Rumanian Meatballs (Chiftele)

The Rumanian word "chiftele" (pronounced as if, "keef-tehlay"), means "meatball," and it is the Rumanian rendering of Turkish "Köfte," the Turkish word for "meatball." * While the words may be similar, the Rumanian and Turkish meatball recipes have little in common. The Turks (as the Ottoman Empire) ruled Rumania for quite some time, although most of the day to day governance was done by Rumanian princes, with the approval of the Ottoman Turks, to whom the princes paid a fee.

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground pork
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 medium potato, grated, then squeezed of liquid
1/2 carrot, grated
3 tablespoons dill, chopped
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup breadcrumbs, I use panko, or use 1 stale white roll, coarsely ground
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
flour (for coating the meatballs)
vegetable oil or canola oil for frying

In a large heavy bottomed skillet, over medium heat, heat enough oil to provide a small layer of oil over the bottom of the skillet. In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients, except the flour. Roll amounts of the mixture into meatballs about the size of a ping pong ball. Roll the meatballs in flour to coat them, shaking off the excess flour. Put the meatballs into the hot oil, but don't overcrowd the pan, and you can fry the meatballs in batches. Fry the meatballs, turning them to brown them on all sides and to thoroughly cook them. They are often served with mustard, and fried or grilled peppers are sometimes served on the side.   

* For my recipe for Turkish meatballs, here is the link:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/01/turkish-meatballs-yogurt-sauce-kofte.html

I had my chiftele with mustard and fried peppers

WORD HISTORY:
Crumb-This word goes back to Indo European "ger," which had the notion, "to bend, to turn, to wind" (long "i"). This then produced "grumho," with the meaning, "that which is scraped up or scratched up together" ("perhaps" from the idea of "bent fingers or tools used to scratch or scrape?"). This gave Old Germanic "krumon," meaning, "things scraped or scratched up," especially in reference to "soil," then to "bread." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "cruma," which meant, fragment, crumb, piece." This then became "crumme," before the insertion of the ending "b," in the 1500s, which likely was pronounced in those times. The other Germanic languages have: German "Krume" (also the diminutive, "Krümel"), Low German Saxon "Kroom" (also the diminutive, "Krömel"), Dutch "kruim" (also the diminutive, "kruimel"), Danish "krumme," Swedish has the compound, "inkråm," which means, "the inside ('the crumb') of a loaf of bread;" thus also the figurative, "giblets, guts." I did not find verifiable forms in Frisian or in Icelandic. 

Is It 'Rumania' or 'Romania?' Part Two

Historically, the origin of the Vlachs has been tough to pin down and this is a subject far beyond the scope of this very basic article here. Modern DNA testing is shedding new light on many of the world's nationality and ethnic groups. Whatever the case, the Vlachs were a people who spoke, or came to speak, a Latin-based language in the general area of modern Rumania. The Vlachs got their name from the Germanic word that gave English the word "Welsh."*

The Magyars, a tribe, or more likely, a confederation of related tribes from Asia, came into that part of eastern Europe in the 800s A.D., where they eventually conquered and settled in the region. While they call themselves "Magyars," most other people know them now as the "Hungarians." The move of the Magyars into the region brought lots of conflict with other groups, including the Vlachs, and the Magyars took control of the area. Later the Turks gained control of much of the Balkans' area, including the Rumanian region, in the 1500s, but not before two principalities had emerged among the Rumanians, Wallachia and Moldavia. When the Turks took control, the Rumanian princes were allowed to rule their provinces to varying degrees over time, although the controlling princes had to pay the Turks (Ottomans) to do so, and those payments were taken from the people. Meanwhile in Transylvania, which had a large Rumanian population, a number of German settlers arrived during the 1100s at the invite of the king of Hungary, as that area was under Hungarian control, although later it too fell under Turkish rule. Initially these Germans were invited in to help secure the border areas, but continued German settlement took place in the 1200s, but more with the motivation of economic development. While most of these Germans came from various parts of the western Old German Empire (Holy Roman Empire), they came to be called "Transylvanian Saxons," and more Germans would come later. By the late 1600s, Transylvania came under the control of the Habsburgs of Austria, who also almost always were elected as German emperors, and who also gradually got control of the Hungarian lands.

The 1800s brought great change, as in the mid part of the century, Alexandru Cuza was chosen to lead Wallachia and and Moldavia. Transylvania remained under Austrian rule, soon to be Hungarian rule when the Austrian Empire was divided into "Austria-Hungary" (also known as the "Austro-Hungarian Empire"). Wallachia and Moldavia still remained under the overall rule of the Ottoman Empire, but this changed when Russia defeated the Turks in a war in the 1870s. In that war the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia allied with Russia, and the war's victorious conclusion brought independence for Rumania, by then led by Prince Carol, who then became King Carol I of the Kingdom of Rumania. King Carol was of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a noble family from southwestern Germany.  

More will follow shortly...

* For more on the word "Welsh," this is the link to the article with that history: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2014/10/welsh-rarebit-or-is-it-rabbitt-great.html

The following were consulted for this article on Rumania: "Kingdoms of Europe" by Gene Gurney, published by Crown Publishers, Inc. NY 1982

"Romania/An Illustrated History" by Nicolae Klepper, published by Hippocrene Books, NY 2002

WORD HISTORY:
Rome-While "traditionally" the name has been said to come from "Romulus," the founder of the city, the actual base word "likely" is derived from Etruscan ^ "Ruma," a tribal element of the Etruscans, and the closely related "Rumon" was the Etruscan name for what later came to be called the "Tiberis River" (English: Tiber).

^ Etruscan is a mystery language, but it was "possibly" related to some languages of the Aegean Sea area, including "Minoan." Etruscan was spoken in a fairly large part of what is now Italy, but it eventually died out when Latin came to the area, although some of its words were borrowed into Latin.

The German Question, Part Sixty-Six

"Kaiser Wilhelm & World War I" Part One/A "Europe Moves Toward War"
"The Tinderbox Of Aging Empires"

The (Second) German Empire ("Reich") was the neighbor of a number of aging empires that were so much in decline, they threatened to come apart at the seams, and this then could precipitate a general European war. The Ottoman (Turkish) Empire had been around since about 1300, with widespread territories in the Middle East, North Africa, and southeastern Europe; that is, the general region known as the Balkans. Throughout their empire, the Ottomans faced challenges from their multi-ethnic subjects who wanted independence. In the Balkans, an area with much mountainous and rough terrain, the population tended to be split into groups where each saw itself as a separate entity. To this day, the region is very divided, and it has been the center of unrest and fighting.* The Turks had mingled with the local population over the centuries, and some of these people had converted to Islam from Christianity, with the Christian population also being divided (often bitterly) largely between Orthodox and Roman Catholic.

In the northern part of the Balkans were territories of Germany's foremost ally, Austria-Hungary. Germany's connection to Austria-Hungary, and that troubled empire's connection to the powder keg of the Balkans, threatened to draw Germany into any conflict in this highly volatile region. Like the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary (aka, the "Austro-Hungarian Empire") had similar problems with its many ethnic groups. The former multi-ethnic Austrian Empire had been divided between Austria and Hungary in 1867, with each ruling numerous ethnic groups, but joined together by the Habsburg emperor, who was simultaneously "King of Hungary." The division of the empire had quieted the Hungarian population, but it did little to satisfy the other ethnic groups, which looked to the "Hungarian model" as a solution to their own desire for some sort of independence.** Austria-Hungary was ruled by Kaiser Franz Josef I, who seemingly ruled from the time of the Crucifixion, but who, in reality, ruled for 68 years!

Russia, or more precisely the Russian Empire, lay to the east of Germany, where Germany's majority Polish areas bordered Russia's even larger Polish area and Polish population. Here was another multi-ethnic entity, with all sorts of peoples and religions, and a land troubled by the threat of revolution, mainly from its very own Russian population.*** Tsar Alexander III had ruled the empire with an iron hand. He was a huge man, whom historians often cite as the symbol of "the Russian bear." This powerful man died at the early age of 49, from kidney disease ("nephritis"). The Russian throne passed to his eldest son, Nicholas, who ruled as "Nicholas II." Nicholas did not inherit his father's immense size, but rather took after his dainty mother; one of the unfavorable comparisons to his father that followed him throughout his life. Nicholas was married to German princess, Alix von Hessen (Alix of Hesse),**** who is better known by her given Russian name, Alexandra.

Kaiser Wilhelm II was a grandson of England's Queen Victoria, his mother having been the queen's daughter and namesake, Victoria. Alexandra too was a grandchild of Queen Victoria, her mother having been the queen's daughter, Alice, thus making Wilhelm and Alexandra first cousins. Kaiser Wilhelm and Nicholas were second cousins, once removed, each being descended from former King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm III.***** (A Word History is below the notes)

* The terrain certainly made it easy for each of these groups, like Albanians, Serbians and Croatians, to develop a sense of "ethnic identity" and to remain somewhat separate. The terrain has also made it difficult for invaders to really control the area, and in fact, the rugged terrain and the hearty people of the Balkans are famous for bedeviling occupying military forces.

** What I mean here by "Hungarian model" is, some leaders of the other ethnic groups saw the possibility of further dividing the empire into other portions, where they would get regional independence, but would still be bound together at the top by the Habsburg emperor (who by the way carried the title "Kaiser").

*** Tsar Alexander II (grandfather of Nicholas II) was assassinated in 1881, when a revolutionary threw a bomb at his feet after he had left his metal-plated carriage. He was carried into his palace, where he died shortly thereafter.

**** Hessen (usually rendered as "Hesse" in English) was a grand duchy of Germany, ruled by a grand duke.

***** The "once removed" simply means they were "removed" (distanced) by a generation; that is, they were of different generations. The children of your parents' brothers and sisters are your first cousins, but the children of your grandparents' brothers and sisters are your first cousins, once removed. Most of my cousins wish I were just plain removed. haha ... Wait, what the hell am I laughing about?

WORD HISTORY: 
Knock-It seems that most linguists believe this word to be an original Germanic concoction, imitative of "a sound." Old English had slight dialectal variations in "cnocian" and "cnucian," which later became "knokken," before the modern spelling. Remember, the "cn/kn" was pronounced in times past. It certainly seems that German "Knack" (the "a" is pronounced like the "a" in father) as in "Knackwurst" (usually spelled Knockwurst, in English) is really the same word. In German it means the sound of a "snap or crack," and it was applied to the sausage because of the "snap" sound made when biting into the casing.