BIJAŃČ DA KUVANČ
BU ÜVDIA TOCHTAHEJLAR.
KIRIUVČIU DA ČYHUVČU
BIRDIAŃ ÜBIJBIA
ALHYŠLY BOLHEJLAR!

LET JOY AND HAPPINESS
VISIT YOUR HOME!
LET HOSTS AND ALL THE GUESTS
BE BLESSED!

For centuries Karaim women have been famous as very good housewives. So due to their talents traditional Karaim cuisine has survived up till now and can be presented to you in all its splendor. The Karaim cuisine is based mainly on meat and pastry dishes. They are different in shape, and produced for several occasions - some of them belong to everyday, and some to holiday table. Most of the traditional dishes are related to religious festivals.

One of the most famous non-ritual dishes known not only to Karaims is kybyn (pl. kybynlar). It is a leavened paste cake having the form of half-moon and the lamb or beef filling; it is baked in the oven or on the tin.

Another everyday course is a thick, mostly lamb soup called shorpa. It was mainly cooked from young lamb meat.

Besides kybyn Karaims make some other well known dishes such as a vegetable snack imam-bajaldy, broth with little dumplings (the dough is cut using golden wedding band) chamur-dolma, chicken pie kiubete, lamb pie ajaklyk, meat and vegetable stew prepared in a ceramic dish chanach, grated potato pie prepared in a ceramic dish biok chanachta, apple baked in a dough served with rose petals jam giuliaf almada and many more dishes which have come to Lithuania together with Karaims and Tartars.

One of the most popular meat dishes is a meat roast called shishlik. Usually it is made of lamb, but you can use beef and veal, too.

Karaims could not live without a national drink krupnik. Its name comes from local people but the ingredients differ. For making it different roots and oriental spices are used, such as cloves, nutmeg, etc. Krupnik is a strong drink which is of a golden color and goes well with kybyn or other dishes. Usually every housewife makes it herself and its tastes different according to her taste.

There are a lot of songs about national dishes:

(from Simonas Firkovicius song "Kybyn". Translation to Lithuanian by Alfonsas Bukontas)

The national Karaim restaurant "KYBYNLAR" is happy of being able to continue old traditions of Karaim cuisine and warmly invites you to visit the place and taste authentic Karaim dishes.