Battery Turkish dish. Turkish national dishes - What you must try. Meze

Turkish cuisine is a symbiosis of traditions of different peoples of the world. Over the centuries, it has been formed under the influence of the cultures of the Middle East, Asia Minor and Central Asia and the Mediterranean. The most popular dishes of local gastronomy are meat dishes, the king of which can be called kebab. There are more than a dozen different types of kabab in Turkey, and their recipes differ depending on the region.

Tourists with a sweet tooth will be pleased with the countless variety of traditional sweets - Turkish delight, halva, baklava - for every taste and pocket.

Every traveler should try Turkish coffee or tea in Turkey from small glasses resembling shot glasses, a simit bagel, Turkish stuffed mussels, and lahmacun - a kind of pizza.

Let's take a closer look at these dishes...

The culinary culture of a society is always inextricably linked with the way of life of the people. National cuisine necessarily reflects the traditions and customs of the people, culinary preferences develop and change along with the development of society, and therefore it is not surprising that modern Turkish cuisine, which has absorbed and preserved the best over the long centuries of the existence of various civilizations on Turkish soil, today can surprise even the most spoiled gourmet.

Many centuries ago, the Turks, like many other peoples, led a nomadic lifestyle, dependent on agriculture and animal husbandry. Moving across the vast expanses of Central Asia, they met various animals and new plants characteristic of other regions, and over the centuries, the national Turkish cuisine was enriched not only with new products, but also with new methods of cooking.

In the Ottoman Empire, food was always elevated to cult. In the Istanbul palace in the 17th century there were about 13 thousand cooks at a time, and each of them specialized in preparing only one dish. Every day, 10 thousand people dined in the palace, and the city nobility, as a sign of special favor, received baskets of food from the palace as a gift.

Not only Islam with its restrictions (the ban on eating pork and alcohol, fasting during Ramadan, etc.) had a strong influence on Turkish cuisine. At different historical times, in Turkish cuisine, as in the entire Turkish culture, other peoples who lived in Turkey also left their mark: Persians, Greeks, Assyrians, Seljuks, Arabs, Kurds, Turks, Armenians... Therefore, modern Turkish cuisine can be considered part of Mediterranean cuisine - in some ways it is similar to both Greek and Balkan.

The Turks learned to properly store food, thereby adding variety to their diet during the winter months. As a result of this evolution, today Turkish cuisine offers us such a variety of dishes that even the longest trip would not be enough to try them all.

The peculiarity of Turkish cuisine is that it is impossible to single out one dominant dish, such as pasta in Italy or sauces in France - the national Turkish cuisine is distinguished by the diversity and uniqueness of the menu. Thanks to the great abundance of dishes offered, variations in their recipes, reflecting regional characteristics, and their original taste, Turkish cuisine, according to experts, occupies third place among all national cuisines of the world, second only to French and Chinese.

Most Turkish dishes are a healthy and well-balanced combination of ingredients. Dolma and sarma (these are stuffed vegetables), lentil soups, meat with vegetables, rice or wheat cereal (bulgur) and, finally, yogurt, which is served with almost all of these dishes - this menu will please everyone. In Turkish cuisine, meat stewed with vegetables is always served with rice or wheat pilaf.

Turkish pastries are made from unleavened or yeast dough, which may include eggs, milk, yogurt, vegetable oil and flour, and sometimes spices and seasonings are added. To fill products made from such dough in Turkish cuisine, meat, cheese or vegetables seasoned with aromatic herbs are usually used.

Yogurt-based soups in Turkish cuisine are prepared from various grains with the addition of meat and legumes, they are also very tasty and healthy. Various types of legumes are combined in dishes with meat, vegetables and cereals. Pilaf in Turkish cuisine is prepared with meat, chicken, fish and vegetables. Vegetable pilafs often serve as a side dish, and it is customary to serve them with ayran (yogurt diluted with water) or tzatzik. Juicy and aromatic kebabs are prepared with vegetables and served with vegetable pilaf, Turkish bread and ayran.

And, of course, the pinnacle of the culinary traditions of Turkish cuisine are desserts, without which Turkish cuisine is simply unthinkable. The main desserts in Turkish cuisine are fruits and berries, which are eaten fresh or dried and from which jams and preserves are prepared. And the famous oriental sweets are baklava, lokma, muhallebi, marmalade, Turkish delight, halva, marzipan... The list of desserts of Turkish cuisine is endless!

A European traveling through Turkey will definitely notice how leisurely the Turks are when it comes to food. A typical lunch in Turkey can last 4 – 5 hours. Turks never eat alone or snack on the go. Every lunch in Turkey can seem like a real oriental feast to a tourist, and it doesn’t matter where exactly you dine - in an expensive restaurant or a small cafe, visiting a simple Turk or in the house of a local rich man - delicious dishes of Turkish cuisine, prepared with skill and love from the freshest and highest quality products appear on the table, as in an oriental fairy tale, surprising with their variety and tempting with their aroma.

Burekas or otherwise “cigar börek” is a puff pastry product made in the shape of a cigar and stuffed with white cheese and herbs.

By the way, if you literally translate the name of this dish from Turkish, you get “Crack in the stomach” (Turkish: Karnıyarık)

Among the main snack - dolma (grape leaves stuffed with rice and minced meat), borek, fried zucchini, eggplant. Eggplant is a separate story, local restaurateurs and housewives love it so much. Eggplants are fried, baked in the oven, stewed, served as an appetizer, side dish, and often as a main dish. They are served alone or with other vegetables, as well as with bread, yogurt, meat or variations of all of the above.

Very popular soup (in Turkish « chorba» ), especially lentil and yogurt based soups. Turkish giblet soup is also good. The main distinguishing property of national soups is their consistency - as a rule, we are talking about thick soups (puree soups).

Be sure to try it imam bayaldi – a delicious dish of baked eggplant stuffed with tomatoes, sweet peppers and herbs, with the addition of garlic paste, onions, nuts and spices. Serve cold or lukewarm. According to legend, the imam who tried this delicacy experienced such bliss that he fainted (hence the name of the dish).

Eating duck fetuses at speed (the impressionable DO NOT ENTER) The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

When you come to Turkey, forget about fast food chains. National Turkish cuisine is tasty and varied. On the Turkish cuisine menu you will find a mixture of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan culinary traditions.

That’s why it’s so difficult to narrow down all the variety to a short list of must-try food items in Turkey. But I still tried to highlight the main and most delicious dishes that Turks cook and eat at home and in restaurants.

Turkish breakfasts

Turkish breakfast food is a little different from European food. Instead of coffee, it is customary to drink tea in the morning. Often a vegetable plate with chopped tomatoes and/or cucumbers is served for breakfast. People eat white bread, but recently trends in healthy eating have reached Turkey; now you can choose grain bread made from rye or other grains for breakfast.

White cheese similar to feta, old cheese ( kaş ar peyniri), olives or black olives ( zeytin), butter, honey, jam, omelette or boiled eggs ( yumurta) are the main components of a Turkish breakfast.

You can also eat for tomorrow sucuklu yumurta And bö rek. Sucuklu yumurta is a dried beef sausage with garlic and spices (red pepper, cumin and sumac). Sujuklu fried in a frying pan along with eggs, it turns out greasy, but very tasty. Bö rek(burek or burek) – it is a thin sheet of dough stuffed with cheese, minced meat and/or vegetables, fried or baked.

Miniman/menimen (Menemen) - very tasty Turkish omelette. Fried onions and peppers are stewed with tomatoes, and then poured with eggs, sprinkled with herbs and ground pepper.

National Turkish vegetable food

Turkey grows a lot of vegetables, which is noticeably reflected in local dishes. If you are a vegetarian, then it is important for you to know that Turkish dishes that do not contain meat are called zeytin yağ lı , cooked in olive oil. As a rule, these dishes are served cold. Here are the best vegetable dishes in Turkey:

Sarma (Yaprak Sarma) - grape leaves stuffed with rice, onions and spices (mint, currants, pepper and cinnamon).
Dolma (Dolma) - Fresh or dried eggplants, peppers, tomatoes or zucchini stuffed with rice, onions and spices.
Taze Fasulye- beans or chickpeas (chickpeas) stewed with tomatoes or tomato paste and onions.
Dzhadzhik (Cacı k) - refreshing Turkish soup. It is prepared from finely chopped cucumbers, sour cream, garlic and mint. On a hot summer day it is served with ice cubes.

Turks love meat very much, and therefore all the dishes listed above, except for the last soup, can also be found in a meat version.

Turkish meat dishes

Karniyaryk (Karnı yarı k) - fried eggplants with minced meat, onions, parsley, garlic and tomato filling. This dish is definitely worth trying. To make sure it's of good quality, look for eggplants. The dark color of the skin should not be transferred to the peeled pulp, and the meat should not be dark and dry.
Lahmajun (Lahmacun) - Turkish pizza with meat, onions and spices on thin puff pastry. Served with tomatoes and salad. Many people prefer to squeeze lemon juice onto the lahmacun, roll it up and eat it like a Mexican taco. Authentic Turkish street food.
Kuru Fasulye (Kurufasulye) - dry beans. Turks simply love legumes. This national dish of Turkey is usually served with slices of dried beef ( pastı rma), rice (sade pilav), pickles and sauerkraut turş u.

The most famous national dishes of Turkish cuisine

Kebab (Kebap) - this is meat skewered and grilled over coals - a familiar shish kebab. Usually lamb, beef or chicken are fried. There are a huge number of varieties of kebab in Turkey, I advise you to try the popular Iskander kebab.
Dener (Dö ner) - shawarma or shawarma. This is meat roasted on a spit with salad, local herbs and spices.
Kofte (Kö fte) - cutlets or meatballs of various shapes and sizes. Minced meat is lamb or mutton with boiled bread, onions and spices. The most popular dish with cutlets is Izgara Köfte. In it, the meat is grilled along with green pepper, parsley and dry red pepper and served with rice or bread.
Manta rays (Mantı ) – very tasty Turkish dumplings. The ingredients are simple dough, meat (beef or lamb), onion, salt and pepper.

Popular Turkish side dishes

Pilav (Pilav) - There are many options for preparing pilaf in national Turkish cuisine. This is not quite pilaf, although it is based on rice, and these two words are consonant. The most popular pilaf in Turkish cuisine is sade pilav. It's just rice boiled in water with vegetable oil and small şehriye noodles. Typically, rice is mixed with eggplant, chickpeas, meat or pieces of liver and, of course, spices: cinnamon, pepper, thyme, cumin and even almonds.

Bulgur pilaf (Bulgur Pilavı) – at first glance it seems that this Turkish dish is just a plate of boiled rice, but in fact it is wheat. Most often it is prepared with fried onions, green peppers, tomato paste and mint.

Fried vegetables– fried eggplant, green peppers and zucchini with tomato sauce or sour cream is one of the best dishes. There are a lot of options for Turkish food made from fried vegetables, choose any combination to suit your taste.

Mujver (Mü cver) - zucchini, eggs and flour - this is the whole composition of very tasty Turkish potato pancakes. Mujver is prepared with white cheese, green onions and mint, lightly fried in olive oil and served as a side dish.

Meze (Meze) - a set of snacks that are often served along with raki or other alcoholic drinks. Restaurants that specialize in serving meze are called meyhane. Most often, the waiter comes to the table and presents all the meze options on a large platter, and you can choose according to your taste.

Sweet Turkish desserts

Kunefe (Kü nefe) - This is a traditional Arabic cheese pastry. Unsalted cheese is placed between two layers of dough made from a simple mixture of water and flour. Kunefe is served warm and soaked in syrup. The dessert is sprinkled with pistachios on top. The sensations and taste are very unusual. On one side there is crispy dough, on the other there is soft cheese soaked in sweet syrup.

Baklava (Baklava) - another Turkish dessert with a simple set of ingredients (dough, nuts and syrup), but very tasty. The decisive factor is how thin the layers of dough are. Whether walnuts, hazelnuts or pistachios will be in your baklava depends on the region where you try it.

Street food in Turkey

Street food culture is very common in Turkey. In Istanbul, small street food stalls can be found on every corner. Most often these are national dishes of Turkey, which you are already familiar with from this article. I decided to once again list the names separately so that you know what you can eat inexpensively while exploring Turkey.

Hot food

Kebab and doner(kebabs and shawarma) are the main representatives of Turkish street food.

Borek– flatbread with various fillings: ı spanaklı bö rek(with spinach), peynirli bö rek(with cheese), kı ymalı bö rek(with minced meat) and patatesli bö rek(with potato).

Pide ( Pide ) - stuffed dough boat. Kaş arlı Pide(with cheese) and Sucuklu Pide(with cheese and hot sauce) are the most popular types of pide.

Pizza Lahmajun (Lahmacun)

Mizir (Mısır )– Boiled or grilled corn on the cob. It is salted or sprinkled with spices and sold during the summer months.

Chestnuts ( Kestane )– and in winter, instead of corn, trays of roasted chestnuts appear everywhere.

Balyk ekmek ( Bal ı k ekmek ) – literally translated as “fish in bread”, which is exactly what it is. Before your eyes, the seller fries the fish and stuffs it into a large bun.

Cold street food

Simit ( Simit ) – a crispy, round salty bagel covered with sesame seeds. There are 2 main variants of simit: sokak simit– sold on the streets, very crispy and pastane simit– sold in stores, softer.

Achma ( A ç ma )– a round bun, one might say, a donut. Very tasty, but oily.

Pogača ( Po ğ a ç a ) - delicious crumbly cookies. There are options without filling - sade, or with filling: peynirli – cheese, kı ymalı - chopped meat, zeytinli– olives cut into pieces.

Carefully

While you wander the streets of Istanbul or other cities, you will come across these two Turkish dishes more than once. They are very tasty, but should be purchased with caution on sunlit streets.

Dolma from mussels (Midye dolma) – stuffed mussels. They are very tasty, I recommend eating them in restaurants.

Kokorec ( Kokore ç )– grilled sheep's offal (guts, heart, etc.) with a bunch of spices. A very popular snack after a stormy night or with alcohol. From the outside, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish which is shawarma and which is kokorech. Fortunately, shawarma is cooked on a vertical spit, and kokorech on a horizontal one.

One of the richest cuisines in the world, thanks to the huge variety of dishes and unique taste characteristics.
Over the centuries, it has developed along with the culture and traditions of Turkey, originating from the nomadic Turkic tribes. And here it gets even more interesting, inHowever, Turkic cuisine was 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 what is permitted (halal) and what is prohibited (haram). This cuisine uses a lot of hot and aromatic spices, with the main emphasis on meat and vegetables.
Now you can imagine how diverse a cuisine can be if it mixes the traditions of such a large number of nationalities.

TURKISH CUISINE DISHES

Among the national dishes you can find anything - from simple salads and appetizers 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 (made from wheat), gray (millet) and black (the so-called somun - Bulgarian bread). As a rule, they are most often baked in villages according to their own recipes. Bread products can be bought at the market or during 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 anything you like. Sesame or poppy seeds are used for decoration. Their peculiarity is that they are prepared without yeast, so they require a minimum of time to prepare.
Pete
A thick flatbread made from yeast dough, served with your choice of vegetables, cheese, and meat baked in it. You can often find pita in small eateries.
Gözleme
One of the types of flatbread made from the thinnest dough (yufka). The filling is a mixture of cheese with parsley or spinach, cottage cheese or minced meat can also be used - the choice is great. It is considered a rustic dish due to its ease of preparation.
Simit
Bagels sprinkled with sesame seeds. The most popular baked goods, sold on every corner.
Lahmajun
Turkish pizza. This is a thin flatbread with minced meat, finely chopped vegetables and spices wrapped inside. The taste can be spicy or regular.
Pide
A flatbread resembling the shape of a boat, inside which lies a whole “battalion” of products: minced beef and lamb, tomatoes, red, green and hot peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, cheese, spices. It looks very beautiful and appetizing.
Gol Tatlysy
Translated from Turkish - sweet roses. And this is really so - delicate roses made from shortcrust pastry, poured with aromatic 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 shape of flowers.
Cheese Pie
A similar pie is found among many Caucasian peoples. In Ossetia there is the famous Ossetian pie, in Georgia - achma. He also did not pass by Turkey. The pie is prepared without yeast, filled 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, spread in a thin layer, beautifully sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Shekerpare
Another type of oriental cookies. Made from shortcrust pastry (with the addition of semolina), topped with sherbet and decorated with nuts and coconut flakes. Served on plates with unsweetened tea.
You can continue ad infinitum.

Kebab

A completely separate category of Turkish dishes, known and consumed all over the world. Translated from Persian as “fried meat”. Several types of kebabs are prepared.
Adana kebab
The most popular in the country. It consists of rolls of hotly peppered minced lamb, fried on a spit. It has this name in honor of its homeland - the city of Adana. Served inside a flatbread, with tomatoes, herbs, and onions.
Iskender kebab
Second in polarity. Lamb meat is roasted on a spit, in tomato sauce, with yogurt and ghee. The kebab comes from the city of Bursa.
Döner
No less famous food here in Europe. Interestingly, at first it was rice with salad. Nowadays this is an indispensable snack - chicken, beef or lamb meat, various vegetables are placed in a flatbread cut into 2 parts, all this is poured with hot sauce and sprinkled with spices.
Shish kebab
National kebab - lamb fried on a skewer, with sweet peppers and tomatoes.

Turkish meat dishes

Kofte
From Persian it means “to beat meat.” Known in 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 this is minced beef or lamb meat, with spices and onions, shaped like cutlets. Then they are either fried on the grill in a frying pan, or boiled in a pan and 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 is similar to pilaf. From Turkish - “cool rice porridge”. Yes, this is a local version of pilaf, prepared 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”. That’s right - these are boiled pieces of meat (lamb, beef), with onions, carrots, potatoes, red and green peppers and olive oil. Serve with lemon quarters and pour it over the dish.
Turkish cutlets
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, pepper, parsley and onion. Fried in a frying pan.
Mersimek - lentil cutlets fried in tomato paste, onions and spices. They are served on lettuce leaves.
Dolma
Grape leaves, or vegetables (peppers, cabbage), stuffed with minced meat and boiled rice, with onions, herbs and spices. In our opinion, these are stuffed cabbage rolls.
There are different types of dolma: grape, onion, eggplant. Depends on what the filling will be placed or wrapped in.
Tavykly bezel
Chicken fillet stewed with vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions, green peas). An excellent side dish 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 quite a lot of them. The most famous:
Tarkhan 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 tripe with the addition of garlic.
Sehriye 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 include cheese, olives, beef sausage, etc.
Patlyjan saladasy
Consists of fried eggplants, from which the skin is then removed. After that, they are crushed, turning into puree, salt, garlic, parsley, and olives are added. oil.
Choban
This salad is prepared from sweet peppers, tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers, and onions.
Rock
Our usual arugula, only here fried chicken pieces are added to it.
Kysyr
Vegetable salad (onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, all types of peppers), seasoned with cinnamon, ground pepper, to which bulgur is added - a special grain made from steamed dried wheat. The salad is served on the table in the form of a small ball, decorated with lemon, mint and lettuce.

Vegetable dishes

Tavern Yemeji
A zucchini dish, which includes zucchini, tomatoes, rice, herbs, olive oil, spices. Served with a sauce made from yogurt.
Imam bayaldi
Vegetable stew of tomatoes, eggplants, honey, parsley, mint, garlic, nutmeg, hot pepper, onions. The cooking method is quite original: a mixture of the above products is placed in eggplants shaped like boats, and 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 snacks. Drinks are usually placed next to them.
Meze - from Turkish “taste”, “snack”.

Cold appetizers
Cold snacks include all kinds of creams, most often yogurt-based.
Haidari
Yogurt mixture, to which cheese, sugar, a little mint, lemon juice and olive oil are added.
Antep ezmesi
Spicy, made from chopped green and red peppers, tomato paste, onions, lemon juice, parsley and salt. A favorite dish in the eastern part of the country.
Dzhadzhik
Yogurt-based snack - with cucumber, mint, garlic. Especially good in hot weather.
The dish is very similar to the Greek one - “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.
Avukma
Summer eggplant salad, with peppers, cucumbers, feta cheese, seasoned with herbs and sesame seeds.
Havuch
Yogurt cream - with grated carrots, lemon juice, pepper, olive oil, salt.
Sarma
Rice (with tomato paste, various herbs, onions, olive oil, seasonings, garlic), wrapped in grape leaves.
In addition to the above, Turkish meze is white cheese, walnuts, melon, cold eggplant and artichoke salad.
Pepperoni - red and green hot peppers, olives (especially black), and pickled vegetables are very famous.

Hot appetizers
The most famous of the hot ones are:
Karidesh güvech
Shrimp baked in a pot - with tomatoes, spices, garlic, butter.
Cigar börek
Originally shaped tubes made from the finest dough, filled with cheese, fried on both sides in a frying pan. A very tasty dish.
Fyrynda mantar
Champignon mushrooms - in sauce, with 2 types of cheese. Baked in the oven.

Turkish sweets

Türkiye has always been famous for its wide variety of sweet dishes. They are considered one of the most delicious in the East.
Sutlach 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 hot weather!
Baklava or baklava
A sweet that is most popular not only in the country, but throughout the world. Made from rice dough. It is poured with syrup made from sugar and lemon, or with hot honey and water. Filling: ground pistachios, walnuts, cloves, cinnamon, powdered sugar.
Tulumba
Cylinder-shaped tubes with openwork ribs, soaked in sugar syrup. The dish is served to the table when it has cooled.
Yrmyk Helvasy
Halva made from semolina, poured with milk and sugar syrup, sprinkled with cinnamon.
Turkish Delight
Translated from Arabic it means “sweetness for the throat.” Sugar or honey cubes - with dried coconuts, fruits, various nuts. They come in different fruit flavors.
Helva
Dessert made from sesame paste and sugar, using cocoa powder.
Revani
Rastegay baked from semolina, drizzled with sugar syrup. Cut into diamonds.
Pekmez
Grape syrup is best known in the Cappadocia region.
Quince Tatlysy
Quince divided into two parts, boiled in syrup broth. Served chilled, with sour cream (kaimak).
Gulyach
A delicacy made from rice dough, with milk, seasoned with ground walnuts. It is decorated with pomegranate seeds (made during the holy month of Ramadan).
Nath
Honey-nut kurabye, soaked in condensed milk - crumbly, very tasty, melts in your mouth.
Meyvili muhallebi
A milk dessert with fresh berries and fruits, sprinkled with cinnamon and grated walnuts - ideal in hot weather.
Lokma
Sweet balls fried in a deep fryer, drizzled with sugar syrup.
Djezerye
Dessert in the form of boiled carrot syrup turned into jelly, pomegranate juice, and pistachios. In addition to carrots, various fruits can be used.
Tavern Tatlysy
A sweet made from pumpkin boiled with sugar.
Ashure
The national dish of the entire country, without which not a single celebration is complete. It has the second name "Noah's dessert".
Familiar to the Turks since ancient times, it is a symbol of the abundance of the Turkish family. Prepared for the month of Thanksgiving. Delicious and very healthy. Once upon a time during the Omani Empire, Ashure was considered a medicine that relieved many diseases.
Ingredients: a mixture of wheat, rice, beans (heat-treated). Dried fruits are added to it: dried apricots, figs, raisins, in addition - orange, various berries, and also starch, sugar and spices. The dessert looks like thickened jelly. Served with cereals and fruit pieces.

Beverages

Turkish coffee
Famous all over the world. Coffee prepared in a Turk (a special container for brewing) is poured into cups according to all traditions. A glass of cold water is served separately.
Turkish tea
Local celebrity - fragrant, delicious. Collected in large quantities from tea plantations in Turkey.
Drinks made from milk
Ayran is very refreshing. Made from sour cow's (goat's or sheep's) milk. Reminds us of the familiar kefir.
Salep is a hot milk drink. It is most often consumed in cool weather.
Salgam is sour and spicy, made from turnips. Distributed in the Adana region. In the southern part of the country it is served with raki and spicy food.
Bosa is a sweetish drink that is the result of fermentation, made 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 still water.
Known alcoholic drinks:
Cancers - a national Turkish drink, which is aniseed “vodka”. Quite strong - from 40 to 70 revolutions. Used everywhere.
Bira - Turkish beer: Efes, Pera, Tekel, Marmara, etc.
Sharap - wine produced in many regions of the country. The best quality wine is in the region of Izmir, Diyarbakir, Eastern Thrace, Cappadocia. Dry wine is very popular among the Turkish population.

You can always try all of 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 won’t be cold at all. This is one of those places that offers the most varied menu of any city in the country. The signature food is lamb shish kebab, 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 lively here. The special feature of the restaurant is a small garden with a pond where fish swim and an aviary with turtles. There is a playground for the youngest guests. Dishes include excellent-tasting meze, vegetables, kebabs, soups, etc. Drinks include 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! Overall the atmosphere here is more than relaxing. The menu includes 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.
"Favori" - the name speaks for itself. If you chose this place, then you are among the favorites. Located in the center of the old town of Kaleici. Oh, how beautiful it is here! Everything says that you have come to Turkey - the atmosphere, the interior. Spacious sofas with soft pillows, all buried in carpets. There is also a peculiarity - the walls are decorated with football posters, since the owner of the establishment is a football fan. The restaurant is truly very warm, cozy, and somehow homely. Before preparing the food, you will be shown what products will be used to prepare the dish.
To Fethiye:
"Kalamaki" - in the old part of the city. A very beautiful, modern room with a unique style. There is a bar downstairs, and a cozy snow-white terrace awaits you on the second floor (rooftop). The restaurant always has a romantic atmosphere, and the most exquisite dishes are served. Varied menu with tours. cuisine, as well as European. There are different types of wines. The waiters provide service at the highest level.
"Mussakka" - a very cozy restaurant. Tables are located inside the building and outside. The view is especially beautiful from the balcony (seats must be reserved in advance), from where you can clearly see the endless sea. The cuisine is replete with its diversity. Kebabs with delicious sauces, vegetables, salads, desserts. We especially recommend trying the 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" - amazingly wonderful oriental atmosphere, wide variety of dishes, friendly staff. Set and a la carte menus are available. Often during lunch they dance a beautiful belly dance here. For those who want to admire the local beauty, there is the opportunity to climb onto the roof, from where you can see the city, mosque, and 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 prepared in the best traditions of the country. The restaurant accepts orders for birthdays, New Years and other celebrations. The service is excellent, very attentive. There is Wi-Fi (free) and a pool table. The restaurant bus can also take you to the hotel for free.
"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 and spices. There are also traditional baked goods, sweets and drinks. Prices are quite reasonable. They serve large portions, beautifully 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!

The national cuisine of Turkey is very diverse 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 pilaf, kebab and baklava. You will find their recipes in today's article.

Main nuances

Native Turks turn every meal into a kind of ritual. All dishes are served in a certain sequence. 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 frying 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 yoghurts.

Turkish eggs

This interesting dish vaguely resembles 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 that 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 omelette is baked in the oven at standard temperature. Before serving, the finished dish can be topped 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 this 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.

The washed lentils are poured with cold water and placed on the stove. As soon as the liquid boils, remove the foam that appears from its surface and leave to simmer over minimal heat.

Pour a little vegetable oil into a separate saucepan, heat it and fry the wheat flour there. After a few minutes, add tomato paste, a little water, basil and oregano. Mix everything well and leave on the stove. After a couple of minutes, add a little more water and send the resulting frying to the pan with lentils. All this is salted, seasoned with mint and almost immediately removed from the burner. The finished soup is ground through a sieve and poured into plates. 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 the presence of a certain set of components. Therefore, before starting to work with the test, check whether 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.
A 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 possible. In a bowl filled with sifted wheat flour, add a pinch of salt, melted butter and warmed milk one by one. Knead everything well until a fairly stiff, 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. The nuts are crushed using a meat grinder and combined with cinnamon and powdered sugar. The present dough is divided into twelve approximately identical balls. Each of them is rolled out into a thin layer, greased with butter, sprinkled with nut filling and rolled into a roll, tucking the edges inward. The resulting pieces are placed on a baking sheet. Their surface is greased with yolk. The products are baked at two hundred degrees for about a quarter of an hour. Then the temperature is reduced to 160 0 C. The baklava is coated with butter and returned to the oven. After fifty minutes, it is transferred to a deep vessel, filled 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 easily 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 butter.
Onion.
A handful of parsley, basil and dried cranberries.
Salt and spices.

Place the washed and dried chicken in a thick-bottomed frying pan that already contains butter. As soon as it is browned, add onion half rings 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 herbs and rice are placed in the pan. All this is filled 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 for which Turkish cuisine is famous. The national dishes of this country are known far beyond its borders. Therefore, you don’t have to go to Turkey to try lula kebab. You can prepare it in your own kitchen. To do 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 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 fat 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 threaded onto skewers. Fry lula kebab on smoldering coals, not forgetting to turn it over periodically. It is served with a sauce made from chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic and parsley.

Turkish coffee

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

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

Ground coffee is poured into a preheated cezve. Cold water is poured there and the vessel is placed on the stove. The drink is kept on low heat for half an hour, without allowing it to boil. During the cooking process, sugar, herbs and spices are added to the cezve. The finished coffee is poured into cups and served to the table.

Revani

This delicious dessert is also one of the Turkish national dishes. It is a delicate pie soaked in lemon syrup. To prepare it you will need:

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

To prepare the syrup, prepare in advance:

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

The 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. Bake the dessert at one hundred and fifty degrees for at least forty minutes. The cooled pie is cut into portions and poured with hot syrup consisting of water, sugar and lemon juice.

Eggplant Istanbul style

This savory snack is also one of the national dishes of Turkish cuisine. It is so easy to prepare that even a novice cook can make it without any problems. It contains:

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 salted 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. The pepper is baked in the oven, the skin and seeds are separated 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 placed in eggplant boats and baked at standard temperature.

Turkish cuisine is replete with all kinds of dishes with unique tastes and can whet the appetite of even the most fastidious gourmet. An abundance of meat dishes, seafood and vegetable recipes, sweets and baked goods for every taste every year win the hearts (or rather, stomachs) of travelers who find themselves in the country. Many Turkish dishes are quite high in calories, because their main ingredients often include meat, olive and butter, flour and rice. People here like to fry and bake food in the oven, and many desserts are deep-fried.

Of course, the country also has national dishes for adherents of a healthy diet, which are prepared based on vegetables, legumes and dietary meat. To learn all the intricacies and secrets of the cuisine in Turkey, we decided to conduct our own gastronomic investigation.

Turkish breakfast

Kahvaltı is exactly what “breakfast” sounds like in Turkish. The name comes from the words “kahve” (coffee) and “altı” (before), which can be interpreted roughly as “food before coffee.” A real Turkish breakfast can truly be called royal, because it is more reminiscent of a buffet than a standard set of morning dishes. Food in Turkey on the morning table is beautifully prepared in special dishes, which include:

Although the word Kahvaltı suggests drinking coffee, as a rule, Turks drink several glasses of freshly brewed black tea at breakfast, which has a highly invigorating effect. And a couple of hours after your morning meal, you can enjoy a cup of strong Turkish coffee.

First meal

Turkish national cuisine offers a wide selection of first courses, including various soups. Soup in Turkey is a slightly different dish than we are used to thinking: it is usually a thick substance made from ground ingredients and is more like a puree soup. And in Turkish there is no expression for “eating soup”, because here they “drink” it, so don’t be surprised if a barker from a local restaurant offers you to “drink excellent soup”. The most popular first courses in Turkey are:

Lentil soup

The country grows many types of legumes, among which lentils (red, yellow, green) have won much love. It was red lentils that became the main component of the famous national soup, which can be supplemented with onions, carrots and potatoes according to different recipes. This dish must be seasoned with red pepper flakes and lemon juice.

Shifa chorbasy

Translated from Turkish, the name of this dish means “medicinal soup”, and there is a reasonable explanation for this. The stew consists of vitamin-rich ingredients and is usually consumed in winter to prevent and treat colds. The main components of shifa chorbysa are red lentils, celery, onions, carrots, parsley, red and black pepper.

In traditional Turkish cuisine, a special dried mixture of flour, yogurt, red pepper, onions and tomatoes is often used to prepare first courses. This ingredient gives the soup an original taste and thickness. Tarkhana milk soup is especially revered here, to which, in addition to the mixture, tomato paste, garlic and butter are added.

Meat dishes

Although red meat is quite expensive in Turkey, Turks simply adore it, which is why many national dishes of Turkish cuisine are prepared from meat products. The abundance of such dishes allows you to diversify your daily diet with food from beef, lamb, veal and lamb, as well as chicken and turkey. Among the culinary delights that you should definitely try when visiting the country are:

Doner kebab

We all know such an oriental dish as kebab, which means fried meat. There are many versions of this dish in Turkey, each with its own unique recipe. Perhaps the most famous type of kebab is the doner kebab, for the preparation of which the meat is roasted on a spit, and then cut into thin pieces and mixed with onions, lettuce and tomatoes, then flavored with seasonings and dressings and rolled into pita bread. In essence, this is the same as shawarma, but in Turkey this concept is not used.

Among other versions of kebab it is worth noting:

Adana kebab

Adana kebab. The recipe for this dish comes from the city of Adana, and its main ingredient is minced meat, which is fried on the grill and served along with rice, vegetables, herbs and thick pita bread.
Iskander kebab. The thinnest slices of red meat, roasted on a spit, are served on pieces of thick pita bread laid out on a plate and complemented with vegetables and herbs. This dish necessarily includes yogurt, a special tomato sauce, and, if desired, can be topped with melted butter.
Shish kebab. This Turkish dish is a kebab served with rice and baked peppers.

In Turkish cuisine, pilaf is often called plain white rice boiled in water or chicken broth with the addition of butter or olive oil. This dish is not always served with meat and may contain chickpeas, vegetables or small noodles. Of course, pilaf is often served with chicken, lamb or beef, the pieces of which are separately fried along with onions.

If you are a lover of non-standard cuisine and don’t know what to try in Turkey, then be sure to order kokorec at a restaurant. This food is prepared from the intestines of young sheep, in which the offal of the animal is wrapped - liver, heart, kidneys and lungs. All these ingredients are roasted on a spit, seasoned with spices, then finely chopped and placed on a crispy bun.

Sujuk is a Turkish sausage with lard from beef or lamb, the main difference between which and other sausages is the method of its preparation. Sujuk is not smoked or boiled, but is dried and the resulting product is generously seasoned with a variety of spices. This sausage cannot be eaten raw, so it is always fried in a frying pan. Sujuk is often added to scrambled eggs, toast, or spread on white bread.

Fish dishes

The country is washed by the waters of the Mediterranean, Black, Marmara and Aegean seas, rich in different types of fish and marine life. Of course, this fact had a great influence on the national cuisine of Turkey, where seafood dishes such as:

Balyk-ekmek

Vegetable dishes

Dolma

If you think that national Turkish cuisine cannot do without meat or fish, then you are mistaken. There are many different dishes presented here, the main components of which are vegetables. An example of this is the famous Turkish dish dolma, which is an analogue of the Greek sarma. It is prepared from grape leaves, which are stuffed with rice and vegetables. You can try it in almost any restaurant.

Imam bayaldi

Among the vegetarian food in Turkey there is also a dish called imam bayaldi, which is eggplant stuffed with vegetables. Eggplant dressing is prepared from onions, green peppers, tomatoes, garlic and herbs, generously seasoned with spices and tomato paste. All this is baked in the oven and served with bread and yogurt.

Unsweetened baked goods

Most of Turkey's national dishes are eaten with baked goods: bread, pita bread, all kinds of buns and flatbreads. In a restaurant, before the main meal is brought to you, a basket of fresh baked goods and sauces will be placed on the table, both of which are offered absolutely free. Many types of baked goods are complete individual dishes.

Simit is a round sesame bun, available in hard and soft varieties, usually eaten for breakfast. You can eat it in its pure form, or cut it in half and fill it with cheese, vegetables and sausage. This inexpensive national pastry is in great demand and is sold in special trays and bakeries.

Soo shore

Börek is a very tasty Turkish pastry with different fillings, which is presented in three versions:

Su beregi, prepared from thinly rolled unleavened dough (yufka) with cheese fillings; differs in oiliness
Kol beregi, baked from puff pastry stuffed with potatoes or minced meat
Homemade börek is made from yufka with lor cheese, chicken, minced meat, potatoes and vegetables

If you don't know what food to try in Turkey, then börek is undoubtedly the No. 1 candidate.

Often, soups and meat dishes in Turkish cuisine are served with pita - a piping hot flatbread that literally melts in your mouth. Sometimes pita is supplemented with fillings of cheese, vegetables, sausage, chicken and cutlets, and in this case it becomes a separate dish.

Another national culinary delight, which is simply a crime not to try, is gozleme flatbread made from the thinnest dough, in which various fillings are wrapped in the form of minced meat, potatoes, hard cheese and lor cheese (similar to cottage cheese). As a rule, gozleme is fried on both sides in butter and served with tomatoes and salad.

Snacks

Cold and hot appetizers in Turkey are called meze and are served before the main courses. Among such foods, the following deserve special attention:

This cold appetizer is a thick sauce made from yogurt and white cheese, mixed with garlic, olive oil, mint and walnuts. The sauce goes well with freshly baked flatbread, but is also suitable for dressing vegetables and meat.

Hummus is quite popular not only in Turkey, but also in Europe, but here an additional specific ingredient is used in the recipe. This food has the consistency of a pate, which in the Turkish version is made from chickpeas with tahini paste, obtained from sesame seeds. This appetizer is flavored with garlic, olive oil, lemon and served cold.

One of the features of Turkish cuisine is the fact that Turks use unusual products to prepare salads. This could be pasta, peas and beans. Piyaz is a national salad, the main components of which are beans and eggs, complemented by herbs, olives, onions, tomatoes, tahina and olive oil. The salad has a rather unusual taste, but it’s worth trying.

Ajili ezme

Vegetable hot sauce made from garlic, tomatoes, peppers, onions, tomato paste and lemon is a delicious Turkish snack that can be eaten simply with bread or complemented with meat dishes.

Sweets

Among the national food of Turkey there are many sweet desserts made both from dough and based on sugar or honey syrup. The undoubted leaders here are:

The delicacy, produced on the basis of sugar syrup, originated in Turkey several centuries ago, when cooks at the court of the Sultan decided to amaze their master with a new delicious dish. This is how the first Turkish delight with rose petals was born. Today this dessert is presented in a variety of fruit variations with the addition of pistachios, walnuts, peanuts, coconut and other ingredients.

An equally popular Turkish sweet, which is made from puff pastry, soaked in honey syrup and supplemented with a variety of nuts. In Turkey, you can find baklava in boxes, but it is better to try the product in pastry shops, where the freshly prepared dessert is sold by weight.

Lokma are sweet dough balls fried in oil and drizzled with sugar or honey syrup. Quite easy to prepare, but very tasty national food, which all guests of Turkey should try. Like baklava, it is a very sweet, cloying dessert, so you won’t be able to eat too much of it.

Tulumba is a sweet that largely replicates lokma in its method of preparation, but differs from it in its elongated grooved shape.

Soft drinks

Turkey has its own national drinks, which have a unique taste and an intricate method of preparation.

Turks drink black tea always and everywhere. This drink is usually consumed an hour after meals. In Turkey, they usually drink locally produced tea, which is concentrated on the shores of the Black Sea coast. To prepare Turkish tea, a special two-tier teapot is used, the upper section of which is filled with tea leaves, subsequently filled with boiling water, and the lower section is allocated for hot water.

In this state, the kettle remains on low heat for 20-25 minutes, after which the tea is poured into small tulip glasses. In one sitting, Turks drink at least 5 glasses of this strong, invigorating drink, which is always served hot: after all, throughout the entire tea party, the kettle remains on the gas.

Coffee ranks second among Turkey's popular non-alcoholic drinks. Residents of this country love to drink finely ground boiled coffee, which is prepared in a Turk or Cezve (Turkish). This fairly strong drink is served in miniature cups. After drinking the coffee, it is customary here to wash away the bitter aftertaste with a sip of cool liquid. That’s why in restaurants they will definitely put a glass of water next to your cup of coffee.

This healthy fermented milk product is consumed in Turkey during lunch and dinner. It is made from yogurt with the addition of water and salt and is not subjected to the gasification process. Rustic ayran with foam is especially appreciated here. The drink is an excellent addition to meat dishes and easily replaces the notorious soda and packaged juices for Turks.

Alcoholic drinks

Despite the fact that Turkey is a Muslim state, the country has its own national alcoholic drinks.

A common Turkish drink is raki vodka, which is made from anise. The drink has a specific herbaceous taste and can vary in alcohol content (from 40 to 50% pure alcohol). Before drinking, raki is diluted with water, after which the clear drink takes on a milky tint. As a rule, vodka is drunk in small sips and eaten with spicy food.

Sharap means wine in Turkish. Turkish winemakers today offer a wide range of white, red and rose wines. It is noteworthy that in Turkey this drink has to enter into fierce competition with Chilean manufacturers, who are gaining increasing popularity in the local market. Among Turkish brands you will not find sweet or semi-sweet versions; all drinks are dry. The highest quality wine brands here are Doluca, Sevilen Premium and Kayra.

Doluca

Fruit and berry wines are very popular in Turkey - from pomegranate, mulberry, cherry, melon, etc. Such drinks are weak in strength, and their assortment can include both sweet and semi-sweet versions. Any tourist wine store will definitely let you try different types of wine, but the price tag is also indecent, so it is best to buy wine in city supermarkets.

Street food in Turkey

It is very popular in the country to eat in small cafes and buy takeaway food, so you can find eateries here literally at every turn. Street food in Turkey is represented by national dishes that do not require much time to prepare:

Pide and lahmacun

Lahmajun

Lahmajun is a large round flatbread made of thin dough, on which minced meat and finely chopped vegetables are laid out. It is cooked in a special clay oven and served with lemon and salad. One lahmacun flatbread costs about $1-1.5. Pide is also prepared in clay ovens from a strip of thicker dough, and the filling here can be either minced meat or pieces of meat, hard cheese or egg. The portions are huge, so one pide may be enough for two. The cost of this street food, depending on the filling, ranges from $2-4.

Doner kebab

We have already described this dish above; all that remains is to say that doner kebab is sold on almost every corner and is inexpensive. One serving of this national dish with chicken will cost $1.5, with beef – $2.5-3.

What is really worth trying in Turkey is chi kofte. You are unlikely to find such food in other countries. This dish looks like minced meat cutlets, but in fact it is prepared from small bulgur, olive oil, tomato paste and spices. The cook mixes these ingredients and grinds the resulting mass by hand for several hours until it cooks with the warmth of his hands. The cutlets are served on pita bread or in lettuce, sprinkled with lemon and seasoned with pomegranate sauce. The price of this pleasure is only $1 per serving.

Fish is not so easy to find among Turkish street food: dishes like balik-ekmek are usually sold in coastal areas, and not on city streets. And if you want to try fresh seafood, then it’s better to go to trusted restaurants.

Conclusion

Turkish cuisine can rightfully be considered a national treasure. The abundance of its dishes allows you not only to try various dishes, but also to get acquainted with original, previously unknown recipes. And the taste qualities of seemingly familiar food will completely change your idea of the culinary capabilities of the Turkish people.

Appetizing video: street food in Turkey.