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