Consolidated "Turkish Cuisine" thread
 

Hi everyone, i want to introduce you and share some of favourite recipes from Turkish cuisine in this topic. before recipes some info about :

Turkish cuisine is renowned as one of the world's best. It is considered to be one of the three main cuisines of the world because of the variety of its recipes, its use of natural ingredients, its flavours and tastes which appeal to all palates and its influence throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The cuisine originated in central Asia, the first home of the Turks, and then evolved with the contributions of the inland and Mediterranean cultures with which Turks interacted after their arrival in Anatolia.

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Turkish cuisine (Turkish: Türk mutfağı) is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including those of western Europe.


The Ottomans fused various culinary traditions of their realm with influences from Middle Eastern cuisines, along with traditional Turkic elements from Central Asia (such as yogurt), creating a vast array of specialities—many with strong regional associations.

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Turkish cuisine varies across the country. The cooking of Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir, and rest of the Aegean region inherits many elements of Ottoman court cuisine, with a lighter use of spices, a preference for rice over bulgur, and a wider use of seafoods.The cuisine of the Black Sea Region uses fish extensively, especially the Black Sea anchovy (hamsi), has been influenced by Balkan and Slavic cuisine, and includes maize dishes. The cuisine of the southeast—Urfa, Gaziantep and Adana—is famous for its kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as baklava, kadayıf and künefe (kanafeh).

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here is some info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_cuisine

here is some great sites for recipes :
http://www.turkishcookbook.com/
http://ozlemsturkishtable.com/

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_coffee
"Coffee should be black as Hell, strong as death, and sweet as love."
--Turkish Proverb

Turkish Coffee is the name given to a type of coffee whose preparation and brewing techniques were invented by the Turks. It has a unique taste, froth, aroma, brewing technique and presentation… in other words it has its own identity and tradition.

"TURKISH COFFEE "Coffee has created its own “culture” in Turkiye are the famous words of the great Turkish 20th century poet, Yahya Kemal. A little bit more than a casual visit to Turkiye would convince anyone that this is the case. Coffee for Turks is not simply a drink, but has its own history, its institutions (coffeehouses), its rituals, its own rules of when and how to drink it, and even a tradition of fortune-telling by reading the coffee grinds deposited at the bottom of a traditional Turkish coffee cup… Most Turks would find it superfluous to call it Turkish coffee: coffee is Turkish coffee. Turks were introduced to coffee over four and a half centuries ago. A short while after a governor to Yemen brought back to Istanbul and introduced to the Ottoman capital beans of Coffee Arabica, the metropolitan city was teeming with coffeehouses.Within a century, first Venice, than London and Paris were introduced to coffee via the Ottomans, which naturally acquired its epithet “Turkish” to become “Turkish coffee”. In some Western countries Turkish coffee is also known as Greek coffee as they were introduced to this type of coffee and coffee-making via the Greeks. Shortly after coffee was introduced to the Ottomans in 1543, it became so popular so quickly that coffeehouses were opened and small shops opened specializing in roasting coffee. Coffee roasting is called “tahmis” and to this day there is a street called Tahmis in the Eminonu neighborhood in Istanbul where the so-called Egyptian spice bazaar is located. Its name derived from the coffee shops located on this street 460 years ago.

Turks used to drink their coffee without any sugar. Instead, it was customary to eat or drink something sweet either before or after the coffee, sweetened fruit juices known as sherbet, fruit preserves, Turkish delight, sultan’s paste, halva, or other confectionery.
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A simit , ( it is also called "gevrek" in Turkish, meaning "crisp") is a circular bread with sesame seeds, very common in Turkey.
Simit is one of the most traditional and common types of Turkish food. It is made from flour, formed in the shape of a ring and cooked in an oven, and is typically covered with a large quantity of sesame seeds.

Simit is both inexpensive and flavorful. One can find fresh simit at every hour of the day in bakeries and shops which sell baked flour goods. You also might encounter simit merchants, with their glass-pane wagons, walking along the city’s bustling streets. In the past few years, several simit chain restaurants, which only sell different types of simit have become popular.

Feeding the seagulls with simits, a typical Turkish fun. You will see seagulls following the boat at the same speed as the boats for a while so they will look as if they are hanged from the sky by some invisible cord.

Simits are often sold by street vendors, who either have a simit trolley or carry the simit in a tray on their head. Street merchants generally advertise simit as fresh ("Taze simit!"/"Taze gevrek!") since they are baked throughout the day.
Simit is generally served plain, or for breakfast to tea with jelly, jam or cheese.
Simit is also known as "Turkish bagel" in the USA.

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Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is characteristic of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and much of central and southwest Asia.
In Turkey, Gaziantep is famous for its baklava and regarded there as its native city,
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Breakfast in Turkish culture is a rich one as a range of products are consumed.A daily Turkish breakfast consists of cheese ( beyaz peynir, kaşar etc.), butter, olives, boiled eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, reçel ( jam/ marmalade; a preserve of whole fruits) and honey with plenty of fresh Turkish bread, simit or pohaca and strong Turkish black tea.A common Turkish special for breakfast is called menemen which is prepared with roasted tomatoes, peppers, olive oil, eggs and spices. Invariably, black tea is served at breakfast.Turkish people have breakfast every morning but on weekends or for company, breakfast is more elaborate. Especially on sundays, the whole of family have breakfast together. Breakfast at such times includes sucuk ( Turkish sausages), pastırma, börek and various breads and pastries as different from ordinary breakfast. Also roasted potato is consumed a lot.

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Good grief, I am going to have to go have some Turkish food after seeing all the photos in this thread. Fortunately there is a good Turkish restaurant right down the road from me.

I invite the op, or anyone, to post appropriately sized pictures that do not cause horizontal scrolling. This is very frustrating and particularly so for members accessing FT on mobile devices. I have had to remove several such pictures.

Thank you,

cblaisd
Moderator, Dining Buzz

thanks cbaisd,i already edited, it looks ok now.

Oh man.... my grandmother (not Turkish but the motherland is next door) made lahmajun from scratch. One day there would be several stacks of them in the frig. The next day.... GONE! So good with a dash of lemon juice.

Now I'm motivated to work on replicating her recipe, which, along with all the others she did by memory and feel, passed with her.

Yes, Turkish food in Turkey is often great. Unfortunately, most of what I get in my little village are just kebab imbisses of drastically varying quality. Bigger cities would probably have more options. One of my favorite fish to eat is Kalkan (Turbot), available in the spring around the Bosphorus. I've had Turbot elsewhere and it just doesn't seem the same.

Good to know that Gaziantep is the baklava epicenter, even though it's tasted good no matter where in Turkey I've had it!

Though, I can find baklava all over the place. Künefe on the other hand...I wish people from Hatay decided to open up a chain of küneferias (just made it up) in various world cities. Of course, like baklava it is not something that should be eaten daily, but I indulged during a recent trip to Ercan.

Another thing- in NYC, there are many Turkish restaurants now, but I have yet to see a (typical in Turkey) buffet. Apparently, at least one does exist (in Manhattan, at least), but those casual eateries chock full of pickled peppers and what not would be a welcome addition.

My favourite from the piccies is Adana kebab ..... cannot be beaten with a bulgar salad and fresh flatbread ....

Post some more ...:)

it is really diffucult to make a lahmacun, we prefer to buy here in Turkey, your grandmother should were very talented. unfortunately it is not as common as Döner Kebab to find Lahmacun in outside of Turkey.

yes, it tastes so great and i believe it will become popular soon and you will find Kunefe in other cities as well.
for the ones who did not eat this sweet i really recommend.

Künefe is Turkish speciality rich in syrup and butter, usually combined with kaymak (clotted/scrambled butter) when served. Künefe contains wire kadayıf with a layer of melted cheese in between and it is served hot with pistachio or walnut.Speciality of the Turkish kitchen in the region Hatay

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i just returned from ISTlast night, my aunt made hamsi with baked potatos, lemon,carrots, cilantro...yummy
also, Eggplant with ground beef...yummy...
she adds rice in the yogurt soup.

Why we never ate the Turkish foods before. We never eat at Turkish restaurant before. Do we have one in Phoenix area? I want learn something.

I have a particular fondness for Dutch-style lahmacun (or 'turkse pizza' in the less cosmopolitan areas). Served with Javanese-style sambal, 'tuurlijk.

But I agree, it's shamefully hard to find in general. The Turkish Cypriot community in London (based around Green Lanes) sell a good few, though. Always worth a detour.

You can try Turkish food in Tempe at Med Fresh Grill, it's a block south of the Mill Ave./3rd St. Light Rail Station.

Sounds interesting. Most likely will be in AMS in March, so I'll have to hunt those down.

Good to know, I'll be there too. Yum!

For those of you in the Denver area, check out Arash International Market in Aurora. I can't vouch for their current selection (it's been years and years since I was last in Denver, but it looks like their rep is still good), but they used to sell stacks of frozen lahmajun. Definitely not the same as grandma's, but good enough to satisfy the craving.

Mantı
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Turkish Dumpling (Turkish:Manti, Kazakh: мәнті) are a type of dumpling in Turkish and various Central Asian and Caucasian cuisines. Manti dumplings archetypically consist of a spiced meat mixture, usually lamb or ground beef, in a dough wrapper, either boiled or steamed.

Manti is one of my favorite Turkish traditional dishes. Manti is very popular and common in Turkey. It takes time to prepare, but it’s really worth of your time! You should try it to taste a real Turkish flavor. Preparing manti is very fun and easy if you make it a team work.

3-3 ½ cups flour
1 egg
2/3 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp salt to taste

Filling:½ lb ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped/shredded
½ tsp salt to taste
½ tsp black pepper

For cooking:
8 cups water
1 tsp salt

Sauce:2 cups yogurt
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ tsp salt to taste
3-4 tbsp butter/oil
1 tbsp tomato paste/2/3 tsp paprika
2-3 tbsp water
Dried mint
Sumac

In a bowl place the flour, crack the egg and add the salt and water. Then knead till you get a firm and smooth dough. Knead for about 8-10 minutes. Make sure to make it firm to flatten easily later. Cover it with a damp towel or cloth and leave for a rest (15-30 minutes).
Meanwhile in a plate mix all the filling ingredients and set aside.
Divide the dough into 2-3 pieces, take one piece and place on the floured counter. Cover the rest of the dough. Then with a rolling pin flatten the dough as thin as you can (as thick as the ridge of a knife). Then, cut it with a knife or roulette into ¾ inch (1 ½-2 cm) square pieces (see the picture). Then place ¼ tsp filling over each square (see the picture). Then stick the both traverse edges diagonally, by pressing with your finger tips (see the picture). Do the same procedure for the remaining dough.For cooking, boil the water in a big pot and add salt. Then add all the manti into the boiling water. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon to prevent them sticking to each other. Make sure not to close the lid. Cook over medium heat till manti gets soft (for about 10-15 minutes).
Meanwhile prepare the sauce. In a bowl mix yogurt, salt and garlic. In a small pan; melt the butter/oil and stir in tomato paste and water. Cook for 2 minutes over low heat. If you prefer using paprika, just add paprika into melted butter/oil and turn the heat off after one minute. Do not add water while using paprika.
Drain the cooked manti and transfer it into serving plates. Let it cool for a while and pour the yogurt sauce over. Finally pour about one tbsp of butter/oil mixture all over (adjust the amount as you like). And if desired sprinkle some dried mint and sumac over the Turkish Dumplings.
This recipe makes 6-7 servings.
ENJOY