| From its Mezedes and Moussaka to its | | | | Kebab, this is often eaten as a meal by |
| Shiftalies and its Souflakia, a journey | | | | itself and is often followed by an abundance |
| through Cyprus is a gastronomic delight. No | | | | of luscious fruits including purple plums, |
| visit to this historical island is complete | | | | pomegranates, grapes, lemons, tangerines, |
| without sampling all of its delectable | | | | melons, oranges, bananas and apricots. |
| delicacies, each of which has a history of | | | | Yemista Yemista is a versatile dish that |
| its own. Here are a few must-try dishes if | | | | includes a variety of stuffed vegetables. |
| Cyprus is on your vacation list. Meze One of | | | | They can be eaten cold or hot; as starters or |
| the most famous of all Cypriot dishes, Meze | | | | as main dishes. Minced meat flavored with |
| or Mezedes is not just a dish but a way of | | | | different herbs such as mint or parsley is |
| life in Cyprus. Eaten 'siga' or slowly and | | | | blended with rice and grated tomatoes and |
| shared among friends, a Meze is comprised of | | | | stuffed into aubergines, peppers, tomatoes, |
| a rich assortment of about 20-30 delicious | | | | courgettes and courgette petals. Among the |
| savories and appetizers that are served in | | | | most famous is 'Koupepia'; stuffed |
| saucer-like dishes. With names such as | | | | vine-leaves. Shieftalies Shiftalies are small |
| kaskavalli, koupepia (stuffed vine leaves), | | | | charcoal-grilled sausages made of minced |
| seftalia ( home-made sausages), halloumi (a | | | | meat. Thousands have tried to guess the |
| Cypriot cheese) and barbouni (succulent red | | | | secret of its unique taste, but the Cypriot's |
| mullet), each dish tastes as exotic as it | | | | aren't telling. Kleftiko Kleftiko consists of |
| sounds. Other savories you can expect when | | | | a piece of lamb or goat enveloped in foil and |
| you order a Meze at a restaurant include | | | | baked in a traditional oven that is kept |
| hummus (chick peas ground with garlic and | | | | airtight till the Kleftiko is completely |
| olive oil) tender snippets of chicken or | | | | baked. The origin of this dish goes back to |
| turkey, shrimp, octopus, celery, green | | | | the 19th century. The Cypriot freedom |
| peppers, olives and cucumbers. Mousakas A | | | | fighters who dwelled in the mountains were |
| standard dish on every menu, Mousakas is a | | | | forced to prepare the stolen meat secretly so |
| very popular Cypriot dish, more so in summer. | | | | that no one could get either see it or smell |
| Mousakas can be eaten cold as well as warm | | | | it. They devised an ingenious way of baking |
| and is made from minced beef or lamb covered | | | | the Kleftiko in specially designed |
| with sliced potatoes, zucchini or eggplant | | | | earthenware pottery buried underground and |
| that are placed in layers. Herbs are blended | | | | sealed airtight so that no aromas escaped. |
| in to add zestful flavor and the whole thing | | | | Souzoukko Souzoukko consists of strings of |
| is covered with a delicious cream. Souflakia | | | | nuts that are dipped in heated grape juice |
| Skewered pieces of lamb or pork, slow-roasted | | | | till the entire concoction solidifies. |
| over a charcoal fire are mixed together with | | | | |
| onions and yiaourti ( a delicious local | | | | For some interesting dishes you can cook at |
| yoghurt) and stuffed into pita bread to make | | | | home, take a look at these crock pot pork |
| the mouth-watering Souflakia. Also called | | | | recipes and some easy crock pot beef recipes. |