Circassian chicken is the best-known dish of the Circassian diaspora and of Circassian cuisine abroad, usually met under its Turkish name, Çerkez tavuğu. Poached chicken is pulled into shreds, folded through a thick sauce of ground walnuts, garlic and broth thickened with bread, then finished with red pepper warmed in oil. It is served cool, often as a meze, and it is best made a few hours ahead.
Below is the recipe from the Recipes section of the Circassian app, followed by a little of the dish’s story and the words you need to talk about it in Kabardian and Adyghe.
Circassian chicken recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Poach the chicken with the onion, salt and pepper until tender; keep the broth. Cool, then shred the meat.
- Grind the walnuts with the garlic and salt to a fine paste.
- Soak the bread in a little broth, squeeze, and blend it into the walnuts (or use flour) with enough warm broth to make a thick, pourable sauce.
- Fold about two-thirds of the sauce through the shredded chicken.
- Spread on a plate, cover with the remaining sauce and smooth the top.
- Warm the oil with red pepper and drizzle over. Serve at room temperature.
Authentically Circassian in origin but famous as the Ottoman and diaspora version; the everyday homeland chicken dish is jedlibzhe. Best made a few hours ahead.
This is the recipe from the Recipes section of the Circassian app, where you can also scale it and save it to your favourites.
A Circassian dish that travelled
Wikipedia describes Circassian chicken as a classic Circassian dish that was adopted by the cuisine of the Ottoman palace. Once it did, it travelled: it can now be found in other cuisines of the Eastern Mediterranean, and although it was usually served as a main course, it became popular as a starter. Georgian cooking has a close relative, satsivi, with a similar walnut sauce.
In the Circassian homeland, though, the everyday chicken dish is a different one: jedlibzhe, chicken simmered in soured cream, garlic and red pepper. The app’s own note on this recipe puts it plainly: Circassian chicken is Circassian in origin, but famous as the Ottoman and diaspora version.
What is Circassian chicken called in Circassian?
Wikipedia gives the dish as Адыгэ чэты in Adyghe and Адыгэ джэд in Kabardian: literally “Circassian chicken”. The two words for chicken are the same ones taught in the app’s lessons, джэд in the east and чэты in the west. A few more kitchen words, all from the lessons:
| English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| chicken | джэдdzhed | чэтыchety |
| butter | тхъуцынэtkhwutsyne | тхъуtkhu |
| salt | шыгъуshyghu | щыгъуshchyghu |
| bread | щIакхъуэshch'akkhwe | хьалыгъуhalyghu |
| delicious | IэфI'ef' | IэшIу дэд'esh'u ded |
| Enjoy your meal! | Фи хьэлэлщ!Fi helelshch! | – |
More Circassian recipes
Circassian chicken is only the start. Make fresh Adyghe cheese, fold it into crisp haliva or boiled mataz dumplings, or read about 10 traditional Circassian dishes. The food and table customs of Circassian hospitality are a story of their own.
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Circassian chicken: frequently asked questions
What is Circassian chicken?
A dish of poached, shredded chicken in a thick sauce of ground walnuts, garlic and broth thickened with bread, finished with red pepper oil and served cool, often as a meze.
Is Circassian chicken Turkish or Circassian?
Circassian in origin. It was adopted by the Ottoman palace kitchen and became famous in Turkey as Çerkez tavuğu, which is why many people know it as a Turkish meze.
What is Circassian chicken called in Circassian?
Адыгэ чэты in Adyghe and Адыгэ джэд in Kabardian, literally “Circassian chicken”.
Is Circassian chicken served hot or cold?
Cool or at room temperature. The recipe in the app says it is best made a few hours ahead.
What is the difference between Circassian chicken and satsivi?
Both are chicken dishes with a walnut sauce. Satsivi is the Georgian version; Circassian chicken is the Circassian one, known in Turkey as Çerkez tavuğu.
What else do Circassians eat with chicken?
In the homeland the everyday chicken dish is jedlibzhe, chicken in soured cream and garlic, served with paste (a firm millet or corn porridge) or bread. Both recipes are in the Circassian app.
Sources
- Circassian app, Recipes section (Circassian Library > Recipes), recipe “Circassian Chicken (in Walnut Sauce)”, version 5.2, September 2026. The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
- Wikipedia, “Circassian chicken”.
- Circassian app, Kabardian and Adyghe lessons Bread & Cheese, Meat & Salt, Fruit & Butter, Drinks, Pets & Poultry and Dining Phrases (kitchen words and phrases).
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Circassian chicken, Adyghe cheese, haliva and 50 more, in English, Russian and Turkish, with servings you can scale. Plus short lessons in Kabardian or Adyghe.
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