Tursu

Torshi

Mixed Pickles
Course	Hors d'oeuvre
Place of origin	Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kurdistan, Serbia and Turkey
Region or state	Middle East & Balkans
Main ingredients	Vegetables, garlic, brine or vinegar

Torshi (Egyptian Arabic: ترشى torshi, Persian: ترشى torshi; Kurdish: ترشى Tirşîn, tirşî; Turkish: turşu; Greek: τουρσί toursi; Bulgarian: туршия turshiya; Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian: turšija/туршија ; Albanian: turshi Hebrew: חמוצים, khamusim) are the pickled vegetables of the cuisines of many Balkan and Middle East countries. The word turşu comes from torshi which comes from torsh, which means 'sour' in Persian and Kurdish. In Turkic languages such as Turkish and Azerbaijani it means the same thing but it is pronounced as Turşu.

Torshi is common in varieties of Middle Eastern cuisine such as Arab cuisine, Turkish cuisine, and Iranian cuisine. Iran boasts a great variation of hundreds of different types of torshi according to regional customs and different events. In some families, no meal is considered complete without a bowl of torshi on the table. In Bulgarian cuisine the most popular types are tsarska trushiya 'king's pickle' and selska trushiya 'country pickle'. Toursi is a traditional appetizer (meze) to go with arak, rakı, ouzo, tsipouro, and rakia. In some regions the torshi water (turşu suyu) is also drinkable and very popular in Turkey.