Irrevocable bread of meals: Nanê sêlê
KONYA (DİHA) - The Kurdish people who migrated to Central Anatolia some 300 years ago continue to maintain their tradition of nanê sêlê (tandoor bread) as part of their authentic Kurdish cuisine that they brought from Kurdistan.
The Kurds who were exiled to Central Anatolia, -just as they have not abandoned many other things- have also not given up their culture of nane sele, which continues to remain indispensable in their meals. Almost all the Kurdish people living in the villages of Konya have a tandoor oven in their houses. The villagers say that they cannot give up the taste of nane sele bread, adding that by continuing the custom they not only meet their need for bread without bakeries but also they send the traditional bread to their relatives, children and friends living in big cities or in Europe. The Kurds living in Karacadag town of the Kulu district of Konya say that nane sele perfectly fits to their taste, adding that they will for sure pass on this long maintained culture of cooking bread in traditional tandoors to the next generations.
Zöhre Akgül (55), who lives in Karacadag and continues cooking nane sele, says that the custom has been passed down by her mother and grandmother, remarking that they never give up cooking nane sele as it is the only bread that perfectly fits to their taste. Akgül says that she sends nane sele to her 3 children living in Europe, adding that her children as well cannot eat any bread other than nane sele. Another person, Esma Akbas (Bese), (65), says that the meals they cook are not edible with any bread other than thin breads like nane sele and adds: “We take our custom of nane sele wherever we go. For instance, my son lives in Istanbul and I spend a couple of months with him there each year. I cook this bread there as well. The meals I prepare are only edible with this bread, otherwise they will be nonsense.”
Meryem Biçer (54) says cooking nane sele is difficult but entertaining and adds: “We call in several friends when we are going to cook nane sele. It is not easy to cook it alone. We cook 3-4 people together. We help each other in rotation and cook our bread for several months at a time. It is pretty difficult, but entertaining at the same time. We wake up around 6:00 in the morning to start the preparation. We first prepare the dough and warm up the oven with animal dung cakes (kerme) that we previously dry. Then we start the cooking”.
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