The Hittites have left a good number of texts detailing the preparation of food and many Hittite laws to stipulate how certain food is to be prepared, cooked, and served. The main ingredients of Hittite cuisine were dairy products, meat, grain products, and other natural products such as honey. Hittites loved bread and had recipes for as many as 180 types of bread in different shapes and with varying ingredients. Food eaten in Anatolia is a continuation of the Hittite cuisine as stated in the book "Hittite Cuisine" published by Alpha Publishing (08-2008) in Turkey. Some cities have preserved the Hittite food traditions. Adana, a major city in southeast Turkey (Adaniya in Hittite in the former Neo-Hittite, Luwian Kizzuwadna region) is famous for its kebabs, and according to studies Hittite cuisine contained a strong element of meat skewer (Shish Kebab). Various books are written in Turkish about the Hittite cuisine and the Hittite University in Çorum in Turkey has published articles about Hittite cuisine recently. Hittite food recipes were generally similar to that of contemporary civilizations, especially in regard to meat and dairy dishes, but were unique with regard to the plants used in cooking, as Anatolia has its own unique vegetation. Wine was consumed by the Hittites on regular basis and used for religious festivals and rituals. [1] [2] [3]
Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Eastern European, Armenian, and Georgian cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including those of Southeast Europe (Balkans), Central Europe, and Western Europe. The Ottomans fused various culinary traditions of their realm with influences from Mesopotamian cuisine, Greek cuisine, Levantine cuisine, Egyptian cuisine, Balkan cuisine, along with traditional Turkic elements from Central Asia, creating a vast array of specialities.
Asian cuisine includes several major regional cuisines: Central Asian, East Asian, North Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and West Asian. A cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, usually associated with a specific culture. Asia, being the largest and most populous continent, is home to many cultures, many of which have their own characteristic cuisine.
Kebab is a cooked meat dish, with its origins in Middle Eastern cuisines. Many variants are popular around the world.
Punjabi cuisine is a culinary style originating in the Punjab, a region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, which is now divided in an Indian part to the east and a Pakistani part to the west. This cuisine has a rich tradition of many distinct and local ways of cooking. One is a special form of tandoori cooking that is now famous in other parts of India, UK, Canada, Hong Kong and in many parts of the world.
Dolma is a family of stuffed dishes common in Anatolian, Levantine, Caucasian, Mesopotamian, and Iranian cuisines, that can be served warm or cold. Some types of dolma are made with whole vegetables, fruit, offal or seafood, while others are made by wrapping grape, cabbage, or other leaves around the filling. Wrapped dolma are known as sarma.
Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (kashrut), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions centred around Shabbat. Jewish cuisine is influenced by the economics, agriculture, and culinary traditions of the many countries where Jewish communities have settled and varies widely throughout the entire world.
Iranian cuisine refers to the culinary practices of Iran. Due to the historically common usage of the term "Persia" to refer to Iran in the Western world, it is alternatively known as Persian cuisine, despite Persians being only one of a multitude of Iranian ethnic groups who have contributed to Iran's culinary traditions.
Iraqi cuisine or Mesopotamian Cuisine is a Middle Eastern cuisine that has its origins from Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians and the other groups of the region.
Armenian cuisine includes the foods and cooking techniques of the Armenian people and traditional Armenian foods and dishes. The cuisine reflects the history and geography where Armenians have lived as well as sharing outside influences from European and Levantine cuisines. The cuisine also reflects the traditional crops and animals grown and raised in Armenian populated areas.
Ottoman cuisine is the cuisine of the Ottoman Empire and its continuation in the cuisines of Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, and parts of the Caucasus and the Middle East.
Afghan cuisine is influenced by Persian, Central Asian and Indian cuisines due to Afghanistan's close proximity and cultural ties. The cuisine is mainly based on Afghanistan's main crops, such as wheat, maize, barley, and rice. Accompanying these staple grains are native fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, whey, pomegranates, grapes, and sweet melons. Most of the people's diet revolve around rice-based dishes, while naan bread is consumed with most meals. Tea is generally consumed daily in large quantities, and is a major part of hospitality. The culinary specialties reflect the nation's ethnic and geographic diversity. The national dish of Afghanistan is Kabuli palaw, a rice dish cooked with raisins, carrots, nuts and lamb or beef.
Israeli cuisine comprises both local dishes and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine has developed.
Hyderabadi cuisine, also known as Deccani cuisine, is the native cooking style of the Hyderabadi Muslims. The haute cuisine of Hyderabad began to develop after the foundation of the Bahmani Sultanate, and the Qutb Shahi dynasty centered in the city of Hyderabad promoted the native cuisine along with their own. Hyderabadi cuisine had become a princely legacy of the Nizams of Hyderabad as it began to further develop under their patronage.
Azerbaijani cuisine refers to the cooking styles and dishes of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The cuisine developed significantly due to its diversity of agriculture, from abundant grasslands which historically allowed for a culture of pastoralism to develop, as well as to the unique geographical location of Azerbaijan, which is situated on the crossroads of Europe and Asia with an access to the Caspian sea. The location has enabled the people to develop a varied diet rich in produce, milk products, and meat, including beef, mutton, fish and game. Furthermore, the location, which was contended over by many historical kingdoms, khanates, and empires also meant that Azerbaijani cuisine was influenced by the culinary traditions of multiple different cultures, such as Turkic, Iranian, and Eastern European. As a result, Azerbaijani cuisine makes use of many different culinary techniques and ingredients.
Awadhi cuisine is a cuisine native to the Awadh region in Northern India. The cooking patterns of Lucknow are similar to those of Central Asia, the Middle East, and Northern India with the cuisine comprising both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The Awadh region has been greatly influenced by Mughal cooking techniques, and the cuisine of Lucknow bears similarities to those of Central Asia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad. The city is also known for its Nawabi foods.
Middle Eastern cuisine or West Asian cuisine includes Arab, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Cypriot, Georgian, Iranian, Israeli, Kurdish, Lebanese, and Turkish cuisines. Common ingredients include olives and olive oil, pitas, honey, sesame seeds, dates, sumac, chickpeas, mint, rice and parsley, and popular dishes include kebabs, dolmas, falafel, baklava, yogurt, doner kebab, shawarma and mulukhiyah.
Bulgur, also riffoth and burghul, is a cereal food made from the cracked parboiled groats of several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. It originates in West Asian cuisine.
Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that developed among the Jews of Eastern, Central, Western, Northern, and Southern Europe, and their diaspora mainly concentrated in North America and other Western countries.
Circassians in Germany refers to people born in or residing in Germany who are of Circassian origin. There are around 40,000 Circassians in Germany.