I also have the suspicion that there must be some overlap between the cuisine of Middle East (and possibly Central Asia) and that of South Caucasus, namely Georgia with their love for spices and hot foods. Which would then mean the existence of a dish in the spirit of shawarma, but hot and spicy. Haven’t encountered such a thing yet, but I’m guessing Armenian cuisine is the place to look, since they definitely use lavash flatbread for something.
I would love to try all these cuisines. I’ve had Afghan style goat with a bunch of mint and that is fantastic. Further west Hungarian paprikash is fantastic. Of course none of these countries could really have hot spicy food as we know it until the 16th century when the chili pepper made its way to the eastern hemisphere.
By the way, try Georgian ajika if you ever have a chance: it’s chili pepper mixed with a whole lot of other spices, and is great even in commercial varieties.
Eh, there are like five or so different kinds of ‘hot’, acting upon different tastebuds. Aside from peppercorn, i.e. black pepper, you’ve probably heard of Sichuan pepper, mustard, and horseradish (i.e. what is typically sold as wasabi). If you ever want to really clear your sinuses, get yourself some Russian mustard and chow down half a tablespoon of it, preferably on bread. I know for certain that it’s available in the US via some shady importing companies.
I have it in my ‘try sometime’ list to mix all the different kinds of hotness, and perhaps add mint since it’s felt by separate tastebuds that apparently still work through the numbness.
Also, the 16th century was a really long time ago, so the various countries had plenty of time to adapt. For myself, I’ve nearly choked on a slice of hot pepper in a Georgian salad — couldn’t spit it out in the celebratory setting, and chewing wasn’t an option, so had to swallow it whole.
I also have the suspicion that there must be some overlap between the cuisine of Middle East (and possibly Central Asia) and that of South Caucasus, namely Georgia with their love for spices and hot foods. Which would then mean the existence of a dish in the spirit of shawarma, but hot and spicy. Haven’t encountered such a thing yet, but I’m guessing Armenian cuisine is the place to look, since they definitely use lavash flatbread for something.
I would love to try all these cuisines. I’ve had Afghan style goat with a bunch of mint and that is fantastic. Further west Hungarian paprikash is fantastic. Of course none of these countries could really have hot spicy food as we know it until the 16th century when the chili pepper made its way to the eastern hemisphere.
By the way, try Georgian ajika if you ever have a chance: it’s chili pepper mixed with a whole lot of other spices, and is great even in commercial varieties.
Eh, there are like five or so different kinds of ‘hot’, acting upon different tastebuds. Aside from peppercorn, i.e. black pepper, you’ve probably heard of Sichuan pepper, mustard, and horseradish (i.e. what is typically sold as wasabi). If you ever want to really clear your sinuses, get yourself some Russian mustard and chow down half a tablespoon of it, preferably on bread. I know for certain that it’s available in the US via some shady importing companies.
I have it in my ‘try sometime’ list to mix all the different kinds of hotness, and perhaps add mint since it’s felt by separate tastebuds that apparently still work through the numbness.
Also, the 16th century was a really long time ago, so the various countries had plenty of time to adapt. For myself, I’ve nearly choked on a slice of hot pepper in a Georgian salad — couldn’t spit it out in the celebratory setting, and chewing wasn’t an option, so had to swallow it whole.