Amasya - Cuisine

Author: Sonia Tashjian, 09/04/2022 (Last modified: 09/04/2022) - - Translator: Simon Beugekian

The region of Amasya stretched along the two banks of a river. It was a vast territory that encompassed mountains, valleys, forests, gorges, and fields. The area was water-rich and boasted a temperate climate. Various crops were grown and thrived there. Moreover, the Armenians of Amasya had a vivacious and creative character, which led to the development of a unique culinary culture.

Animals that were reared in Amasya included cattle, sheep, goats, and buffalos. Locals also kept chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese. Among wild animals, they hunted deer, stags, roe deer, boars, rabbits, partridges, etc. The local fishermen caught various fish in the river, among which the most delicious was called elghanos. It was a relatively large fish with a wide mouth, and it was sold in the market in slices.

Various grains, fruits, and vegetables were grown for domestic use, sale, and preservation. The local cherries were particularly renowned, and the cherry harvest season stretched from May into June. About ten different varieties of mulberries were grown, including sweet mulberries, large mulberries, and juicy mulberries. The locals also grew unique varieties of pears, apples, apricots, and peaches. Approximately 20 different types of grapes were grown. The people of Amasya also benefited from the bounties of the forests, mountains, and fields that surrounded the city, including nuts, herbs, wild berries and wild fruits, mushrooms, etc.

Judging from the variety of the foods in their diet, we can conclude that the people of Amasya lived prosperous and comfortable lives. Their possessions, their cuisine, and the complexity of the dishes they enjoyed were characteristic of the affluent urban class.

In the city market, the local butchers slaughtered cattle or sheep every day, except during Lent. Thus, fresh meat was readily available. As a result, the local diet was dominated by meat.

Similarly, the many bakeries in the market ensured that the locals had ready access to bread and bread products.

Bread, Bread Products, and Pastries

Various types of bread and pastries were enjoyed by the people of Amasya. In the market, bakers made these in large ovens. Each home also had its own oven, where the homemaker baked bread once a week, although bread was also often bought from the bakeries. The most popular type of bread in Amasya was called somin – oval-shaped and weighing between one and one-and-a-half kilograms.

The pides of Amasya were in high demand and renowned. Usually, homemakers would bake a few pides in their ovens before baking bread, in order to reduce the temperature of the oven. To make pide, they would take the dough of the bread, knead it into an oval shape, flatten it with wet fingers on the peel, and bake it. They would then arrange pieces of aboukhd [basturma/pastırma] on the dough, making pide with basturma. They could also make pide with cheese by arranging pieces of cheese in the shape of a crescent on the dough before baking it. During Lent, they would add plenty of onions and walnuts to the dough before baking, thus making pide with soghan. The pide made by the bakers of the market was called pide with charshou. It was served after rubbing butter on top or stuffing it with halva. This pide was also commonly sold with as a wrap with roasted meat inside.

Beoregs were also popular. They were made with the same flour as regular bread, and each piece was about the size of a hand. Beoregs came with various stuffings, including cheese, kavourma and fried onions, fried onions and greens, chopped onions and walnuts, khashkhash [tulip seeds], etc. Beoregs were usually baked in the oven, and occasionally fried in oil. They were often also boiled in saltwater. Beoregs were also prepared with youkha bread. Amasya was famous for its sou beoreg.

Sou Beoreg

For the dough:

  1. 2 eggs
  2. 1 cup of lukewarm water
  3. 1 soup spoon of vinegar
  4. 2 soup spoons of oil
  5. 1 teaspoon of sugar
  6. A pinch of salt
  7. 2-2½ cups of flour

For the stuffing:

  1. Shredded white cheese
  2. Chopped parsley
  3. Onions (according to preference)
  4. Ground red and black pepper
     
  5. 1 egg, to use as egg wash
  6. Melted butter, to apply to the gaps in the dough
  7. Saltwater

Knead the flour until it’s firm, then roll into six balls. Flatten these with a rolling pin until they are each the size of an oven tray. Soak each layer of dough in boiling saltwater for a few minutes, remove from the water, and then place on a towel to drain. Place the first layer of dough in the oven tray, rub melted butter on its surface, then add the second and third layers of dough, rubbing each with butter. Mix the ingredients of the stuffing and pour the mixture onto the third layer of dough. Add the remaining layers of dough in the same way as the first three. Apply the egg wash to the top surface, Cut the dough into squares, and bake in the oven until golden.

Tertupats

For the dough:

  1. 1 egg
  2. 2 cups of lukewarm water
  3. 1 teaspoon of yeast
  4. 1 teaspoon of sugar
  5. A pinch of salt
  6. 1½-2 cups of flour

For the filling:

  1. Khashkhash or chopped walnuts
  2. A generous amount of oil

Knead the flour until it’s firm, then roll into five balls. Set aside for two hours. Then flatten each ball of dough with a rolling pin, rub with oil, sprinkle with khaskhash or walnuts, and arrange on top of each other. Slice the pieces of dough, sprinkle each piece with flour, flatten each into an oval with a rolling pin, and bake on a hot sadj until both sides are red.

Christmas and Easter Cheoreg

  1. 1 egg
  2. 1½ cup of lukewarm water
  3. 2 soup spoons of sugar
  4. 1 teaspoon of yeast
  5. A pinch of salt
  6. 2-2½ cups of flour
  7. Khashkhash
  8. Chopped walnuts
  9. Raisins
  10. A generous amount of oil
  11. 1 egg, to use as egg wash

Knead the dough until it’s firm, roll into six balls, and set aside for two hours. Then flatten each ball with a rolling pin, rub with oil, sprinkle with the raisins and walnuts, and arrange the pieces of dough on top of each other. Cut into four pieces of equal size, then lengthen each piece using a rolling pin. Connect the ends of the pieces of dough together to make rings. Apply the egg wash, sprinkle with the khashkhash, and bake.

The pastry called cheoreg shougayi (market cheoreg) was baked and sold by Armenian cheroegdjis (cheoreg/pastry makers). It was made with thinner layers of dough arranged in folds. This cheoreg was usually enjoyed during family celebrations. Other popular pastries prepared by the bakers of the city included various charshou cheoregs, including boughacha, simid, djevizli, nohoudlu, kete, Christmas bogegh, etc.

Simid

  1. 1½ cups of lukewarm water
  2. 1 teaspoon of sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon of yeast
  4. A pinch of salt
  5. A pinch of mahleb [cherry spice]
  6. 2-2½ cups of flour
  7. ½ cup of grape molasses mixed in water
  8. Sesame seeds

Knead the soft dough, then roll it into six balls and set aside for two hours. Then knead the balls of dough again, shape them into long cylinders, join the ends of the cylinders together, then roll the entire pastry on top of itself. Separate the dough into rings, apply the grape molasses-infused water to the surface, sprinkle with the sesame seeds, and bake.

Soups

Brindz (Rice) Soup

  1. 1 liter of chicken broth
  2. 1 cup of rice
  3. 1 lemon, used for the juice
  4. Herbs
  5. Ground black pepper
  6. Salt

Boil the rice in the chicken broth. After removing from the flame, add the lemon juice, chopped herbs, and black pepper. During Lent, this soup was prepared by boiling the rice in water rather than chicken broth, then adding the other ingredients in the same manner.

Rice Soup with Yogurt

  1. ½ cup of rice
  2. 1 liter of yogurt
  3. 1 soup spoon of flour
  4. 1 soup spoon of oil
  5. 1 onion
  6. 1 teaspoon of mint
  7. Salt

Boil the rice in plenty of water. Beat the yogurt with the flour, then pour it into the boiling rice while stirring constantly so that the mixture doesn’t curdle. Serve after adding a generous amount of oil and fried onions with mint. The same dish was also made with dzedzadz [hulled wheat] instead of rice.

Tarkhana [Tarhana] Soup

Pour boiling water over the dried tarkhana and soak it for several hours, until the crumbs soften. Then cook over a low flame, occasionally stirring. Serve with fried onions with mint on top.

Soup with Zerdel

  1. 2 cups of dzedzadz
  2. ½ cup of zerdel [dried apricots]
  3. ½ cup of prunes
  4. ½ cup of dried dogwood fruit
  5. Salt

Boil the dzedzadz first, then add the dried fruits and continue boiling. This was a soup enjoyed during Lent and was therefore made without oil.

Manti Soup

  1. 1 cup of boiled chickpeas
  2. 1 liter of soup
  3. 2 cloves of garlic
  4. 2 soup spoons of oil
  5. 1 soup spoon of mint
  6. Salt

Four the dough:

  1. 1-1½ cups of flour
  2. 1 cup of water
  3. Salt

Knead the dough until it’s firm, then flatten it with a rolling pin, cut into triangles, and boil in saltwater. When the pieces of dough begin floating to the surface of the water, add the chickpeas and continue boiling. Crush the garlic into the yogurt. Heat the oil, then mix the mint into it. Serve by pouring the soup into bowls, and topping it off with the garlic yogurt, then with the oil and mint.

Malez Soup

  1. 1 cup of flour
  2. 2 soup spoons of oil
  3. 1 liter of water
  4. Salt

Roast the flour in oil, then slowly add the boiled water while stirring constantly. Continue boiling, then serve. Malez soup with rice was prepared in the same way, except that the roasted flour was mixed with boiled rice.

Keofte Soup

  1. ½ kilogram of pounded meat
  2. 2 eggs
  3. ½ cup of broken rice
  4. Lemon juice
  5. Herbs
  6. Ground red and black pepper
  7. Salt

Mix the ingredients and knead, then roll into cherry-sized balls and boil them in already-boiling saltwater. Sprinkle with chopped herbs and serve with the boiled water and lemon juice.

Ishgembe Soup

Scrape and chop the entrails of a sheep or lamb. Boil the chopped entrails, then replace the water, add salt, and boil again. Heat the oil and add hot red pepper to it. Then pour the oil on top of the soup and serve.

Isodi

This was a soup consumed on cold winter days. Chop fatty beef and boil it after adding a generous amount of garlic and dried hot pepper to the stew. Add stale breadcrumbs before serving.

Gdrdag Soup

  1. 1 liter of yogurt
  2. 1 egg
  3. 2 soup spoons of oil
  4. 1 soup spoon of mint
  5. Salt

For the dough:

  1. 1-1½ cups of flour
  2. 1 cup of water
  3. Salt

Knead the dough until it is firm, then flatten with a rolling pin. Cut the dough into squares and boil in saltwater until the squares float to the surface. Take a small portion of the raw flour, cut it up into smaller pieces, and fry in butter. Sprinkle these pieces with mint, then drop them into the soup. Meanwhile, beat the yogurt with eggs, take a small amount of the soup water and add it to this mixture, and then boil while stirring constantly. Pour the yogurt and eggs into the soup and serve.

The same soup was also prepared in a different way – garlic yogurt was poured over the boiled dough, followed by hot, mint-infused oil.

Pacha Kelle Dodigi

The head and trotters of a sheep were scorched in a blacksmith’s forge and cleaned. Afterwards, the homemaker would soak them in water for an entire day, then finish cleaning them. Once clean, they were placed in a clay pot, alongside plenty of water, and left overnight in an oven that had just been turned off. In the morning, the bones were removed, and the head and trotters were chopped and served. Each person would add crumbs of bread, crushed garlic, and vinegar to his or her plate.

Borani

  1. 1 liter of yogurt
  2. 1 egg
  3. 1 soup spoon of flour
  4. 1 soup spoon of oil
  5. Mint
  6. Salt

Beat the yogurt with the egg and flour, add the water, and boil. Heat the oil, add the mint to it, then pour it into the boiled yogurt. Add breadcrumbs before serving.

Eggs with Vinegar

  1. 1 liter of water
  2. 2 eggs
  3. 1/3 cup of vinegar
  4. 1 soup spoon of flour
  5. 1 soup spoon of oil
  6. Ground mint
  7. Ground red pepper
  8. Salt

Beat the eggs with the flour and vinegar. Pour the beaten eggs into boiling water while stirring constantly, until the entire mixture comes to a boil. Heat the oil, then add the ground mint and red pepper to it. Add breadcrumbs before serving.

Roasted Foods

Pouri Ghouzi

This was a dish enjoyed on holidays and weddings. It involved roasting an entire stuffed sheep. To make this dish, each household would keep a wide, relatively shallow (depth of 10 centimeters) tray-like tub with handles, made of copper, which was called the “ghouzi pan.” The sheep or lamb was slaughtered, the head and the entire body skinned, the entrails and other organs removed, and the carcass washed and rubbed with salt. Then, the chopped liver and lungs were mixed with rice, raisins, pine nuts, and spices. This entire mixture was stuffed into the belly of the sheep, which was then sewn shut. The sheep was placed in the copper tub. Water was added, and the tub was put in the oven. Occasionally, while cooking, the tub was removed, the sheep flipped over, and the entire body doused in the oily juices of the pan, thus allowing the entire sheep to be cooked.

Porlitsk

This dish was almost identical to pouri ghouzi. But in this case, only the sheep’s or lamb’s belly was used. For the stuffing, the chopped liver was fried and mixed with rice and spices. Then, this mixture was stuffed into the belly, and the belly sewn shut and cooked in the oven, after adding water to the tray.

Ghouzi Biryan

This dish was prepared just like pouri ghouzi. The one difference was that the stuffing did not include rice.

Surukh Kebab

This was a fully roasted sheep, usually cooked during feasts in the fields. Like the pouri ghouzi, the lamb was cleaned and skinned, then impaled on a strong branch. The branch was constantly turned, and the lamb was roasted slowly over the fire.

Shish Kebab

During the summer and autumn months, the Armenian cookeries of Amasya would offer shish kebab to their customers. The cooks would set up their grills outside their shops. They would cut mutton into small cubes, season, then arrange the chunks on skewers. The skewers would be hung from a metallic, horizontal bar above the center of the grill. The grill would consist of two sections, each on one side of the horizontal bar, and about 50 centimeters below it. Shish kebab would be cooked over a wood fire. At the very bottom of this grill would be the sadj (pot), into which the grease that dripped from the meat would drain. This grease was considered a delicacy and was used in the preparation of many other dishes. Some cooks would roast onions, tomatoes, and diced eggplants alongside the meat. In such cases, the chopped vegetables would be the same size as the chunks of meat.

Ghazel Kebab

This was the name given to kebab that was cooked in the orchards to celebrate the grape harvest. It was customary to use boughs and branches as skewers for the meat. The kebab cooked in the forests by hunters was called orman kebab.

Keozleme or Sgara

This was a kebab prepared with a sgara. Chopped lamb or mutton would be placed in-between two metallic nets, and both sides would be roasted over a fire. The sgara was also used to roast birds, lung, heart, liver, etc.

Ebeghoulaghu Keozleme

This was the name given to roasted snails. While working in their orchards and vineyards, the locals would collect the snails they happened upon, and would roast them by simply throwing them into a fire. Then, they would remove the snails from the shells, season them with salt, and eat them. It was also customary to first boil, then fry the snails.

Meals

Porlitsi Dag

  1. The belly of a sheep, including the fat
  2. 1 kilogram of eggplants
  3. 1 kilogram of tomatoes
  4. ½ kilogram of peppers
  5. ½ kilogram of onions
  6. 1 head of garlic
  7. Ground red and black pepper
  8. Mint
  9. Salt

Fry the sheep belly in its own fat. Arrange the chopped vegetables on top of it, season, and cook over a low flame.

Geovedj

  1. 1 kilogram of fatty mutton
  2. 3 kilograms of various vegetables (eggplants, green beans, zucchinis, carrots, okras, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, and herbs)
  3. Ground red and black pepper
  4. Salt

Chop all the ingredients and mix them together in a shallow and wide clay pot. Add a small amount of water, cover, and cook in the oven.

Keshgeg

This was one of the most popular dishes in Amasya. Each household would purchase a special clay pot from the local potter to make keshgeg and kelle dodig. After baking bread, the household would bury this pot in the oven and pile the still-smoldering ashes around it. They would then shut the oven door and block the vent. The keshgeg would be left in the oven overnight.

  1. 1 kilogram of mutton or oiled, bony beef, alongside the marrow
  2. 2 cups of chickpeas, previously soaked in water
  3. 2 cups of gorgod [cracked wheat]
  4. 1 head of garlic
  5. Ground red and black pepper
  6. Caraway
  7. Baharat spice
  8. Cumin
  9. Salt

Mix all the ingredients together in a pot, in such a way that the pot is one-quarter full. Then add four times as much water. Cover and cook in the oven (or over a flame).

Herise (Harisa)

This dish was prepared in almost the same way as keshgeg, with the one difference that it was made with only meat and gorgod. In the morning, the homemaker would take the meat out of storage and remove the bones. Then she would pound the meat alongside the gorgod with a wooden ladle before cooking it in the oven. She would also melt fat and season it with hot red pepper. She would pour the melted fat over the meat before serving, according to preference.

Ishgembe Mombar

This dish was prepared by filling the intestines of a sheep or lamb with the following mixture: a small amount of chopped fatty meat, gorgod, and plenty of onions, garlic, and spices. Strings were tied around the intestines at ten-centimeter intervals, creating separate sections. The intestines were then steam-boiled in saltwater in a pot.

Fish

Fish were usually fried in oil or vegetable oil. The heads were used to make plaki, as follows: add tomato paste and water to fried onions, boil, and then add and arrange the fish heads. Season, add herbs, and cook.

Bamyalu

  1. 1 kilogram of okras
  2. ½ kilogram of tomatoes
  3. 2 onions
  4. 1 head of garlic
  5. 2 soup spoons of oil
  6. 1 lemon, for the juice
  7. Ground red and black pepper
  8. Mint
  9. Salt

Lightly boil the okras in oil, then add the chopped onions and tomatoes, as well as the garlic. Add the spices and cook over a low flame.

The same dish could also be made with fatty meat, with vegetable oil during Lent, and with dried okras and tomatoes in the winter.

Eggplant Basdi

  1. 1 kilogram of eggplants
  2. ½ kilogram of tomatoes
  3. 2 onions
  4. 1 head of garlic
  5. 2 soup spoons of oil
  6. Ground red and black pepper
  7. Mint
  8. Salt

Boil the chopped eggplants lightly in oil, then add the chopped onions and tomatoes, as well as the garlic. Add the spices and cook over a low flame.

The same dish could also be made with fatty meat; with vegetable oil during Lent; and using ghavourma, dried eggplants, and dried tomatoes in the winter.

Eggplant Silkme

  1. 300 grams of fatty meat
  2. 1 kilogram of eggplants
  3. ½ kilogram of tomatoes
  4. 2 onions
  5. 1 head of garlic
  6. 2 soup spoons of oil
  7. Ground red and black pepper
  8. Mint
  9. Salt

Boil the meat. Chop the eggplants and fry them separately. Add the diced onions, then the tomatoes and the garlic. Mix all the ingredients together and cook over a low flame.

Imam Bayuldu

  1. 1 kilogram of small eggplants
  2. ½ kilogram of tomatoes
  3. ½ kilogram of small peppers
  4. ½ kilogram of onions
  5. 2 heads of garlic
  6. 2/3 cup of oil
  7. 1/3 cup of rice
  8. Ground red and black pepper
  9. Mint
  10. Salt

Peel the eggplants, then slice them open and stuff them with the garlic. Fry the eggplants in oil. Upon removing from the oil, set them aside on a paper towel to allow the extra oil to be absorbed. Fry the chopped peppers in the same pan. Chop the onions and fry them, add the chopped tomatoes, rice, and seasoning, then arrange the fried eggplants and peppers on top of the other ingredients. Cover and cook over a low flame for 10-15 minutes.

Gharnu Yaruk

  1. 200 grams of ground, fatty beef
  2. 7-8 medium-sized eggplants
  3. 7-8 medium-sized tomatoes
  4. ½ cup of rice
  5. 2 onions
  6. 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
  7. Ground red and black pepper
  8. Baharat spice
  9. Salt

Chop the onions, then season them and fry them with the meat in the meat’s fat. Add the rice and continue cooking after adding a small amount of water. Peel the eggplants and fry them lightly in oil until red. Remove the eggplants from the pan and set them aside on a paper towel so that the extra oil can be absorbed. Core the tomatoes and slice the eggplants lengthwise, then stuff them with the meat. Arrange the stuffed tomatoes and eggplants in the pot. Cover and cook over a low flame for 20 minutes.

Deosheme

  1. ½ kilogram of ground, fatty beef
  2. 4 large eggplants
  3. 4 large tomatoes
  4. 4 potatoes
  5. 2 onions
  6. 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
  7. Ground red and black pepper
  8. Baharat spice
  9. Salt

Chop the onions, add the spices, and cook with the meat in the latter’s own fat. Chop the eggplants and potatoes into round pieces, then redden slightly. Arrange the pieces of eggplants, potatoes, and tomatoes in the pot, filling the gaps between them with the meat. Cover and cook over a low flame.

Ghabakh Mousakka

  1. 300 grams of ground, fatty beef
  2. 1 kilogram of squash
  3. 1 onion
  4. 1/3 cup of oil
  5. Ground red and black pepper
  6. Mint
  7. Baharat spice
  8. Salt

Chop the onion, then cook with the beef and the spices in the meat’s own fat. Cut the squash into slices. Arrange the ingredients in the pot in alternating layers of squash and meat. Cover and cook over a low flame.

Mousakka could also be made with tomatoes and eggplants instead of squash.

Ghabakh Basdi

  1. ½ kilogram of bony, fatty beef
  2. 1 kilogram of squash
  3. 1 head of garlic
  4. Fresh parsley
  5. Ground red and black pepper
  6. Mint
  7. Vinegar
  8. Salt

Boil the beef. Cut the squash into cubes and add to the beef. Season. After cooking, add the chopped herbs and vinegar.

Hayva Ghallesi  was made by first boiling bony meat, then adding chopped quinces and seasoning. Meals like meat with potatoes, meat with green beans, meat with kelem [cabbage], meat with chickpeas, and meat with tomatoes were prepared in the same way. Meat with green beans was served after pouring garlic yogurt over it.

Meat with Zerdel [Dried Apricots]

  1. ½ kilogram of ground, fatty beef
  2. 1 kilogram of dried apricots
  3. 2 onions
  4. Fresh herbs
  5. Ground red and black pepper
  6. Baharat spice
  7. Salt

Mix the chopped beef, chopped onions, add the spices, and fry in the fat of the beef without adding oil. Add the dried apricots and a small amount of water, then cook over a low flame. After removing from the flame, sprinkle with the chopped herbs.

Wild Greens with Kelem (cabbage)

  1. 1 kilogram of wild greens
  2. ½ kilogram of cabbage
  3. ½ cup of coarse groats
  4. 4 cups of water
  5. 2 onions
  6. 2 soup spoons of oil or vegetable oil
  7. Ground red and black pepper
  8. Mint
  9. Salt

Chop the wild greens, boil, then drain. Chop the cabbage and onions, steam boil them in oil or vegetable oil, then add the wild greens, groats, seasoning, and water. Cook over a low flame.

Doldrig with Kelem

  1. 1 kilogram of cabbage
  2. 1 cup of rice or coarse groats
  3. 1 head of garlic
  4. Ground red and black pepper
  5. Mint
  6. Salt

Discard the core of the cabbage, then slice the cabbage vertically. Place it in the pot in such a way that the slices can separate. Add the rice or groats and the garlic, and season. Add enough water to cover the cabbage completely. Cook over a low flame.

Spinach Mkhlama

  1. 1 kilogram of spinach
  2. 2 onions
  3. 5 eggs
  4. 2 tablespoons of oil
  5. Ground red and black pepper
  6. Salt

Chop the onions and sweat them in oil. Add the spices, then the chopped spinach. Steam-boil over a low flame. Make bumps on the surface of the mixture, and crack the eggs into these bumps, without mixing them with the rest of the meal. Cover with the lid. The same dish was also made with ground beef.

Eggplant and Ghabakh Pacha

This was a dish enjoyed on cold winter days. It was made with dried squashes and eggplants.

  1. 3 dried eggplants
  2. 3 dried squashes
  3. 2 onions
  4. 1 head of garlic
  5. 2 soup spoons of flour
  6. 2 soup spoons of oil
  7. Hot red pepper
  8. Vinegar
  9. Salt

Chop the vegetables into small chunks, and boil in plenty of water until they are completely soft. Roast the flour until red, thicken with water and vinegar, then add to the vegetables. Heat the oil and sprinkle with the red pepper. Before serving, pour some of this oil into each plate. During Lent, this dish was cooked without oil, which was replaced by a mixture of ground red pepper and vinegar.

Makharna

Makharna was homemade pasta. See the section on preserved food for its recipe.

  1. 300 grams of makharna
  2. 300 grams of shredded cheese
  3. ½ cup of chopped walnuts
  4. 2 tablespoons of oil
  5. Ground red pepper
  6. Salt

Boil the makharna in plenty of water, then drain. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese and walnuts, then add the rest of the ingredients in the order provided. Heat the oil, then add the ground pepper to it before pouring on top.

Ghavourma with Green String Beans

  1. 1 kilogram of green string beans
  2. 3 onions
  3. Oil or vegetable oil
  4. Ground red and black pepper
  5. Salt

Chop the string beans, then steam boil in the oil alongside the onions. Add some more water, cover, and continue cooking.

Leeks

  1. 2 onions
  2. 1 kilogram of leeks
  3. ½ cup of rice
  4. 2 soup spoons of oil
  5. 1 lemon, for the juice
  6. Ground red and black pepper
  7. Powdered mint
  8. Salt

Chop the onions and sweat them in the oil. Add the chopped leeks and seasoning, then cook over a low flame. Add the rice and a small amount of water and continue cooking. After removing from the flame, add the lemon juice and powdered mint.

Khavidz [Pudding]

  1. 2 cups of flour
  2. 3 soup spoons of oil
  3. Water
  4. Honey or grape molasses
  5. Salt

Roast the flour in the oil until it changes color. Slowly pour the water over it, constantly stirring, until the flour becomes a thick paste. Add the salt. Before serving, add honey or grape molasses according to preference.

Legume and Cereal Dishes

When cooking a dish with legumes or cereals (beans, chickpeas, wheat, etc.), the homemakers of Amasya would soak them in a generous amount of water overnight. The following day, they would change the water before bringing it to a boil. After boiling the legumes/cereals the first time, they would change the water again, and add dried peppers as a spice. Then they would boil the whole mixture a second time.

White Beoyludje Soup

  1. 2 cups of boiled beans
  2. ½ cup of dzedzadz
  3. 1 soup spoon of oil
  4. 1 onion
  5. Mint
  6. Ground red hot pepper
  7. Salt

Boil the dzedzadz, then add the boiled beans. Add the salt and pepper, then the fried onions and mint. During Lent, the dish was made without the fried onions, using only mint and vinegar. Chickpea and lentil  soups were prepared in the same way.

Lentil Flour Soup

  1. 1 cup of boiled lentils
  2. 3 cloves of garlic
  3. Mint
  4. Ground red hot pepper
  5. Vinegar
  6. Salt

Four the dough:

  1. 1-1½ cups of flour
  2. 1 cup of water
  3. Salt

Knead the dough until firm, flatten into a thin layer with a rolling pin, then cut it into squares and boil in saltwater. Once the pieces of dough float to the surface, add the lentils and continue cooking. Serve after adding the garlic and the vinegar.

Sulug Soup

  1. 1 cup of makharna (homemade pasta)
  2. 1 cup of boiled chickpeas
  3. ½ cup of ground walnuts
  4. Salt

Boil the makharna in saltwater, add the chickpeas, then the ground walnuts, and continue cooking for another ten minutes. This was a Lenten dish.

Djulbour

  1. 1 cup of dzedzadz (or rice)
  2. 1 onion
  3. 2 eggs
  4. Oil
  5. Herbs
  6. Ground red and black pepper
  7. Salt

Boil the dzedzadz (or rice) in plenty of water. Chop the onions and fry them, then mix them into the dzedzadz and continue cooking. Slowly pour a beaten egg into the mixture, stirring constantly. After removing from the flame, add the herbs and seasoning.

Yakhni with Chickpeas

  1. 300 grams of fatty beef
  2. 2 cups of chickpeas, previously soaked in water
  3. 2 onions
  4. 1 soup spoon of tomato paste (5 dried tomatoes)
  5. 1 soup spoon of pepper paste (1 dried hot pepper)
  6. 1 lemon, for the juice
  7. Baharat spice
  8. Salt

Chop the beef and fry it in its own fat. Then add the chickpeas and water and continue cooking. Once the meat and chickpeas soften, add the pastes, lemon juice, and chopped herbs, then continue cooking together.

Mid-Lent Keofte with Chickpeas

  1. 2 cups of chickpeas, previously soaked in water
  2. 2 boiled potatoes
  3. Caraway
  4. Salt

For the stuffing:

  1. 5 onions
  2. 1 cup of chopped walnuts
  3. 1 cup of raisins
  4. 1 cup of khashkhash
  5. Ground red and black pepper
  6. Caraway
  7. Salt

Crush the chickpeas with a pestle (or grind with an electrical grinder). Add the crushed potatoes, season, and knead together. For the stuffing, chop the onions, and then mix with the other ingredients. Make walnut-sized portions of the crushed chickpea paste, make a hole in them with the fingers, stuff them, close them back up, and wrap them in cloth napkins, as if wrapping a package. Boil these “packages” in saltwater. Once they cool down, remove the keoftes from the napkins and serve with olive oil, lemon, and hot pepper.

Putput

This dish was made with semolina. It was a nutritious meal, suitable for cold winter days.
Cook fine groats in boiling water until the liquid mixture becomes a pulp. Pour into bowls, and then pour hot oil on top. Thick yarma  was made in the same way, using cracked wheat instead of groats.

Chickpeas with Meat

  1. 200 grams of ground, fatty beef
  2. 2 onions
  3. 2 cups of boiled chickpeas
  4. 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
  5. 1 cup of water
  6. 3 cloves of garlic
  7. Ground red and black pepper
  8. Mint
  9. Salt

Season the beef and fry it in its own fat, alongside the chopped onions. Then add the chickpeas, chopped onions, tomato paste, mint, and water. Boil for a few minutes, then cover with the lid and allow the ingredients to rest. Serve with pilaf.

White Beans with Meat

  1. 200 grams of ground, fatty beef
  2. 2 onions
  3. 2 cups of boiled white beans
  4. 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
  5. 1 cup of water
  6. Ground red and black pepper
  7. Salt

Season the beef, then fry it in its own fat alongside the chopped onions. Add the boiled beans, tomato paste, and water. Boil for another few minutes, then cover with the lid and allow the ingredients to rest. Serve with pilaf.

Plaki

  1. 2 cups of boiled beans
  2. 1 carrot
  3. 1 potato
  4. 1 tomato (or 1 tablespoon of tomato paste)
  5. 3 cloves of garlic
  6. Parsley
  7. Oil
  8. Ground red and black pepper
  9. Salt

Chop the carrot and potato and steam boil in a small amount of oil. Add the chopped garlic and tomato. Allow the mixture to rest for some time, then add the seasoning and beans. Cover with the lid and continue cooking. Serve lukewarm or cold, after sprinkling with chopped parsley.

Lentils with Tomatoes

  1. 2 cups of boiled lentils
  2. 2 onions
  3. 2 tomatoes
  4. 1 hot pepper
  5. 2 cloves of garlic
  6. Parsley
  7. Oil
  8. Ground red and black pepper
  9. Salt

Chop the onions, then sweat in oil or vegetable oil. Add the chopped tomatoes and peppers and continue cooking. Add the lentils, garlic, and seasoning/spices, and continue boiling over a low flame for a few more minutes. After removing the dish from the flame, add the chopped parsley.

Lentils with Onions

  1. 2 cups of boiled lentils
  2. 1 kilogram of small onions
  3. 2 tablespoons of oil
  4. 2 cups of water
  5. Ground red and black pepper
  6. Caraway
  7. Salt

Steam boil the peeled onions in the oil to sweat them. Add the lentils, seasoning/spices, and water. Cook until the onions soften.

Omelets

Eggs with Cheese and Kereviz

  1. 1 stalk of celery
  2. 100 grams of cheese
  3. 2 eggs
  4. 1 tablespoon of oil
  5. Ground red and black pepper
  6. Salt

Chop the celery, fry in the oil, then add the cubed cheese, beaten eggs, and seasoning.

Eggs was the name given to simple fried eggs, fried in oil, and without being beaten first.

Omelet

  1. 1 stale bread
  2. 3 eggs
  3. 2 tablespoons of oil
  4. Salt
  5. Honey

Beats the eggs with salt, dip the slices of bread into the beaten eggs, then fry both sides of the bread in hot oil. Serve with honey.

Omelet with Wild Greens

During the spring months, the people of Amasya collected pandjar (edible wild greens), which were used in various dishes. Some of these herbs could be consumed without boiling them first, while others had to be boiled and drained before being served.

  1. ½ kilogram of wild greens
  2. 3 eggs
  3. 2 tablespoons of oil
  4. Ground red and black pepper
  5. Salt

Boil and drain the wild greens. Then chop them, fry in oil, season, add the beaten eggs, and continue cooking.

Salads

Eggplant Choullama

  1. 1 kilogram of large eggplants
  2. 1 head of garlic
  3. Parsley
  4. Oil
  5. Ground hot red pepper
  6. Salt

Roast the eggplants, without peeling, on a fire. Clean them, then crush them into a pulp. Season with salt and add the crushed garlic. Add oil, the chopped parsley, and the ground pepper before serving.

Khyar [cucumber] salad was made by slicing the cucumbers into thin pieces, then adding salt and pepper, garlic, oil, and vinegar. Djadjukh was made by cutting the cucumbers into cubes, then adding them into a mixture of yogurt, garlic, mint, and salt and pepper. Some people also added herbs and scallions to this salad.

Tomato Salad

  1. 5 tomatoes
  2. 1 onion
  3. 1 green pepper
  4. Herbs
  5. Vinegar
  6. Oil
  7. Ground red and black pepper
  8. Salt

Chop the vegetables and herbs, mix, and season.

Egg Piyaz

Cut boiled eggs into slices, then sprinkle with chopped scallions and parsley. Season with the ground red and black pepper. Boiled eggs were enjoyed with a simple seasoning of salt and ground pepper.

Potato Piyaz

Slice the boiled potatoes, sprinkle with chopped scallions and parsley, then season with caraway and ground red and black pepper. Boiled potatoes were enjoyed with a simple seasoning of salt and ground pepper.

Lentil Piyaz

Boil and drain the lentils, then add chopped scallions and parsley, aromatic seeds, ground red and black pepper, and oil.

White Bean Piyaz

Boil and drain the beans, then add chopped scallions and parsley, oil, and ground red and black pepper. During the months of summer and fall, chopped tomatoes and peppers were also added to this salad.

White beans were usually boiled and drained, then mixed with red hot pepper and fried onions.

Chickpea Piyaz

Add chopped scallions and parsley to boiled and drained chickpeas. Then add caraway, ground red and black pepper, and oil. Simple chickpeas were served after boiling and draining them, with fried onions and hot red pepper.

Peeled Chickpeas

  1. 2 cups of boiled chickpeas
  2. ½ cup of tahini
  3. Oil
  4. Parsley
  5. Caraway
  6. Ground red and black pepper
  7. Salt

Crush the chickpeas with the fingers until the husks are separated, then mash them into a pulp. Add the tahini and the spices, garnish with the chopped parsley, pour the oil over it, and serve.

The use of various preparations was widespread in Amasya’s kitchens. They were used as ingredients or served alongside other dishes.

Garlic vinegar was prepared by crushing garlic with salt in a mortar, then adding vinegar and hot pepper. Yogurt was also added when serving alongside meat dishes.

Garlic yogurt was a sauce, used widely across the region, and often served with dolmas.

Sokharadz[fried onions] was prepared by frying onions in oil or vegetable oil, sometimes only sweating them, and sometimes frying until golden, often also adding powdered mint or ground red pepper. Piyaz was the seasoned mixture of chopped herbs and scallions.

Pilafs

To make pilafs, the people of Amasya used either coarse groats or rice. On holidays, pilafs featured generous portions of meat or poultry, and instead of water, they were cooked with broth. On non-Lenten days, pilafs were made with oil, and during Lent, with vegetable oil.

Ghabakh Churtma

  1. 1 kilogram of winter squash
  2. 1 cup of dzedzadz
  3. 2 onions
  4. Oil or vegetable oil
  5. Ground red and black pepper
  6. Salt

Boil the dzedzadz, then add the chopped winter squash and continue to cook. Chop the onions and steam boil in the oil or vegetable oil. Add the onions to the main dish, season, and continue cooking for a few more minutes. Eggplant churtma  was prepared in the same way. During Lent, this dish was served with onions fried in vegetable oil, while in the winter, it was served with dried eggplants and squash.

Rice Pilaf

  1. 2 cups of rice
  2. ½ cup of erishte [vermicelli]
  3. 2 tablespoons of oil
  4. 5 cups of water
  5. Salt

Redden the erishte in oil, add the rice, and continue frying. Then add the water and salt and boil. After boiling, continue to cook over a low flame until the water is completely absorbed.

Pilaf with Wild Greens

  1. ½ kilogram of wild greens
  2. 1 onion
  3. 1 cup of coarse groats
  4. 2 tablespoons of oil or vegetable oil
  5. 2½ cups of water
  6. Ground red and black pepper
  7. Salt

Boil the greens, drain, chop, and then fry with the chopped onions. Add the groats, spices, and water, and cook over a low flame until the water is completely absorbed.

Pilaf with Leeks

  1. ½ kilogram of leeks
  2. 1 cup of coarse groats
  3. 2 tablespoons of oil (or vegetable oil)
  4. 2½ cups of water
  5. Ground red and black pepper
  6. Salt

Chop the leeks, steam boil in oil, then add the groats, spices, and water. Cook over a low flame until the water is completely absorbed.

Dolmas

Meat Dolma

  1. ½ kilogram of ground beef
  2. 2 cups of rice or coarse groats
  3. 2 soup spoons of tomato paste
  4. 2 chopped onions
  5. 1 head of garlic
  6. Chopped parsley
  7. Ground red and black pepper
  8. Baharat spice
  9. Mint
  10. Salt
  11. Grape leaves
  12. Mint leaves
  13. A bone

Mix all the ingredients and roll in the grape leaves, making index finger-sized dolmas. Place the bone, the head of garlic, and leaves of mint in the pot. Then arrange the dolmas on top of these. Pour hot water over the dolmas, then place a heavy plate on top, so that they do not shift while being cooked. Cover with the lid and cook over a low flame.

Bean Dolma

  1. 1 cup of green beans
  2. 2 cups of dzedzadz, previously soaked in water
  3. 100 grams of cured meat
  4. 100 grams of kharkhuzin*
  5. 2 soup spoons of tomato paste
  6. 2 chopped onions
  7. Chopped parsley
  8. Ground red and black pepper
  9. Baharat spice
  10. Mint
  11. Salt
  12. Grape leaves

After chopping the ingredients for the stuffing, mix them together, then roll in the grape leaves, making index finger-sized dolmas. Arrange these dolmas in a pot, pour hot water over them, and place a heavy plate on top, so that the dolmas don’t shift while being cooked. Cover with the lid and cook over a low flame.

* kharkhuzin was made by heating small pieces of sheep fat until they became crispy.

Dolma Wall

  1. 3 onions
  2. 2 tomatoes
  3. 1 pepper
  4. 1 cup of ground walnuts
  5. Fresh parsley and mint
  6. Ground red and black pepper
  7. Salt
  8. Stale bread
  9. Grape leaves

Chop the onions, tomatoes, pepper, and herbs. Season and mix, then add the walnuts and crumbs of stale bread. Eat without cooking, using the grape leaves to scoop the mixed ingredients.

Mixed Dolma

  1. ½ kilogram of ground beef
  2. 2 cups of rice
  3. 2 tomatoes
  4. 2 onions
  5. 1 pepper
  6. Parsley
  7. Ground red and black pepper
  8. Baharat spice
  9. Salt
  10. Cored zucchinis, eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, or onions
  11. A bone
  12. Cloves of garlic
  13. Mint leaves

Chop the vegetables and herbs, mix, and stuff into the cored vegetables (zucchinis, eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, or onions). Place the bone, mint leaves, and cloves of garlic in the pot. Above these, arrange the dolmas, pour hot water over them, and place a heavy plate on top, so that the dolmas don’t shift while being cooked. Cover the pot with the lid and cook over a low flame. The same ingredients were used to make kelem dolma.

Lenten Mixed Dolma

  1. 1 cup of husked green beans
  2. 2 cups of dzedzadz, previously soaked in water
  3. 2 chopped onions
  4. 10 dried tomatoes
  5. 2 dried hot peppers
  6. Baharat spice
  7. Mint
  8. Salt
  9. Cored and dried zucchinis, eggplants, and peppers (previously soaked in warm water)

Chop the onions, herbs, and dried tomatoes and peppers. Add the beans, the dzedzadz, and spices, then stuff the cored vegetables (zucchinis, eggplants, or peppers) with this mixture. Arrange in a pot, pour hot water over the dolmas, and place a heavy plate on top, so that the dolmas don’t shift while being cooked. Cover the pot with the lid and cook over a low flame.

Desserts

Gatnabour

  1. 1 cup of rice
  2. 3 cups of water
  3. 3 cups of milk
  4. ½ cup of sugar
  5. 100 grams of butter
  6. 2 soup spoons of rosewater
  7. A pinch of salt

Boil the rice, then add the additional water, butter, and sugar, and continue boiling until the mixture thickens. Add the rosewater after removing from the flame.

Zerde (Lenten Gatnabour)

  1. 1 cup of rice
  2. 4 cups of water
  3. 1 cup of sugar
  4. 1 cup of chopped nuts
  5. Powdered cinnamon

Boil the rice in the water, add the sugar and nuts, and continue boiling for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered cinnamon before serving.

Palouta

  1. 1 soup spoon of starch
  2. 1 cup of water
  3. ½ cup of shira [grape must]
  4. ½ cup of chopped walnuts

Thicken the starch in the water, add the shira, and boil. Then add the walnuts and breadcrumbs and enjoy while hot.

Thick Palouta

  1. 2 soup spoons of starch
  2. 1 cup of water
  3. ½ cup of shira
  4. ½ cup of chopped walnuts

Thicken the starch in the water, add the shira, and boil. After removing from the flame, immediately pour into small bowls and sprinkle with the walnuts. Serve cold, as a dessert.

Hasouta

  1. 3 soup spoons of starch
  2. 1 cup of water
  3. 1 soup spoon of oil
  4. ½ cup of shira

Heat the oil. Dissolve the shira in water, add the starch, then pour into the warm oil while stirring rapidly until the dish thickens and curdles.

Ghourabiye

  1. 1 cup of oil
  2. 2 cups of flour
  3. 1 cup of powdered sugar

Knead the oil, flour, and sugar together, and roll into finger-sized cylinders. Bake in the oven until light pink.

Paklava

  1. 2-2½ cups of flour
  2. 1 cup of water
  3. 1 soup spoon of vinegar
  4. 2 eggs
  5. A pinch of salt
  6. Oil, to rub on the surface
  7. Powdered sugar, to sprinkle on the surface

Knead the dough, roll into small balls, then set aside. Flatten the balls of dough with a rolling pin, and instead of flour, add starch to the dough. Then wrap the dough around the rolling pin, bunch it up with the fingers to make folds in it, cut into pieces 4-5 centimeters in length, and arrange these pieces on an oiled oven tray. Rub oil on top and bake until golden. Sprinkle with powdered sugar after it cools down.

Ghadayif

Ghadayif was prepared by the confectioners in the city’s market. There were two versions of it, simple ghadayif and sini ghadayif. To make simple ghadayif, strings of dough were reddened in oil, then used as a wrap. They were sometimes sold with a stuffing of helva, and sometimes were simply dipped in sugar water.

Sini Ghadayif

Cover the bottom of a small oven tray with about half the dough. Flatten with the fingers, then sprinkle with chopped walnuts and powdered cinnamon. Cover with the remainder of the dough. Pour hot oil over it, and bake. The top half of the dough will be cooked first, after which the entire ghadayif must be flipped upside-down into another tray, then placed back in the oven until all the dough turns red. Pour grape molasses, honey water, and sugar water over it before serving.

Khoshaf

Pour boiled water over the desired dried fruits and raisins and set aside for 12 hours. Serve cold, as a juice. If desired, also add nuts and powdered cinnamon. Serve in small saucers, alongside water. This dessert was sometimes also made with sugar, but honey and grape molasses were generally preferred.

Helva (Halva)

  1. 2 cups of flour
  2. ½ cup of oil
  3. 1 cup of powdered sugar

Roast the flour in the oil. Add the powdered sugar bit by bit, constantly stirring, and not allowing chunks to form. Pour into a plate, flatten, and cut into pieces.

Helva with Grape Molasses

  1. 2 cups of flour
  2. ½ cup of oil
  3. 1 cup of bekmez or roub (grape molasses)

Roast the flour in the oil. Add the grape molasses slowly, constantly stirring, and not allowing chunks to form. Pour into a plate, flatten, and cut into pieces.

Irmik Helva

  1. ½ cup of oil
  2. 2 cups of semolina
  3. 1 cup of sugar
  4. 2 cups of water
  5. ½ cup of cedar nuts

Dissolve the sugar in the water, and boil. Heat the oil, add the nuts and semolina, and roast over a low flame, constantly stirring until the mixture takes on a golden hue. Add the sugar water slowly and continue to roast until the mixture thickens.

Tel-Tel [String] Helva

  1. 1 cup of sugar
  2. 1 cup of water
  3. 2 cups of flour

Roast the flour over a low flame. Then boil the flour in the water alongside the sugar, until golden. Set aside to cool (while occasionally stirring to prevent the sugar from clumping) until the dough can be kneaded with the fingers. Shape the dough into a ring, while continuously making the ring larger, then fold it back on top of itself, knead again, and repeat this process while sprinkling with flour, shaping the dough into strings.

Helva/Hroushag and Pide Helva

The halva makers of the market usually made helva hroushag by mixing tahini and sugar powder and beating the mixture until it frothed and took on the color of milk. On the feast day of Saint Sarkis, they would also make pide helva, in large trays. To make this type of halva, they would add roasted sesame seeds and chopped walnuts to the halva mixture.

Deondurme (Ice Cream)

The gourmands of Amasya enjoyed deondurme (ice cream) in the summers. During the winter months, the villagers who lived in the mountains would make large balls of ice with the snow and keep these in caves, in order to sell them to city dwellers during the summer months. Milk was poured into a special, elongated plate, and mixed with powdered sugar, sahleb [milk pudding], and mastic. After stirring, the plate would be immersed in the ice, and the contents stirred until the mixture thickened. Often, a few drops of rosewater were also added to the mixture. The ice cream was served with a sprinkling of nuts or almonds, and sometimes alongside various fruit jams. Similarly, it was customary for the locals, during the summer, to pour jam over ice before enjoying it.

Preserved Foods

It was essential for the people of Amasya to store cereal for the winters. Each household would keep a supply of wheat proportionate to its size. Most of this wheat was ground into flour. Some of it was boiled and pounded to make dzedzadz, and some was ground to make gorgod, which was categorized according to size – large, medium, and small. Gorgod was used to make various dishes. Nshasda(starch) was prepared by allowing the grains to sprout.

Tarkhana  recipe: Boil dzedzadz. Separately, mix yogurt (with its skin) with a small amount of salt and flour, and boil. Then add this mixture to the boiling dzedzadz and boil together for a while longer. Set aside. While still lukewarm, shape the mixture into separate pieces, arrange these pieces on a clean sheet, and dry them in the sunlight, regularly flipping them so that they are dried entirely.

Grains/cereals that were preserved and stored included beans, chickpeas, lentils, corn, and peas. The storing and use of tulip seeds, or khashkhash, was also widespread.

During the summer months, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, pumpkins, okras, and other produce were dried in the sun. Cored peppers, eggplants, and pumpkins were also dried and preserved, for future use in dolma dishes.

Other produce, such as onions and garlic, were hung from the ceiling of the pantry in bunches. Beets, carrots, and potatoes were stored in pits dug in the floor of the pantry, and winter squashes were arranged on the shelves. The locals also kept supplies of tomato and red pepper paste, made by boiling the crushed tomatoes or peppers, then thickening them under the searing rays of the sun.

Among the winter fruits (cold weather crops), the locals enjoyed many varieties of grapes, pears, apples, and quinces. They would hang bunches of these fruits from the ceiling of the pantry, thus keeping them fresh until Easter. Many fruits were preserved by drying them. From grapes, the people of Amasya prepared kume (sharots), or sweet sausages, made with shira [grape must] and a stuffing of walnuts or almonds; raisins; and bekmez (roub; grape molasses). They also made bestil (or basdegh, the jam of various fruits), erugi ezme (sugared prunes), ghoush barni ezme (the yellow fruit of wild rose bushes, cooked with shira), ghuzuldjoukh bekmez (red or yellow plums, cooked with shira), white bekmez (shira churned until it turned white), sheftel bekmez (peaches cooked with shira), melon bekmez (melons cooked with shira), and eggplant bekmez (dried eggplants cooked with shira).

Plum, sour cherry, rose, and lily jams were made with shira or sugar. The locals also made juices from sour cherries, black mulberries, and roses. They also always made sure to store plenty of honey.

Each household would slaughter a sheep or a bull to make khavourma with the meat. The meat was chopped into small pieces, boiled in saltwater, de-boned, then fried in its own fat prior to being stored. Ghuyma was made in the same way, except that the meat was chopped into very small pieces.

The people of Amasya were famous for their aboukhd [cured and dried meat], sausages, and Lenten sujuk (meatless, made with onions, garlic, cumin, and walnuts). Each household would store its own supply of these foods.

Like in other border areas, the people of Amasya made and consumed plenty of clarified butter, as well as churned butter. They also used fat oil, which they made by chopping and melting sheep fat. They then used the leftover fat to make kharkhzin, which was used in various desserts.

Amasya, 1911. From left: Alfred Mouradian, Alfons Mouradian, Wilma Kallenbach (Source: Zare Mouradian collection, Berlin).

Kebab fat was purchased from the kebab makers in the market. This was the fat collected while the kebab roasted over a fire. The people of Amasya also preserved various foods from which they made natural oil to be used during Lent, including walnuts, almonds, peanuts, kounchiti, and khaskhash.

The locals drank the milk of their cows, sheep, goats, and buffalos. Various types of cheese were made and stored in saltwater. By draining skinless yogurt, locals made zume (drained yogurt), to which they added salt and which they then poured into clay pots, with oil poured on top to ensure preservation.

Zaymakh was the name given to milk skin. It was boiled, mixed with a small amount of starch, and thickened. Then it was left to dry, cut into chunks, and preserved in honey.

Makharna was homemade pasta, prepared on the final days of autumn. Add the flour and salt to the water and knead the dough until firm. Then flatten with the rolling pin until very thin and cut into thin and long pieces. Dry these noodles in a medium-temperature oven that’s just been turned off. Store the dry noodles in cloth bags. An egg may also be mixed into the dough, but in that case, the pasta would have a shorter shelf life. Erishte was the local name for vermicelli, which was prepared using the same dough as makharna, except that the noodles would be thinner and smaller. Erishte was used in various pilafs.

The localsenjoyed a variety of pickles, which were preserved in ceramic jugs. Various methods were used to make pickles. Green peppers, cucumbers, and green tomatoes were pickled in a mixture of saltwater and vinegar. Small eggplants were pickled alongside chopped garlic. Cabbage leaves were soaked in boiling water, then arranged in a pot. A ball of yeast was added, as well as saltwater and ground hot red pepper. Winter melons were placed in a jug and soaked in a mixture of saltwater and myrtle wine, as well as the grape pomace that was a byproduct of the distillation of arak. Apples and pears were pickled in the same way.

The local name for grape leaves was yaprakh. At the end of spring, each homemaker would collect soft and high-quality leaves from the vines and preserve them in jugs, in saltwater. Another important activity was the preparation of spices. During the summer months, leaves of mint, thyme, basil, tarragon, and other herbs were dried and stored in cloth sacks. Among the most commonly used spices were red and black pepper, caraway, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves. The custom of drinking tea and coffee was also highly developed in Amasya. As for nuts, the locals stored walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cedar nuts, and triangular wild nuts. The locals also made and enjoyed sahleb [milk pudding] and mastic.

The people of Amasya enjoyed making and drinking various spirits and alcoholic beverages. Namely, they enjoyed white and red, sweet and bitter wines. The best-known type of local wine was called chayi. They also distilled arak/brandy from various fruits, and named them after these fruits – mastika, annoukhi, vart… They gave the name duz, or “basic,” to the sweet liqueurs that they made. Cognac was also produced locally.

Source

Kapriel H. Simonian, Houshamadyan Bondagan Amasyo [Memory Book of Pontic Amasya] (Venice, 1966).