Sometimes, when attributing a certain dish to some people, people have in mind the question of its origin. And this is a completely different matter. All attempts to establish the true origin of folk dishes can only be hypothetical and nothing more. All signs - from the etymology of the name to the distribution area of the dish - are indirect, but not direct evidence of the invention of these dishes by representatives of one or another people.
Although etymology and the study of culinary geography can lead to fairly coherent arguments about the origin of certain dishes, one can still speak only of a geographical origin, and not a national one.
The origin of only a small part of the dishes is truly known and documented, and most of the current cooking technologies were invented by mankind long before the formation of living nationalities. It is possible that those who came up with some dishes and no longer have descendants. And if they did, then there are no less questions from this.
For example, if the biblical Abraham invented some kind of dish, and both Jews and Arabs descended from him, then to whom would the dishes invented by Abraham now belong?
On the other hand, sometimes you can trace the distribution of certain dishes across regions and even across the planet.
For example, many dishes and technologies spread simultaneously with the spread of ingredients and spices. It is for this reason that the distribution of many technologies coincides with caravan and sea routes. Also, the distribution of certain dishes coincided with the resettlement of peoples and even ethnogenesis. After all, very often the same dishes with similar names are prepared by kindred peoples. Peoples can have strong and stable ties not only in terms of language, common ethnic roots, but also in terms of religion or common history. If one country was ruled by representatives of another country, then the culinary culture spread first in the same direction, and after the end of colonization - in the opposite direction. The example of Russia in this regard is typical - just now there is a spread of cooking in the opposite direction, from the former colonies to the metropolis. 50-60 years ago the same processes took place in Great Britain, even earlier - in Turkey, Byzantium, Persia and other empires of the past. What did Assyria and Mesopotamia give to the culinary world? What did Byzantium give? What did Rome give? Do you know how the Arabs influenced the cuisine of southern Italy? What about Valencia? And who influenced the Arabs? Who is in Persian? Who was influenced by the Poles and Russians?
The development of national cuisines and, as a result, the formation of new dishes can go in two ways.
The first is the improvement of cooking methods within a separate national cuisine, most often forced, associated with changes in conditions and places of existence.
The second is the borrowing and transfer of technologies from one landscape to another, with the replacement of ingredients due to their absence or the emergence of new, previously unknown products.
There is nothing shameful in the development of national cuisine at the expense of borrowing from neighbors - this is an absolutely normal process. Even today we can observe how, as a result of the advancement of culinary technologies from one nation to another and the gradual replacement of some ingredients with others, new dishes appear. For example, the way shish kebab is cooked today in Russia is not cooked in the supposed countries of its origin. Therefore, shish kebab can be called a Russian dish for two reasons at the same time: it is unique and it is widespread, rooted and cooked more often than some traditional Russian dishes. At the same time, the name of the dish itself remains Turkic, and the traditional Russian name “twisted” has practically fallen into disuse.
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