Making chickpea flour bread is a very important element among the most significant events in the life of Pogradeci families, often turning into a ceremonial element. Christian families prepare chickpea flour bread in the following specific cases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1- On the occasion of a child\u2019s birth. About 2 weeks after the baby\u2019s birth, its baptism is conferred amidst a communal celebration in the church, giving the child its name. The ceremony always follows with a convivial dinner party, with chickpea flour bread as one of the most important must-be elements of cooking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2- At weddings. On the groom\u2019s side, a chickpea dish is cooked on Sunday by one of the daughters-in-law of the house, provided that she has her mother and father alive. Chickpea symbolizes good luck and abundance, so two or three pots are prepared, for the bride and the groom. If the bride\u2019s chickpea is leavened sooner, it means that the bride will be luck-bearing. The same goes for the groom. On the bride\u2019s side, chickpea dough is kneaded on Wednesday while chickpea bread is baked on Thursday. The warm water in the vessel where chickpeas are cooked is customarily poured by a boy having his mother and father alive. The whole ceremony (cooking the chickpeas, kneading the dough, baking the chickpea bread) is amusing and cheerful, with hilarious and funny jokes and tickling the bride and groom pink. The ceremony goes with special songs such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cQiq\u00ebr hanko, qiq\u00ebra\/ T\u00eb kam b\u00ebr\u00eb nj\u00eb rixha\/ T\u00eb vish nes\u00ebr m\u00eb saba\/ T\u00eb b\u00ebjm\u00eb buk\u00eb p\u00ebr pasha\/ Se martojm\u00eb djal\u00ebn\u00eb\/ Neve buk\u00ebt do t\u2019i b\u00ebjm\u00eb\/ N\u00eb da\u00e7 jak, n\u00eb da\u00e7 mos jak\/ Rri mendoju edhe pak\/ N\u00eb da\u00e7 haj, n\u00eb da\u00e7 mos haj\/ Rri mendoju gjer pastaj.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(\u201cChickpea hanko, chickpeas\/ Let me entreat you\/Early tomorrow you to come\/Let\u2019s make bread for the pasha\/Dear me! our son is getting married\/We\u2019ll offer the bread for him\/It\u2019s on you to come or not\/ Just think a little more\/It\u2019s on you to come or not\/Yeah, dwell on, dwell on.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chickpea flour bread is also an important part of post-wedding rituals; for example, when the bride\u2019s family pays a visit to the bride shortly after she arrives at the groom\u2019s house, it is a custom to bring honey-dipped chickpea flour bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3- For the Easter celebration. The chickpea flour bread has been baked beforehand and is ready before Easter day. A red egg is hidden in the middle of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4- For the Eid celebration. In Muslim families, bread with chickpeas is mainly used for Eid and a little hallv\u00eb (halvah) is placed in the middle of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Making chickpea flour bread is a very important element among the most significant events in the life of Pogradeci families, often turning into a ceremonial element. Christian families prepare chickpea flour bread in the following specific cases: 1- On the occasion of a child\u2019s birth. About 2 weeks after the baby\u2019s birth, its baptism is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[844],"tags":[872],"class_list":["post-3755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pogradec-municipality","tag-traditional-dishes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n