From
Turkish Cuisine, Top Ten Dishes to try..
1-Breakfast; the Turks enjoy a variety of local
produce at breakfast. You can expect to be served a
platter of feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumber and
olives as well as jam, honey, butter, fresh baked
bread and tea.
2-Mezes;
most Turkish meals start with mezes
(appetizers). There are a huge variety of tasty mezes. Popular
types include boreks - savory pastries filled with ground
meat, spinach or cheese, dolmas - vine leaves, vegetables
or mussels stuffed with a savory mixture and purees of fish
roe, chick peas, beans or smoked eggplant.
3-Kebabs; may be meat or chicken. Most popular
ones are Doner Kebab (sliced roast meat), Sis Kebab (cubes
of meat grilled on a skewer) and Iskender
(Doner meat on bread with a rich tomato and
yogourt sauce).
4-Karniyarik; is a dish of eggplant, split open and
stuffed with minced lamb, tomatoes and currants.
5-Lahmacun; Turkish style pizza. The thin dough is
spread with a spicy mixture of ground lamb, onion and tomatoes.
It is usually served with fresh parsley and lemon juice.
6-Kofte; although there are a number of different kinds,
the most popular are spicy lamb meatballs served with rice
and grilled vegetables.
7-Fish;
a variety of fish dishes can be found in Istanbul and coastal
areas. In most cases fish such as Bonito, Turbot and Sea Bass
are served grilled. Along the Black Sea coast anchovies are
very plentiful and are used in a number of dishes including
the popular Hamsi Pilavi, a mixture of anchovies and rice.
8-Soup;
a popular snack at any time of day. A variety of tasty soups
are served on street corners and restaurants. Some of the
most popular ones are Yayla (yogourt and rice) Ezo gelin (red
lentils, bulgur, rice, tomato paste, hot pepper and mint)
Iskembe (tripe) famous as a hangover cure!
9-Yogourt;
made from cow, sheep or goat's milk, is very popular and delicious.
The word yogourt is derived from the Turkish word "yogort."
Try yogourt as a drink (ayran) a side dish or a simple snack.
Kanlica, a suburb of Istanbul is famous for it's yogourt served
with a sprinkling of icing sugar.
10-Sweets;
popular ones are, Baklava made with walnuts or pistachio,
Firinda Sutlac a baked rice pudding and Asure a combination
of dried fruit and beans.
