A special-occasion whole turkey, boiled and jointed, each piece dipped in salted garlic water and served with a sauce of fried onion, pounded liver and turkey fat.
Gwegwsh Gheva (Festive Boiled Turkey)
Ingredients
Method
- Boil the turkey with a whole onion, salt and pepper until tender, about 1.5 hours; keep the broth.
- Boil the liver until firm, then pound it to a paste.
- Fry the second onion (finely chopped) in butter until golden.
- Add the pounded liver, red pepper and a ladle of hot broth; simmer to a thick sauce (thicken with a little flour if needed).
- Crush the garlic with salt and stir half into the sauce.
- Dip the warm turkey pieces in the remaining salted garlic water, then serve topped with the liver sauce, alongside paste or pasta.
This is the recipe from the Recipes section of the Circassian app, where you can also scale it and save it to your favourites.
Kitchen words in Circassian
The words for what is in this dish, in Kabardian (East Circassian) and Adyghe (West Circassian), with audio from the Circassian app’s lessons and audio course.
| English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| meat | лыly | лыlə |
| butter | тхъуцынэtkhwutsyne | тхъуtkhu |
| salt | шыгъуshyghu | щыгъуshchəghu |
| food | шхынshkhyn | шхыныshkhənə |
| delicious | IэфI'ef' | IэшIу'eshIu |
| This is delicious! | Мыр IэфIщ!Myr 'ef'shch! | Мыр IэшIу!Myr 'esh'u! |
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Gwegwsh Gheva: questions
How long does it take to make Gwegwsh Gheva?
About 120 minutes, according to the recipe in the Circassian app.
How many people does this Gwegwsh Gheva recipe serve?
It serves 8. The servings control above the ingredients recalculates every quantity for 1 to 40 people.
What is Gwegwsh Gheva made of?
The ingredients are: 1 turkey (about 4 kg), jointed; 2 onions; the turkey liver and giblets; 6 garlic cloves; 2 tbsp butter; 1 tsp red pepper; 2 tbsp millet or wheat flour (optional); salt and black pepper.
Is Gwegwsh Gheva an everyday or a festive dish?
The Circassian app files it as a festive dish (Mains & Sauces).
Where does this Gwegwsh Gheva recipe come from?
From the Recipes section of the Circassian app. The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
Sources
- Circassian app, Recipes section, recipe “Gwegwsh Gheva (Festive Boiled Turkey)” (recipe data last changed July 2026). The app’s recipes draw on Amjad Jaimoukha’s book Circassian Cuisine and were cross-checked against Russian and Adyghe food sources.
- Circassian app: audio course, Kabardian and Adyghe (the kitchen words: cheese, meat, milk, bread, tea, water, food, delicious), and the lessons’ vocabulary (chicken, salt, butter, honey).
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