Cooking traditional food in Hawraman

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Goshkhan is a village in the Hawraman region of Kurdistan province, Iran. Every winter, villagers come together to cook a traditional dish called kashkak made from meat, wheat, and kashk (dried yogurt).

Preparing the food is a communal event. Even those who no longer live in the village return for this tradition.

“We gather a significant amount of money, and each person contributes by preparing wheat and meat. We all come together in one place and prepare the pots,” Jamal Faraji, a resident of Goshkhan, told Rudaw.

“Everyone has specific responsibilities: one prepares the fire, another peels the wheat, someone takes care of the pacha [a dish made from sheep intestines], another smashes it, and one heats the water. Each person takes on a couple of tasks,” he added.

The amount of food prepared is so abundant that anyone who comes can take some food home with them.

This year's preparations began on Thursday morning and continued through Friday morning.

During the night religious poems were recited and people prayed for a happy and prosperous year.

“It is truly joyful that they all work together and put in effort. The sense of sisterhood and brotherhood among them is wonderful,” said Munir Mohammadi, another resident of Goshkhan.