Caravan-Serai Tours - Turkey - Handbook

Handbook

Foods of Turkey

Visit this website about Turkish cuisine!

Eating and dining in Turkey is an exciting experience since the food is both European and Central Asian, modern and Ottoman "serai" or court-style. Food preparation is considered a cultural art.

The Ottoman Turks ruled their empire for over 500 years from Istanbul's famous Topkapi Palace, built 1472-78. At the height of the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent, the empire reached from Ethiopia in the south (Abyssinia), north to Vienna, west across North Africa and into Spain (the Moors), and east including the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Persia and southern Russia.

As the Sultanate grew and people, including slaves, arrived in Istanbul from all parts of the Empire, the Topkapi Palace cooks created more and more exotic dishes from this vast area that the Ottoman's ruled. It is said that at its height, Topkapi had over 1000 assistant cooks, and that one day it served an army of 10,000 people. The chief cooks could become part of the ruling class. Topkapi is now a national museum housing a huge collection from the kitchens including porcelain, crystal, silverware, and cooking equipment as well as the possessions of all the Sultans which were never destroyed or discarded.

You may eat in the street (not recommended for sanitary purposes), in small shish-kebab restaurants, in pastry and coffee shoppes, or at the new retro restaurants which serve food of the Sultan's table. If you get homesick try McDonald's. Stroll through Stamboul's Misr Charsi (Egyptian) Bazaar where coffee and spices from all corners of the world are sold in abundance.

A typical Turkish meal starts with either soup or an enormous platter of hors d'oeuvres called meze. The entree is usually fish, lamb or chicken but may be small if the meze is large. This will be followed by heavily sugared pastries, fruit or lokum known as Turkish Delight or in Seattle, Aplets and Cotlets.

Tea, grown in Turkey, or Turkish coffee end the meal.

RECIPES

Corbalar (Soup)

Mercimek Corbasi (Red Lentil Soup)
4/5 C red lentils
1 qt. water or broth
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 medium onions
2 chopped tomatoes or
1/2 cup tomato sauce
salt and pepper
garlic
mint
hot pepper
Chop onion , sautÈ in oil till transparent. Add tomato sauce and spices to taste. Wash lentils and add. Stir for 1-2 minutes. Add broth or water, and cook about 30 minutes or when lentils are soft. If desired, add cubes of bread fried in butter. Serves 4.

Salatalar (Appetizers & Salad)

Etler (Meats)

Sis Kebab (Shish)
1 1/2 lbs. lamb, cut into 1 1/2" cubes
6 tomatoes, cut in 8 each
2 green peppers, cut in 8, and seeded
4 onions quartered
Marinate in:
1 1/2 C olive oil
1/3 C wine vinegar
1/3 C red wine
1/3 C lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 C chopped onion
1/4 C chopped parsley
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. thyme
for at least 6 hours.
Thread pieces of onion, meat, tomato and green pepper in succession on a skewer. Cook on a barbecue, 304 minutes on each side. Serves 4-6.

Pilaf (Rice)
I C Pilav
1 C basmati rice
1 1/2 tsp. margarine or butter
2 tsp. pine nuts
2 tsp. currants
salt and pepper
2 C hot water
Wash rice in water and drain. Melt butter in sauce pan. Add pine nuts and sautÈ till pale pink. Add rice and stir continuously till it becomes pinkish. Add currants, salt and spices and stir. Add 2 C of hot water. The rice will smoke, giving it a dark look. Bring to a boil and cook for 3-5 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 20 min. (Do not uncover while it is cooking!) Serves 4-6.

Sebzeler (Vegetables)

Borek (Pastries)

Sigara Boregi
1 pkg. fillo leaves, thawed
Meat filling:
1 lb. ground lamb or beef
2 Tbsp. grated onion
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/4 C snipped parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
Brown lamb and onion in butter. Stir in remaining ingredients
Cheese filling (1/2 recipe)
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
8 oz. feta cheese
1/4 C Parmesan cheese
1 C snipped fresh parsley
1 egg
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh dill
Mix until smooth.
1/2 C melted unsalted butter
Cut fillo in half. Refrigerate one half. Cut remainder in 4 pieces (4"x8"). Keep between damp towels to prevent drying. Brush top of one fillo leaf with butter. Add 1/2 tsp. filling, fold fillo over filling and place seamside down. Use all fillo, including half reserved cut in quarters. Brush tops with butter. Bake until golden in 350? oven.

Tatilar (Desserts)

Turk Kahvesi (Coffee)
1 C cold water
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
2 Tbsp pulverized dark roast coffee. Combine water and sugar in a Turkish coffee pot, or small pan. Heat to boiling, stirring till sugar is dissolved. Add cardamom and coffee, stir constantly until mixture is smooth and thick, about 1 minute. Heat until thick foam rises, about 30 seconds. Remove pot from heat, spoon foam into each of 3 demitasse cups. Reduce heat, heat coffee to boiling twice more, removing from heat and dividing foam. Pour coffee into each cup. Let stand 2 minutes.