Popular Turkish food recipes. Turkish national cuisine - what dishes to try. On the streets of Turkish cities

The national cuisine of Turkey is very multifaceted and original. Its formation was influenced by the fact that Turks, Armenians, Persians, Greeks, Assyrians and many other peoples lived on the territory of this country, each of which left its own unique mark on the culinary history of the state. The list includes such popular delicacies as plov, kebab and baklava. You will find their recipes in today's article.

Main nuances

Indigenous Turks turn every meal into a kind of ritual. All dishes are served in a specific order. Any meal begins with snacks, which include stuffed vegetables, olives and various pickles. After them, soups, fish or meat dishes and dessert appear on the table.

Vegetables are often used for cooking. Eggplants are especially popular. They are served marinated, stuffed, baked, stewed, steamed or fried. Also, the local population likes to generously add it not only to side dishes, but also to various sauces.

Meat is highly valued in Turkey. It is consumed in any form, but most often it is grilled or fried in a pan. Milk occupies a special place in the national cuisine of this state. It is used to make amazing cheeses, delicious desserts and incredibly healthy yogurts.

Turkish eggs

This interesting dish is vaguely reminiscent of a traditional omelette. It has an extraordinary taste and is ideal for a family breakfast. Before preparing one of the many Turkish national dishes, check in advance if your kitchen has everything you need. In this case, you will need:

• 8 chicken eggs.
• 100 grams of butter.
• 100 milliliters of broth.
• 150 grams of chicken liver.
• A couple of tomatoes.
• Salt and spices.

Washed and dried chicken liver is fried in butter. As soon as it acquires a golden hue, it is poured with broth, pre-mixed with chopped tomatoes. Beaten salted eggs are also added there. The future omelet is baked in the oven at standard temperature. Before serving, the finished dish can be poured with tomato sauce.

Lentil soup

This is one of the most popular Turkish national dishes. It is prepared from simple budget ingredients sold in any supermarket. To pamper your family with such a soup, stock up on everything you need in advance. This time you will need:

• 3 liters of drinking water.
• A couple of tablespoons of tomato paste.
• 1.5 cups red lentils
• A tablespoon of flour and ground paprika.
• Salt, aromatic spices and vegetable oil.

Washed lentils are poured with cold water and sent to the stove. As soon as the liquid boils, the resulting foam is removed from its surface and left to cook on minimal heat.

Pour a little vegetable oil into a separate saucepan, heat it up and fry wheat flour there. After a few minutes, tomato paste, a little water, basil and oregano are added there. All mix well and leave on the stove. After a couple of minutes, a little more water is added there and the resulting frying is sent to a pan with lentils. All this is salted, seasoned with mint and removed from the burner almost immediately. The finished soup is ground through a sieve and poured into bowls. Squeeze a little lemon juice into each serving.

Baklava

This dessert is very popular not only among the local population, but also among numerous tourists. Like all other recipes for Turkish national dishes, this option requires a certain set of components. Therefore, before starting work with the test, check if you have at hand:

• 250 grams of butter.
• Egg.
• 300 grams of powdered sugar.
• Half a kilo of wheat flour.
• 200 milliliters of milk.
• Cinnamon, salt and walnuts.
• A glass of water and sugar.
• Tablespoon of honey.

Like many other national Turkish dishes, photos of which can be seen in today's publication, baklava is prepared using the simplest technology. In a bowl filled with sifted wheat flour, a pinch of salt, melted butter and warmed milk are added in turn. Everything is well kneaded until a fairly steep, but at the same time elastic mass is obtained. The finished dough is placed in a plastic bag and left for half an hour.

In the meantime, you can work on the rest of the products. Nuts are crushed with a meat grinder and combined with cinnamon and powdered sugar. The infused dough is divided into twelve approximately identical balls. Each of them is rolled out in a thin layer, smeared with butter, sprinkled with nut filling and rolled up, tucking the edges inward. The resulting blanks are laid out on a baking sheet. Their surface is smeared with yolk. Bake products at two hundred degrees for about a quarter of an hour. Then the temperature is reduced to 160 0 C. The baklava is smeared with butter and returned to the oven. After fifty minutes, it is transferred to a deep bowl, poured with syrup consisting of water, sugar and honey, and left for six hours.

Pilaf

This is one of the simplest and most satisfying Turkish national dishes. It is prepared from inexpensive and readily available ingredients. To create it you will need:

• 700 grams of chicken.
• 1.5 cups long rice
• A couple of tablespoons of pine nuts.
• Half a kilo of tomatoes.
• 3 tablespoons of butter.
• Onion bulb.
• A handful of parsley, basil and dried cranberries.
• Salt and spices.

Washed and dried chicken is laid out in a thick-bottomed frying pan, in which there is already butter. As soon as it is browned, onion half rings are added to it and continue to fry. A few minutes later, pine nuts and tomatoes rubbed through a sieve are sent there. Almost immediately, washed cranberries, chopped greens and rice are placed in the pan. All this is poured with water, covered with a lid and cooked until the liquid is completely absorbed. Before serving, pilaf is decorated with basil.

Lula kebab

This is one of the many culinary masterpieces that Turkish cuisine is famous for. The national dishes of this country are known far beyond its borders. Therefore, to try a kebab, it is not at all necessary to go to Turkey. You can also prepare it in your own kitchen. For this you will need:

• A kilo of lean lamb.
• 100 grams of bell pepper.
• 200 g fat tail fat.
• 25 grams of wheat flour.
• 75 g of garlic.
• 100 grams of parsley.
• 150 g tomatoes.
• 0.25 kg of onions.

The flour is soaked in a small amount of hot water and squeezed out. Lamb, pepper and tail fat are ground in a meat grinder and sent to the refrigerator. After an hour, the minced meat is salted, seasoned with spices and carefully strung on skewers. They fry the kebab on smoldering coals, not forgetting to periodically turn it over. It is served with a sauce made from chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic and parsley.

Turkish coffee

This fragrant invigorating drink leaves a pleasant aftertaste. It is prepared according to several different recipes (photos of Turkish national dishes can be found in the process of reading this article). To make real strong coffee, you will need:

• A couple of teaspoons of sugar.
• Ground coffee.
• A teaspoon of cinnamon and vanilla.
• A pod of cardamom.
• Carnation.
• 200 milliliters of water.

Ground coffee is poured into the preheated cezve. Cold water is poured there and the vessel is placed on the stove. The drink is kept on minimum heat for half an hour, not allowing it to boil. In the process of cooking, sugar, spices and spices are added to the cezva. Ready coffee is poured into cups and served at the table.

Revani

This delicious dessert also belongs to Turkish national dishes. It is a tender cake soaked in lemon syrup. To prepare it you will need:

• 3 eggs.
• A glass of flour, semolina and sugar.
• 200 milliliters of vegetable oil and yogurt.
• A pack of baking powder.

In order to cook the syrup, prepare in advance:

• 3 glasses of water.
• Juice of half a lemon.
• 3 cups of sugar.

Eggs are combined with yogurt and sugar, and then beaten, gradually adding semolina, flour, baking powder and vegetable oil. The finished dough is poured into a mold with high sides and sent to the oven. Dessert is baked at one hundred and fifty degrees for at least forty minutes. The cooled cake is cut into portions and poured with hot syrup consisting of water, sugar and lemon juice.

Eggplant in Istanbul

This savory snack also belongs to the national dishes of Turkish cuisine. It is prepared so simply that even a novice cook can make it without any problems. Its composition includes:

• 3 large eggplants.
• Medium head of onion.
• 3 fresh tomatoes.
• Medium carrot.
• 150 grams of celery root.
• Sweet bell pepper.
• A clove of garlic.
• A bunch of parsley.
• A pinch of ground dried thyme.
• Salt, spices and vegetable oil.

Eggplants are cut lengthwise and soaked in cold salt water. After half an hour, they are washed, dried and fried on the inside in vegetable oil. The browned pulp is separated from the skin and crushed.

Peeled carrots and celery are boiled until half cooked and cut into small cubes. Peppers are baked in the oven, separated from the peel and the seed and crushed. All this is combined in one vessel. Fried onions, chopped tomatoes, salt, aromatic herbs and chopped garlic are also added there. The resulting mass is laid out in eggplant boats and baked at standard temperature.

Many historians of world cuisine say that there are only three great cuisines in the world: Chinese, French and Turkish. Indeed, Turkish national cuisine is a real culinary masterpiece and one of the most important elements of the richest Turkish culture.

Modern Turkish cuisine is very diverse, as it was formed under the influence of the culinary traditions of various peoples. So, Turkish cuisine has a lot in common with the cuisines of other Islamic nations, with Caucasian, Balkan cuisines. Many features of Turkish cuisine are also characteristic of Greek cuisine. The peak of the development of Turkish cuisine was the time of the Ottoman Empire: the Ottomans paid great attention to cooking, more than a thousand cooks worked in the Sultan's palace at the same time, and the national cuisine absorbed all the best from the cuisines of the peoples who inhabited the territories that were part of the Ottoman Empire - North Africa, Middle East, Balkans. Many Turkish dishes spread throughout the world during the wars of the Turks with other nations - in particular, it was during the Russian-Turkish war in Russia that they learned how to cook the well-known cabbage rolls.

In the twentieth century, after the formation of the Republic of Turkey, the Ottoman culinary heritage became the Turkish national cuisine.

Turks traditionally eat many grains, the most popular of which is wheat. Turks bake bread from wheat (bazlama, pita, katmer) and all kinds of flour products. One of the most important types of dough pastries is burek - pastries with filling. So, the word "cheburek" from the Turkish language is translated as "pastry with minced meat." Other popular pastry dishes are gozleme (stuffed flatbread), lahmacun (Turkish pizza), manti (Turkish dumplings).

Cereals are also used as cereals, from which bulgur is prepared. Rice and couscous are also popular. The Turks pay great attention to all kinds of legumes - they cook peas, chickpeas, lentils, white beans. As in other Islamic countries, hummus is very popular.

Turkish traditional cuisine is famous for its wide selection of dairy products, a tradition that has been preserved since the time of the nomadic Turks. Turkish yogurt is served with a variety of dishes, as well as ayran (a cold salty drink, which is a mixture of yogurt and water) and cold cucumber soup tzatzik (tzadzik). Cheeses made from sheep's milk are popular.

Turkish cuisine, like many others, is characterized by its seasonality. So, in the hot season, the Turks can perfectly do without meat and eat mostly fresh vegetables. The most important vegetables in Turkish cuisine are onion, garlic, tomato, pepper and eggplant. Turks prepare both fresh salads and hot dishes from vegetables. A separate category of dishes is dolma - a dish that is considered the progenitor of the well-known cabbage rolls. However, the Turks are not limited to folding the filling into cabbage leaves - they also stuff zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, pumpkin, paprika, beet leaves and grapes. Interestingly, minced meat is usually not added to the filling - the right dolma should be stuffed with rice, spices, nuts and dried fruits.

In the winter season, the Turks with great pleasure prepare various meat and fish dishes of the Turkish national cuisine. Pork is traditionally not eaten here, but lamb and chicken are popular. Minced meat is most often used, but there are other groups of dishes that differ little from dishes of other Islamic cuisines - in particular, kebab and kofta.

The stereotype that Turks don't eat soups is not true. On the contrary, soups are an important element of every Turk's diet. However, liquid soups are really unpopular here - thicker soups are usually prepared from legumes, dairy products, and cereals.

The pride of Turkish cuisine is confectionery. In the variety of confectionery products, hardly anyone can compare with the Turks - there are hundreds of varieties of cookies, sweets and other sweets. For their preparation, mainly sugar, honey, dried fruits, nuts and various spices are used.

Any Turkish meal is impossible without drinks. In summer, the number one drink is refreshing ayran, compotes and sherbets, and in winter - warm and high-calorie drinks boza and sakhlep. In addition, all year round and around the clock, the Turks drink tea and coffee - in this country, the culture of drinking both of these drinks is very well developed. Alcoholic drinks are unpopular (Muslims are forbidden to drink alcohol), but traditional Turkish alcoholic drinks still exist - these are various fruit and berry wines, as well as strong alcoholic drink rakia.

One of the richest cuisines in the world, thanks to the huge variety of dishes and unique taste characteristics.
Over the centuries, it has been developing along with the culture and traditions of Turkey, originating from the nomadic Turkic tribes. And this is where it gets even more interesting,Turkic cuisine has been greatly influenced by many other cuisines - Caucasian, Arabic, Mediterranean (especially Greek), Balkan. The prohibitions of Islam have not passed by either, since the country has some guidelines regarding food in the form of permitted (halal) and prohibited (haram). This cuisine uses a lot of hot and fragrant spices, the main focus is on meat and vegetables.
Now you can imagine how diverse the cuisine can be if the traditions of such a large number of nationalities are mixed in it.

TURKISH CUISINE

Among the national dishes you can find anything - from simple salads and snacks to the most exquisite meat and vegetable dishes, drinks and desserts.
Turkish dishes are moderately spicy, so the cuisine will appeal to everyone - both spicy lovers and those who prefer less peppery food.

flour products

Let's start with baking. Serving bread is one of the main traditions.
Ekmek
There are several varieties of it: white bread (from wheat), gray (millet) and black (the so-called somun - Bulgarian bread). As a rule, they are most often baked in the villages according to their own recipes. Bread products can be bought at the market or on the days of fairs.
Berek
Baked bagels. Made from flatbread cut into triangles. The filling is cheese, spices and aromatic herbs.
Poacha
Small buns with a variety of fillings - cottage cheese, cheese, mashed potatoes, minced meat and whatever. Sesame or poppy seeds are used for decoration. Their peculiarity is that they are prepared without yeast, so a minimum of time is required for their preparation.
pita
A thick flatbread made from yeast dough, served on the table with vegetables, cheese, meat baked in it, to choose from. Often pita can be found in small eateries.
Gözleme
One of the types of cakes made from the thinnest dough (yufka). The filling is a mixture of cheese with parsley or spinach, cottage cheese can also be used, minced meat - the choice is great. It is considered a rustic dish due to the ease of preparation.
Simit
Bagels sprinkled with sesame seeds. The most popular pastry sold on every corner.
Lahmacun
Turkish pizza. This is a thin cake, inside which minced meat, finely chopped vegetables and spices are wrapped. The taste is spicy and plain.
Pide
A cake resembling the shape of a boat, inside of which lies a whole "battalion" of products: minced beef and lamb, tomatoes, red, green and hot peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, cheese, spices. It has a very beautiful and appetizing appearance.
Gel tatlysy
Translated from Turkish - sweet roses. And this is true - delicate roses made from shortcrust pastry, watered with fragrant sherbet, covered with walnuts and pistachio flour. The dish is served on a beautiful plate, always with tea. Real jam!
Chocolate Kurabye
Oriental cookies - salty or sweet, in the form of flowers.
Cheese Pie
A similar pie is found among many Caucasian peoples. In Ossetia - the famous Ossetian pie, in Georgia - achma. He also did not pass by Turkey. A pie is being prepared without yeast, stuffed with Adyghe cheese and butter. It has a round or rectangular shape. After cooking, cut into small squares.
Buns with olives
Appetizing rings - with olives, laid out in a thin layer, beautifully sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Shekerpare
Another type of oriental biscuit. Made from shortcrust pastry (with the addition of semolina), poured with sherbet and decorated with nuts and coconut flakes. Served on plates with unsweetened tea.
You can continue indefinitely.

Kebab

A completely separate category of Turkish dishes, known and consumed all over the world. Translated from Persian as "fried meat". Prepare several types of kebabs.
adana kebab
The most popular in the country. It is rolls of hot pepper minced lamb, fried on a spit. It has such a name in honor of its homeland - the city of Adana. Served inside a tortilla, with tomatoes, herbs, onions.
Iskender kebab
second in polarity. Lamb meat is roasted on a skewer, in tomato sauce, yogurt and melted butter. Kebab comes from the city of Bursa.
Doner
No less famous food here and in Europe. Interestingly, at first it was rice with salad. Now it is an indispensable snack - chicken, beef or lamb meat, various vegetables are placed in a flat cake cut into 2 parts, all this is poured with hot sauce, sprinkled with spices.
Shish kebab
National barbecue - lamb fried on a skewer, with sweet peppers and tomatoes.

Turkish meat dishes

Kofte
From Persian it means "to beat meat". Known in the countries of South Asia and the Middle East.
Meatballs have their own characteristics: composition of products, shape, spices. Every corner of Turkey has its own recipe. Usually it is chopped beef or lamb meat, with spices and onions, in the form of cutlets. Then they are either fried on the grill in a frying pan, or boiled in a saucepan, baked in the oven. There are many varieties of kofte - chig kofte, izmir, dalyan, kuru. It all depends on the meat, cooking method, composition and spices.
Pilaf
Even the name looks like plov. From Turkish - "cool rice porridge". Yes, this is a local version of pilaf made from boiled rice, chicken meat, with the addition of carrots, peppers, garlic, pine nuts, black raisins, herbs, spices and salt.
Khashlama
The literal translation from Turkish is "boiled meat". So it is - these are boiled pieces of meat (lamb, beef), with onions, carrots, potatoes, red and green peppers and olive oil. Served on the table with lemon quarters, they are poured over the dish.
Turkish meatballs
Tepsi koftesi - consists of minced meat, pepper, tomato, potato, spices, tomato. pasta, herbs, onions and garlic. Baked in the oven.
Pirasa koftesi - cutlets consist of ground beef, flour, eggs, peppers, parsley and onions. Roasted in a pan.
Mersimek - lentil cutlets fried in tomato paste, with onions and spices. They are served on lettuce leaves.
Dolma
Grape leaves or vegetables (pepper, cabbage) stuffed with minced meat and boiled rice, with onions, herbs and spices. In our opinion, these are stuffed cabbage rolls.
Dolma happens: grape, onion, eggplant. It depends on what the filling will be put into or wrapped in.
Tavykly bezel
Chicken fillet stewed with vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions, green peas). An excellent side dish option is boiled rice.
Chickpeas with meat
A dish of chickpeas stewed with beef, tomato paste, seasoned with hot peppers, garlic and onions.

Turkish soups

There are enough of them. The most famous:
Tarkhana Chorbasy - the most commonly prepared, made from ground, dried tomatoes, onions, peppers (red and green) - with flour and yeast. Ingredients may vary depending on the region of the country.
Merjimek - lentil soup.
Ishkembe - prepared from meat offal with garlic added.
Sekhriye Chorbasy - pasta soup with tomato paste, olive oil and onions.

Salads

The main ingredients are marinades (lemon juice, olive oil). In addition to various vegetables, popular additives are cheese, olives, beef sausage, etc.
Patlyjan salads
It consists of fried eggplant, from which the skin is then removed. After that, they are crushed, turning into mashed potatoes, salt, garlic, parsley, olives are added. oil.
Choban
This salad is made from sweet peppers, tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers, onions.
Roca
Arugula, familiar to us, only here fried chicken pieces are added to it.
Kysyr
Vegetable salad (onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, all kinds of peppers), seasoned with cinnamon, ground pepper, to which bulgur is added - a special cereal made from steamed dried wheat. A salad is served on the table in the form of a small ball, decorated with lemon, mint and lettuce.

vegetable dishes

Yemeji Tavern
A dish of zucchini, which includes - zucchini, tomatoes, rice, herbs, olive oil, spices. Served with a sauce made from yogurt.
Imam bayaldy
Vegetable stew of tomato, eggplant, honey, parsley, mint, garlic, nutmeg, hot pepper, onion. The cooking method is quite original: a mixture of the above products is placed in eggplants shaped like boats, all this is baked in the oven.
Zeytinyagli pyrasa
Rice stewed with onions in olive oil. In addition to onions, carrots, sugar, tomato paste and lemon juice are added to the dish.

Turkish snacks

An element of custom is the arrangement of appetizers. Drinks are usually placed next to them.
Meze - from Turkish "taste", "snack".

Cold snacks
All kinds of creams belong to cold appetizers, most often on a yoghurt basis.
Haidari
Yoghurt mixture, where feta cheese, sugar, a little mint, lemon juice and olive oil are added.
Antep ezmesi
Spicy, made with crushed green and red peppers, tomato paste, onions, lemon juice, parsley and salt. A favorite dish of the eastern part of the country.
Jajik
Yogurt-based appetizer - with cucumber, mint, garlic. Especially good in hot weather.
The dish is very similar to the Greek - "tzatziki".
Baba hanush
A dish of charcoal-baked eggplants with garlic, sesame seeds, spices, sprinkled with lemon juice. You can add radishes, tomatoes and onions to it.
Awukma
Summer eggplant salad with peppers, cucumbers, feta cheese, seasoned with herbs and sesame seeds.
havuch
Cream of yogurt - with grated carrots, lemon juice, pepper, olive oil, salt.
Sarma
Rice (with tomato paste, various herbs, onions, olive oil, spices, garlic) wrapped in grape leaves.
In addition to the above, Turkish meze is white cheese, walnuts, melon, cold eggplant salad, artichokes.
Pepperoni - red and green hot peppers, olives (especially black ones), and pickled vegetables are very famous.

Hot appetizers
Of the hot ones, the most famous are:
Karidesh guvech
Shrimps baked in a pot - with tomatoes, spices, garlic, butter.
Borek cigar
The original form of tubes of the thinnest dough, stuffed with cheese, fried on both sides in a pan. A very tasty dish.
Fyrynda mantar
Champignon mushrooms - in sauce, with 2 types of cheese. Baked in the oven.

Turkish sweets

Turkey has always been famous for its wide variety of sweet dishes. They are considered one of the most delicious in the East.
Syutlatch with strawberry sorbet
Rice pudding based on starch, milk, eggs, butter. The mixture is poured into molds and baked in the oven. Especially good in the heat!
baklava or baklava
Sweet, the most popular not only in the country, but throughout the world. Made from rice dough. It is poured with syrup made from sugar with lemon, or hot honey with water. Filling - ground pistachios, walnuts, cloves, cinnamon, powdered sugar.
Tulumba
Tubes in the form of a cylinder with openwork ribs, soaked in sugar syrup. The dish is served cold on the table.
Yrmyk helvasy
Halva made from semolina, sprinkled with milk and sugar syrup, sprinkled with cinnamon.
Turkish Delight
Translated from Arabic - "sweetness for the throat." Sugar or honey cubes - with dried coconuts, fruits, various nuts. They come in a variety of fruit flavors.
Helva
Dessert made from sesame paste and sugar, using cocoa powder.
Revani
Rastegay baked from semolina, sprinkled with sugar syrup. Cut into rhombuses.
Pekmez
Grape syrup is most famous in the Cappadocia region.
Quince tatlysy
Quince divided into two parts, boiled in syrupy broth. Served chilled, with sour cream (kaymak).
Gulyach
A delicacy made from rice dough, with milk, seasoned with ground walnuts. It is decorated with pomegranate seeds (made in the holy month of Ramadan).
Nath
Honey-nut kurabie soaked in condensed milk - crumbly, very tasty, melts right in your mouth.
Meivili Muhallebi
Milk dessert with fresh berries and fruits, sprinkled with cinnamon and grated walnuts on top - perfect for hot weather.
Lokma
Sweet balls fried in a deep fryer, sprinkled with sugar syrup.
Jeserie
Dessert in the form of boiled carrot syrup turned into jelly, pomegranate juice, with pistachios. In addition to carrots, different fruits can be used.
Tatlysy Tavern
Pumpkin sweet boiled with sugar.
Ashura
The national dish of the whole country, without which no celebration can do. It has the second name "Dessert of Noah".
Since ancient times, familiar to the Turks, it is a symbol of the abundance of the Turkish family. Prepared for Thanksgiving. Delicious and very useful. Once upon a time, during the period of the Omani Empire, ashure was considered a medicine that relieves many diseases.
Ingredients: a mixture of wheat, rice, beans (cooked). Dried fruits are added to it: dried apricots, figs, raisins, in addition - an orange, various berries, and also starch, sugar and spices. Dessert looks like thickened jelly. Served with cereals and pieces of fruit.

Beverages

Turkish coffee
Famous all over the world. Prepared in a Turk (a special container for brewing), according to all traditions, coffee is poured into cups. A glass of cold water is served separately.
Turkish tea
Local celebrity - fragrant, delicious. Collected in large quantities from the tea plantations of Turkey.
Milk drinks
Airan is very refreshing. It is made from sour cow (goat or sheep) milk. Reminds us of kefir.
Salep is a hot milk drink. Most often it is used in cool weather.
Salgam - sour, spicy, made from turnips. Distributed in the region of Adana. In the southern part of the country, raki and spicy food are served.
Boza is a sweetish drink that is the result of fermentation, obtained from cereals, yeast and sugar.
Juices and lemonades
Shira - grape juice
Lemonade - made from lemons and oranges crushed in a blender
Mineral water
There are many types of it. The local population prefers to drink non-carbonated water.
Of the alcoholic known:
crayfish - the national Turkish drink, which is anise "vodka". Sufficiently strong - from 40 to 70 revolutions. Used everywhere.
Bira - Turkish beer: Efes, Pera, Tekel, Marmara, etc.
Sharap - wine produced in many parts of the country. The best quality wines in the region of Izmir, Diyarbakir, Eastern Thrace, Cappadocia. Dry wine is very popular among the Turkish population.

You can always try all the above traditional dishes by going to one of the Turkish restaurants that we have selected especially for you.

The best Turkish restaurants

In the Stambul:
"Metropolis" - in the historical part of Sultanahmet. A cozy restaurant with a fireplace, so even in cold weather you will not be cold at all. This is one of those places where the most diverse menu of all cities in the country is presented. Crown food - lamb skewers, with tomato sauce, peppers and mushrooms. It is cooked in a pot, which is then broken at the guest's table, after which the kebab is brought, as it should be, served on a plate. The atmosphere is very pleasant - you don't even want to leave!
In Ankara:
"Haci Arif bey" - downtown. It's always very busy here. The peculiarity of the restaurant is a small garden with a pond where fish swim, an aviary with turtles is installed. For the youngest guests there is a playground. From dishes - mezes, vegetables, kebabs, soups, etc., excellent in taste. From drinks - ayran, different types of teas. You can order food delivery.
In Antalya:
"Yemenli" - a nice establishment, consisting of several rooms. There is a small courtyard where flowers and trees grow, so it is very fresh and fragrant here! In general, the atmosphere here is more than relaxing. The menu is represented by dishes of European, Mediterranean, and of course, Turkish cuisine. Vegetarians have their own menu. The service is very delicate. There is a bar with a variety of drinks.
"Favory" - the name speaks for itself. If you chose this place, then you are in the favorites. Located in the center of the old town of Kaleici. Oh, how beautiful it is here! Everything says that you came to Turkey - the atmosphere, the interior. Spacious sofas with soft pillows, everything is buried in carpets. There is also a peculiarity - the walls are decorated with football posters, as the owner of the establishment is a football fan. The restaurant is really very warm, cozy, somehow at home. Before cooking, you will be shown what products will be used to prepare the dish.
In Fethiye:
Kalamaki - in the old part of the city. Very beautiful, modern room, with a unique style. There is a bar downstairs, on the second (roof) - a cozy snow-white terrace awaits you. The restaurant always has a romantic atmosphere, and the most exquisite dishes are served. Varied menu with tour. cuisine, as well as European. There are different types of wines. Waiters serve at the highest level.
"Mussakka" - very cozy restaurant. Tables are located inside the building and outside. A particularly beautiful view is from the balcony (places are booked in advance), from where the endless sea is perfectly visible. The cuisine is full of variety. Kebabs with delicious sauces, vegetables, salads, desserts. We especially recommend trying moussaka (eggplant dish). Delicious food, friendly atmosphere, national music - all this can give you the most positive emotions and leave vivid impressions.
In Alania:
"Ottoman house" - surprisingly beautiful atmosphere of the east, a wide variety of dishes, friendly staff. There is a set and customized menu. Often during lunch, a beautiful belly dance is danced here. For those who want to admire the local beauties, there is an opportunity to climb onto the roof, from where you can see the city, mosque, harbor.
In Marmaris:

"Summer Breeze" - one of the best establishments in Marmaris. Very welcoming, friendly restaurant. Here everyone will find something tasty for themselves. Meat, seafood, salads, sauces, hot dishes, desserts - everything is cooked in the best traditions of the country. The restaurant accepts orders for celebrating birthdays, new year and other celebrations. Service is excellent, very attentive. There is Wi-Fi (free of charge) and a pool table. The restaurant bus can also take you to the hotel free of charge.
"Samdan" - on one of the main streets of Marmaris. Very varied menu card: Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Indian cuisine. Turkish consists of many dishes consisting of meat, vegetables, seasoned with sauces, spices. There are also traditional pastries, sweets and drinks. Prices are quite moderate. Large portions are served, nicely presented. A variety of food, unsurpassed taste, satiety are guaranteed to you, which means good spirits and good mood!

We wish you bon appetit! Afiyet olsun!

Turkish cuisine is very different and contains many different delicacies: first courses, second courses, salads, hot and cold appetizers with spicy sauces, drinks, sweet dough products - all this has incomparable taste qualities, prepared according to the traditional recipes of the country, and therefore is unique food and drink.

The basis of the national cuisine of Turkey is vegetables and cereals, mostly wheat and rice. Meat dishes have an equally important place. Turks do not fill their dishes with spices and spices in large quantities, but put seasonings in moderation, believing that the true taste of delicacies should not be interrupted. People love stewed and stuffed vegetables. Cooks use minced meat as a filling, sometimes it is mixed with rice and other cereals. From vegetables, eggplants, sweet peppers are very popular. National Turkish dishes are very famous: pilaf, boreki (bereki), dolma with minced rice, manti, shish kebab - all these delicacies are served in Europe, clearly following the classic recipes.

Fish dishes in Turkey are not known. The chefs are very careful in cooking and are kind to their work, and therefore they use exclusively fresh fish and seafood. For this reason, dishes from these products are served only in establishments located near the sea.

Turkish residents bake a lot of different breads, pastries from plain and puff pastry.

This eastern country is famous for its abundance of sweets: a lot of delicious pies, stuffed cakes, Turkish delight, baklava, halva, puddings. Among drinks, Turks prefer coffee, which must be freshly brewed.

Turkish meat dishes are nutritious, vegetables are always very tender, sweet desserts will turn everyone's head. Sharpness, piquancy, sophistication, softness, sweetness - all this is about traditional Turkish dishes.

It is not so difficult to get acquainted with the nuances of cooking oriental dishes of this country, especially using the step-by-step recipes with photos offered on our website, after mastering which you yourself will be able to give master classes in cooking Turkish dishes.

Turkish cuisine recipes with step by step photos

• Baklava from puff pastry
• Imam Bayaldy
• Turkish baklava
• Lavash roll with minced meat
• Lahmacun
• Chicken tabaka with potatoes
• Shish kebab
• Lamb with potatoes in a slow cooker
• Turkish shawarma
• Turkish eggplant with minced meat
• Sautéed chicken
• Phyllo dough baklava

Characteristics of the features of the national cuisine of Turkey

The characteristics of the national cuisine of Turkey are very interesting: the inhabitants of the country make excellent dishes from meat, vegetables, fruits, without abusing spices and spices, their unique sweets do not leave indifferent anyone who has once tasted a delicacy, and the recipes of traditional drinks because of their excellent taste popular outside of their homeland.

If we turn to the history of Turkish cuisine, it is worth noting: it is ancient. Its formation was influenced by Greek, Armenian, Egyptian, Arabic, French, Italian. Today there is assimilation with Russian, Uzbek cuisine. However, the culinary region of Turkey has its own characteristics. Chefs replenish the menus of cafes and restaurants with original dishes, and housewives experiment with ingredients at home, slightly deviating from classic recipes, creating new unique dishes.

The eastern country is the owner of the Mediterranean cuisine. That is why residents give their preference to vegetables, fruits, nuts and spices. Regarding the latter, Turkish wives, aunts, professional chefs and everyone involved in cooking have one very important rule: you can’t overdo it with seasonings, because the real taste of the dish should remain that way, you can’t hide or saturate it with sauces and seasonings . That is, lamb should be felt in lamb food, pepper in pepper, and beans in beans, and so on.

Almost all dishes are seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and fermented milk products, often yogurt without additives. Since Turkey is an eastern country in which it is very hot, breakfast, lunch and dinner are prepared very quickly, for one meal.

Turkish breakfast has its own characteristics. At this time, the table is served as if for a holiday, they serve a lot of various treats: bread, flat cakes, hard cheese and feta cheese, butter, jam, cut vegetables, fresh fruits, eggs. For breakfast in Turkey, it is customary to drink exclusively freshly brewed tea. Here coffee is inferior to him. Morning meal should be very satisfying, unhurried, energize for the whole day. Family members gather at the table and share plans, slowly discussing business.

Breakfasts are quite common in cafes and restaurants. In order to raise the mood, these institutions are located on the embankments, by the sea, in nature, where the view of incredible beauty opens up to the eyes. A person with an average income can afford a breakfast of a pie with minced meat, cheese or spinach, buns where olives, olives, potatoes, cheese are used as fillings, and a sesame bagel, which is called "simit".

There are a lot of dishes on the table for lunch or dinner. The most popular dish is Turkish shish kebab. This is meat that is cooked over an open fire. They use not only sheep meat, lamb, but also poultry - chicken, in rare cases, fish. Today, there are several varieties of barbecue: for example, if according to the classic recipe that we are used to, meat is strung on a skewer and fried over a fire, then this is a shish kebab, but if a whole lamb carcass is baked in the ground, then it turns out to be a tandoor kebab .

It is interesting that all the ingredients for the first, second course or snacks are cooked in one bowl. Thanks to this, the food turns out to be more aromatic, and the taste seems even richer.

Residents of Antalya attach great importance to preparations for the winter. They also canned fruits and vegetables. It can be your favorite eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, pears, apples. Products are prepared in different ways. Sometimes they just dry in the sun. This applies more often to fruits. By the way, Antalyans love to refresh themselves with street food. Kokorich (or as it is also called, kokorech) are lamb giblets covered with intestines. It does not sound very appetizing, but it is tasty and adored by the Turks.

The most popular products that are used to prepare almost all dishes are meat, vegetables, olives (also olives), cereals, dairy, legumes. The meat for the Turks is very valuable, and therefore they eat it, subjecting it to various heat treatments. However, most often it is fried on the grill, over an open fire or at home on the stove using a regular frying pan.

Among the vegetables, the place of honor goes to eggplant, because they are bought at any time of the year. Eggplant can be boiled, stewed, fried, stuffed, baked, pickled, salted. It is pickled and salted vegetables that are served as a snack on the table. Turkey also loves tomatoes, which chefs use in the preparation of sauces, pasta, and various side dishes. Olives and olives, like tomatoes, are also an integral part of the Turkish diet. They are put in the main dishes, side dishes or put on the table as an appetizer.

You can't do without cereals while cooking. They serve as one of the main ingredients for first and second courses. This product is essential for baking the famous Turkish bread. Rice is perhaps the most common cereal. Traditional pilaf is cooked on its basis, adding vegetables, meat, fish.

Using dairy products, Turkey makes incredible desserts and "signature" yogurts. There are many kinds of cheeses in this eastern country. Turks like to marinate cheese in brine and enjoy the incredible taste of cheese, feta. Such products are often stuffed into baked goods.

As we have already said, fish is not used so often, however, the dishes are very tasty. It is important that it is not difficult to cook fish at home, since the recipes are very simple. Turks cook from popular varieties - red mullet, stingray, mullet, swordfish. A lot of crabs, shrimps, octopuses, squids, cuttlefish, mussels, lobsters and other seafood. Such a wide choice allows the Turks to cook a lot of all kinds of "sea" dishes.

Now let's recap:

One main traditional dish in oriental cuisine is missing. All dishes are equally important on the table and all create the overall picture of Turkish cooking.

Turkey is the owner of almost all products: it has meat, vegetables, fruits, berries, seafood and fish. That is why there are a lot of various dishes - the ingredients are alternated, changed, supplemented with spices, spices and something new, original is obtained.

Turkish dishes bring great benefits to the body, because healthy products are used in the cooking process. For heat treatment choose cooking, stewing, baking. They don't fry as often. Dishes are rarely too greasy.

There is always a wide selection of foods on the table for breakfast, lunch and dinner, because you don’t need to snack, but eat plentifully, satisfyingly in order to get energy and strength.

With the design of dishes, the Turks are all at the highest level: the dishes always look very beautiful, appetizing, bright, emit a pleasant aroma that awakens the desire to try it sooner.

There are traditions regarding the presentation of dishes on the table. Appetizers are served first. In Turkey they are called "meze". These are stuffed vegetables, olives, salted and pickled foods. Next are the main meals. The main thing is the soup. After it, dishes of meat, fish and side dishes are already served. Finally, they are backed up with desserts.

Eating is a long process, because the Turks eat slowly, chew their food thoroughly. In addition, you need to try every dish from the table. All this takes time. Conversations are going on at the same time.

It is not customary to eat alone in Turkey. You always need to get together with family, friends, colleagues and eat together.

So, now you know what Turkish cuisine is. We will tell you about the varieties of all dishes further.

Main dishes

The main dishes in Turkey are quite diverse: initially it is customary to eat snacks, then vegetable, meat, chicken, fish soups and stews, pilaf (with a lot of secondary ingredients in addition to cereals), meat and vegetable dishes, without which every meal is not complete.

Traditionally, the meal begins with appetizers. They are most often prepared from eggplants, adored by the Turks.

Famous vegetable dishes are moussaka and karnyyaryk. Moussaka is obtained by baking eggplants in the oven with stuffing in the form of minced meat seasoned with spices. Karnyyaryk is different in that eggplants are cut into halves, laid out on a baking sheet, minced meat is laid on them and baked in this way. The main dishes are also made from eggplant: the vegetable is baked whole, then cut and spread on lightly toasted bread. Pieces of fried meat are placed on eggplant, and all this is seasoned with yogurt.

In addition to eggplant snacks, they are also made from other vegetables. Kyzartma is a simple but very tasty dish. Vegetables are fried in butter in deep fat (it can be zucchini, the same eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers), then served on a plate with fresh bread.

One of the most popular snacks is sarma - these are original cabbage rolls, but instead of minced meat, pilaf is used as a filling for cabbage leaves. Other cold snacks are also famous. For example, haidari is made from cheese, mint, sugar and yogurt; karidesh povech is made from shrimp, tomatoes, garlic, all this is baked and spices are added; firinda mantar - champignons baked in a sauce with cheese.

A wide selection of Turkish first courses. Soups and stews are prepared with different products and in different ways. For example, stew is hot and cold. The first, that is, hot, is known as "chorbu" and is prepared with tomatoes, lentils and other vegetables. The second, jajik, is made with cucumbers, garlic, ayran, and spicy herbs. Soups also come in several types, depending on the products used:

merdzhimek chorbasy - boiled on red lentils;

tarkhana chorbasy - consists of dry and crushed products - peppers, onions, tomatoes, yeast in combination with flour;

Chorbasy yogurt - made on the basis of yogurt;

imkembe chorbasy - they speak with offal, vinegar and garlic heads.

They also cook shurpa (or shorpa) - rice soup with potatoes.

The most famous second course is plov. It is often boiled with rice, but it is no less famous with wheat. Less often they make pilaf from achma.

1. Rice pilaf. According to the traditional recipe, a meal is prepared from, of course, cereals, tomatoes, nuts, meat (often chicken fillet), butter, herbs (parsley and basil), berries (cranberry or cherry). Making classic Turkish pilaf at home is not difficult at all. The recipe is no different. Pine nuts are fried in an empty pan, the onion is cut into half rings, the greens are washed and chopped. Tomatoes are peeled and grated, turning into gruel. The meat, cut into pieces, is fried in a cauldron or a frying pan with high walls in butter. Then nuts, tomato paste, herbs, berries and spices are added. After that, washed rice is poured and everything is poured with boiling water, and when ready, it is infused under a closed lid.
2. Wheat pilaf. During cooking, the cereal must be stewed together with vegetables - onions, peppers (red or green - to the taste of the cook), tomatoes, meat. Pilaf is being prepared in a cauldron. First, onion, chopped in half rings, is fried in oil, then chopped peppers are added, and after a while, tomatoes. Further, wheat, called “bulgur” in Turkey, and chopped greens are sent to the cauldron. After frying, the composition is poured with water, seasoned with seasonings and stewed under a closed lid until the cereal absorbs boiling water and the pilaf is ready.

The basis of the meal also includes meat dishes, which can be served as a separate dish, or can go as a side dish or snack. The usual shish kebab fried on skewers in Turkey is called “shish kebab”, Turkish shawarma is “dener kebab”, “tandoor kebab” is the name of the kebab, which is baked in the ground. Side dishes are served with the second course. For example, dolma, known in many countries, is a kind of cabbage rolls, when minced meat or meat is wrapped in cabbage leaves, grapes. The dishes are complemented with kyufte - small round-shaped cutlets of minced meat, kuzu pyrzola - lamb ribs straight from the grill, menemen - scrambled eggs with vegetables.

There are many appetizers, first and second courses, side dishes in Turkish cuisine, and all of them are magnificent and truly unique in their own way.

Turkish salads and sauces

There are a lot of Turkish salads: they are cooked with vegetables (eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, broccoli), meat, olives and olives, mushrooms, seafood, beans and many others.

One of the best salads in Turkey is Piyaz, where the main ingredient is dry beans. She is boiled. The same is done with eggs. Onions are pickled in vinegar. Tomatoes and eggs are cut, mixed with boiled beans, then onions are added and all this is seasoned with a special sauce of lemon juice, grape vinegar, sesame paste, zira, garlic, mushy beans, olive oil. As a result, the ingredients are mixed, decorated with parsley, olives and served at the table.

A popular Turkish eggplant salad is Patlyjan. Vegetables are baked in the oven, peeled, then the excess liquid is decanted and the eggplants are cut into small pieces. Next, they are mixed with minced garlic, a mixture of olive oil, yogurt and lemon juice. In addition to such an unusual sauce, the taste of the salad is very rich due to ground black and cayenne pepper.

There is also a vegetable salad with croutons. Ingredients (baked sweet peppers, fried bread, tomatoes, onions, lettuce) are cut, broken or torn, mixed and seasoned. The sauce, again, is unusual because it consists of lemon juice, olive oil and pomegranate syrup. The salad is topped with chopped herbs.

Delicious and common in Turkey salad with wheat, that is, with bulgur - "Kysyr". Groats are boiled and cooled in tomato paste. Pine nuts are roasted in a pan. Cucumbers, tomatoes, onions are cut. Mint and parsley are chopped. The whole composition is mixed and seasoned with a classic lemon-olive sauce with chili flakes and sumac.

Turkish salads are easy to prepare, sometimes with minimal ingredients, yet satisfying the needs of the pickiest gourmets. The sauces in the dishes are unique, unusual, and in almost every dish there is a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice.

Traditional pastries and sweets

Traditional Turkish pastries and sweets are very original and created for every taste: there are flour products with and without filling, a variety of bagels and bagels, there are also sweet delicacies that melt in your mouth.

In Turkey, bagels are called "simit", they are sprinkled with sesame seeds on top. They also eat soft cakes called "pita" with yeast or "gozleme" with filling. Berek bagels are practically a visiting card of Turkish cuisine. We have already noted the fact that the Turks bake their own national bread: black - somun and white - ekmek. They also make lahmajun - pizza with sausage, meat and vegetable filling.

As for sweets, Turkey is famous for them all over the world. Ready-made delicacies of the cook are filled with sugar, syrups, and therefore the already sweet food turns out to be rather cloying. This is exactly the style of the Turks, since these people are avid lovers of sweets.

The key role is played by the Turkish baklava, known to us under the name "baklava". This is not just a sweet, a symbol of respect and some kind of tribute. This dish is treated to guests who are dear to the owner; during the matchmaking, baklava is also indispensable, as well as in the process of celebrating the birth of a child. On the eve of religious festivities, baklava is an obligatory decoration of every table.

There are also traditional desserts that are prepared only in Turkey, and therefore they are typical only for this eastern country. There are simply no similar ones in Russian and other cuisines. These milky sweets are reminiscent of mannik and soufflé at the same time. We are talking here about sutlach, muhallebi and kazandibi. They are a must-try when visiting Turkey.

Indicative, but already widespread far beyond the historical homeland, are other goodies - Turkish delight, halva, candied fruits.

Beverages

Drinks in Turkey have great fame: people do not live a day without coffee, tea, milk drink, while alcohol is not in demand because of the faith of the inhabitants of the country - Islam.

Turks drink coffee daily and at every meal, in addition to breakfast. In the morning it is customary to drink only tea. All sorts of drink are common. Equally common, along with black and green, are red, white, fruit (apple, pear), citrus (orange, lemon, grapefruit), berry (strawberry, strawberry, raspberry) drinks. In Turkey, merchants walk right along the streets and sell tea in cups. In addition, there are special stalls and shops in the markets where tea leaves are sold by weight so that you can feel the aroma and only after that buy.

Turks also quench their thirst with ayran - their national milk drink, which is made from yogurt.

As for alcohol, in Turkey it is not as popular as the same tea or coffee, because the country is Muslim. Only semi-sweet or dry wines are found here, which are consumed exclusively on holidays, and crayfish - Turkish vodka diluted with water.

Names of popular Turkish dishes

We will share the names of popular Turkish dishes with you and give them a brief description so that when you meet them in the menu of restaurants or cafes, you will already be aware of whose dish is in front of you. Perhaps after that you also decide to try to cook these dishes at home.

Name	Description
First meal
Arabashi Chorbasy	This is a soup made with meat chicken broth, the peculiarity of which is that it is served not with ordinary bread, but with a special dough that must be eaten with the dish itself with a spoon.
Ishkembe Chorbasy	A dish based on offal of beef or lamb. Put garlic with onions, if desired, season with citrus juice (lemon or orange) or diluted vinegar essence.
Merdzhimek Chorbasy	Soup, which is boiled with red lentils, herbs and peppers (also supplemented with other vegetable products).
Tarkhana Chorbasy	The dish, the basis of which is tarkhana - dried and chopped tomatoes together with peppers and onions, combined with yeast and flour.
Shekhrieli Yesil Merjimek Chorbasy	Lentil vermicelli soup.
Ezogelin Chorbasy	The dish is prepared with tomatoes, bulgur (wheat), red lentils, rice groats, tomatoes or pasta. Also called "Bride's Soup".
Yayla Chorbasy	The peculiarity is that the dish is seasoned with yogurt. Ingredients: rice groats, butter, mint.
Meat dishes
adana kebab	Minced meat, which is fried on skewers along with hot chili peppers.
Dener kebab	Grilled meat stuffed with vegetables and spices.
Iskender kebab	This is lamb meat with flatbread. As a sauce, a mixture of tomato paste, olive oil, yogurt is used.
	Cutlets or meatballs of small sizes from any meat product.
	This is meat pilaf with vegetables from rice, wheat, achma or other cereals, which is stewed in a cauldron.
	Meat and vegetable cubes that are baked in the oven.
Shish kebab	Meat with tomatoes and peppers, which is fried on the grill or on the fire. Kebab.
Antep ezmesi	Chopped onion with pepper, parsley and mint, dressed with lemon-olive sauce with tomato paste, red pepper paste.
	Appetizer of cucumbers, garlic, pepper, mint, seasoned with yoghurt sauce with lemon juice, olive oil.
Karidesh guvech	A dish that consists of oven-baked shrimp, tomatoes and chopped garlic.
Berek cigar	Fried or baked dough sausages stuffed with cheese and parsley.
Fyrynda mantar	Mushrooms baked in sauce stuffed with different types of cheeses.
Havuch ezmesi	Carrot-pepper cream seasoned with yogurt mixture with olive oil, lemon juice.
	Creamy snack consisting of brynza, yogurt, sugar and mint.
	Vegetable (tomatoes, onions, cucumbers) with bulgur (wheat) and nuts.
Patlydzhan	Eggplant salad with garlic dressed with chopped parsley olive oil.
	From beans, tomatoes, eggs, onions. Sauce - olive oil, sesame paste, lemon juice, grape vinegar, bean paste.
	Arugula, which is fried together with meat (chicken).
	Tomato-cucumber with onion, cheese and pepper.
	Bagels stuffed with a mixture of cheese, herbs and spices.
	Flatbread with different fillings (cheese-spinach, meat, vegetable, cottage cheese).
Lahmacun	Thin flatbread sprinkled with minced meat, vegetable slices, seasonings. It's similar to pizza.
	"Boat" with cheese filling and onions, tomatoes, herbs.
	Yeast-baked tortilla with meat, vegetable, cheese filling.
	Sesame bagels.
	Turkish analogue of the usual white bread.
Sweets
Quince tatlysy	Boiled quince in syrup served with cream.
	Puff pastry, where chopped nuts are placed between each layer, and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds on top.
Jeserie	Fruit and pomegranate juice jelly, carrot syrup and pistachios.
Tatlysy Tavern	Candied pumpkin, boiled in pieces.
	Cookies with jam or jam inside. Can be baked without filling.
	Dough balls fried in butter or cream and drizzled with sweet syrup.
	Sugar-honey cubes with pistachios, dried fruits, coconut or nuts.
	Nut or pistachio flour sweetness in syrup.
	A delicacy in the form of grape juice syrup.
	Pie with semolina in syrup.
	Rice porridge cooked in milk with vanilla.
	Sweetness from dough in syrup without filling in the form of a cylinder.
	Sugar paste made from sesame seeds with cocoa powder.
	Yogurt-based drink.
	A mass of yeast, sugar and millet that ferments to form a sweet drink.
	A drink that is obtained by brewing ground coffee or beans. With or without sugar.
	This is the alcoholic drink of the Turkish nation. "Vodka" from anise, which is diluted with mineral water.
Salgam (shalgam)	Bitter-sour drink based on turnip.
Salep (salip)	A milk drink that is consumed hot.
	Drinking from different varieties of tea, which is brewed fresh.
	Grape juice.
	Turkish wine.

Now you know what Turkish cuisine is like, what are the features of such foods and drinks. You can safely try to cook or enjoy in restaurants, cafes. Everyone is satisfied with the taste, so be sure to reproduce at home one of the step-by-step photo recipes given on this page.

National dishes during the trip help to get acquainted with a new culture. In Turkey, the food is varied. From sweet baklava and ayran to delicious pickles and Turkish coffee.

Turkish cuisine is known for its endless breadth of flavors that come from herbs and spices. Such as: mint, parsley, cinnamon, cumin, garlic, dill. Remarkably, even with a lot of spices, the Turks are able to maintain balance.

Not sure what you should definitely try in Turkey? Check out our selection of national dishes. Remember the names and view from the photo.

Worried about gaining weight while traveling? Burn calories while walking around the city and admiring its magnificent sights.

Turkish breakfast

KahvaltI | Kahvalty

A Turkish breakfast will turn even an avid owl into a cheerful person. Freshly baked bread with honey and Turkish whipped cream (or kaymak), rose and fig marmalade jam, sheep's milk, tomatoes and cucumbers drizzled with olive oil are the standard morning meal.

Menemen | menemen

Turkish omelet or menemen. In this dish, eggs are lightly beaten in butter with onions, tomatoes and green peppers. Tomatoes are boiled into porridge to give the omelet a piquant taste.

Top 5 main courses

Kebab | Kebab

Kebab, the cornerstone of modern Turkish cuisine. Means "cooked on charcoal" and includes a variety of dishes. For example, kestan kebabs are roasted chestnuts sold in paper bags by street vendors.

- the most famous, invented by Iskender Efendi from Bursa in 1867. Razor-thin slices of lamb stewed in yogurt, tomato sauce and butter.

Adana kebab- named after the city of Adana, one of the famous "kebab cities" of Turkey. The traditional adana kebab is made with young lamb carefully minced and mixed with a fat tail and red pepper. Tail fat prevents the meat from drying out during cooking. Spicy with red pepper.

Doner kebab- translates as "revolving barbecue". A giant piece of meat, roasted vertically with rotation.

The most popular option in Istanbul is a mixture of lamb and beef.

There are several ways to serve doner kebab - on a plate with onions, tomatoes, pickles and yogurt; rolled into a cake; and by itself, without side dishes.

shish kebab- Shish kebab, a dish of small pieces of lamb, sliced ​​on a spit and cooked over an open fire. The name comes from the Turkish SİŞ - spit or skewer, + kebab - lamb or lamb.

KarnIyarIk | Karnyyaryk

Juicy, baked eggplants stuffed with minced beef, onion fried in oil, garlic, tomatoes, fresh parsley. Seasoned with a fragrant mixture of Turkish spices.

Karnıyarık literally translates as "split belly". Because the little purple eggplants are halved and then stuffed.

Kofte | Jacket

Kofte consists of meat, onions and spices. Meat can be anything - beef, lamb, pork, chicken. Roast the meat balls over charcoal to keep the taste of smoke.

Cig köfte| Gif jacket

Çiğ köfte are spicy balls made with bulgur, onion, pepper, tomato paste, spices and herbs. Served on a lettuce leaf.

Nohut pilav | Pilaf with chickpeas

Delicious, buttery! According to Turkish - ordinary rice cooked in water with oil is pilaf. It is also prepared with eggplant, chickpeas, meat or liver pieces with thyme, pepper, cinnamon and almonds.

The best soups

Mercimek CorbasI | Lentil soup

Simple yet delicious Turkish Lentil Soup, or "Mercimek Corbasi" as the locals call it, is a puree of lentils and spices. Garnished with cilantro and lemon slice.

Inexpensive, hearty meal. Widely available in most restaurants and eateries.

Yayla corbasI | yogurt soup

Translated into Russian, it sounds like mountain soup. Very nutritious. Everyone will love it, especially the kids. Main ingredients: yogurt and eggs.

Tarhana corbasi | Soup tarkhana

Tarkhana soup has many cooking variations. The most delicious is considered with the addition of garlic.

Rumor has it that the Sultan was once a guest at a villager's house and a poor family offered their soup to the Sultan. He was delighted with the soup and called it: "Dar soup - homemade soup." Soup, from now on, adorned the table of the sultans. They began to call him "Darkhane", and over time "Tarkhana". Very nutritious.

delicious pastries

Simit | Simit

Simit is a loop-shaped bread topped with sesame seeds.

The bun appeared at the beginning of the 16th century. Today it is a breakfast staple and a popular, cheap street food.

Lahmacun | Turkish pizza

The base is a thin flatbread to which minced beef or lamb, vegetables, herbs and spices are added. Lahmacun is good as a snack - at any time of the day.

There are several varieties of lamakun on the gourmet market, but among the favorites are garlic, with red chili flakes, crunchy.

pide | Pide | pita

Pide is a flat bread baked with filling in a stone oven.

Pide must be baked in a brick or stone oven. The filling includes: cheese, onions, peppers, tomatoes, sausage, eggs, mushrooms, ground beef, parsley. Can be bought on the street.

Gozleme | Gözleme

Gözleme It is a thin dough filled with cheese, meat or vegetables. Grilled on a domed grill.

Turkish fast food Gözleme is the perfect on-the-go snack. The salty Turkish flatbread is made from hand-rolled dough and filled with various toppings. This is something you must definitely try in Turkey.

Appetizers and salads

Hummus | Hummus

A creamy, thick paste made primarily from mashed chickpeas and a few other healthy ingredients that has become popular around the world.

Ev AcIkasI | Ev askasi

In Russian, this is adjika. Prepared from red pepper and walnut. Usually eaten for breakfast and has the consistency of tomato paste.

PatlIcan SalatasI | eggplant salad

Colorful and tasty salad. Combines the taste of red pepper and eggplant. Prepared by baking, slicing and mixing all the ingredients.

mezze | meze

Mezes are small plates of appetizers served hot or cold, often with fish.

The variety of meze is endless. Vegetarian, meat, fish. Served hot and cold. One of the most famous mezes is dolma (stuffed grape leaves). Popular - cheese, peppers, fresh green beans cooked in olive oil.

Piyaz | Piyaz

Piyaz is a cold white bean salad with onions, tomatoes and olive oil.

This refreshing salad is usually served with grilled Turkish meatballs called Köfte. It refreshes the mouth after burning meat.

street food

Kozde MIsIr | roasted corn

You can't help but see the smoke rising and the smell of freshly cooked corn in Istanbul. Classic street food. Turkish vendors really know how to roast corn on the cob perfectly.

Kestane | Roasted chestnuts

Kestane - roasted chestnuts. Sold on the street on mobile fry carts.

A popular snack among people wandering the streets of Istanbul. Wherever you live, walking the streets, be sure to meet them.

Balik ekmek | Balyk ekmek

Balık ekmek, or fish in bread, is a grilled fish fillet sandwich often served as street food in Istanbul.

Crispy bun or thin pita bread with freshly fried mackerel. The sandwich is complemented by: Onion, lettuce, tomato, parsley leaf. The sauce is lemon juice and salt.

In Istanbul, look for street vendors near any ferry station. Or in Sirkeci to the left of the Galata Bridge. There are a number of vendors who cook on the grill and sell fresh fish bread every day.

Kokoreç | Kokorech

Kokoreç are lamb or goat intestines roasted on a spit with herbs and spices.

Considered "street food" so you'll find it in many busy shopping areas.

The intestines are naturally chewy, so Kokorech cut into small pieces and mixed with thyme, oregano, salt, pepper, fresh tomatoes and parsley. The mixture is then added to a bun to form a sandwich.

Kumpir | Potato

A huge baked potato is cut down the middle. It is generously smeared with butter and cheese. Stuffed with a variety of salads, vegetables and meat products.

Potatoes are used as takeaway food in a small plastic box. Great for dinner by the sea.

Doner Durum | Doner durum

Dürüm is a Turkish word meaning wrap. The dish consists of meat with vegetables wrapped in pita bread.

Fancy Desserts

Baklava | Baklava

Baklava is a Turkish dessert made from thin dough with nuts and thick sugar syrup.

Sweet, rich, too good! Layers of puff pastry are topped with finely chopped nuts and sealed with syrup. The dessert comes from the Ottoman Empire. You can find it on almost every corner of Turkey. This is a classic and definitely one of the foods you must try in Turkey.

Dondurma | Dondurma

Looks like regular ice cream. But Dondurma has a texture unlike any other ice cream in the world. The ingredients used make it resistant to melting and give it a chewy texture. Dondurma vendors are known for putting on spectacular shows, spinning giant masses of ice cream on long sticks and playfully flipping cups upside down.

Tavuk goğsu | Tavuk-gyoksu

It means "chicken breast" in Turkish.

The bird is indeed the signature ingredient of this sweet white pudding, which was a delicacy in the palaces of the Ottoman Empire. According to legend, it arose when the Sultan asked for something sweet in the middle of the night, and the palace cooks, not wanting to disappoint, used the only thing they had in the kitchen: chicken.

Tavuk gyoksu is made by boiling white chicken breast until it is shredded into fine threads. Then it is mixed with milk, sugar and a thickener. The finished mixture is cut into rectangles or rolled into a log sprinkled with cinnamon.

The taste is sweet and rich, with a creamy, fibrous texture. It is noteworthy that the dish does not taste like chicken.

Sutlac | Syutlach

Sütlaç is a Turkish serving of rice pudding. Each portion is separately baked in the oven.

The milk is boiled with rice, sugar, and vanilla to make a thick broth that is placed in bowls and baked until brown on top. Serve chilled as a dessert.

This sweet rice pudding has remained virtually unchanged for many centuries and remains a favorite of Turkish sweets.

Kunefe | Künefe

Kunefe is an ancient dessert with a history dating back to the 10th century.

Warm, crispy, sweet, cheesy, thick, crumbly and slightly savory. Sprinkled with chopped pistachio nuts. This delicious Turkish dessert is reminiscent of a cheese pie.

Tulumba tatlIsI | Dessert Tulumba

Fried unleavened dough soaked in syrup. It has an ovoid shape with protrusions 3-4 cm long. The dough contains starch and semolina, which makes it light and crispy.

This is a popular street food. Prepared by sellers right on the spot and served warm. You will also find it in many restaurants.

Beverages

Ayran | Airan

Ayran is a salty drink made from diluted yogurt and salt.

This is a very simple and very tasty drink that is served everywhere throughout Turkey.

A drink that is smooth in texture and frothy on top is called achik ayran. The variety sold in individual containers is called dripping ayran.

Turks love ayran, making a million tons of white every year.

salep | Salep

Winter drink. Consists of hot milk combined with spices and rare orchid-based flour, which thickens the milk and gives it a calming effect.

Salep flour is made from the tubers of the purple orchid and is used in many Turkish dishes. One of its most popular uses is for Turkish dondurma ice cream.

The tubers of wild orchids are washed, boiled, dried and finally ground into flour. Salep's healing power comes from glucomannan, which treats respiratory conditions such as bronchitis and coughs. It strengthens the heart and mind, stops diarrhea and warms the body. Especially if it is used with ginger or cinnamon.

Boza

Boza is one of the oldest Turkish drinks. Produced from fermented grains. In Turkey, durum wheat is mainly used, while in other countries, corn, barley, rye, oats, wheat, buckwheat… Contains nutrients such as protein, calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin.

Bosa has a thick consistency and a low alcohol content (usually around 1%). The taste is slightly sour and sweet. Served with cinnamon and roasted chickpeas, especially during the winter months.

Elma Cayı | apple tea

Apple tea, the most delicious. There is no shortage of this warm, sweet nectar of the Gods. You will find it in almost every cafe, restaurant. Tea is a big part of Turkish hospitality. Even shop owners sit down for a cup of tea with their customers. This is a good selling technique.

We hope that our selection with names and photos of dishes will help make your gastronomic tour memorable.