Soran family turn home into pacha restaurant

SORAN, Kurdistan Region - A married couple in Soran’s Galala subdistrict have turned their home into a restaurant serving only pacha (sarupe in Kurdish).

Pacha is considered a winter dish but it is still served year-round in many restaurants.

It is usually a meal eaten on special occasions. 

“My wife and I discussed establishing [a restaurant] with Kurdish folkloric cuisine, which was sarupe. When I started people weren’t very familiar with the dish, but believe me there are people who have learned [to enjoy] sarupe with us," Kamil Ibrahim, owner of the restaurant, told Rudaw.

Preparing the dish is not easy and is very time-consuming.

Namam Salih prepares the food. 

She said it takes the couple nearly 13 hours to clean the meat and cook the dish.

"We are open two days a week but my spouse and I are busy preparing [the food] for four days," she added. 

Their restaurant has made a name for itself and sarupe connoisseurs come from other cities as well to try the dish.

Abduljabbar Mohammed is one of their customers. 

"I love sarupe but not frequently. If I eat it once or twice a year on occasion it is okay. Surely since it is from here, it must have a unique flavor," he said. 

Some customers also bring their own pots to take Sarupe back home.