Turkish cuisine is no doubt, one of the best cuisines in the world! It’s a fusion of nearby country cuisines – Balkan, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Armenian and Central Asia. It is also a heritage of the Ottoman cuisine and various recent dish creations. It vouches both the healthiness and delicious mix of meat and greens. The cuisine has dishes made with fresh produce, vegetables, herbs and spices. Scroll down below and try these Turkish foods!
Kebab
Kebab is usually a variety of marinated meat and vegetable dishes famous throughout the Middle East, and Asia. The meat and vegetables are usually cubed and put in skewers, barbecued and dipped in a variety of sauce recipes depending upon the region’s preferences.
Photo by moerschy
Çiğ köfte
This dish is also known as chee kofta. It is a type of kofta dish, which is a family of meatballs or meatloaves from the meat of beef, chicken, lamb or mutton, and pork with the mixture of spices and herbs. Çiğ köfte is the regional specialty in the Southeastern Turkey.
Photo by Mehmet Aslan
Dolma
Originated from the Ottoman empire’s cuisine, Dolma has retained its place as one of the locals’ favourites today! It is a family of stuffed dishes of vegetables, seafood, or fruit. The fillings are stuffed with either grape or cabbage leaves.
Photo by Alfonso Charles
Pide
Also known as the ‘Turkish Pizza’, this Turkish food is a flat-bread made with ground meat, vegetables, and toppings. The bread is shaped oval and is of similar style to that of pita, chapatti, or western pizza crust and these are served cut-up with lemon.
Photo by Florian Juengermann
Meze
This selection of dishes is also known as mezze or mazza. It is a popular small dish appetizers in the Balkans, North Africa, Turkey and some parts of the Middle East. The popular meze dishes include hummus, falafel, babaganoush, halloumi cheese and tabbouleh. Versions of these dishes can vary in regions.
Photo by Alanyadk
Photo by KamranAydinov
Iskender kebap
Iskender kebap is named after its inventor Iskender Efendi in the 19th century Ottoman empire who lived in Bursa, Turkey. It is one of the famous dishes in the north-eastern Turkey. The main ingredients are pita bread, thinly cut grilled lamb, tomato sauce, yogurt, and melted sheep butter.
Lahmacum
Lahmacum is a Turkish style pizza. It is a thin piece of dough with tomato sauce, minced lamb, minced vegetables including herbs and spices such as onions, red peppers, garlic, parsley, paprika, chilli pepper, cinnamon and then baked.
Photo by 8photo
Kayseri mantısı
This food is a Turkish variety from the Manti, a dumpling delicacy famous in the Armenians, Georgians and Azerbaijanis. Kayseri mantısı is from Kayseri, an Anatolian city of Turkey and it is made mostly of spiced lamb, yogurt, garlic red pepper flakes, butter and more.
Photo by KamranAydinov
Baklava
Baklava is one of the Ottoman cuisine’s most popular sweet pastries. The food is also one of the favourite pastries in Turkey even today! This pastry is made with layers of phyllo dough, chopped nuts, syrup and other variety of sweet toppings from melted chocolate, honey or cinnamon.
Photo by Firas Hassoun
Yaprak Sarma
Commonly known as Sarma alone, it is a dish with grape leaves stuffing minced meat, monk’s rhubarb, rolled chard or kale leaves on grains. It is from the Ottoman cuisine and is a type of dolma in the areas of the Middle East and South Eastern Europe.
Künefe
Künefe was made by the Palestinian Arabs in the 10th century AD and was brought into Turkey later on. It is a Middle Eastern dish made with shredded filo pastry, sugar-based syrup clotted cream, nuts and topped with cheese.
Photo by Elif Ayse
Dondurma
This sweet delicacy is a Turkish mastic ice cream. Dondurma is made of the typical sugar, cream, whipped cream, mastic, and salep. It has several flavours with the classic ones such as chocolate and vanilla, the Turkish specialties of cherry and mulberry, and the Western Mediterranean flavours of strawberry, pistachio, and raspberry. Remember the viral videos where customers are pranked into not receiving their ice creams away? This is THAT ice cream!
Turkish tea and coffee
Last, is not food but their beverage. Turks love coffee and tea. Their tea is made with black tea but it’s brewing method is slightly different which makes it special. There are double teapots, boil water in the bigger pot and put tea in the smaller one atop the bigger pot. It is then brewed for 15 minutes in very low heat.
Their coffee is made with finely ground coffee beans without the filtering. To make the coffee, one has to add water and sugar before the coffee and that’s what makes it different. It is stronger than espresso but lower in caffeine content, making it healthier.
Photo by Dayvison de Oliveira Silva
Which food have you tried personally and is your favorite? Share us in the comments below!
If you have plans to go on a trip and consult with us about Turkey’s food, you can contact us and we can arrange your foodie trip plans!
Read our previous Turkey post which is
11 Must-Do Things Which Make Turkey a Fairy Tale Destination
in case you missed it!
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