The Greek language is often intimidating and may make it seem as though preparation is complex; however, Greek foods are cooked using basic cooking methods, and often, the name of the dish tells how it was prepared.
Cooking Methods
Greek foods are fried, breaded, sautéed, simmered, boiled, braised, stewed, baked, roasted, grilled, poached, pickled, puréed, and preserved. Generally, they are not smoked in home cooking.
When foods are named after the way they are cooked, as in kalamarakia tiganita (fried squid) they are called:
Kapama (stovetop meat or poultry casserole in a sweet and spicy tomato sauce), in Greek καπαμά, pronounced kah-pah-MAH
Kokkinisto (stovetop meat or poultry casserole in a tomato sauce), in Greek κοκκινιστό, pronounced koh-kee-nee-STOH
Lathera, ladera (vegetarian - stovetop vegetable, legume (pulses), and/or rice casseroles cooked with olive oil), in Greek λαδερά, pronounced lah-theh-RAH
Ogkraten (the Greek version of "au gratin" baked with a bechamel sauce and sprinkled cheese), in Greek ογκρατέν, pronounced oh-grah-TEN
Pane (breaded and fried), in Greek πανέ, pronounced pah-NAY
Plaki (oven casserole), in Greek πλακί, pronounced plah-KEE
Pose (poached), in Greek ποσέ, pronounced po-ZAY
Poure (puréed, mashed), in Greek πουρέ, pronounced poor-RAY
Psito (roasted), in Greek ψητό, pronounced psee-TOH
Skharas (grilled), in Greek σχάρας, pronounced SKHAH-rahss
or sti skhara (on the grill), in Greek στη σχάρα, pronounced stee SKHAH-rah
Sote (sautéed), in Greek σοτέ, pronounced so-TAY
Stifatho, stifado (stewed with lots of pearl onions), in Greek στιφάδο, pronounced stee-FAH-thoh
Sto fourno (baked or oven roasted, literally means "in the oven"), in Greek στο φούρνο, pronounced stoh FOOR-no
Tiganita (fried in a skillet, from the Greek word for skillet, tigani), in Greek τηγανητά, pronounced tee-ghah-nee-TAH
Toursi (pickled), in Greek τουρσί, pronounced toor-SEE
Yahni (stewed, ragout style), in Greek γιαχνί, pronounced yah-HNEE
There are others, and there are many using regional dialects, but those are the basics.
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