Originally published in our second print issue, Tara teaches us a traditional and delicious recipe for Kurdish Biryani.

By Tara

When I was 11, my mom left me alone at home and asked me to cook for the family. I made rice and I was so excited that I was able to do that for the family. And when they came home I put the food on the table and the whole family came and sat down and they were so excited. They started to eat it and the family started to make faces like something wasn’t quite right. I got nervous that something was wrong and then I realized that I hadn’t put in any salt at all. But my family ate it anyway because that was all they had to eat!

There was another time when I was little and I had made soup and invited my friends. I put the pot on the table and they served themselves. They said, “Wow! It’s so lovely! It’s a very unusual soup”. They were so impressed. They thought it was delicious. I thought, “what’s so special about it?” And then I tasted it – I realized I had used sugar instead of salt in the soup. My mother had filled the salt box and the sugar box and accidentally confused the two. At least they still liked it! I don’t use sugar in my soup anymore.

This is a traditional Kurdish dish that can be cooked at any time, but especially on religious holidays, at weddings, and on Fridays, which are like Sundays here – a day when everyone is off work.

Serves: 10, Prep time: 30 mins, Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients

1kg Rice

150g Vermicelli Pasta

1L Cooking Oil (approx)

250g Sultanas

250g Almonds, roasted

1kg Chicken Breast

3 Cups Water (approx)

250g Green Peas

1kg Potatoes

1 Large Onion

2 Handfuls Chickpeas

Biryani/Baharat Powder, to taste

Method

Wash rice. Place rice in warm water for 2 hours
Peel and cut potatoes into cubes. Fry in 5 tbsp oil on high heat
In a separate pan, fry almonds and sultanas in 1 tbsp oil until lightly brown. In another separate pan, fry peas in 1 tbsp oil
Boil the Vermicelli pasta in salt water with a tbsp oil
Cook chicken breast on low heat in 1 cup water on the stovetop until water disappears. Add half the onion chopped and 1 cup boiled water. Remove the onion when finished and place in the chicken breast. Let cook in tbsp oil for 30 minutes on medium
Cut chicken into strips. Place chicken and fried vegetables in a large pot. Add 1⁄2 cup cooking oil with Vermicelli and salt in a separate frying pan and cook until golden
Add rice to the Vermicelli with biryani/baharat powder and chickpeas. Boil in shallow water for 30 minutes until the water is gone
Mix everything together and let sit for 10 minutes
Serve with green salad

This recipe is taken from new cookbook, entitled ‘New Scots Cooking: Food for Freedom’, created by Freedom from Torture. It features recipes from countries including Nigeria, Iran, Cameroon, Algeria, and this from Kurdish Iraq. The following is taking from the introduction:

“When we leave our homes, whether that’s our childhood homes, hometowns, or countries, the most palpable feeling of loss often comes in the form of food. We just can’t cook it the way grandma used to! We can’t find the ingredients in this new neighborhood! We don’t know the names of foodstuffs in another language! These are problems shared by everyone who’s ever moved away. However, through community, we relearn, find, and exchange. We sink deep into the spices, flavours, and delicious memories of our past, nourishing both our hearts and bellies.”

Find out more and order your copy: FFTcookbook