Yuvarlakia
 | |
| Type | Soup or stew |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Anatolia[1] |
| Main ingredients | Ground meat, rice, avgolemono sauce |
| Ingredients generally used | Carrot, potato, yogurt, tomato sauce |
| Variations | Sulu köfte |
Yuvarlakia, giouvarlakia[a] (Greek: γιουβαρλάκια), or terbiyeli sulu köfte[b][3][4] is a stewed meatball dish found in Greek and Turkish cuisine. It consists of balls of ground meat, rice, herbs, and spices, which is simmered in a pot with water or meat broth, and then finished in avgolemono sauce, or sometimes in tomato sauce.[5][6][7] Terbiyeli sulu köfte additionally includes carrots, potatoes, and yogurt, while rice is optional.[2] The mixture is similar to that used for making sarma.[8][9] Depending on the thickness of the sauce, it may be considered a soup or a stew.[10]
Etymology
The name yuvarlakia (Greek: γιουβαρλάκια[5]) is derived from the Turkish word yuvarlak, meaning "round" or "spherical," in reference to the shape of the dish's main component: small, round meatballs.[1] The Greek plural suffix -ia is commonly added to denote a collective or diminutive form, making yuvarlakia roughly translate to "little round ones".[1] The term reflects the influence of Turkish cuisine and broader Ottoman cuisine on Greek cuisine, particularly in regions where the two cultures historically intersected.[11]
History
The dish is believed to have originated in Anatolia during the Ottoman Empire, where culinary techniques crossed Greek, Turkish, Armenian and Jewish cuisines.[1] It was introduced to Greece by Asia Minor Greeks after the population exchange between Greece and Turkey.[1]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Raptopoulos, Lilah. "Recipe: The unlikely alchemy of adding rice to your meatballs". Financial Times. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
- 1 2 Şen, Ayşe (2023). Ayşe'nin Yemek Tarifleri Günlük Kullanima Uygun, Leziz ve Pratik. Härter Kinderbuchverlag. p. 59.
- ↑ Yurtsever, Müjgan (2017). "Yuvarlakia (Terbiyeli Sulu Köfte)". In Yavi, Ayfer; Polat, Raife (eds.). Anadolu’nun Tadı Tuzu: Kardeş Mutfaklar [The Flavor of Anatolia: Sister Cuisines] (PDF) (in Turkish). Oğlak Yayıncılık. p. 112.
- ↑ Mittler-Solak, Fatma; Lauterbach, Enise (2023). Kala? Kala! Unsere kretische Kardio-Küche: Mit mediterranen Rezepten Herz und Gefäße schützen [Good? Good! Our Cretan Cardio Kitchen: Protecting the Heart and Blood Vessels with Mediterranean Recipes] (in German) (1 ed.). Edition Michael Fischer / EMF Verlag.
- 1 2 Λεξικό της κοινής Νεοελληνικής (Dictionary of Common Modern Greek), Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών, Θεσσαλονίκη, 1998. ISBN 960-231-085-5, s.v.
- ↑ Georgios Babiniotis, Dictionary of Modern Greek, s.v.
- ↑ Nikolaos Tselementes, Οδηγός μαγειρικής και ζαχαροπλαστικής, s.v.
- ↑ Sutton, David E. (19 September 2014). Secrets from the Greek Kitchen: Cooking, Skill, and Everyday Life on an Aegean Island. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-95930-9.
- ↑ "Recipes". Fitchburg Sentinel. April 18, 1941.
- ↑ Kefalides, Nicholas A. (2009). Echoes from the cobblestones : a memoir. New York: iUniverse. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-4401-4353-3. OCLC 610004512.
- ↑ Millas, Hercules (Iraklis) (2019). "Greek-Turkish Differences and Similarities: National Stereotypes and Their Implications". In Heraclides, Alexis; Alioğlu Çakmak, Gizem (eds.). Greece and Turkey in Conflict and Cooperation: From Europeanization to De-Europeanization. Taylor & Francis.