Circassia is a mountainous region in southern Russia where walnut trees grow in abundance. In the nineteenth century, many Circassians were driven out of Russia and took refuge in parts of the Ottoman Empire where they proceeded to introduce new cooking techniques. Turks, who thought chicken came on skewers, now learned they could eat it cold, smothered in a walnutty paste.

Coriander is one of my pet hates, and I don’t use it in my restaurant, but I’ve included it here to honour the Circassians, who brought it to Turkey.