By learning about the gastronomy of a country, you also learn its language: Turkish cuisine.
In all parts of the world, food is the means to socialize, start or close business, reunions, farewells and, why not, the birth of love on a first date. All the social or professional activities of our lives are carried out around it. How many times a week do you meet someone for lunch or dinner?
In Argentina, there is a custom of having family lunch on Sundays. During the week everyone takes care of their own thing (work, sports, friends, etc.) but on Sundays they are with the family. We talk before, during and after eating in those long after-dinner conversations that we usually have.
The thing is that food communicates, unites. If you are traveling, in a bar or restaurant having lunch or dinner, it is likely that you will start a conversation with local people or another traveler, it is at that moment that an exchange of cultures occurs thanks to food. Even by simply reading the menu you are getting to know and learning a new language, a new culture.
döner kebab, çay, baklava, kahve, dolma y ayran.
Turkish cuisine is known worldwide for its colorful variety, the freshness of its ingredients and its delicious flavor and aroma. It is a bridge between the cuisines of the Middle East and Balkan cuisine, and is in a prominent position among the cuisines of Mediterranean origin due not only to the geographical position of the country, but it has in common with other cuisines, a predominance of vegetables and olive oil in most of their dishes.
It is a very balanced and tasty gastronomy that combines elements of Middle Eastern cuisine with elements of Mediterranean cuisine.
It is found both in fast food stands located on the streets of the city, and served in delicate preparations in renowned restaurants. These typical dishes are an important part of the country's culture and the lives of its inhabitants,
Here we leave you a list of typical Turkish foods, desserts and drinks with the idea, not only that you know more about this country, but also its language. Maybe you like it so much that you decide to start learning it. (if you're not already doing it thanks to Turkish series). Because by learning about the gastronomy of a country, you also learn its language.
¡Enjoy! - ¡Afiyet olsun!
Türk kahvaltısı (Turkish breakfast)
Turkish breakfasts are very different from those in the rest of the world. In Argentina, for example, a typical breakfast consists of a rich butter crescent (kruvasan) and a cup of coffee with milk (Sütlü kahve). They are not usually as abundant, colorful and rich in flavors as Turkish.
The kahvalti (breakfast) varies a little depending on the region of the country. Restaurants usually offer two types of breakfast: kahvaltı tabağı (plate breakfast) and serpme kahvaltı (mixed breakfast).
kahvaltı tabağı
It is served on a plate, that is, as an individual portion or tasting. It does not contain more typical dishes like menemem, for example.
- Çay -tea
- yumurta - egg
- domates - tomat0es
- peynir - cheese
- ekmek - bread
- salatalık - cucumber
- zeytinler - olives
- marmelat - jam
- tereyağı - butter
Serpme kahvaltı.
Its name means “sprinkled breakfast”, and it is because a large amount of products are served on different plates that fill the entire table. In addition to the same ingredients as the plated breakfast, it contains:
- yeşil biberler - green peppers
- keçi peynir - goat cheese
- yeşil zeytin - green olives
- siyah zeytin - black olives
- yumurta - egg (in all its forms: scrambled, boiled, fried or hard-boiled) - bal - honey
- sınırsız çay - Unlimited tea (that is, it is not just one cup. You can order without limit).
- sosisler - sausages
Meze
(Entry)
Meze are the starters (mezeler) of Turkish food (in Italian gastronomy they are called antipasti): various salad plates (salatalar), pickles (turşu), roasted vegetables (Fırınlanmış Sebzeler) (such as eggplants (patlıcan) or peppers) seasoned with delicious sauces, as well as skewers of chicken and lamb meat and dried fruits (kurutulmuş meyveler).
Çorba (chor-ba)
Soup (Çorba) is very common in Turkish cuisine, and is eaten all year round, whether it is hot or cold. It can be consumed hot or cold.
Çorbalar (soups), as in most countries, are named according to their main ingredient:
- mercimek çorbası - lentil soup
- tarhana çorbası - yogurt or wheat soup.
- domates çorbası - tomato soup
- tavuk çorbası - Chicken Soup
- yayla çorbası o yoğurtlu çorba - yogurt soup
- işkembe çorbası - tripe soup
- şehriye çorbası - Noodle Soup
Before the Turkish breakfast (türk kahvaltısı) became so popular, soup was the first dish of the day for many people.
Menemen
(scrambled eggs with vegetables)
Menemen is a traditional Turkish dish and is usually eaten for breakfast. It is a rich combination of powerful and aromatic flavors.
It consists of scrambled eggs gently cooked with onions (soğanlar), tomatoes, red pepper (kırmızı biber), black pepper (karabiber) and oregano (kekik) in olive oil (zeytin yağı) or sunflower oil (ayçiçek yağı).
Börek
(Turkish stuffed pasta)
It is a type of empanada that is made with a special flaky dough called yufka (phyllo dough or puff pastry) and is usually filled with white cheese (beyaz peynir) called çökelek, minced meat (kıyma) or vegetables (sebzeler) such as spinach (ıspanak). It can be rolled or served in layers like lasagna.
There are many varieties of börek. The best known is called its böreği (water börek) and is generally consumed accompanied by ayran or Turkish tea.
Döner Kebab
One of the tastiest and most popular Turkish takeaways in the world. Who hasn't tried it!
It is also known as shawarma, but this terminology is not entirely correct.
The term döner comes from Turkish and means "that rotates" or "that goes around." It refers to the way of cooking a cone-shaped seasoned meat mixture on a slowly rotating vertical spit for several hours. On one side is the heat source that, like a grill or barbecue, roasts the meat little by little. It is cooked vertically. To prepare a portion, the meat is cut into thin slices from the side opposite the heat source, as it is cooked.
Kebab or Kebap means nothing more than meat cooked on the grill. Most kebabs are meat dishes cut into pieces or forming skewers of minced meat. The most common are based on lamb or mutton (koyun eti), but there are also variants of beef (dana eti), chicken, goat (keçi eti) or fish (balık) and seafood (Deniz ürünleri), and may incorporate vegetables. . Pork is not socially acceptable, so it is not consumed.
If we combine both terms, the "Döner kebab" means "grilled meat that turns" and consists of thin slices of lamb, chicken or beef cooked on a vertical spit, generally consumed with a flatbread as ordered or pita along with vegetables and other accompaniments.
Both shawarma (Arabic) and gyros (Greek) are adapted from the Turkish language and are also related to "turn."
Iskender kebab
It is one of the most popular meat-based dishes in northwest Turkey.
It is made of shredded döner meat and topped with spicy tomato sauce (domates sosu) (baharatlı) and melted butter on top over rice (pirinç) and pita bread (pide ekmek) with yogurt (yoğurt).
Dürüm
(a rolled Kebab)
In Turkish, dürüm can be translated as "in a roll or coiled." Therefore, the dürüm is nothing more than the rolled version of the döner. It is prepared with a thinner and more flexible flatbread that allows it to be rolled. It may contain chicken, different types of meat (such as döner) and vegetables.
Köfte
(beef meatball)
The Turkish version of meatballs. Köfte are meatballs or balls of lightly cooked ground or minced beef or lamb seasoned with different Turkish spices (baharat). It is often sold wrapped with salad and some pita bread.
The spicy version is known as Çiğ köfte, with some variations in preparation.
Manti
(stuffed pasta)
It is a type of dough filling. They are filled with minced lamb or beef seasoned with onion (soğan) and peppers and served with a sauce made with yogurt (yoğurt), garlic (Sarımsak) and various herbs (otlar). The word manti refers to one or more filled pasta.
They have two common shapes, one in the form of small bags and another in the shape of boats that show the filling at the top.
It is the national food of Türkiye.
Dolma
(stuffed grape leaves)
In Turkey, almost all vegetables are stuffed: fresh vegetables or dried eggplants, peppers, tomatoes or zucchini (kabak). The general name of this type of food, which is called "dolma or dolmades" is derived from the verb "dolmak" which means "to fill." The filling can be vegetarian or with meat; dolmas with meat (usually minced meat and spices) are served hot; Instead, vegetarian dolmas (usually rice (pirinç) and onion or legumes) are served cold along with yogurt and garlic sauce or a lemon juice-based sauce before being cooked in water (su) and butter.
Lahmacun
(Turkish pizza)
Flat and crispy, Lahmacun is like a pizza, but different from the Italian version.
It is a thin, round flatbread, which is spread with a mixture of minced meat, onion, parsley (maydanoz), bell pepper (dolmalık biber) and spices (baharat) and baked. In some variations, a little cheese, herbed yogurt, hummus, and dolmas are added.
Lüfer
(Blue fish from the Bosphorus area)
For fish (balık) lovers, the coastal area of the Bosphorus is the ideal place to eat fresh fish and fish products. Lüfer is a blue fish that is usually prepared grilled with oil, garlic, pepper and spices. Served with vegetables.
Simit
Simit is another of Turkey's popular street foods and is the cheapest snack you will find on the streets, it consists of a circular bread (ekmek) embedded with sesame seeds (Susam taneleri) that can be eaten alone or with preserves such as jam (marmelat), cream cheese (krem peynir) or anything spreadable that you like.
Kestane şekeri
(candied chestnut or sweets)
If you like chestnuts (Kestane) like Turks do, Kestane şekeri is ideal. It is also a common gift for special occasions and is placed in decorative boxes.
Baklava
It is one of the most delicious and world-known Turkish desserts. It is composed of thin layers of puff pastry with walnuts (ceviz) although you can also use pistachio (fıstık) or finely chopped hazelnuts (fındıklar) dipped in syrup (şurup).
Lokum
(Turkish delicacies)
Also known as Turkish delight. It is a flavored sweet, made with starch and sugar (şeker), orange blossom water (Portakal Çiçeği suyu) and rose water (gül suyu) and often garnished with almonds (badem), hazelnuts or pistachios sprinkled with powdered sugar ( toz şeker).
Künefe
Another well-known Turkish dessert. It consists of a cake (kek) of semolina (irmik) or noodles similar to vermicelli or angel hair, called kadaif, flattened or rolled, with butter and cheese similar to mozzarella or cottage cheese (lor), cooked over low heat and then of cooking soaked in syrup and sometimes sprinkled with ground pistachio. The top of the kadaif is often dyed with orange dye.
Salep
(hot drink)
It is a hot drink (sıcak) made from orchids (orkideler) and topped with cinnamon (tarçın). It is known to be a traditional drink during the cold season. It is made from wild orchids (vahşi orkideler), with whose roots an aromatic flour is made, which when diluted in milk (süt) gives rise to the drink.
Ayran
(Cold drink)
It is a drink that is served cold (soğuk) and taken as an accompaniment during meals. It is basically composed of beaten yogurt and water. The yogurt used comes from sheep's milk (koyun sütü) and has a thick, tasty and slightly acidic flavor, sometimes with the addition of a few drops of lemon juice (limon suyu). It is usually taken with salt (tuz) and even ground garlic and mint (nane).
Rakı o Raki
(liquor)
Another typical drink from Turkey is this aniseed liquor (likör) (anason tohumu) that is served with a little cold water. More than anything, it is like a dip to consume after dinner (akşam yemegi), or to accompany Meze as an aperitif if you want.
Kahve
(Türk kahvesi - Turkish coffee)
The interesting thing about Turkish coffee (kahve) is that it is more than a typical drink. In Türkiye, reading coffee grounds is common.
Turkish coffee is made with a special container called a cezve. Extremely fine coffee beans, sugar, cardamom (kakule) and water are added to the cezve and brought to a boil to obtain an intensely strong coffee.
çay
(turkish tea)
Turkish tea is prepared in a kind of stacked teapots (çaydanlık) specially designed for the preparation of this tea. The water is brought to a boil in the lower vessel and some of the water is used to fill the upper teapot which contains several teaspoons of tea. In this way a very strong flavored tea is produced. When it is served, the remaining water is used to dilute the tea in each cup if the consumer wishes, in this way they can choose between strong koyu (dark) or açık (light) tea. The tea is drunk in small cups and tasted Served very hot, some beet sugar (pancar şekeri) is usually poured. Turkish tea is a variety of black tea (siyah çay).
After seeing this variety of Turkish dishes, desserts and drinks (in addition to having learned a little of the language), which one would you like to try or have you ever tried?