Turkish cuisine

Turkish dishes

The Turkish cuisine has a long history and is a development of the original nomadic cooking traditions of Turkic peoples through mixing with the Indian , Persian , Kurdish kitchen , Islamic- Arab cuisine and the culinary traditions of the peoples of the Mediterranean and the Caucasus , including the Armenian and / or Aramaic cuisine. The transitions to the oriental cuisine or the Balkan cuisine are fluid.

This diversity of influences developed over the centuries, especially under the influence of the Ottoman culture and way of life, into today's characteristic Turkish cuisine. The cosmopolitan aspect of the Ottoman court kitchen is celebrated again today.

overview

Individual foods and ingredients such as spices, yoghurt and marzipan were established in Europe early on through the Ottoman rule in south-eastern Europe, in Hungary and the Balkans, as well as through higher-level trade relations . The first Turkish and Ottoman influences on European eating and drinking culture in the broader sense relate to coffee consumption and the associated coffee houses , which have also been established in Western Europe since the 17th century. One of the so-called looted Turks , Nikolaus Strauss (Turkish, Mehmet Sadullah Pascha ', a former officer) established the first coffee house in Würzburg in 1697 . The European notions of the mysterious, splendid Orient play a role in gastronomic presentations up to the present day.

Some Turkish dishes were also mentioned in the international cookbooks that appeared in the 19th century. The extremely different regional cuisine of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey was only shown in a reduced way. In the classic cookbook Die Internationale Küche (Julius Fehér, approx. 1910, quoted from), pilaf was considered to be as typical for "Turkish" food as macaroni and potatoes, ostensibly for Italians and Germans. The main focus was on mutton dishes and kebabs served with pilaf . Such dishes also dominated the offer in the few Turkish restaurants that existed exclusively in large cities like Berlin or Frankfurt until the 1960s. These early restaurants were often founded by professional restaurateurs and academics who offered specialties for an upscale Turkish, but also German clientele. The success story and a comparatively continuous influence, as in the case of Italian restaurant cuisine in Germany, has so far been denied to Turkish cuisine.

In the 1950s, however, the so-called Balkan grill restaurants became one of the most successful types of restaurants in the Federal Republic. These mediated between the well-known Viennese and the Turkish cuisine, which at that time was still perceived as exotic. At the time of the feeding wave they offered a comparatively cheap and extremely meat-heavy menu.

The success of the doner kebab and the associated take-away street sales in Germany since the 1970s has pushed the traditional Turkish cuisine based on the Ottoman palace kitchen into the background. The comparatively simple snack bars are still associated with Turkish cuisine in this country. In Istanbul in particular, there is currently a trend towards a reorientation of Turkish culinary art and a related staging of Ottoman history in gastronomy.

Kahvaltı (breakfast)

Van kahvaltısı or breakfast from Van .

The Turkish breakfast can be very simple with bread, cheese, olives and black tea. But it can also be very opulent with fresh salads, pastries, soups and egg dishes from the pan. Turks often prefer to have breakfast in the form of a "serpme kahvaltı". Many different breakfast components are served in small bowls. Examples of typical components and extensions are:

• Acuka , Cevizli Ezme or Muhammara is a very spicy paste mainly made from chilli, walnuts and olive oil, refined with various herbs and spices. It is consumed as a spread or dip.
• Bal is honey that is very popular and comes in many different regional variations. A distinction is made between süzme bal (the normal honey known in Germany) and petek balı ( honeycomb honey ).
• Beyaz Peynir is an umbrella name for brine cheese , which is made from different types of milk. The most common types are:
  • Ezine peyniri (goat cheese from ezine)
  • Bergama tulum peyniri (goat cheese from Bergama)
  • Erzincan tulum peyniri (Erzincan goat cheese)
  • Tire çamur peyniri (a type of fatty cottage cheese made from Tire)
• Kaşar is a Turkish cheese that is comparable in taste to a mild Gouda cheese.
• Köy Yumurtası , the country egg (literally: village egg). It stands for original and therefore ecological production and is characterized by the strong color of the egg yolk. It is generally sold at weekly markets.
• Menemen is a very popular dish in which tomatoes, peppers, eggs and spices are mixed together and cooked gently.
• Sucuklu Yumurta is scrambled eggs with strong flavored Sucuk Dried sausage.
• Salam is the Turkish mortadella. It is usually served as cold cuts. There are also varieties mixed with pistachios or peppers.
• Sosis is the classic beef sausage. Poultry sausage is also common.
• Pastırma is a beef jerky that is coated with a spicy paste. For breakfast it is either thinly sliced ​​and served or, like sucuklu yumurta, cooked in a pan with eggs and eaten warm.
• Sigara Böreği are triangular Yufka dough sheets that are rolled with cheese or other fillings and fried in hot fat. The name is probably derived from its cigar-like shape.
• In this context, Zeytin refers to pickled olives.
• Zeytinyağı is olive oil. Like almost all other ingredients, it is served in a bowl to dip it with a Somon bread . It is usually refined with a little thyme or oregano.
• Tereyağı is the Turkish nomad butter . In contrast to German butter, it has a creamier, softer consistency.
• Different types of jam. The variety of jams is very pronounced. The most common are strawberry, sour cherry, apricot, quince, peach, blackberry, raspberry and rose jam.
• Pekmez is grape syrup. It is usually used as a spread on bread. There are also many other types of syrup made from other fruits, but grape syrup is the most common.
• Tahini is a paste made from finely ground sesame seeds. It is often mixed with pekmez (grape syrup) .
• Various vegetables, mostly tomatoes and cucumbers
• arugula
• Domates Salatası , This is a tomato salad with herbs and olive oil and vinegar dressing
• Somon ekmeği is the most widely consumed type of Turkish bread.
• "Poğaça" - Pogatschen are round salty pastries, which are mostly filled with sheep cheese or minced meat and onions
• "Açma" is a sweet, soft pastry.
• Simit are round sesame rings.

Çorbalar (soups)

• Mercimek Çorbası (red lentil soup)
• Tarhana çorbası (" Tarhana soup", also called Muhacir Çorbası )
• İşkembe Çorbası (" tripe soup ")
• Yayla Çorbası (" Alpine Soup ")
• Kelle Paça Çorbası (head and foot soup; which consists of cheeks, tongues and the brain meat of the lamb)
• Paça Çorbası (foot soup, contains mutton feet)
• İzmir Çorbası (Soup from İzmir, which contains yogurt, wheat, rice, onions, parsley and other ingredients.)
• Erzincan Çorbası (soup from the Turkish city of Erzincan)
• Yeşil Mercimek Çorbası (Green Lentil Soup)
• Ezo Gelin Çorbası (Ezo's Bride's Soup)
• Düğün Çorbası (wedding soup )
• Şehriyeli Çorba (noodle soup)
• Kafkas Çorbası (Caucasian Soup)
• Bulgur Çorbası (bulgur soup)
• Şiveydiz Çorbası (garlic soup; consisting of meat cubes, garlic, yogurt, mint, chickpeas and a few other ingredients)
• Beyran Çorbası (Beyran soup, red salsa soup with rice and lamb)
• Lebeniye Çorbası (Lebeniye soup, consisting of yogurt, small meatballs, rice and chickpeas)
• Toyga Çorbası (Toyga soup; yogurt soup, which contains various herbs such as peppermint and wheat)
• Soğan Çorbası (onion soup)
• Tutmaç Çorbası (Old Turkish soup, which is also prepared nowadays. The soup contains noodles and lentils.)
• Yuvarlak Çorbası (round soup; this soup contains bulgur dumplings)
• Kestirme Çorbası (This soup contains cut meat)
• Yeşil Orman Çorbası (Green forest soup; consists of cauliflower, broccoli, peas, zucchini and onions)
• Peskütan Çorbası is a soup made from Sivas, which contains flour, onions, lentils and peskütan. Peskütan is matured yoghurt that is cooked with flour and has a hard consistency.
• Aşotu Çorbası (coriander soup )
• Mantar Çorbası (mushroom soup)
• Domates Çorbası (tomato soup)
• Tavuk Çorbası (Chicken Soup)
• Bakla Çorbası ( Broad Bean Soup )
• Bath Çorbası (almond soup )
• Kereviz Çorbası (celery soup )
• Kuşkonmaz Çorbası (asparagus soup)
• Isırgan Çorbası (nettle soup )
• Zencefil Çorbası (ginger soup)
• Abant Çorbası (a kind of yogurt soup with minced meat, potatoes and various herbs)
• Enginar Çorbası (artichoke soup )
• Lahana Çorbası (Cabbage Soup )
• Balık Çorbası (fish soup)

Meze (starters)

Cacik

Acuka or Muhammara

Mixed starter plate

As in many kitchens shaped by the culture of the Ottoman Empire, people in Turkey appreciate "appetizers", which are called meze , with drinks or before the main course . A distinction is made between warm and cold meze .

Cold meze includes various creams that are primarily made from yogurt and therefore have a light consistency. Here, Süzme Yoğurt is mainly used, from which water has been removed by draining in a sieve ( süzme ) or a cotton cloth, making it firmer, creamier, but also richer with a fat content of 10 percent. Many dishes in olive oil, called zeytinyağlı meze , belong to the cold meze .

The so-called mezeci (equivalent to the starter cook or hors d'œuvrier ) is responsible for meze , and is trained for a long time due to the many national and regional variations. Therefore, depending on experience , a good mezeci usually has a higher status within the kitchen brigade.

Examples of cold meze are:

• Antep Ezmesi : Fiery, spicy, fruity vegetable salsa made from finely chopped red peppers and green pointed peppers, finely chopped onions, pepper and tomato paste, lemon juice, salt, sugar, thyme, parsley, a little peppermint and olive oil. The ingredients are usually cut by hand, otherwise the salsa will get too watery and lose its taste. Antep Ezmesi comes from eastern Turkey, where, due to the hot climatic conditions, the food is salty and hotter than in the rest of the country.
• Cacık : Süzme Yoğurt with finely chopped cucumber, salt and pepper as well as lemon juice and olive oil, with dill and peppermint if you like.
• Çiroz : Fish made mainly from small mackerel and dried in the sun. Belongs to a good rakı table as a starter.
• Deniz Börülcesi Salatası : Salicorne salad. This vegetable is slowly becoming known under its French name in Germany. These are samphire whose branches are blanched and then served with a sauce made from olive oil, lemon juice and plenty of garlic.
• Fava : A kind of puree made from broad broad beans sprinkled with dill (at least in Turkey it is eaten cold and made from fava beans ).
• Havuç Ezmesi : Cream made from finely grated carrots, Süzme Yoğurt , lemon juice, a little sugar, salt and pepper and a little olive oil.
• Haydari : Cream made from Süzme Yoğurt , peppermint, sheep cheese, little sugar, little lemon juice and olive oil.
• Humus is a paste made from chickpeas and tahini .
• Lakerda : The meat of the Atlantic bonito, sliced ​​and pickled in salt and oil.
• Mercimek Köftesi is an appetizer made from lentils ( Mercimek ) in the shape of elongated balls that are served on a lettuce leaf and drizzled with lemon juice just before consumption.
• Midye Dolma are mussels that are filled with rice with a variety of spices (pepper, cloves, cinnamon, etc.). Usually it is drizzled with a little lemon juice. The dish is usually known as street food and originated in Izmir.
• Midye Tava are mussels that are fried on a skewer and are usually served with a yogurt sauce.
• Piyaz is an appetizer made from beans, tahini, and vinegar. It comes from the province of Antalya and is very popular there. There is another version of the bean salad without tahini that is consumed in the Istanbul area.
• Şakşuka : Salad made from aubergines, potatoes, carrots, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes, served with yogurt and garlic.
• Topic : Armenian starter, popular in Istanbul, a kind of dumpling made from mashed potatoes and chickpeas with tahini, filled with onions, pine nuts and sultanas, seasoned with allspice, cinnamon and sugar. Boiled in water.
• Zeytinyağlı Yaprak Dolması : Stuffed grape leaves prepared with olive oil.
• Zeytinyağlı Pırasa : Leek or leek made with olive oil with carrots and rice.
• Zeytinyağlı Barbunya : red beans prepared with olive oil.

Examples of warm meze are:

• Arnavut ciğeri : Albanian style fried liver.
• Çerkez Tavuğu : Circassian chicken in walnut sauce.
• Fırında Mantar : mushrooms filled with two types of cheese, refined with sauce and baked in the oven.
• Karides Güveç : prawns , baked in a clay bowl with tomatoes, garlic, spices and butter.
• Mücver : Vegetable fritters made from zucchini and dill.
• Sigara böreği : Thin, triangular yufka dough sheets that are rolled with cheese or other fillings and fried in hot fat.

Turkish cuisine is characterized by a selection of healthy and tasty starters that can replace a main course. Fresh bread, optionally lavaş , pide or white bread, is served with the starters .

Salads

The salads are usually prepared in a marinade made from olive oil and lemon juice.

• Çoban salatası (“shepherd's salad”): tomatoes, cucumber, onions and parsley. The variant with feta cheese and paprika can be found in both Turkish and Greek cuisine.
• Patlıcan salatası ("eggplant salad"): grilled or baked eggplants are pureed without skin and served with olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and parsley.
• Soğan salatası ("onion salad"): onions cut into a crescent shape, olive oil and sumac spices . The onions are cut, briefly placed in warm water with lemons to remove the bitter note, drained and made into a salad.
• Roka salatası : rocket , often made with pieces of fried chicken breast, or served only with lemon wedges. The latter is often served with fish dishes.

Bread products

Bazlama

Katmer

The Turkish cuisine offers a variety of bread products, often from the stone oven . Whether in a restaurant or at home, a meal without bread is unthinkable.

• Ekmek , Turkish bread, is a light white bread that is sold at the national price. It tastes best when it comes straight out of a stone oven . Brown bread (made from millet ) or whole grain bread are also other popular types of bread, but they are not found in every Fırın , a typical Turkish bakery, as the demand is not too high. In many rural areas, black bread or sourdough bread is baked in the home-made way - mostly in a clay oven - and is often offered at weekly markets or even in a few Fırın .
  • Somun or Çarşı Ekmeği , the everyday bread ( called Francala in educated Turkish ), is reminiscent of Central German rolls in consistency and taste.
  • Taş Fırın Ekmeği , the same bread but from a stone oven ( Taş Fırın ), is crispier and slightly darker in color.
  • Lavaş is the flatbread ,popular in many countries and up to a meter long in Turkey, which is served fresh from the oven with the main course in restaurants on a wooden drawer. Characteristic are the large dough bubbles that preserve the heat of the bread for a long time.
  • Bazlama refers to a type of bread that is prepared on a sac . Bazlama is popular, although it is more of a village bread, and is sold at weekly markets.
  • Katmer or Yağlı Bazlama is a puff pastry bread that is prepared with a lot of butter and is therefore very filling. It is more likely to be prepared in the home and is rarely available in stores.
  • Tandır Ekmeği describes the preparation method in a clay oven. The dough is skilfully thrown against the walls inside the oven pit, where it sticks during the baking process.
  • Vakfıkebir Ekmeği is a large, round loaf of bread with a dough that is a little coarser than ordinary white bread . The bread is more durable and tastier than normal white bread. Nowadays available in almost all bakeries in cities.
• Simit , also known locally as Gevrek , sesame rings that are offered by street vendors and eaten at any time of the day.
• Pide-Ekmeği
  • The usual Pide / Ekmeği Ekmeği is a thick, soft flatbread made from yeast dough that is offered in most restaurants. In restaurants that specialize in pide , the pide can also be baked with cheese, minced meat and other ingredients.
  • Tırnaklı Pide is the same bread, but before the baking process, a different surface is formed with the fingers. This may be a detail, but it gives the bread a slightly different consistency to consume.
  • Ramazan Pidesi , generally available during Lent ( Ramadan ), is a round white bread with sesame seeds

Main courses

Kebab

İskender kebab

Kebab cooked in Kadıköy , Istanbul

Adana kebab with flatbread and clockwise yogurt, parsley, lemon and radish, lettuce and red onions seasoned with sumac .

As kebab usually is grilled meat referred, which can be found in the Turkish cuisine in a variety of dishes:

• Doner Kebab - The best-known kebab dish from Turkey, in which spiced, grilled meat slices are thinly cut from a skewer with a large knife. Originally it is a normal dish that is served with side dishes such as rice and salad . In Germany and the rest of Europe , another form has developed over time, which is sold as a snack in flatbread with salad and respective sauces as fast food . In Turkey, except in the tourist areas of the country, this form is not very popular and is not offered everywhere.
• İskender Kebap - thinly sliced lamb from the kebab skewer, which is served on tomato sauce ,chopped flat bread , yogurt andpouredwith melted butter . Specialty of the city of Bursa, but today it is widely used throughout the country.
• Şiş Kebap - A traditional grill skewer made from marinated lamb , tomatoes and peppers .
• Adana Kebap - A particularly spicy minced meat that isgrilledon a skewer .
• Alanya Kebap - A dish made from beef , flatbread and tomatoes andpreparedwith a hot chili sauce .
• Urfa Kebap - A similar variant of Adana Kebap , which is prepared with a milder flavor.
• Talaş Kebabı - Chopped meat that is wrapped in puff pastry after steaming and baked.
• Cağ Kebabı - is a local kebab dish from Erzurum. A stepped skewer, the so-called cağ, is pierced laterally under the top layer of a horizontally rotating kebab trunk and the corresponding portion underneath is cut off with a kebap knife. The resulting meat skewers are then fried over the grill. If desired, one side can be tanned less; this variation is then called 'tartar'. In preparation, the meat of the kebab trunk is salted the evening before it is layered, while the other ingredients are not added until the next day. This is to prevent the meat from taking on a darker color due to the black pepper and to prevent the taste from becoming too bitter due to premature contact with onions.
• Bohça Kebap - lightly spiced meat cubes with various vegetables (mostly peas, tomatoes and peppers), coated with a kind of crêpes batter and baked with cheese.

Köfte

Turkish Köfte with French fries

The Turkish meatballs ( Köfte ) are available in many regional recipe variations. The most well-known are:

• Kuru Köfte , the classic roast meatballs made from minced meat, bread, onions, pepper, pul biber (coarse, hot paprika), cumin, salça (tomato or paprika paste) and parsley.
• İzmir Köfte or Sulu Köfte made from minced meat, pepper and pul biber, prepared with potatoes, tomatoes and peppers either in a pot, in the oven or in a clay casserole.
• İnegöl Köfte , roll-shaped meatballs made to a regional recipe from the Inegöl district in the Bursa province .
• Tekirdağ Köfte , also roller-shaped meatballs made to a regional recipe from the Tekirdağ province in the European part of Turkey.
• İçli Köfte , filled bulgur dumplings.
• Kadınbudu Köfte (literally: women's thigh meatballs) are prepared slightly larger than the other types of Köfte and contain, in addition to the ingredients minced meat, onions, egg, pepper and red chili, as well as rice.
• İznik Köfte , round meatballs similar in taste and consistency to İnegöl Köfte , which are offered in the İznik and Yalova region.
• Çiğ Köfte (Turkish for “raw Köfte”), heavily spiced, raw meatballs. They are traditionally made from minced, low-fat lamb. The vegetarian version consists of wheat, tomato paste, ground chili peppers, and other spices.

Pide

Based on the soft pide ekmeği , pide is offered as a main meal mainly in the following variations:

• Peynirli Pide , with goat cheese
• Patatesli Pide , with potatoes
• Kuşbaşılı Pide , with lamb in small cubes the size of a bird's head ( Kuşbaşı = bird's head)
• Kaşarlı Pide , with Kaşar cheese
• Ispanaklı pide , with spinach
• Pastırmalı Pide , with the classic dried ham Pastırma
• Yumurtalı pide , with egg
• Sucuklu Pide , with the strongly flavored raw sausage sucuk
• Kiymali pide, with minced meat

Pilavlar (rice dishes)

Bulgur pilavı and yoğurt

Pilav (or Pirinç Pilavı ) describes the ready-to-serve form of rice, in contrast to unprocessed pirinç . Rice is used very often and in many different variations. Some of them are:

• Sade pilav is simply cooked rice as a side dish.
• Nohutlu pilaf , rice with chickpeas
• Pilav üstü tavuk or Tavuklu pilav , chicken (chopped up bite-sized ) on rice
• Şehriyeli Pilav
  • Şehriye are browned noodles that are mixed with rice.
  • Erişte means homemade Şehriye .
  • Arpa Şehriye are browned noodles in the outer shape of barley grains and are accordingly called Arpa Şehriye , i.e. barley noodles.
• Sebzeli Pilav is rice mixed with various vegetables.
• Bulgur Pilavı is a dish made from bulgur wheat.
• Meyhane Pilavı consists of bulgur wheat with vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, onions, black pepper and red chilli ( pul beaver ).
• Domatesli Pirinç Pilavı is rice with tomatoes.
• Pilav Üstü Kuru Fasulye is white bean stew on rice.
• İçli Pilav , rice dish in which onions, liver, pine nuts and sultanas are cooked, refined with dill, cinnamon and allspice.

More main courses

Lahmacun with side dishes

Ready- Mantı with yogurt and paprika butter sauce

• Ali Nazik are aubergines that are filled with a puree made from yoghurt, garlic, spices and beef or lamb, and poured over with melted butter and paprika.
• Bamya , a dish made from okra vegetables.
• Beaver dolması are stuffed peppers.
  • Etli Biber Dolması are filled with minced meat, among other things, and are served with their own sauce or with yogurt.
  • Zeytinyağlı Biber Dolması "stuffed peppers prepared with olive oil" contain a filling made from rice, pine nuts, sultanas and onions that are seared in olive oil and seasoned with dill, cinnamon and allspice.
• Börek is a Turkish variant of a casserole or strudel made from Yufka dough with a spicy filling made from minced meat , sheep cheese , spinach or other vegetables and parsley .
• Gözleme are thin, mostly spicy, filled flatbreads made from yufka dough. Gozleme is more likely to be prepared in households or at weekly markets. The most common variants are:
  • Ispanaklı Gözleme , with spinach.
  • Kıymalı Gözleme , with minced meat.
  • Patatesli Gozleme , with potatoes.
  • Peynirli Gözleme , with goat cheese.
• Kokoreç - a spicy grill dish made from lamb intestines.
• Kuru Fasulye is a white bean stew and arguably one of the most typical and popular Turkish dishes.
• Hamsi is a species of anchovy ( Engraulis encrasicolus ) caught for the Turkish market in the Black Sea and consumed as an inexpensive and very popular food during the winter months. To do this, the fish is gutted, breaded in flour and fried in the pan ( Hamsi Tava ). The most common form of serving is with salad in bread ( Ekmek Arası Hamsi ).
• İmam bayıldı is a dish made from stuffed eggplants.
• Lahmacun , also called Turkish pizza, is a snack made of thin flatbread with minced meat , finely chopped vegetables and spices. Lahmacun is mostly offered in the variations "hot" and "normal".
• Kavurma are all kinds of stewed meat or vegetables, in tourist areas also offered as an Ottoman pan .
• Mantı - small filled dumplings (similar to ravioli ), which are firstpouredwith yoghurt and then served with a sauce made from melted butter and pul beaver .
• Kızartma are dishes fried in oil, mostly vegetables such as peppers, aubergines and zucchini are used.
• Kuzu Tandır is lamb that is braised in a clay oven.
• Kuzu Çevirme is lamb that is roasted whole on a spit over the fire.
• Patlıcan Musakka is an eggplant moussaka .
• Türlü is the Turkish form of ratatouille .
• Yaprak Sarma are stuffed grape leaves, the filling consists of rice and minced meat.
  • Etli Yaprak Sarma are filled with rice and minced meat and are served with their own sauce or with yogurt.
  • Zeytinyağlı Yaprak Sarma "stuffed vine leaves prepared with olive oil" contain a filling made from rice, pine nuts, sultanas and onions that are seared in olive oil and seasoned with dill, cinnamon and allspice.

vegetables

• Beavers , i.e. green and red peppers , are available as hot or mild versions. The stronger the color of the green, the sharper they are. The mild, light green to yellowish pointed peppers Çarliston beaver are used as a vegetable or side salad. Dried, coarse or ground Pul Biber is used for seasoning , the best varieties of which come from Urfa and Adana and which are hardly missing on a restaurant table.
• “Acılı Ezme”, spicy paprika sauce.
• “Zeytin” olives are offered in a wide variety of varieties and qualities. The black salty olives are part of a typical Turkish breakfast.
• Vegetables pickled in salt and vinegar, such as cucumbers, cabbage, aubergines, carrots and peppers, are popular side dishes, see also turşu .
• Zeytınyağlı Kabak Çiçeği Dolması : Zucchini flowers stuffed with rice and onions fried in olive oil. Seasoned with peppermint, parsley, dill and pepper.
• Enginar : Artichoke bases, braised in orange juice and olive oil with a filling of peas, carrots and potatoes.
• İmam Bayıldı : "The Imam was blown away" or also known as "The Imam passed out": Eggplant stuffed with onions, pointed peppers, tomatoes and garlic.
• Zeytınyağlı Taze Fasulye : Green beans fried and boiled in olive oil with onions and diced tomatoes and garlic.
• Kuzu Etli Bamya : Okra pods with lamb, stewed in oil with onions and tomatoes.
• Ispanaklı Çılbır : Lost Eggs on Spinach Vegetables.
• Pastırmalı Kapuska : white cabbage refined with spicy beef ham.

Dessert and confectionery

Lokum

Sütlaç from the oven

Cevizli Sucuk or Maraş Sucuğu

• Aşure : A sweet soup made from wheat grains, sugar, beans, chickpeas, chopped nuts, and dried fruit that can be served hot or cold.
• Ayva Tatlısı : Half quinces that are boiled in syrup and served cold with kaymak , a type of milk cream.
• Baklava : A sweet soaked in syrup made from thin dough and containing pistachios or nuts. - Similar, but different in shape and consistency, are Söbiyet , Fistikli Dürüm , Kadayif or Künefe (the latter with cheese filling, served hot).
• Cevizli Sucuk (also Maraş Sucuğu, Bandırma Sucuğu, Şeker Sucuk) is a specialty in various regions of the country. Shelled walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds or pistachios are pulled on a string. This string is then dipped several times into a liquid made from sugar, water, pekmez (concentrated grape must). Once the coating has dried, the candy is ready to eat.
• Cezeriye : A dessert made from carrots, sugar, walnut, coconut and bergamot essence. It is typical of the Mersin and Adana region and has the consistency of hard honey or caramel .
• Güllaç : A dessert made from milk, rose water , rice puff pastry and pomegranate, which is traditionally served especially during the fasting month of Ramadan because of its easy digestibility.
• Helva : A sweet made of sesame and sugar, often with added cocoa .
• Hoşaf : cold bowl made from dried fruit.
• İrmik Helvası is a dessert made from semolina ( İrmik ), butter and sugar.
• Kabak Tatlısı : A dessert made from boiled pumpkin with coarsely ground nuts or almonds, which can also be served with tahini .
• Kemal Paşa Tatlısı : dough balls with yogurt, originally from Bulgaria .
• Composto : Compote made from dried (e.g. raisins, apricots) or fresh (e.g. apples, quinces, sour cherries) fruits.
• Konya Mevlana Şekeri is a sweet from the city of Konya in the form of small balls that are very reminiscent of meringue in consistency and taste .
• Künefe : A baked dessert made from thin threads of dough ( kadayıf ), filled with sheep cheese, soaked in sugar syrup and sprinkled with chopped pistachios. Servedwith kaymak (milk cream).
• Lokma : yeast dough balls that are fried in fat and covered with syrup.
• Lokum (often incorrectly referred to as Turkish honey ): cube-shaped pieces of sugar or honey and starch, enriched with various ingredients, for example nuts, pistachios, desiccated coconut, dried fruits, chocolate or with a fruit or rose flavor.
• Maraş Dondurması : An ice cream specialty made from goat and cow milk, mainly in the flavors of vanilla and chocolate from the province of Kahramanmaraş .
• Mesir Macunu (literally Mesir paste) is a kneaded sweet.
• Pekmez : A regional specialty of Cappadocia , a syrup made from concentrated grape juice.
• Pişmaniye : A specialty from İzmit , a kind of sugary helva , hair-thin threads of sugar that are vaguely reminiscent of cotton candy .
• Revani : lemon semolina cake in sugar syrup.
• Sütlaç : rice pudding , e.g. T. its surface is caramelized.
• Tavuk Göğüsü (literally chicken breast) sounds like a hearty main course, but it is a vanilla pudding with chicken.
• Tulumba Tatlısı : Spritz cake in sugar syrup.

Pastries

• Açma is a ring-shaped pastry
• Çörek is a round pastry that can be prepared with or without sugar.
  • Ay Çöreği is a crescent-shaped pastry (ay = moon) with different fillings.
• Poğaça is a kind of mare bun that comes with a variety of different fillings, from sausage to jam and olives.

beverages

Kahve

Toast with raki over various starters

Emine Ülker Tarhan with a Çay

• Çay (Tschay) - tea , more precisely the now traditional Turkish black tea . State founder Ataturk strengthened tea as a staple food through the so-called tea law of 1924. It has only been grown and consumed in large quantities in the climatically suitable Black Sea region since 1930. The first tea cultivation in the region was established in Georgia , when the Russians circumvented the tea embargo by the British during the Crimean War .
• Ayran , a yogurt- based soft drink.
• Kahve : the coffee according to Turkish preparation. For preparation, the very finely ground coffee is boiled with sugar as required and water in a specially designed, slightly conical copper kettle, the so-called İbrik or Cezve (see Mocha ). Since the sugar is already added during cooking and not stirred in later, you specify how much it should contain during preparation: az şekerli (“little sugar”), orta şekerli (“ medium sweet ”), (çok) şekerli (“sweet "Or" very sweet ") or sade (" no sugar ").
• Salep : a hot milk drink, popular in the cold season.
• Şalgam : is a non-alcoholic, sour and spicy drink from Adana , which is especially popular in southern Turkey as an accompaniment to rakı and spicy dishes.
• Gazoz : the name for carbonated sweet drinks.
• Limonata : lemonade made from still water, sugar and lemon juice.
• Su : the water, mostly mineral water, is a very popular drink, especially mineral water that comes from Bursa . Turks drink almost exclusively non-carbonated water. The carbonated mineral water common in Germany is also available under the name “Soda”. For health reasons, it is not recommended to drink tap water and water from wells.
• Boza : lightly fermented sweet and sour cereal drink (originally made from millet)
• Şıra : grape juice.
• Rakı : When drunk, the aniseed schnapps is diluted with ice-cold water, whereby the aniseed precipitates and a milky white color develops. The drink is therefore called "lion's milk". Wine is slowly gainingin importance again (see viticulture in Turkey ).
• Bira : the beer ; In the restaurants mainly pils-like beers are served. Turkish beer brands are Efes , Tabs , Pera , Marmara , Tekel , Tokat and Bey beer. Since 1990, foreign beer brands such as Tuborg beer from İzmir , Miller , Becks and Löwenbräu have been increasingly available.
• Sarap : the wine is available in different price ranges and regions. Popular wines come from the growing regions of Eastern Thrace , Cappadocia , İzmir and Diyarbakır .

Chalkboard culture

• Yer Sofrası : This mostly round wooden floor table ( Sofra = table) is about 20 cm high and different in diameter. It is the preferred form of table for meals at home. In contrast to Central European culture, this table is a mobile table that is set up for meals and then cleared away again afterwards. It is often stored hanging on the wall in the kitchen. The social background of the Yer Sofrası is also worth mentioning , because it may be set up in the garden, where you can meet the neighbors to prepare / process the food and thus to talk to the neighborhood. Usually the table for preparing the food is different from the one for serving it, although it is structurally identical.
• Sofra Bezi is the tablecloth.
• In this case, Tepsi is the food tray, which can sometimes be richly decorated and is stored hanging on the wall when not in use.
• Çardak is a wooden platform that is particularly found in the warmer regions. In the middle is the floor table surrounded by cushions. The platform is covered and invites you to linger a long time after eating.

Tepsi from Sivas

There are several ways to arrange the table:

• While the tablecloth is placed on the floor and the table is placed on it, the space between the cloth and the table serves as a shelf for the bread, from which you can always help yourself. The dishes are brought to the table with the large tray and served there. Participants sit around the table on flat cushions;
• or the tray is placed directly on the ceiling and serves as a blackboard itself;
• or the tablecloth is placed on the table, the tray then actually only serves as a transport tool.

Traditionally, the individual components are set up on the table and everyone can help themselves directly from the bowls without putting together their own menu on the plate. Turkish tables impress with their modesty and the lack of any decoration. The focus is on preparing the dishes. The bread is not cut, but torn off by hand as needed. Often it is then bent into the shape of a small spoon so that you can use it to take the bite out of the pot and eat it with bread. After the meal, this type of table invites you to linger for a long time and talk. In restaurants and city households, the European table is the preferred shape.

• Rakı Sofrası : The rakı table is a traditional part of Turkish food culture that is still very popular today. Offered in Turkish taverns (meyhane), it is based on the sequence of 1. cold starters (soğuk meze), 2. warm starters (sıcak meze), the main course (ana yemek, fish or meat dish) and the dessert. The aim of the rakı table is to spend a pleasant evening with friends and acquaintances over aniseed rakı, which is enjoyed in tolerable quantities with the food. The rakı should relax the participants enough so that they can chat comfortably, but not become overly blissful. The starters, usually presented on a tray, are selected and served on the table, with each guest taking them to their own plate. Do the same with the warm starters. The main course and dessert, on the other hand, are usually chosen and eaten individually. The rakı table is attractive because it has the largest possible number of different starters that give all guests a taste. By sharing the various dishes and the lively atmosphere, the rakı table is one of the most beautiful culinary experiences in Turkey.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} D. Karaosmanoglu: Eating the past: Multiple spaces, multiple times - performing `Ottomanness' in Istanbul . In: International Journal of Cultural Studies . tape 12 , no. 4 , June 15, 2009, p. 339–358 , doi : 10.1177 / 1367877909104242 ( sagepub.com [accessed January 4, 2017]).
2. ^ ^{A b c} Maren Möhring: Foreign food: The history of foreign gastronomy in the Federal Republic of Germany . Walter de Gruyter, 2012, ISBN 978-3-486-71779-2 , p. 385 ff . ( google.de [accessed on January 5, 2017]).
3. ↑ At home in Almanya - Turkish-German Stories & Living Worlds DOSSIER Heinrich Böll Foundation November 2011 p. 54
4. ↑ ^{a b} At home in Almanya - Turkish-German Stories & Living Worlds DOSSIER Heinrich Böll Foundation November 2011 p. 55
5. ↑ At home in Almanya - Turkish-German Stories & Living Worlds DOSSIER Heinrich Böll Foundation November 2011 p. 58
6. ^ Maren Möhring: Foreign food: The history of foreign gastronomy in the Federal Republic of Germany . Walter de Gruyter, 2012, ISBN 978-3-486-71779-2 , p. 328 ( google.de [accessed on January 6, 2017]).
7. ↑ At home in Almanya - Turkish-German Stories & Living Worlds DOSSIER Heinrich Böll Foundation November 2011 p. 58
8. ↑ Star TV, Lezzetin Haritası, Ezgi Sertel, July 20, 2017

literature

• G. Poggenpohl: Turkish cuisine - creative variety of delicious dishes , 1997, ISBN 3-8122-3741-5
• Adil and Roswitha Beytorun: From Turkish Kitchens , 1984, ISBN 3-405-12580-4 (emerged from the first Turkish cookbook in German published by the authors in 1977)
• Nevin Halıcı: The Turkish Cookbook. Augsburg 1993, ISBN 978-3-933366-49-8
• Joyce Goldstein et al. Peter Johnson: Around the Mediterranean: a culinary journey - with 235 original recipes from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Corsica and Provence. Munich 1995, ISBN 3-88472-265-4
• Sarah Woodward: The Turkish Cuisine. Recipes from the Ottoman Empire. Munich 2002, ISBN 978-3-88472-528-3
• Orkide and Orhan Tançgil, Katharina Seiser: Turkey vegetarian. Brandstätter, Vienna 2015, ISBN 978-3-85033-915-5
• Orkide and Orhan Tançgil : KochDichTürkisch ~ MEZEler - Small delicacies and more , Doyç Verlag, Düsseldorf 2014, ISBN 978-3-9815476-0-3
• Orkide and Orhan Tançgil: KochDichTürkisch ~ SOFRAlar - Turkish Cooking in German , Doyç Verlag, Düsseldorf 2013, ISBN 978-3-9815476-1-0
• Orkide and Orhan Tançgil: KochDichTürkisch ~ KEBAPlar - Döner, Köfte, meat and grilling in Turkish , Doyç Verlag, Düsseldorf 2017, ISBN 978-3-9815476-4-1
• Turkey - The Turkish Cuisine , 1997, information booklet of the Turkish Ministry of Tourism

Web links

Commons : Turkish Cuisine  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files