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