Turkish Cuisine

Turkish cuisine is as varied and colourful as its people. Along with French and Chinese, Turkish is said to be one of the most influential cuisines in the world and gained its legacy from Ottoman times. Dishes are usually relatively simple to produce yet very flavourful, and focus on the use of the freshest ingredients such as fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood.

Even today, the importation of produce is not so common and dishes usually have a seasonal and regional twist.

The most common herbs and spices used in Turkish cuisine include salt, pepper, oregano, dried chili flakes, mint and thyme and many dishes are served with lemon and/or yoghurt.

Regional Specialties
Turkey’s large land area, variety of climates and number of borders has led to significant regional differences in Turkish cuisine. While in the warmer, drier southern parts of Turkey light, fresh cooking is dominant, the cooler climes of eastern Anatolia relies more heavily on richer, slow-cooked dishes such as stews.

The Aegean, Mediterranean and Marmara regions, for instance, focus on the abundant use of herbs, spices, vegetables and seafood, while the Black Sea area’s main ingredients include corn and fish. Central Anatolian cuisine is well known for its rich pasta dishes such as manti, a ravioli style pasta served with yoghurt and garlic, and gozleme, the Turkish pancake. Southeastern Turkish food is famous for its many kebabs and desserts.

Turkey’s neighbours- such as Greece, Bulgaria, Syria, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia- have also left their stamp on the country’s cuisine and in turn have been influenced by Turkish flavours and methods.

The Turkish Breakfast
The Turkish breakfast usually revolves around white crusty bread or simit (the Turkish sesame bagel) served with butter, whole fruit preserves, honey, clotted cream, olives, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, sausage and boiled eggs. Other popular morning dishes include savoury pastries and omelets. Breakfast is almost always served with Turkish tea or, less commonly, instant coffee.

Kebabs
Kebabs are everywhere in Turkey and come in a wide variety of types. The cheapest and most commonly found kebab is the doner kebab which is made from paper thin slices of roasted lamb, beef or chicken and served in bread with salad and pickles. Adana and Urfa kebabs are long meatball-like strips which are skewered and cooked over a coal grill. Both are made with minced meat, but while the Urfa kebab is made with onion, the Adana kebab makes more liberal use of garlic and hot spices.

Sis kebab is a term for diced, marinated meat such as lamb, chicken or beef which is cooked over a coal grill, while Iskender kebab, which hails from the city of Bursa, consists of doner meat laid over cubed bread pieces and topped with melted butter and a garlic-tomato sauce and yoghurt.

Check out some of the best Kebab restaurants in Istanbul here.

Vegetarian Dishes
Many Turkish dishes rely heavily on fresh vegetables and vegetarians will find that there are a variety of options available which don’t include meat. Soups are usually made from lentils, bulgur wheat or tomato and most meze dishes are vegetarian and make liberal use of spinach, cabbage, string beans, eggplant, peppers, tomato, garlic, yoghurt and cucumber. Another popular vegetarian food in Turkey is çig kofte, which comes in both a meat option (‘et’) or without meat (‘etsiz’), so be sure to ask first. This dish is made from bulgur wheat, tomato, onion and spices and served with fresh lettuce, herbs and lemon.

Meat Dishes
Meat, usually in the form of minced beef or lamb, is found in many Turkish dishes and is usually cooked with vegetables. Stuffed foods - dolma- are especially common, and consist of green or red peppers or eggplant stuffed with spiced minced meat and spices.

Veal, lamb, beef and chicken are popular in any form, whether it be grilled as a kebab, stewed or fried. As Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country, pork is not part of Turkish cuisine.

Traditional Turkish Fast Food
Fast food can be found just about anywhere in Turkey and in Istanbul in particular, cheap eats are everywhere. Although big fast food chains such as Mc Donald’s and Burger King can be found, there are a number of healthier and more delicious fast food options which are unique to Turkey.

There are dedicated pide (Turkish pizza, which is like an open-top calzone) and lahmacun (thin, flat bread pizza with minced meat and no cheese) restaurants as well as small roadside kiosks, known as Bufe’s sell a variety of sandwiches, doner kebab, meatballs, cheese on toast and hot dogs.

Street stalls are an integral part of Turkish culture and are usually well into the night. Stuffed mussels, kokoreç (friend lambs intestines with spices) and liver kebabs are especially popular snacks, while simit (round baked bread, similar to a pretzel) is everywhere.

Mezes
Meze - the famed Turkish appetizer – are usually served as part of a main meal, and accompanied by a glass of wine or raki, a clear, strong aniseed infused liquor. Mezes can be made from vegetables, meat or seafood and are usually served cold with plenty of bread. Common mezes include dolma, acili ezme (hot pepper paste), saksuka (eggplant with peppers, garlic and tomato), calamari, and yoghurt based dishes. Mezes are usually brought to the table on a large tray, and diners can pick and choose what they wish. While most carry on to the main course, it’s perfectly acceptable to stick with mezes for the whole meal.

Check out some of the best Meyhanes in Istanbul here.

Drinks
Turkey has a variety of national drinks. While tea is served black, sweet, strong and all day long, the famed Turkish coffee is also usually available. Other popular soft drinks include ayran, a salted yoghurt drink which often accompanies kebabs. Sahlep is made from milk, sugar, cinnamon and the dried powdered root of a mountain orchid. This popular winter drink is sold on the street and in many cafes. Another common winter brew is boza, made from sweetened fermented wheat and served cold with roasted chickpeas. Sherbet, available all year long, is a result of a blend of rose hips, cherries, rose, or liquorice and spices.

Alcoholic drinks are also commonly available. Beer and wine are both produced in Turkey and are usually of a high quality. Raki, the Turkish national drink, is a strong, clear liquor made from grapes which turns cloudy when water is added. For this reason, raki has gained the well deserved title of ‘lion’s milk.’

Desserts
Many visitors to Turkey find they go home a few kilograms heavier thanks, in large part, to the calorie rich desserts. Baklava is a sweet, chewy dessert made from thin layers of filo pastry with walnuts or pistachio soaked in honey or sugar syrup. Kadayif is a combination of shredded yufka and nuts, while kunefe is made with cheese and served with clotted cream.

There are also a variety of milk based desserts, the most common of which include sutlac (rice pudding) and tavuk gogsu, a gelatinous milk pudding which has shredded chicken breast added. Fruit based desserts cooked with cinnamon, carnation and sugar are served chilled with clotted cream.

Other popular desserts include Turkish delight; pistachio marzipan; macun (a jelly prepared with 41 different spices); Turkish elastic ice cream made with wild orchid tubers; and helva, a chewy, tahini- based sweet which is served hot or cold.