Tarhana pastry served as staple food during times of famine
Originally published on Global Voices
Tarhana dish. Photo from the personal archive of Temenuzhka Mateva, used with permission.
This is the second of a three-part series by Dessislava Dimitrova and Nevena Borisova about how women entrepreneurs drive the revival of culinary traditions in different parts of Bulgaria, as part of the modern slow food movement, boosting tourism and countering depopulation.
Tarhana is a food originating from Persia, and it is eaten in southeastern Europe and the Middle East. In general, it is a pastry, which is prepared with sourdough, based on a dried fermented mixture of grain and yoghurt or fermented milk. This artisan food is poorly known today, while only a few decades ago it was regularly prepared in many homes in the Bulgarian mountains of Strandzha, Sakar, and Rhodopes.
Map of Bulgaria showing the locations of villages Yavornitsa, Antimovo and Plevun. Based on maps from respective Wikipedia articles, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Different dishes with tarhana also have been made on a daily basis in the southern village of Plevun where, as a child, Temenuzhka Mateva had been often with her grandma. Years later, due to sentimental reasons, Temenuzhka decided to revive the tradition and turned into its keeper. She said:
„Траханата бе закуска сутрин през цялата зима, но баба я добавяше и към всяко вече готово ястие – като поизстине, все поръсваше. Сега разбирам, че го е правила, за да „подсили“ храната, запазвайки и пробиотичните свойства на траханата. Например, на кисело мляко ще сложи малко, ще си надробим и ще ядем. На готов фасул, вече изстинал, и там поръсваше!“
“The tarhana was our breakfast during the whole winter, and grandma also added it to every dish which was already prepared. When the dish got colder, she was always sprinkling some tarhana. Now, I understand that she made that in order to “strengthen” the food because this is also a way to preserve its probiotic qualities. People in the past knew so much!”
Temenuzhka Mateva (on the right) with her granddaughter. Photo from personal archive, used with permission.
She adds that the recipe reflects local specifics of the region itself. For example, some villages for example, where different kinds of vegetables are grown, there are more varied vegetables mixed into the tarhana. And, in case that the local livelihood is related to sheep breeding, the dish is prepared with more yoghurt in it.
Temenuzhka prepares a specific kind of tarhana, without adding yoghurt to it, nor fruits or vegetables. In order to make sourdough, she puts hops, corn, chickpea and lentils in water, and, after the water boils, and the ingredients float up on the surface, she sieves the mixture, and adds einkorn wheat and rye flour. The sourdough starter is left to rise, and is then mixed with the other ingredients.
The other part of the tarhana is the cereal bulgur, processed from einkorn wheat. After the dough is made (from the bulgur, sourdough and the einkorn wheat), it should be left to rise 2-3 days, in a warm environment. At the end, the risen dough is sifted through a perforated sieve, so called darmon (дармонь in Bulgarian). The resulting grains have to be dried in the sun, after which they are stored in paper or textile bags for the whole winter. As for the cereal ingredients, Temenuzhka personally prefers rye and uses plant cultures that have not been grown with chemicals.
The tarhana is a way to conserve the healthy nutritional qualities of fruits and vegetables via fermentation. This food, usually prepared in summer after harvest, comes in two specific varieties: white and red. Since its preparation does not include a thermal process, it can be safely called “live food,” rich in milk-sour bacteria.
While the tarhana has been a protection against famine in the past, it now serves as a shield against the loss of a cultural memory.
Започнах да приготвям трахана, откакто имам внуче. Замислих се, че сега, когато съм баба, е време да предам на децата си онова, което съм запомнила от моята. В продължение на години опитвах да я възстановя такава, каквато я помня.
I started preparing the tarhana since I become a grandmother, having the idea that it is now time to give knowledge to the next generation of what I have learned from my grandmother. And, in couple of years, I succeeded in recreating this food exactly like I remember it.
Temenuzhka tries to popularize the product, but still faces a variety of difficulties because of food safety regulations. Tarhana has not been formally registered as dish and therefore it is more difficult to offer it in restaurants. Despite this she has created a local community in the region of Ivaylovgrad, and uses social media to make the food more popular.
Recently, many people who have tried the tarhana are willing to learn how to prepare it. For those people who appreciate the long-century tradition, Temenuzhka considers organising workshops in Plevun, hoping that her efforts will bring the food back on the Bulgarian table.
This is the second of a three-part series. The first part had been published yesterday, while the third will be published tomorrow.
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