dough filled with meat, rice and onions. Although today we tend to customize boreg with other components based on our personal preferences, the traditional recipe calls for the three original ingredients. Like other dishes, when a family is preparing to cook boreg, each individual has a specific job that is integral to the comlpetion of the snack. Since boreg
For the Dough: 2 TBS salt 1 TBS yeast Cooking oil
is made from the traditional base bread, it can also be cooked in the tamdyr in the same fashion as cooking choreg. Boreg has been given as a gift for years, as it is another fast and easy way to provide food for many guests. This dish is very popular among children because it is easy to eat on the run. Boreg was also very popular during our nomadic days, due to its accesability and the time that it remained edible.
For the filling: 1 lb. ground beef 1 large chopped onion Chopped parsley Salt and pepper
Mix salt, yeast, sugar and warm water until everything is dissolved. Add flour and knead the dough until it no longer sticks to your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about an hour in a warm place. Knead just once and split the dough into small round sections. Flatten into thin round pieces, size of a tortilla bread. Cook the beef until brown. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Fill the dough with the filling, on one side of the bread. Leaving room to fold over the other half and pinch the sides together. Fry in oil until golden brown on each side.
Preparing the dough which will become ekmeg itself.
Ekmeg being baked in layers on a gathan.
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Ekmeg [ek-megh]
Ekmeg is another snack that is used as a gift. This oily bread is very similar to the French crepes in looks, but its taste and process utilized during preperation differ. Ekmegs preparation is directly influenced by our nomadic lifestyle and having limited access to pots
Flour 2 TBS salt
and pans. Its simplicity gives it a unique ability to mix well with other meals,and its versatility along with producing large quantities at a fast rate provided food for a few days. This balance was significant since it was very efficient in terms of being nomadic.
1 TBS yeast Cooking oil
Break off dough into small sections of about the size of a ping pong ball. Flatten the small pieces of dough until they resemble the French Crepes. Sprinkle oil into the ghathan and cook the dough for about a minute on each side. Repeating this step until all the dough is gone.
Ghatlama fried in a ghathan.
Draining oil from the ghatlama.
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Ghatlama [Ghaut-la--mah]
Ghatlama takes longer to prepare than other foods that are given as gifts, simply because of the effort and steps required to complete the tasty treat. Due to its complexity and time required to prepare, ghatlama is considered to have more value than other “snacks” that are provided as gifts. My grandmother would always tell me “when you walk into a wedding and see a line of ghatlamas, know that it’s going to be a good wedding.” Traditionally, we take ghatlamas to weddings, but today, pishme and ekmeg are more likely to be found at weddings due
Flour 2 TBS salt Warm water
to not only their simplicity in the process of making them, but also because of the cost. Multiple steps are necessary to create ghatlama, so traditionaly many families gather around, taking responsability of a particular step of preperation. While some members roll the dough, others flatten it. These steps would then be followed by cutting the dough into strips, then again rolling the dough and flattening it out for a final time. The remaining members of the families are in charge of frying the dough. Then the ghaltlama is wrapped and sent out to be delivered.
Melted butter Cooking oil
Mix all ingredients together until the dough doesn’t stick. Break off into sections. Flatten to the size of a pizza, but make sure the dough is very thin. Layer on top of each other, and brush with melted butter in between layers. Layer the dough until about twenty are placed on top of each other. Cut into five sections. Roll each sections into a ball, and then flatten again into the size of a pizza. Make small holes with finger to allow the oil to cook evenly. Drop into oil. Deep fry for about ten minutes, making sure that the dough stays under the oil for an even brown. Take the ghatlama out of oil, and drain. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar to finish.
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Growing up in Iran, I never took into consideration why we prepared the meals that we ate on a daily bases. I remember when I was a little girl I would run around the house with a boreg in hand. Today, I see the resemblance of my actions to those of our nomadic tribes; we were both on the move. Fifteen years later, I decided to write, photograph, and design this book that is dedicated to the tradition of each meal based on our nomadic tribes’ lifestyle.
I spent the Summer of 2011 in my hometown of Gonbad-E Kavous, photographing and researching the meals that can be found in this book. I go back home every year, investigating the roots of my tribe, which has had a great impact on my designs. Before, my culture was something that I followed because it was who I am, but after my research, I started to understand the importance of our traditions.
Turkmen Damegh Turkmen Cuisine
Sarah Mohammadi