Arlin
New Member
Posts: 44
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Post by Arlin on Mar 23, 2008 21:40:03 GMT -5
Typical questions I get living abroad: Where are you from - Albania Where's that? - Southeast Europe - HUH? - Across from Italy - Oh Armenia?- No, that's Asia... Do you have fridges and electricity? - (Yes I get this question often ...) The first: yes The second: *shrugs* on and off What is traditional Albanian food - Stuffed grape leafs-even I know that's greek/ bulgarian/ russian etc. Stuffed cabbage - Romanians have it too Byrek - It just sounds turkish Perhaps Pispilit? (baked spinach and corn flour) What do you think?
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Post by ilirdardani on Mar 23, 2008 21:49:20 GMT -5
Flija
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Post by panagiotopoulos on Mar 23, 2008 22:41:24 GMT -5
I know nothing about Albanian food. Honestly can it compare with Greek food?
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Post by bordura on Mar 23, 2008 23:12:32 GMT -5
Albanian cuisine it is deeply influenced from Greek/Byzantine and Turkish/Ottoman. "Tave Kosi" it's original and not repeated exactly in any other neighboring countries. Also "Fërges Tiranase" ose "Tavë dheu". it might be considered albanian. Once in Washington DC with some american friends we dined to a turkish restaurant. For my surprise the menu had: Albanian Liver!!! I asked the waiter and he explained that in turkey they know of this dish as being infused into their cuisine from Albanian influence. We were mainly pastoral and not farmers hence most of our diet was mitt based and dairy (butter, milk, cheese). Also Koran is an endemic type of fish found in Lake Ohrid hence dishes prepared of it might be considered as original Albanian. Baked corn flower with spinach or lik (presh/pras) it is found in all Balkan's and Italy, France and other Mediterranean shores. Once in a wedding in Kardhiq (mountain top village in Gjirokastra) i've witnesed a interesting way of preparing mitt. They diged a hole in the dirt lowered a metal barrel inside. the barrel had inside an entire sheep, skined cleaned and cured with salt and peeper. Once the barrel was lowered they throw ignited charcoal around it covered the barrel top and covered teh hole thing with dirt. The mitt itself was covered with leafs (don't know what type). They let it to cook almost all day. I never have tasted mitt like that since then. It was not fully baked, not fully steamed, nor boiled. something unique. Very tender and almost fat free since all fat was melted at the bottom of the barrel. Do not now if that is some form of cooking found in other Balkan areas. And definitely not known all over Albania too. Have you guys tried watermelon and feta cheese, or grapes and feta cheese? It makes for a very nice snack under the shade on the beach watching the sun slowly hiding into Adriatic or Jon. mmmm nice memories
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Post by panagiotopoulos on Mar 23, 2008 23:18:42 GMT -5
Watermelon and feta is the best. Perfect for a hot day.
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Kanaris
Amicus
This just in>>>> Nobody gives a crap!
Posts: 9,587
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Post by Kanaris on Mar 23, 2008 23:21:13 GMT -5
I am surprised Albanian cuisine is not more refined... since Albanians really 'stayed' at home... never really wondered far off.... and I would think Turkish cuisine would be more of the grab and eat variety since they were nomadic tribes.
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Post by bordura on Mar 23, 2008 23:28:32 GMT -5
yeah panagiotopoulos if you where in an Albanian family in Albania you would eat the same way as in Greece. I do not know for other areas of Albanians in Kosova, Macedonia or Montenegro. almost the same sups, salads, we use same vegetables stuffed and roasted (eggplants, peepers, squash/zucchinis,spinach, patatoes, carrots etc) olive oil. olives, lemons, oranges are common used in preparing dishes, soups, salads with above mentioned. Also fruits and deserts are the same. Rise and pasta it is used almost in the dishes and same way. But again i can't speak of the northern Albanian cuisine or that of the Albanians outside Albania.
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Post by panagiotopoulos on Mar 23, 2008 23:44:10 GMT -5
Sometimes I feel like everything I eat gets lemon, garlic, oregano and olive oil.
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Post by bordura on Mar 23, 2008 23:48:07 GMT -5
oh kane, Albanian cuisine it is not refined at all. well if we try to find something 100% Albanian that is. Reason i think is the life style of the Albanian tribes. Mostly pastoral and not farmers as a rule. Pastoral life doesn't provide for diversity. Everything is mitt centered and dairy with little green additives. It is a fast cuisine doesn't need much, but a fire a large cooking dish to boil or bake and home made bread. I'm trying to explaining that what it might be considered original and traditional, cause as i mentioned on a message before if you go to an Albanian house today you would eat same as in a Greek one. As for Turkish cuisine i had the same logic with yours. But it appears the logic was contradicted in the reality I faced based on my Turkish restaurant experiences in the States. I found Turkish cuisine (at list advertised as Turkish on the menu) much more elaborated and refined then that of a nomadic diet. Maybe it is what was infused to them through Byzantine influence. What i found unique on Turkish dishes was that the food on the plate was almost never in portions, but in small pieces bite size (south Asiatic trait of serving food). Also most of dishes are central meaning not prepared on individual portions in mind. In most Turkish restaurants (not all of them) i found that rarely is a main dish or plate as in our cuisine. Usually you have a lot of different dishes that on my taste are more appetizers. In Albanian cuisine the main dish or entre (using a modern version) is what you have the rest it is considered as a filler.
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Arlin
New Member
Posts: 44
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Post by Arlin on Mar 24, 2008 0:20:51 GMT -5
@ilirdardan Never heard of this before, but it seems similar to pastico. It takes forever to prepare but it must be worth it as it is considered a traditional Kosovar dish from what I see. Cool. Is it similar to buke vale? @bordura Thanks. That was so informative. Tave Kosi - oh Yeah Eureka! For those who don't know: it is yougurt, drained of liquid [salce kosi], baked with lamb meat/olive oil and whatever you want to throw in there. It is good, but peope either hate it or love it. Personally I love Salce kosi with wine! Meat - What you described was wicked! fruit with fetta-I did this once, in my uni dining hall and my friends looked at me like I had sprung a second head. Refined vs not? Most albanian dishes are not very refined. But that's also because I don't know a SINGLE stay-at-home-wife in Albania (of course this will depend on the place)and my mom is a lazy cook . If you think about stuffed eggplant ( turli). This stuff might melt in your mouth... but it takes ages to prepare. You gotta boil/fry/bake the damn eggplant. Caramelize onnions etc etc... Bakllava & Kadaif - Is this greek or turkish? I always thought it was greek but I have often been challenged... Which is it?
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Post by panagiotopoulos on Mar 24, 2008 0:32:31 GMT -5
"Bakllava & Kadaif - Is this greek or turkish? I always thought it was greek but I have often been challenged... Which is it?"
I guess it all depends on whose hands make it. I just had some Baklava tonight. I have family that is not Greek and we celebrate Easter with them, and they have adopted many of our foods.
Do Albs eat fasolakia? Green beans with tomato, onion, olive oil, garlic and parsley stewed? This is my favorite. Goes good with a spinach pie and lemon potatoes. Man, now I am hungry and thinking about my Yia yia.
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Post by Teuta1975 on Mar 24, 2008 0:40:21 GMT -5
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Trying not to get hungry reading this thread...lol...
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Post by toskali4springbrk on Mar 24, 2008 0:51:15 GMT -5
Nomadic food is primarily meat and dairy. Traditional Albanian mountaineer diet would have been heavily dairy based also.
Add toast and you have what my mother eats on a regular basis. I remember days during the summer when thats all we ate during the day... I still love it.
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Post by bordura on Mar 24, 2008 0:51:26 GMT -5
stuffed eggplant is called imam bajalldi (Turkish spell???) and not Albanian, but extremely common in the Albanian table. turli it's totally another thing. It is a stew prepared with choped vegetables (eggplant being most of them but, bamia, onions, and other stuff too)and meat. In everyday life a lot of dishes in Albania are found with different names or named wrongly for each other due to speedy urbanization and intermixing of population in the last 3 decades. also it is a fracture on the household life style in Albania in the last decades contrasted to previous life style which was more village based. majority of Albanian population is under 30. and never known traditional life of the village. Most of population it is young and influenced from a much more modern cuisine model. I just remembered another dish that is caracterisitc of Tepelena and some of Permet and Laberia regions mostly Kurvelesh Lab) Stuffed turkey and baked on a brick oven. The stuffing is the original part and i missed a lot. Was and is in my house the Traditional dish for New Years. Stuffing is prepared with a baked daw kind of kulac. Kulac then it is crumbled by hand in small 1 cm pieces mixed with poultry liver which is soteed with caramelized onions and moisted with the turkeys juices and sprinkled with oregano. It is perfect with read wine and apiece of baked turkey. My preferred though is çomlek. Both Greeks and Turkish make it and i don't know witch is the original creator of it.
wow feeling home sick already...
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Post by bordura on Mar 24, 2008 1:01:15 GMT -5
yes we eat fasolakia (we call it just fasule or grosh) i like it with a drop ov olive oil and read venegar and a hot read little pepper. If you boil it with some bone inside for long time will taste much richer
he he i never cooked nor do i cook now but, I'm amazed of myself recalling all this stuff, it appears a lot of info it's from childhood imprinted on my conscience involuntary of my knowing. Explaining and trying in preparing this dishes its very different. I can make boiled and fried eggs tho if that counts...
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Post by toskali4springbrk on Mar 24, 2008 1:02:16 GMT -5
I do drop olive oil but not vinegar and yes, peppers make anything good.
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Post by panagiotopoulos on Mar 24, 2008 1:18:46 GMT -5
What kind of bone???
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Post by bordura on Mar 24, 2008 1:36:04 GMT -5
I'm not sure, but i think leg bones, thick and with a lot of marrow also a little bit of meat should be left on the bones. I thing it's the marrow inside the bones that contributes to the uniques of the taste. Not sure if calf's or pigs bones are used!!??
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Post by shqipo on Mar 24, 2008 3:05:05 GMT -5
What about Pule me pete Its layer apon layer of thin pastry with walnuts and chicken stock....
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Post by bordura on Mar 24, 2008 3:41:41 GMT -5
pulë me petë? never heard of that what part of albania is that dish from?
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