Dalran Cuisine

Traditional dalran cuisine is characterized by many varieties of potatoes along with wheat, yogurt and other dairy products, fish and fowl, mutton, donkey meat and wine, but like other aspects of dalran culture it's been influenced by the cultures they've conquered over the centuries, giving rise to countless regional variations.

Food

Cereals and tubers

Potatoes and wheat are a staple food in dalran diet, the former grown up in the mountains and latter in valleys and lowland regions. The wheat is mostly used for flat bread, cakes and porridge, while the potatoes are cooked in different ways depending on the type and occasion, as well as freeze dried for later use.

Potatoes from the Zamra Mountains by Lappalingur

Fruit and vegetables

Common fruits and vegetables grown in the empire includes onions of all sorts, garlic, leeks, apricots and grapes. Mangoes, eggplants and waterlilies, commonly grown in Imkala, have recently made their way into dalran cuisine as well due to trade and (currently) their wars with the Imkalans to the west.

Dairy products

Yogurt, cheese and other dairy products are commonly eaten dalrans, traditionally made from goat, sheep or donkey milk and, in some regions, cow milk. Donkey milk is also used as remedy for a variety of illnesses.

Meat

Mutton and goat meat, along with usually dried donkey meat, are mostly eaten in the highlands and the Zúdalikí Desert, with beef and meat of guinea pigs and screamers (chicken-like relatives of ducks and geese) found elsewhere. Wild game includes several species of rodents, waterfowl, partridges, wild sheep and deer.

Fish and seafood

Fish from rivers, lakes and sea is eaten throughout Dalra, and is generally more common than most meat among commoners. Dried fish is stored along with freeze-dried potatoes for later use, especially for soldiers. Crabs, lobsters, mollusk and octopuses are eaten along the coast of Úrtal Sea, along with barnacles which are considered a delicacy, especially by Enans.
Seaweed is eaten in some parts of the empire and is part of the soldier's rations in dried form along the coast, while fresh seaweed is considered a delicacy among dalran aristocrats in the mountains.

Spices

The dalrans have access to a variety of spices, used both to flavour food and especially different kinds of wine, including anise, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, salt and vinegar. Chili and sesame seeds are mostly used by the Húlpakrans along the coast.

Other

Edible clay is sometimes used as a kind of sauce among commoners, especially during famines, though fancier variations with spices is not uncommon in certain regions. Mayfly larvae are sometimes eaten by royalty as snack.

Drink

Wine is the drink of choice among dalrans, sometimes with added herbs, spices, fruits and even perfumes or tar, and revelry is common during birthday parties and other festivals. Heated wine is popular during winter in the mountains. Unlike the Rexans across the Úrtal Sea to the east, wine is rarely diluted with water, much to their contempt.
Mead and corn beer are also consumed by dalrans living in the lowland regions, along with palm wine imported from Orrs in Túlmikkía to the south.

Related Ethnicities

• Dalrans