Kashk

For the Egyptian teacher, see Abd al-Hamid Kishk.

Kashk (Persian: كشك), keshk, kishk, or kishik is a large family of foods found in Kurdish, Iranian, Palestinian, Egyptian and Lebanese cuisine. There are three main kinds of food with this name: foods based on curdled milk products like yoghurt or cheese; foods based on barley broth, bread, or flour; and foods based on cereals combined with curdled milk. In Turkish and Greek cuisine, there are closely related foods called tarhana or trahana.

Lebanon

In Lebanon, Kishk is made by grinding the dried mixture of yogurt and cracked wheat. This dried flour is the base for a traditional hearty soup or gravy with meat, onions, and garlic. This is eaten by scooping out with flat bread. Kishk is also applied onto Manakish. This is usually eaten during breakfast.

Egypt

In Egypt, kishk is made with milk or yogurt, and flour, sometimes seasoned with fried onions and chicken broth.

Iran

In modern Iran, kashk is a thick whitish liquid similar to whey (a dairy product) similar to sour cream, used in traditional Persian/Iranian cooking. It is available as a liquid or in a dried form, which needs to be soaked and softened before it can be used in cooking. Kashk was traditionally produced from the leftovers of cheese-making (more specifically, the milk used to make it).

Bibliography

• Françoise Aubaile-Sallenave, "Al-Kishk: the past and present of a complex culinary practice", in Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper, A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East, London and New York, 1994 and 2000, ISBN 1-86064-603-4.

See also

• Kashkak, a related meat-and-grain stew
• Qurutar:كشك (أكلة مصرية)