Kurdish Celebration

Sponsor Zirak Hamad

Saturday 21st March 2026

12 – 3pm

The Trinity Centre in Sutton Coldfield

Kurdish Celebration – Minutes

This meal was downgraded from a full-blown dinner to a delightful luncheon due to a logistical error not of our making. We bravely ventured Northside of Birmingham to a strange place that means South Town Charcoal Field, or I should say Royal Sutton Coldfield, as it was granted royal status by Henry VIII in 1528 in return for helping to murder some of his wives or helping to steal a monastery …I’m guessing.

I know it’s a bit out of the Buckland norm to travel somewhere really odd on a Saturday when the footie is on Sky TV or your eagerly awaiting the result of the 2.50 at Kempton as you’ve bet the family silver on the outcome but those of us that made it were in for a treat.

Our host for the afternoon was Zirak who informed us that his name means ‘Smart’ we didn’t check this although I’m sure it’s true. I can confirm that Dave means ‘handsome and hilarious’.

Luckily for us Zirak was an animated and informative host imparting many fascinating historical facts about Kurdistan, too many to mention now … or remember to be more accurate.

We were however fortunate enough, either by luck or the usual impeccable Buckland planning, to join Zirak and his friends on what turned out to be Kurdish New Year; a little different from some of the New Years I’ve experienced but still delightful.

Food was prepared by members of the Kurdish community

We were offered Raki on arrival. Raki as I’m sure many of you know is a popular Turkish unsweetened, anise-flavoured alcoholic spirit often called “lion’s milk”. Produced by distilling grape pomace and aniseed, it is typically 40–50% ABV and turns milky white when mixed with water. I can confirm this as I initially suspected that many members were drinking soluble Aspirin as an aperitif.

The meal was served buffet style and as is traditional everywhere I go, I was first in the queue, everything on display looked right up my culinary street despite not having a clue what any of it was. I’m hoping to achieve the correct pronunciation on these dishes, unlike the time I ventured a little off piste in the Turkish takeaway and everyone came out of the kitchen to laugh at my attempted pronunciation , or when I attempted to say ‘Goodbye’ in Mandarin to an elderly Chinese lady and it transpired that I had got the inflection wrong and had shouted ‘Supermarket’ down the road after her, which explained the look on her face.

I greatly enjoyed the Kuba, a pastry filled with minced lamb and rice, a portable snack, which was very tasty and a fine example off pastry filled savoury snacks that have spanned thousands of years, originally dating back to 9500BC, amazingly pre-dating one of my personal favourites, the Sausage Roll by 11,300 years. Originally the edible pasty container was called a coffin.

Kuba, Kurdish Biryani & Flatbreads

Mixed Salad

Vegetable Dolma

The dolma consisted of aubergine, mixed peppers & vine leaves stuffed with rice

Another in a series of absolute winners on the menu was Dolma, stuffed vine leaves and was amongst the tastiest I’ve ever had. Kurdish Biryani was absolutely delicious and would have been more so if it had been slightly warmer, but I gobbled up two platefuls – so not complaints there. Biryani is often thought of as an Indian dish but originated in Persia and was introduced to India by early traders, in fact its name derives from the Persian word Biryan meaning fried before cooking. This was accompanied by Jajik a cucumber and yoghurt dip which Zirak told us aids digestion. We finished with Baklava which was too sweet for me but everyone around me loved it.

Baklava

After our lovely food Zirak and fellow musicians treated us to over 30 minutes of delightful and baffling music from Kurdish Iraq, spanning the last 100 or so years, plus a few crowd pleasers from the 70s and 80s, the musicians seemed to enjoy it as much as we did.

Zirak politely warned us against putting milk in our Black Tea with Mint as that’s not a thing anywhere in the world apparently, a proud tradition like many things that only the English subject themselves to such as Toad in the Hole, Spotted Dick and Last Night at the Proms.

Tea was initially advertised as the China drink and was taxed at 119%, putting Donald Trump’s measly tariffs to shame, or should I say “Teariffs”. Tea was taxed partly out of fear that the English working man would turn away from drinking ale for breakfast and to fund the British national debt after the Seven Years’ War. British people started adding milk first to combat delicate porcelain cups cracking in the 17th Century and carried on with it despite most of us being in possession of sturdier drinking vessels. The only other cultures to historically add Milk and sometimes Butter to tea are Mongolians and Tibetans. Our Kurdish tea was a strong black tea brewed with cardamon.

In conclusion, a jolly afternoon’s outing at a very reasonable price, more delicious food than I could eat and superb musical entertainment and a new experience for me. I would highly recommend taking a chance on any further weekend excursions.

Dave Travis, Minutes Secretary

Minutes delivered to members at the Anglo-Italian Dinner