Turkish Cuisine

Turkish cuisine is a curious one. The variety of dishes that make up the cuisine, the ways they all come together in feast-like meals, and the evident intricacy of each craft offer enough material for life-long study and enjoyment. It is not easy to discern a basic element or a single dominant feature, like the Italian "pasta" or the French "sauce". Whether in a humble home, at a famous restaurant, or at a dinner in a Bey's mansion, familiar patterns of this rich and diverse cuisine are always present. It is a rare art which satisfies your senses while reconfirming the higher order of society, community and culture. The evolution of this glorious cuisine was not an accident. Similar to other grand cuisines of the world, it is a result of the combination of three key elements. A nurturing environment is irreplaceable. Turkey is known for an abundance and diversity of foodstuff due to its rich flora, fauna and regional differentiation. And the legacy of an Imperial Kitchen is inescapable. The Turkish Cuisine has the extra privilege of being at the cross-roads of the Far-East and the Mediterranean. Thus, the diversity of the cuisine has come to reflect that of the landscape and its regional variations. The cuisine is also an integral aspect of culture. It is a part of the rituals of everyday life events. It reflects spirituality, in forms that are specific to it, through symbolism and practice.

 

 

Breads

The foundation of Turkish food is, if anything, the dough made of wheat flour. Besides "ekmek" - the ordinary white bread, "pide" - flat bread, "simit" - sesame seed rings, "manti" - dumplings, a whole family of food made up thin sheets of pastry called "börek" falls into this category. One realizes the wonderful luxury of the Turkish bread upon leaving the country. This blessed food is enjoyed in large quantities and is respected by all, rich and poor, simple and sophisticated. Every neighbourhood has a bread-bakery that produces the golden crisp loaves twice a day, morning and afternoon, filling the streets with their irresistable and wholesome aroma. Ekmek, pide and simit are meant to be eaten the same day they are baked, and they usually are. Manti, dumplings of dough filled with a special meat mix, are eaten with generous servings of garlic yogurt and a dash of melted butter with paprika. Börek is a special-occasion food which requires great skill and patience.

 

Pilaf

Next to bread, "pilaf" is another staple in the Turkish kitchen. The most common versions are the cracked-wheat pilaf and the rice pilaf. A good cracked-wheat pilaf made with whole onions, sliced tomatoes, green peppers sautéed in butter, and boiled in beef stock is a meal itself. Many versions of the rice pilaf accompany vegetable and meat dishes. The distinguishing feature of the Turkish pilaf is its soft buttery morsels of rice which readily roll out from your spoon, rather than sticking together in a mushy clumps.

 

Manti

Turkish pasta that consists of folded triangles of dough filled with minced meat, often with minced onions and parsley. It is typically served hot topped with garlic yoghurt and melted butter or warmed olive oil, and a range of spices such as oregano, dried mint, ground sumac, and red pepper powder. The combination of meat-filled dough with yoghurt differentiates it from other dumplings such as tortellini, ravioli, and Chinese wonton. Mantı is usually eaten as a main dish. Minced chicken and quail meats are also used to prepare mantı in some regions of Turkey.

 

Kebabs

Kebap or Kebab is grilled meat and dates back to nomadic times. Sis or Sheesh Kebab is grilled cubes of skewered meat. Döner kebab is made by stacking alternating layers of ground meat and sliced leg of lamb on a large upright skewer rotated in front of vertical grills. As the outer layer of the meat is roasted, thin slices are shaved to be served. Kebab is the traditional Turkish response to fast food that is at the same time not especially bad for you. Meat balls are called köfte and come in various styling.

 

Dolma and Sarma

"Dolma" is the generic term for stuffed vegetables, being a derivative of the verb "doldurmak" or to fill; it actually means "stuffed" in Turkish. It can be eaten either as a meze or a main dish. It can be cooked either as a vegetable dish ( rice mix ) or meat dish. The latter are cooked in olive oil and eaten at room-temperature. The meat dolma is a main-course dish eaten with a yogurt sauce and very frequent one in the average household. Any vegetable which can be filled with or wrapped around these mixes can be used in a dolma, including zucchini, eggplants, tomatoes, cabbage, and grapevine leaves. However, the green pepper dolma with the rice stuffing, has to be the queen of all dolmas. A royal feast to the eye and the palate. The word Sarma is used for some types of desserts such as wrapped pistachio. Sarma means “a wrapped thing”.

 

Baklava and other Turkish Desserts

One of the world-renowned desserts of Turkish cuisine is Baklava. It is a national institution. It is a small rectangular pastry made of dozens of layers with either pistachio or walnut in sugar syrup. A speciality from the Mediterranean region is haytalı, which consists of pieces of starch pudding and ice cream (or crushed ice) put in rose water sweetened with syrup. Helva, Revani, Lokma, Güllaç, Marzipan are some more Turkish delights. Another jelly like Turkish sweet is Macun.

 

Fish and Sea Food

Four seas (the Black Sea, Marmara Sea, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean) surround the Turkish landscape, and residents of the coastal cities are experts in preparing their fish. However, the best of the day's catch is also immediately transported to Ankara, where some of the finest fish restaurants are located. Winter is the premium season for eating fish. Every month has its own preferred fish along, with certain vegetables which complement the taste. For example, the best bonito is eaten with arugula and red onions, blue fish with lettuce. Large bonito may be poached with celery root. Mackerel is stuffed with chopped onion before grilling, and summer fish, which are younger and drier, will be poached with tomatoes and green peppers, or fried. "Hamsi" is the prince of all fish known to Turks. The Black Sea people know forty one ways of making hamsi, including hamsi börek, hamsi pilaf and hamsi dessert. Another common seafood is the mussel-eaten deep fried, poached, or as a mussel dolma and mussel pilaf. Along the Aegean, octopus and calamari are added to the meze spread.

 

 

In addition to these general categories, there are numerous meat and vegetable dishes which feature unique recipes. When talking vegetables, it is important to know that the eggplant (or aubergine) has a special place in the Turkish Cuisine. Similar to the Spanish tapas, "meze" is the general category of dishes that are brought in small quantities to start the meal off. These are eaten, along with wine or more likely with "rakì", the anise-flavoured national drink of Turks sometimes referred to as "lion's milk", for a few hours until the main course is served.