After all, Turkish cuisine is greatly influenced by the national cuisines of the Mediterranean countries, Asia, Middle Eastern and Eastern European cuisines – the best cuisines in the world. Undoubtedly.
barbecue and kofte are known all over the world, but Turkish cuisine is much more. Most Turkish dishes are really based on meat, foreigners even play pranks on Turks when they eat kebabs for breakfast. Despite this, and although there are few vegetarian and vegan trends in Turkey, there are many plant-based foods on the Turkish menu.
Kebab.
There are many different ways to cook kebabs. For example, Wikipedia lists 37 varieties of beef, lamb or chicken dishes: fried kebab, grilled kebab, stews of various sizes of meat, and even minced meat. Kebabs are served in deep and shallow bowls, as well as sandwiches with salads, sauces and turshu – pickled vegetables such as peppers, cabbage, carrots and small cucumbers (gherkins).
Adana kebab – a dish of lamb or lamb meat with spices. The meat is ground to a state of minced meat, strung on special flat skewers and grilled. Traditionally, Adana kebabs are served in flat elongated plates: kebabs are laid out on a fresh wheat cake (payda), or wrapped in pita bread with salad. Urfa kebab is very similar to adana kebab, only less spicy.
The most famous type of kebab is Shish kebab (barbecue). These are square pieces of marinated meat on a skewer that are fried over an open fire. Marinade is a combination of lemon juice, olive oil, milk, yogurt.
cinnamon, allspice and other spices. The remaining unformatted pieces of meat are rubbed with garlic, strung with tomato on small wooden skewers and grilled – Chop shish kebab (they are called “garbage shish”, apparently because they are made from meat scraps).
A favorite in the West is Doner kebab — thin slices of lamb or sometimes beef grilled and cut from a vertical large skewer. Served in a dough wrapper or bread with salad, herbs and sauce. By the way, the dish was mentioned in Ottoman literature as early as the 18th century.
In my opinion, the most appetizing dish is Iskender-kebab, named after its creator Iskander-bey. It is made from thinly sliced lamb that is grilled and served with spicy tomato sauce, melted butter, yogurt and pita bread.
Kofte.
Kofte is a type of Turkish cutlet or meatball. They are prepared from different types of red meat (most often from lamb and beef), sometimes from white meat, such as chicken, or without meat at all – vegetarian. By the way, “kofte” in Persian means “to beat off” or “grind” meat.
In total, more than 290 kofte recipes are known: they are fried either on the grill or in a pan, baked in the oven, or even boiled in a saucepan. The shape and size of kofte, as well as the ingredients, also differ depending on the place of preparation.
If you visit a Köfte restaurant, don’t expect to be served anything other than Köfte. The only choice here is a full or half round or oval-shaped meat patty served with salad or piyaz (beans and onions in oil) and always with a hot red pepper sauce.
Given the fact that Turkey is washed by four seas, it is not surprising that fish dishes are very popular here. But the most favorite fish is anchovy (in Turkish – hamsi), just caught in the Black Sea. This small fish with a strong flavor is cooked whole.
coated with a little flour (preferably corn flour) and laid out tightly in a circle in a frying pan. When the first side is cooked, you need to cover the pan with a dish on top, hold it with your hand and turn it over with a sharp movement. From the dish, carefully roll the fish back into the pan and thus fry the fish on the other side.
Ready hamsi is laid out on a dish in the form of a pie. Served with lemon and red onion, cut into quarters, and salad. Keep in mind that any other small fish popular in your area can be used instead of anchovy. Believe me, it will also be delicious!
Zeytinyaglilar (“those with olive oil”).
Time to feed the vegans. In any restaurant, in the window of which a variety of dishes are displayed, there is also Zeytinyaglilar. This is a group of fresh vegetable dishes that are stewed in their own juices, then drizzled with olive oil and served cold. The most popular Zeytinyaglilar are made with leeks, fava beans, spinach and artichoke, but you can also find dishes made with eggplant, celery, red and green peppers, samphire, and the like.
Traditionally, onions, carrots, tomatoes are first fried in olive oil to form the base. Then add one of the vegetables listed above, sometimes put a spoonful of rice and lemon juice. When the vegetables have reached the desired softness.
and the liquid has reduced and thickened, they are allowed to cool to room temperature. Such dishes are served, as a rule, with juice, which stood out during the preparation of vegetables. Also, before serving or storing, vegetables are poured with a large amount of extra virgin olive oil, which will have a beneficial effect on the taste of the dish.
But the main thing is that it will keep the freshness of the dish in the refrigerator for several days. After all, such dishes are consumed during every meal and they are always in the refrigerator in every Turkish family.
