Traditional Turkish Foods&Drink

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When we talk about typical Turkish cuisine, it is important to remark that this country has given the world one of the most popular fast food options: the doner kebab. It is difficult to find someone who has never tried a kebab. In fact, you can find restaurants specialising in this traditional Turkish recipe in some of the most unlikely places on the planet.

However, as well known and popular as the dish is, Turkish cuisine stretches far beyond the kebab. You could even say that Turkey enjoys one of the most varied, rich and delicious cuisines on the planet.

The reason for this lies in the country’s lengthy history, in the different ways it has been influenced by other civilisations and in its geographical location. Turkey serves as a bridge between Europe (particularly through the Mediterranean), the Far East (as a key crossing point between Asia and the West) and most Islamic countries.

Testi kebab: First the clay jug is filled with beef, tomatoes, bell pepper, garlic and a knob of butter. Its opening is then sealed with a peeled slice of potato and covered in alfoil, before the jug is placed in a wood-burning oven.

Iskender kebab: Located in northwest Turkey, Bursa is famous for three things – silk, the ski fields of Uludag and a type of kebab called Iskender. Apparently a gentleman of the same name first cooked this dish for workers in the city’s Kayhan Bazaar back in 1867. Thin slices of doner meat are reverently laid over pieces of plump pide bread, smothered in freshly made tomato sauce, baptized with a dash of sizzling melted butter and served with a portion of tangy yoghurt, grilled tomato and green peppers.

Doner Kebab Among all the typical Turkish dishes, Doner Kebab is undoubtedly the most well-known and popular dish. Its name translates as “spinning grilled meat”. And this is the nature of this dish. It is offered in two types of chicken doner and red meat doner

Mercimek kofte: Known to Diyarbakir locals as belluh, mercimek kofte is a vegetarian delight. Made from red lentils, fine bulgur, salt, finely chopped onion, scallions, tomato and aci biber salca (hot red pepper paste) and crushed cilantro, they come in handy bite-sized servings. Just pop one of these nuggets of flavor onto a lettuce leaf, add a squeeze of lemon juice, roll it up and munch away.

Inegol kofte: Meatballs are so much more than just balls of meat in Turkish cuisine. Each style brings its own unique serve of history. One of the best known is Inegol kofte, invented by one Mustafa Efendi. Originally from Bulgaria, he migrated to Inegol in northwest Turkey in the 19th century. Unlike other Turkish kofte, his mix uses only ground beef or lamb and breadcrumbs, seasoned with onions.

Cag kebab:The people of Erzurum take their meat very seriously. So much so, they’re prepared to wait more than 12 hours for a sliver of hot and tasty lamb cag kebab. First the meat is smeared with a mix of onions, salt and black pepper and left to marinate for half a day. Then it’s fed onto a long skewer and cooked horizontally over a wood fire. Divine on its own, cag kebab is also served wrapped in flat lavas bread with slices of tomato, white onion and long thin green peppers called sivri.

Lahmacun: According to Ottoman explorer Evliya Celebi, who roamed far and wide in the 17th century, lahmacun takes its name from the Arabic word lahm-i acinli. It’s a type of pastry made from lahm, meat in Arabic, and ajin, paste. The paste consists of low fat mince mixed with tomato paste, garlic and spices smeared on a thin round of pita dough and can be made spicier on request. Served with fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice, Turks have been eating this dish for more than 300 years.

Manti: The most popular type of manti, small squares of dough with various fillings, are those made in Kayseri. This central Anatolian version contains a spoonful of mince sealed into a small parcel, but they use cheese elsewhere. The manti are dropped into boiling water and topped with yoghurt and pul biber (chili flakes). Legend has it, a good Turkish housewife can make them so small that 40 fit onto one spoon.

Gozleme: Alternatively known as sac boregi, pastry cooked on a sac, a hot convex metal plate, gozleme are flat savory pockets usually filled with salty white cheese, spinach or minced beef. Although often considered village food, it takes expert handling to roll out the paper-thin dough without tearing it. The word goz means “eye,” and the name gozleme is believed to come from the dark spots that form as the pastry cooks and absorbs the oil on the sac, forming “eyes.”

Borek, a savory pastry made from layering sheets of a fine filo-like dough called yufka, is a staple of the high plateaus of central Anatolia. It was brought to Turkey by nomadic herders hundreds of years ago, and different varieties can be found all over the country and throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Su boregi, meaning “water borek” is the most commonly available, relying on white cheese, butter, olive oil and salt for flavor.

Pide are a firm favorite among Turks, with some of the tastiest originating in the Black Sea region. Here dough balls are stretched out into an elongated base and loaded with a choice of fillings. The most popular is sucuklu yumurta, spicy Turkish sausage and egg mixed with kasar (yellow sheep cheese) but ispanakli kasar, spinach with cheese, is equally good. It’s the crust that makes pide a winner. Cooked in a wood-fired oven, the high temperature produces a crisp crunchy base ideal for all types of ingredients.

Cig kofte: Cig kofte originates from Sanliurfa, taking its name from the original recipe using raw (cig) ground beef, combined with bulgur, tomato paste, onions garlic, pepper and Turkish spices. The mix was kneaded until it was declared ready, determined by throwing a piece up to the ceiling. When it stuck there, it was done. These days the meat has been wholly replaced by bulgur and sometimes ground walnuts, making for a healthier but equally tasty choice.

Yaprak dolma: In the Isparta version of yaprak dolma, rice is cooked with tomatoes, a bunch of parsley, onion, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil, black pepper, salt and water. A spoonful of this mixture is placed on a vine leaf, folded in and carefully rolled by hand into neat little cylinders. While leaves are sold at most street markets, the best ones come from a neighbor’s tree, usually picked at midnight. Yaprak dolma are part of Turkish Aegean cuisine and sometimes include a pinch of cinnamon in the mix, a nod to the Rum people, Greeks born in Turkey.

Kisir is a salad made from fine bulgur wheat, tomatoes, garlic, parsley and mint. There are numerous versions from all over Turkey, but the Antakya one includes nar eksisi (sour pomegranate molasses) and pul biber (hot red chili flakes). T

Pilav is the quintessential accompaniment to any Turkish meal. However, it comes in not one but many different formats. In essence, in Turkey the word refers to different rice recipes.

Menemen is the name given to the Turkish take on the classic dish of scrambled eggs, which is enjoyed for breakfast all around the world. In this version, the eggs are accompanied with small pieces of vegetables such as tomatoes, onions and peppers

Typical Turkish food, beyond kebabs and baklavas

Baklava
Döner kebap
Lahmacun
Dolma
Meze
Börek
Menemen
Pilav

ِِDesserts:

Baklava: much more than a dessert

The baklava is one of the most representative dishes of Turkish cuisine. Despite this, they are not exclusive to Turkey, and can also be found in practically the whole of the Maghreb region.

Dondurma(Ice Cream)

Literally the Turkish word for ‘frozen or freezing’, dondurma is the delicious local rendition of ice cream. A little different from western-style ice-creams, however; traditional Turkish ice cream is sweet, creamy, stretchy, and chewy at the same time. This stretchy texture is thanks to the inclusion of a starchy root of wild orchids called salep.

Lokum

Lokum, known in English as Turkish Delight, dates back centuries. However, it wasn’t until the mid-19th century that it became a hit with the Ottoman sultans.

That’s when corn starch was invented and Istanbul confectioner Haci Bekir added it to the list of ingredients.

This simple combination of water, starch and sugar – boiled together to produce delicate cubes flavored with rose water, pistachio and other flavors – continues to delight.