Mumbar dolması, one of the most laborious and skill-demanding dishes of Amasya cuisine, brings together the finesse of the region's meat culture and a frugal wisdom that wastes nothing. The intestine of the sacrificial animal, or of any slaughtered animal, is cleaned and filled with a spiced stuffing, then reaches the table after a long and patient cooking. This deep-rooted dish, known in many parts of Anatolia, has acquired an interpretation of its own in Amasya. In the city mumbar is seldom cooked on its own; it meets the sheep's tripe in the same cauldron and enters the local cookbooks under the name "mumbar-işkembe" (mumbar with tripe). Whenever the regional dishes of Amasya are listed, mumbar and tripe are always named among the meat dishes alongside bakla dolması, keşkek and ciğer sarması.

No document is known that shows when mumbar dolması was first cooked in Amasya. The dish's local history has lived less in written records than in home kitchens, on festival mornings and on the crowded preparation days when women worked together. Its story can therefore be traced on two grounds: the long history of stuffed intestines in Turkish and Ottoman cuisine, and Amasya's own tradition of recipes. The most reliable information on the latter comes from the cookbook prepared by the Amasya Governorship with contributions from local women, cooks and vocational high school teachers.

What Mumbar Is and Where the Name Comes From

Mumbar is the name given to the large intestine of cattle, sheep and goats. The Turkish dictionary traces the word to Persian mubār and gives "bumbar" and "çöz" as its synonyms. It is held to derive from the Persian forms būnbār or mūbār, meaning the large intestine. In popular speech the word varies from region to region; in Cappadocia the dish is known as "mimbar dolması", while in Circassian cuisine it is called "tobar". The third meaning recorded in the dictionary is also of interest: a long cloth casing stuffed with cotton, placed in the gaps of doors and windows to keep out the cold, is likewise called a mumbar. It appears that people named this plump, long and soft shape after the stuffed intestine.

In the dialect of Amasya both meanings of the word live side by side. In Kürşat Efe's 2022 study, which classifies the vocabulary of Amasya on the basis of the Turkish Language Association's Derleme Sözlüğü (Compilation Dictionary of Turkish Dialects), mumbar is recorded both as the large intestine of animals such as cattle, sheep and goats, and as "a kind of dish made by stuffing the large intestine with minced meat, liver, rice and onion". This definition is noted as having been collected in the villages of Merzifon. The compilation thus leaves a written trace showing that the dish was known in the district's villages as well, and that the rice stuffing was enriched with minced meat and liver.

Stuffed Intestines in Turkish and Ottoman Cuisine

Using the intestine as a casing and filling it is a very old practice in the Turks' diet, rooted in animal husbandry. In nomadic and semi-nomadic life no part of a slaughtered animal was wasted, and offal was valued as highly as the meat itself. Yörgemeç, which appears in the Dîvânu Lugâti't-Türk written by Mahmud of Kashgar in the eleventh century, is among the oldest known examples of this tradition. Tripe and intestine are chopped very finely, stuffed into an intestine, and then eaten fried or cooked. Yörgemeç is held to have been made in Karakhanid cuisine and to have come to Anatolia with the Seljuks. Today's mumbar dolması and kokoreç are like two branches of this old family that grew in different directions in Anatolia.

In the Ottoman period mumbar was also an everyday dish of urban cuisine. In the cookshops of Istanbul, mumbar was sold alongside soup, vegetables, dolma, liver, stews and pilafs. Evliya Çelebi relates that in the seventeenth century the city had fifty dolma shops selling stuffed courgettes, vine leaves, onions, aubergines, cabbage and mumbar. The mention in the same work of three hundred tripe shops with eight hundred workers in Istanbul shows how widely offal was eaten in the city. It is also known that the courts decided which dish each tradesman could sell, and that certain single-dish vendors held a monopoly over particular dishes. Mumbar thus became a dish of both the home table and the market.

Its appearance as a written recipe came at a later date. Melceü't-Tabbâhîn, printed in Istanbul in 1844 by Mehmed Kâmil, a teacher at the Adliye School of Medicine, is the first cookbook printed in Turkish. A considerable portion of its 284 recipes are not found in earlier cookery manuscripts; among the dishes whose recipes were recorded for the first time are mumbar and şirden (abomasum) dolmas, alongside tas kebabı, stuffed lamb, terbiyeli köfte, paça, yalancı dolma and imam bayıldı. Stuffed mumbar and şirden are known to have appeared on nineteenth-century banquet tables together with kokoreç, paça, tripe stew and fried liver. This wide range, stretching from the palace to the common cauldron, shows that mumbar in Amasya was not an isolated provincial habit but part of the shared culinary language of Anatolia.

Its Place in Amasya Cuisine

Amasya cuisine is a table tradition in which the palace milieu of the City of Princes mingled with village life. The book Amasya Mutfağı (Amasya Cuisine), prepared by the Amasya Governorship under the editorship of H. Harun Yörgüç, was first printed in October 2006 and a second time in February 2010. Food and beverage teachers of the Amasya Anatolian Girls' Vocational High School, master instructors, cooks and local housewives contributed to its preparation. The recipes are divided into sections on soups, meat dishes, vegetable dishes, pastries, pilafs, desserts and local specialities. The meat section opens with keşkek and is followed immediately by mumbar-işkembe; pastırma gağelleme, lung sautéed with yoghurt, bütün et, hamur yahnisi, ayva gallesi, şıngır kebabı and kipe come after. That mumbar stands so near the top of the list shows the weight the dish carries in the regional cuisine.

In the lists of regional dishes compiled for Amasya, too, mumbar and tripe are counted among the meat dishes together with bakla dolması, okra with meat, keşkek, ciğer sarması, göbek dolması, madımak, mıhlama, pastırma with chard, patlıcan pehli, pirpirim, liver in vinegar and sulu köfte. Local sources state that mumbar is a dish cooked in almost every home in Amasya and that, after its long and laborious preparation, it takes the place of honour at the table. It is known as a troublesome dish, and it is often said in the region that its flavour is worth the trouble. In the Amasya section of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's traditional cuisine inventory, added in 2013, the dish appears under the name "Mumbar İşkembe" and in the offal dishes category; the recipe is taken from the same book.

Cleaning: The True Craft of the Dish

Mumbar dolması demands a meticulous process that begins with cleaning. The intestines are first washed and cleaned again and again with plenty of water, salt and lemon; this stage is of vital importance for both the flavour and the hygiene of the dish. In Amasya skilled hands that know this work are highly valued, because proper cleaning of the intestine is essential for a result that is both odourless and tasty. The cleaned intestines are kept in salted water until they are stuffed. The work must begin right after slaughter; if the intestine is left to dry it becomes harder to clean. For this reason the intestines are dealt with without delay after the slaughter.

Observations made in other regions where mumbar is widely cooked show the details of this stage. The intestines are placed in a large vessel and water is run through them with a thin hose to flush out the coarse dirt. They are then soaked in water with vinegar and salt added, and afterwards washed with drinking water until their inner and outer surfaces are completely clean. It is recommended that mumbar bought ready-cleaned should also be washed several times before cooking and soaked for about half an hour in salted water with vinegar. In the Amasya recipe, turning the intestine inside out is also part of this care; the inner surface is thoroughly cleaned in this way and the stuffing settles more evenly.

The importance given to cleaning also has a counterpart in terms of food safety. A study by Süleyman Gökmen and Nuran Erdem published in 2024 examined lamb mumbar prepared in the traditional way in Adana. The bacterial load in raw samples was found to be high, while after cooking it fell below the measurable limit. The researchers place mumbar among risky foods because of its high moisture and near-neutral pH, but state that it can be eaten safely with sufficient heat treatment. The way the housewives of Amasya wash the intestine again and again and cook the dish for hours is the kitchen counterpart of this scientific finding.

The Stuffing: Rice and Bulgur Recipes

In Amasya the stuffing of mumbar varies from house to house. In common home recipes it is prepared with well-washed rice, finely chopped onion, tomato paste, black pepper, allspice, mint, salt and a little minced meat. Allspice and mint give the stuffing a distinct aroma, while the paste provides its colour and slight sourness. The definition collected in the villages of Merzifon likewise shows a stuffing of minced meat, liver, rice and onion. Adding liver to the stuffing is another example of the habit of using the parts of the slaughtered animal together.

The recipe in the Amasya Governorship's cookbook, by contrast, takes a different path. Here the basis of the stuffing is bulgur instead of rice: two cups of bulgur, a bunch of parsley, a tablespoon of tomato paste, a teaspoon of black pepper and a teaspoon of salt. No minced meat is used; the stuffing is plain, green and dominated by wheat. This bulgur and parsley filling is presented as the chief feature distinguishing the Amasya style from the rice and mince mumbars of other regions. Considering the place of wheat in the local cuisine, the choice is hardly surprising; with dishes such as keşkek, yarma soup and bulgur pilaf, the Amasya table is already built on wheat.

For comparison, it is useful to look at the traditional lamb mumbar of Adana. There the stuffing is a mixture of three cups of rice and one cup of bulgur, with minced meat, onion, grated tomato, plenty of garlic, pepper paste, cumin, chilli flakes, mint and thyme added. When the hot, garlicky line of southeastern cuisine is set beside Amasya's milder, parsley-scented stuffing, two distinct palates become clearly visible. What both traditions share is that the stuffing is kneaded thoroughly, as if for köfte, and packed loosely into the intestine.

Stuffing and Cooking

The stuffing is not packed into the intestines to the brim; because the rice or bulgur will swell as it cooks, it is put in loosely, otherwise the casing may burst during cooking. The inside of an overfilled mumbar may also fail to cook through. To make the filling easier, some households use a courgette corer or a thin-tipped stuffing tool: the end of the intestine is slipped over the tool, the stuffing is spread thinly, and the intestine is pushed towards the stuffing until filled. The ends of the stuffed intestines are closed with string or a toothpick. Leaving a few centimetres empty at the ends keeps the stuffing from spilling out.

In the home method the dolmas are cooked slowly in a pot with a little water over a low flame. Once the rice has absorbed its water and softened, in some households they are lightly browned in the oven or in a pan before being plated; this gives the mumbar a crisp outer layer and a more intense flavour. The cooked dolmas are sliced and served hot. Because the suet in and around the mumbar sets quickly, the dish must be eaten hot, without being left to stand. The fatty liquid left at the bottom of the pot can be drizzled over the slices when serving.

In the mumbar-işkembe recipe of the Amasya Mutfağı book, the cooking takes place in two stages. The mumbars stuffed with bulgur are set to cook in a cauldron. In another vessel, tripe cut into palm-sized pieces and washed is boiled for about an hour and then added to the mumbar cauldron. The two remain on the fire together for another hour or two until thoroughly cooked. Once done, the mumbars and the tripe are cut into pieces two or three centimetres long and served mixed together. Some accounts note that this cooking is done in a copper cauldron. The plate thus holds both slices of stuffed mumbar and pieces of softened tripe; this mixed presentation is the second feature that makes the dish particular to Amasya.

Its Relatives in Anatolia

Mumbar dolması is made in many parts of Türkiye, but it is known above all as a street food of Çukurova. It is also eaten with relish in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia; Adana, Diyarbakır, Siirt and Gaziantep are counted among the provinces where the dish is cooked most often. Diyarbakır's kibe mumbar is made with lamb mumbar, lamb meat, clarified butter, Karacadağ rice, pepper paste and dried mint, and was registered with a geographical indication on 28 June 2022. Hakkari's kepaye is a soupy dish prepared with intestine, tripe and minced meat; the stuffed tripe is placed at the bottom and the intestines on top, and it is cooked in an earthenware pot with boiled chickpeas added. Kepaye too is made especially at the Feast of the Sacrifice and on special days, and received a geographical indication on 11 January 2023.

Cappadocia's "osbarda mimbar dolması" is another interpretation: the dish is cooked in earthenware pots called osbar, made from the region's own clay, over a tandır fire fed with vine stocks. The resemblance between Hakkari's kepaye and Amasya's mumbar-işkembe is particularly striking. In both regions intestine and tripe meet in the same pot and are cooked as a dish of the festival table. What sets the Amasya style apart from these relatives is its bulgur and parsley stuffing, its plain seasoning, and the way the pieces are cut small and served mixed.

Its Place and Meaning at the Table

In Amasya mumbar dolması is a dish prepared especially at the Feast of the Sacrifice and on special days, and it is received at the table with respect. It is a concrete example of the wisdom of using every part of the animal, that is, of avoiding waste. In Amasya cuisine, where besides the meat the tripe, the liver and the intestine are each turned into dishes of their own, mumbar is the most laborious product of the principle of leaving no part of the slaughtered animal worthless.

This demanding dish is a culinary tradition that women often prepare by gathering together in the spirit of imece (communal work), and it is also a symbol of solidarity and sharing. Washing the intestines, preparing the stuffing, filling and tying are tasks that no single person could manage alone. Neighbouring and related women divide the work among themselves, and the craft passes to the young through this shared labour. The fact that the Amasya Governorship's cookbook was prepared with the contribution of housewives is also a reminder that the true bearers of the recipes are home kitchens. In the book's preface Governor Celalettin Lekesiz writes that he hopes the work will become a bedside book especially for housewives.

Today the fact that mumbar can also be bought ready-cleaned has made preparation somewhat easier. Researchers working on traditional foods point out, on the other hand, that changing ways of life, production confined to particular regions and the making of some dishes only on special occasions leave such dishes open to being forgotten. Mumbar dolması nonetheless lives on as one of the most distinctive and laborious flavours of Amasya's deep-rooted table culture, and it is still among the first dishes named whenever the regional cuisine is described.

Chronology

11th century: The Dîvânu Lugâti't-Türk of Mahmud of Kashgar describes yörgemeç, made by chopping tripe and intestine and stuffing them into an intestine.

17th century: Evliya Çelebi mentions fifty dolma shops in Istanbul that also sold stuffed mumbar.

1844: Recipes for stuffed mumbar and şirden appear in print for the first time in Mehmed Kâmil's book Melceü't-Tabbâhîn.

2006: The Amasya Governorship's book Amasya Mutfağı is first printed; mumbar-işkembe is in the meat dishes section.

2010: The second edition of the book is printed.

2013: Amasya's mumbar-işkembe is added to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's traditional cuisine inventory.

2022: Kürşat Efe's study of Amasya vocabulary records the meaning of mumbar as a dish, collected in the villages of Merzifon; in the same year Diyarbakır kibe mumbar receives a geographical indication.

2024: Gökmen and Erdem's study of traditional lamb mumbar is published.

Sources

Academic studies

  • Efe, Kürşat (2022). "Derleme Sözlüğü'ne Göre Amasya Söz Varlığının Sözlük Bilimsel ve Ad Bilimsel Sınıflandırılması". Amasya University Journal of Social Sciences, Amasya Special Issue, pp. 215-285: https://izlik.org/JA35AP34BN
  • Gökmen, Süleyman; Erdem, Nuran (2024). "Geleneksel Mumbar Üretimi ve Bazı Kalite Özellikleri". Gastroia: Journal of Gastronomy and Travel Research, 8 (1), 15-31: https://doi.org/10.32958/gastoria.1257113

Official sources

Other sources

Online sources