Is Turkish meals the primary cause why you wish to go to Turkey? I can perceive! Every nook of the nation is filled with totally different flavors, tastes, and spices, with the sunshine, olive-oil-based dishes of the Aegean Coast, scrumptious kebabs of southeastern cities, and the cosmopolitan nature of Istanbul.
On this article, we’ll attempt to do justice to Turkish delicacies, however with such a wealthy culinary panorama, it’s not possible to cowl all the pieces. As a substitute, we’ll define the must-try Turkish dishes all through the nation, with a bonus part overlaying the important meals vocabulary in Turkish.
Spoiler alert: there will probably be greater than 19 Turkish dishes on this article, as most meals names are umbrella phrases.
Kebab is a well-known instance, so let’s begin with it:
Kebab is a basic time period for meat dishes cooked on a skewer over a charcoal hearth. There are numerous forms of kebabs in Turkish delicacies, so we might have even written a whole article nearly kebabs!
Listed below are some in style kebab dishes you need to attempt:
Do you know that dönmek means “to show” in Turkish? The phrase döner comes from this verb, because it’s a dish cooked on a vertical, turning rotisserie. Often lamb or rooster, the right döner is thinly sliced, and served in a wrap with onions, tomato, and parsley.
Typically referred to as “Turkish pizza,” lahmacun is a skinny, crispy dough topped with minced meat (often lamb or beef), tomato paste, and spices. To eat it the native approach, add some recent parsley and lemon, after which roll your lahmacun tightly.
On this case, pide just isn’t Turkish flatbread, it’s a boat-shaped bread dish crammed with toppings. There may be a variety of toppings you’ll be able to select from — meat, cheese, and eggs are some in style choices.
Köfte are meatballs made out of floor beef or lamb. Much like the phrase kebab, there are several types of köfte to attempt — deep fried, baked with some tomato sauce, or grilled on charcoal, for instance.
Manti are a sort of Turkish dumplings which can be in style all through the nation. To make manti, a easy dough is ready and rolled out into skinny sheets. The filling, which usually consists of floor beef seasoned with salt and pepper, is then positioned in small quantities on the dough.
The dough is then folded over the filling and pinched collectively on the edges to create small, square-shaped dumplings. This half requires a variety of persistence, however as soon as it’s accomplished, all you must do is boil the manti and serve them with yogurt and garlic sauce.
By now you’re used to it — börek can also be a kind of Turkish dishes with varied variations. A savory pastry made with skinny, flaky dough, its most typical elements are meat, cheese, or spinach.
Dolma comes from the verb dolmak, “to fill” or “to stuff.” To organize a dolma dish, you first put together a mix of rice, onions, tomatoes, spices, and meat (non-obligatory). Then you definately put this combination in pepper, eggplants, or zucchinis, prepare dinner it in a pot, and voilà!
Yaprak sarma is a sort of dolma, however not like different dolmas, the place the filling is stuffed inside greens, it’s made by rolling the filling inside vine leaves. The identify sarma comes from the Turkish verb sarmak, which implies “to roll.”
When you’ve rigorously rolled the leaves across the filling, you tuck within the sides of the leaf to create neat, cigar-shaped rolls. Each family has a unique recipe for this Turkish delicacy, so make sure that to attempt as many as attainable throughout your journey!
The identify karnıyarık actually interprets to “break up stomach.” Why? As a result of it’s an eggplant lower in half and filled with a mix of floor meat, onions, tomatoes, and peppers!
Consider imam bayıldı as karnıyarık’s vegetarian sibling. This time, the eggplants are crammed with a mix of onions, tomatoes, and garlic, with none meat.
The identify imam bayıldı means “the imam fainted” in English. There are numerous tales surrounding the origin of this identify, however the most typical one entails an imam (an Islamic spiritual chief) who was so impressed and overwhelmed by the dish’s unimaginable taste that he truly fainted upon tasting it.
Menemen is a well-liked Turkish breakfast dish made with eggs, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. It’s typically served with bread so you need to use it as a dip.
A typical aspect to many meat dishes on this listing, bulgur pilavi is made out of bulgur, tomatoes, onions, and tomato paste.
One other bulgur dish, kisir is a sort of salad. It’s made with high-quality bulgur, pomegranate molasses, lettuce, parsley, and a particular kind of pepper referred to as isot from Urfa, a southeastern Turkish metropolis.
The final word Turkish meals duo — kuru fasulye and pilav. Kuru fasulye is Turkish for dry white beans. For this dish, the beans are stewed with tomato paste, oil, onions, and in most households, some meat.
Kuru fasulye is historically served with rice, pilav in Turkish, so this dish is often referred to as kuru fasulye and pilav.
Many individuals assume döner is the most typical Turkish avenue meals, however truly, midye dolma is extra frequent as a avenue meals in Turkey. These are mussels crammed with rice, onions, and spices, typically served with lemon wedges. You’ll discover them in lots of coastal cities.
This savory flatbread is made out of a easy dough of flour, water, and salt, which is then rolled out skinny and crammed with quite a lot of scrumptious elements, reminiscent of cheese, potatoes, spinach, and minced meat.
A world-famous dessert, baklava has layers of phyllo dough, sweetened with butter, chopped nuts, and syrup. The southeastern metropolis of Gaziantep is especially identified for its scrumptious pistachio baklava.
A round bread, much like a bagel or pretzel, simit is frequent in bakeries, avenue carts, and cafes throughout Turkey. Simit sellers, generally known as simitçi, are a standard sight on the streets of Turkish cities, carrying trays of recent simit to be loved as a snack or for breakfast.
Now that you realize the most typical Turkish meals, it’s time to construct your vocabulary! We’ll begin with the essential meals names and transfer ahead with ordering meals in a Turkish restaurant.
Here’s a listing of Turkish meal names and the elements of the Turkish meals we lined!
| English | Turkish | Audio |
|---|
| “Breakfast” | Kahvaltı | |
| “Lunch” | Öğle Yemeği | |
| “Dinner” | Akşam Yemeği | |
| “Meat” | Et | |
| “Tavuk” | Tavuk | |
| “Fish” | Balık | |
| “Vegetable” | Sebze | |
| “Fruit” | Meyve | |
| “Bread” | Ekmek | |
| “Spice” | Baharat | |
| “Salt” | Tuz | |
| “Black pepper” | Karabiber | |
| “Olive oil” | Zeytinyağı | |
| “Lemon” | Limon | |
| “Tomato” | Domates | |
| “Onion” | Soğan | |
| “Tomato paste” | Domates salçası | |
| “Yoghurt” | Yoğurt | |
| “Cheese” | Peynir | |
| “Salad” | Salata | |
And listed here are some phrases you’ll want to know when ordering meals in a Turkish restaurant:
| English | Turkish | Audio |
|---|
| “I’d wish to make a reservation.” | Rezervasyon yapmak istiyorum. | |
| “Can I’ve the menu?” | Menüyü alabilir miyim? | |
| “One lahmacun, please.” | Bir lahmacun, lütfen. | |
| “Do you’ve got vegetarian choices?” | Vejetaryen seçenekleriniz var mı? | |
| “Can I’ve some bread, please?” | Ekmek alabilir miyim, lütfen? | |
| “Is that this dish spicy?” | Bu yemek acılı mı? | |
| “Can I’ve the invoice, please?” | Hesabı alabilir miyim? | |
| “Get pleasure from your meal” | Afiyet olsun | |
Typical Turkish dishes rely lots on the area — coastal areas function mild, vegetable dishes, whereas richer meat dishes are extra frequent within the inland cities. As a vacationer, make sure you search for native specialties within the Turkish metropolis you find yourself visiting, and don’t skip out on classics like kebab dishes, pide, börek, dolma, and baklava. These are broadly accessible all through the nation.
Turkey has so many favourite dishes. A number of the hottest ones embody döner, kebabs, pide, and baklava.
There’s no official nationwide dish of Turkey, however you’ll discover that some dishes are strongly related to town of their origin. So we are able to say that some cities have nationwide dishes. For instance, town of Adana could be very happy with its Adana kebab. Equally, Bursa is the place Iskender kebab comes from, and other people typically say it’s the place you discover the perfect Iskender.
There are numerous similarities between Turkish and Greek delicacies, and it’s typically a controversial subject the place dishes like baklava, dolma, and börek come from!
You’ll discover a variety of kebab varieties, meat stews, vegetable dishes, and bread-based meals like pide, döner, and simit in Turkey.
Now it’s time to go to Turkey and take a look at these delicacies your self! From the scorching kebabs and savory pides, Turkish delicacies has one thing for everybody. Broaden your vocabulary with extra Turkish phrases and research the frequent phrases on this listing to order Turkish meals with confidence!
Yaren Fadiloglulari
Freelance Content material Author & Journalist
Initially from Cyprus, Yaren is a freelance author for a lot of digital publications, journey and schooling manufacturers, and start-ups.
Speaks: English, Turkish, French, and Spanish
View all posts by Yaren Fadiloglulari
