SORAN, Kurdistan Region - A married couple in Soran’s Galala subdistrict have turned their home into a restaurant serving only pacha (sarupe in Kurdish).
Pacha is considered a winter dish but it is still served year-round in many restaurants.
It is usually a meal eaten on special occasions.
“My wife and I discussed establishing [a restaurant] with Kurdish folkloric cuisine, which was sarupe. When I started people weren’t very familiar with the dish, but believe me there are people who have learned [to enjoy] sarupe with us," Kamil Ibrahim, owner of the restaurant, told Rudaw.
Preparing the dish is not easy and is very time-consuming.
Namam Salih prepares the food.
She said it takes the couple nearly 13 hours to clean the meat and cook the dish.
"We are open two days a week but my spouse and I are busy preparing [the food] for four days," she added.
Their restaurant has made a name for itself and sarupe connoisseurs come from other cities as well to try the dish.
Abduljabbar Mohammed is one of their customers.
"I love sarupe but not frequently. If I eat it once or twice a year on occasion it is okay. Surely since it is from here, it must have a unique flavor," he said.
Some customers also bring their own pots to take Sarupe back home.
