Most of the recipes are taken from
Turkish Cuisine
by Mehmet Yazgan, Editor, Yazgan Turizm Tic. Ltd. Sti.
You can find the Weights and Measures used in the recipes here.
It is said that three major kinds of cuisine exist in the world; Turkish, Chinese, and French.
Fully justifying its reputation, Turkish Cuisine is always a pleasant surprise for the visitor.
In addition to being the refined product of centuries of experience, Turkish Cuisine has a very pure quality. The variety and simplicity of the recipes and the quality of the ingredients are guarantees of delicious meals.
Lamb is the basic meat of Turkish kitchen. Pieces of lamb threaded on a skewer and grilled over charcoal form the famous "sis kebab" now known in many countries of the world. "Doner kebab" is another famous Turkish dish, being a roll of lamb on a vertical skewer turning parallel to a hot grill.
The aubergine is used in a wide variety of dishes from "karniyarik" and "hunkarbegendi", to "patlican salatasi" and "patlican dolmasi". It can be cooked with onions, garlic and tomatoes served cold "imambayildi".
A delicious Turkish specialty is "pilav", a rice dish which is difficult for the inexperienced cook to prepare. "Borek" are pies of flaky pastry stuffed with meat or cheese. The delicious Turkish natural yoghurt, "yoghurt", is justifiably renowned.
One notable variety are the "zeytinyaglilar" dishes cooked with olive oil. "Dolma" is a name applied to such vegetables as grape leaves, cabbage leaves, and green peppers stuffed with spiced rice.
Turkish sweet-meats are famous throughout the world and many of these have milk as the basic ingredient such a such as "sutlac", "tavuk gogsu", "kazandibi" but the best-known are "baklava" and "kadayif" pastries, favorites of young and old alike.
Among the national drinks, Turkish coffee, ayran, shira and boza should be mentioned. Turkish coffee comes thick and dark in a small cup and may be served without sugar, with a little sugar or with a lot of sugar. Either way, it is truly delicious.
You can try these delicious recipes at the Turkish restaurants close to your area.
Last update : January 13, 1994