Cyprus is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It has a population of 840,000 people and its cuisine reflects influences from various empires and traders over 3000 years, including Greece, Turkey, Armenia, and Italy. Traditional Cypriot foods featured in the document include trahanas soup, sieftalies, afelia stew, pourgouri pilaf, halva semolina pudding, daktila ladies' fingers pastries, and mbourekia anari cheese pies. Cypriot children are shown making several of these dishes that make use of ingredients produced on the island like pork, bulgur wheat, and anari cheese.

1. CYPRUS
Cyprus is an island country in the
Eastern Mediterranean Sea. It is
the 3rd largest island in the
Mediterranean. It covers an area of
9 251 km² and its population is 840
000 people. According to Greek
Mythology, Cyprus is considered to
be the birth place of Aphrodite
(Venus), the goddess of love and
beauty.

2. Cyprus cuisine
Just take a glance at Cyprus history and you will see
how various empires, invasions, foreign settlers and
traders over the past 3,000 years have brought their
influence to the island. They have also brought their
recipes and many of these have been introduced into
Cypriot cooking, the main ones coming from Greece,
Turkey, Armenia, Lebanon, Syria, Italy, France and
latterly Britain. These foreign flavors have been
combined with the food produced on the island to give
Cyprus its own traditional cuisine. Cyprus cuisine is rich
in flavours, healthy and tasty. Enjoy it!

3. Trahanas soup (Cream of wheat soup)
Ingredients:
250 gr trahanas
4 cups water
1 chicken cube
salt
¼ gr halloumi cheese, in cubes
Method:
 Soak trahanas into a bowl of fresh water (room temperature) overnight.

Put water in a casserole or large pot to warm – up and then drop in the chicken cube, while
the water is still cold.

Add the trahanas as soon as the water begins to warm – up and start to stir.

Add the salt to the mixture.

Let the soup cook for a while and when it is almost ready, add the halloumi cheese and stir.

Trahanas soup is now ready and best served in bowls.

4. Cypriot children making Trahanas soup
Trahanas soup is a favorite traditional plate in cypriot cuisine. Trahanas, made of wheat and
yogurt, was a must in the traditional peasants’ diet. For every cypriot household, trahanas was
a way of preserving milk in which the cracked wheat is steamed, mixed with sour milk, dried,
and stored. Small amounts reheated in water or broth provide a nourishing and tasty meal,
trahanas soup, especially with added cubes of aged halloumi.

5. Sieftalies
Ingredients:
1 kilo pork minced
4 onions finely chopped
2 slices wet bread or ¼ cup dried bread crumbs
Parsley finely chopped
Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon powder optionally
Caul fat
Method:
 Wash the caul fat with water and lemon juice.
 Mix the meat, onion, parsley, cinnamon, dried bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a
deep bowl and knead.
 Form the mixture into small oblong meatballs and wrap each one in a small piece of
caul fat. Grill over charcoal or broil.
 Serve with pitta bread and fresh finely chopped vegetables.
In Cyprus usually sieftalies are accompanied with souvlaki (pork meat) served inside pitta
bread. In this situation the food is called “mix pitta”.

6. Cypriot children making Sieftalies
Sieftalies is a popular cypriot food. It is a type of crépinette, a sausage without skin, that
uses caul fat, or omentum, the membrane that surrounds the stomach of pig, to wrap the
ingredients rather than sausage casing. They are typically stuffed into a pitta bread pocket,
accompanied with a salad of cabbage, parsley, and raw mild onions, tomatoes and sliced
cucumber. In Cyprus it is very common to find kebab or souvlaki restaurants that also sell
sheftalies. In fact, it is so common that nearly every neighborhood has at least one
souvlitzidiko as the kebab restaurant is called in Greek.

7. Afelia (pork in red wine and coriander sauce)
with pourgouri (bulgar wheat pilaf)
Afelia
Ingredients:
1 kg pork meat, in cubes
1 cup red dry wine
¼ cup coriander, ground
½ cup olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Pourgouri (bulgar wheat pilaf)
Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
2 onions, finely shopped
½ cup vermicelli, coarsely crushed
1 cup tomato juice
1 cube vegetable stock
5 cups hot water
2 cups bulgur wheat
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
Method:
 Wash and strain the meat. In a deep bowl, mix the wine with
the coriander and allow the meat to soak in this mixture
(marinate) for a few hours (overnight if possible).
Method:
 Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion. Add the
vermicelli and stir until golden brown.
 Then, strain the meat, and keep the marinade for later.
 Add the tomato juice, stir for a little and then add the
sugar.
 Heat the oil in saucepan and gently fry the meat. In low heat
turn the meat upsite down in order to get red in all sides.
 Add the water and the vegetable stock. When the water
gets hot, add the bulgur wheat to the simmering mixture.
Add the salt.
 Pour over the marinade and enough cold water to just cover
the meat. Cook jently until the meat is tender.
 Cook over low heat, for approximately 20 minutes, until
all the liquids have been absorbed.
 Season with salt and pepper, stir and cook jently until the
meat is tender. Almost all of the liquid should have evaporated
to leave a thick sauce.
 Serve hot, topped with the cooking sauce. Accompany with
bulgur wheat pillaf, yogurt and salad.
 Then, remove from the heat, cover the saucepan with a
towel, place the lid on top of the towel and set aside for
10-15 minutes before serving.
 Serve hot, as a main dish or as a side dish for meat
(afelia) accompanied with yogurt and salad.

8. Cypriot children making afelia and pourgouri
Afelia is a traditional cypriot recipe for a classic stew of belly pork cooked in a spiced red wine
and coriander seeds. Pork meat was one of the most favorite types of meat used in Cyprus in
the older years, since every family raised its own pig. This classic plate was accompanied with
pourgouri (bulgar wheat pillaf) or potatoes and vegetables also produced by each household
since every family in the island was self-sufficient.

9. Χalvas katsarolas (Semolina pudding)
Ingredients for syrup:
5 glass water
½ glass flower blossom water
2 ½ cups sugar
1 cinamon stick
4 carnation cloves
Cinnamon
Other Ingredients:
2 cups dry wheat semolina
¼ cup cooking oil
½ half cup of almonds, cut in pieces
Cinnamon
Method:
Removal of almond skin
 Place almonds in a large pot/caserole and put in heat to warm –
up.
 Then lower the fire and let them boil for another 2-3 minutes.
 Dispose of water.
 Remove the almond skins using a knife.
 Then cut the almonds in pieces.
Syrup
 Place all the ingredients for the
syrup into a large caserole and
put it to warm – up.
 When they start to boil, let them
warm- up for another 5 minutes
until the syrup mixes well.
Cooking the Semolina pudding
 Put the cooking oil into a large caserole and roast the almonds for 1- 2 minutes.
 Add the semolina and cinnamon. Let them all roast for another 1-2 minutes, and stir well.
 Remove the caserole from the cooker and add the syrup to bur mixture without the carnation
gloves, and stir well.
 We place our caserole back to the cooker and continue to stir using a large wooden spoon, until
it warms – up well.
 Remove from cooker after 2-3 minutes.
 Empty the mixture into a plater.
 Garnish with the almonds and sprinkled with a little cinnamon.
 Our halva is now ready to be served – warm or cold.

10. Cypriot children making xalva
Halvas Katsarolas means pot halva to distinguish from the one we bake in the oven. Halva is a
semolina pudding that is sweetened with syrup and studded with nuts (almonds and pine nuts).
It is a dessert that has Arabic origins but has been adopted into the cypriot cuisine and is
widely served during fasting periods because there are no eggs or dairy in the recipe.
Thus, halvas is a popular Lenten recipe in Cyprus and it is usually prepared on Kathara Deftera
(Green Monday).

11. Daktila kirion (ladies’ fingers)
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
8 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2½ cups of water
For frying:
oil
For the filling:
3 cups almonds (skin on),
coarsely ground
6 tbsp sugar
1½-2 tbsp cinnamon powder
8 tbsp flower blossom water
Cup dried ground bread
crumbs
For the syrup:
For garnishing:
4 cups sugar
½ cup almonds, ground
4 cups water
3-4 cinnamon sticks cinnamon wood
6-8 drops of lemon juice
4 spoons rose water
Method
 First prepare the syrup. Mix sugar with water, add the cinnamon sticks and lemon drops and let it
boil in high heat. As soon as it boils, low the heat and boil for another 5-7 minutes until it
becomes a thin syrup. Turn the heat off. Add the flower blossom water and take out the cinnamon
sticks. Allow it to cool.
 Mix the flour and the salt in a deep bowl, shape the mixture into a mount and form a hole in the
middle. Pour in the oil and work the mixture with the tips of your fingers until it resembles fine
breadcrumbs.Add in the water gradually, knead into a soft ball and cover with a towel. Allow to
“rest” for about half an hour.
 Mix almonds, dried ground breadcrumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Pour as much flower blossom water
needed to “tie up” the ingredients.
 Roll out the dough into thin large sheets ¼ thick. Spread 1 tsp of the filling on the edge of the
sheet and roll up lengthwise. Using a fork, press down and seal the edges of the “daktila”. Transfer
them in a floured serving tray.
 Fry them in hot oil on both sides until golden brown, frying only a few at a time. Remove from the
pan using a slotted spoon, hold them up in the spoon for a while to drain and add them in the cold
syrup for a couple of minutes.
 Transfer them into a serving tray and allow to cool. Before serving, garnish with the ground
almonds.

12. Cypriot children making daktila (ladies’ fingers)
Daktila is a favorite sweet in Cyprus. The word means fingers because it is shaped like ladies’
fingers filled with ground almonds and cinnamon sugar. It is a traditional sweet served during
fasting periods. Cypriots love syrup soaked pastries and daktila is one of the most popular
traditional desserts.

13. Mbourekia me anari (anari cheese pies)
Ingredients:
For the dough:
4 cups of flour
½ cup vegetable oil
¾ -1 cup water, lukewarm
For the filling:
1 kg fresh anari cheese
½ cup white sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
3-5 tbsps flower blossom water
Method:
 In a deep bowl, mix the flour and salt, shape the mixture into a mount and form a hole in the
middle.
 Pour in the oil and work the mixture with the tips of your fingers until it resembles fine
breadcrumbs.
 Then, add in the water, little by little and knead into soft dough. Cover the bowl with a clean
cloth and allow the dough to rest.
 In a separate bowl, mash the anari cheese using a fork, add the sugar, cinnamon and flower
blossom water and mix well.
 Using a dough rolling machine or a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a thin sheet. Spoon 1
tablespoon of the anari mixture over the surface of half the sheet at equal spaces and then
cover up with the other half.
 Using a cup or a glass or a knife, cut the stuffed sheet into round or rectangular pieces.
 Using a fork, press and seal their edges and deep fry the pies in hot oil until golden brown.
 Mbourekia can be served either hot or cold, sprinkled with a little cinnamon and icing sugar.

14. Cypriot children making mbourekia
Mbourekia are small, rectangular or half-moon pastries, filled with a mixture of anari, sugar
and cinnamon, deep-fried and sprinkled with granulated sugar. Anari or mizithra is a soft
white
cheese
made
from
whey.
Bourekia
are
similar
to
turnovers, empanadas, calzone, borek, samosa and can also be made savory as well with other
kind of salty cheese, such as halloumi or feta but also with minced meat, mushrooms, potatoes
or other fillings.