Tatars (Tatar: Tatarlar/Татарлар), also Tartar, is a collective name applied to the Turkic speaking people of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The name is derived from Tartarus, L.W. Moses, "Mongolia - Ethnography and early tribal history", Encyclopaedia Britannica, Online Edition, (LINK), the Greek god of the underworld, as a reference to the brutality of Turco-Mongol hordes in Europe. It was first used to describe the peoples that overran parts of Asia and Europe under Mongol leadership in the 13th century. It was later extended to include almost any Asian nomadic invader, whether from Mongolia or the fringes of Western Asia. Before the 1920s Russians used the name Tatar to designate numerous peoples from the Azeris to tribes of the Siberia.

Most current day Tatars live in the central and southern parts of Russia (the majority in Tatarstan), Ukraine, Poland and in Bulgaria, China, Kazakhstan, Romania, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. They collectively numbered more than 10 million in the late 20th century. Most Tatars are Sunni Muslims.

The majority—in European Russia—are descendants of Eastern European Volga Bulgars who were conquered by the Mongol invasion of the 13th century and kept the name of their conquerors. Tatars of Siberia are survivors of the once numerous Turkic-Mongolian population of the Ural-Altaic region, mixed to some extent with the speakers of Uralic languages, as well as with Mongols.

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L.A. Times - Food & Dining

Harissa, mon amour
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:26:34 -0700
North Africa's favorite chile sauce is fiery, but also wonderfully nuanced. What's not to love, this September 2007 article asks. This is an ode to harissa. It's replaced my ketchup, my salsa picante, even (gasp) my Louisiana hot sauce. I put it on everything. Well, not exactly everything, but the potent North African chile sauce goes into my bean soups and sandwiches, it spikes my aioli and tops my pizzas. I even take it on road trips, as a kind of food insurance, where it's done wonders for roadside hamburgers and omelets, even stadium Dodger dogs.
Entertaining with an entree-free dinner
Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:30:14 -0700
The starters will last all night at this small-plates party. You gather with family and friends in the evening as the heat of the day starts to fade and the first cool ocean breezes begin to blow in, thick and sweet as honey. The bright white light of afternoon gradually dims to twilight's shades of blue and gray. In the air hangs the summer garden smells of baked earth and herbs.
Sprinkles is frosted over cupcake newcomer Sprinkled Pink
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The Beverly Hills-based chain, which has taken legal action against other rivals, demands a name change by the Montecito bakery. Starting a business is no piece of (cup)cake. Just ask two of the newest bakeries to open in Southern California.

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