Modern Turkish cuisine: doner, chorbasy, hummus. Video
Contemporary Turkish cuisine is the result of a long development influenced by Islam and neighboring cultures. It was strongly influenced by Arab, Iranian, Mediterranean culinary traditions, as well as the customs of the Turkic nomadic tribes and peoples of the Caucasus. Turkish cuisine is rightfully one of the ten best in the world. It is distinguished by its sophistication and variety, so choosing only ten of the best dishes is quite problematic. In any case, the national dishes listed below are a must-try for every tourist.
In Turkey, kebab is a generic term for grilled meat, from which many completely different dishes can be prepared. The most popular and widely known outside the country is the doner kebab.
The cooking method is quite simple: the meat is strung on a vertically installed rotating spit. During the cooking process, small pieces of meat are cut with a long knife and placed in a flat cake cut in half. Doner Kebab is a kind of Turkish fast food. It is usually prepared from lamb, less often from veal. The chicken version is called tavuk doner kebab.
Ishkembe chorbasy is a classic stew with offal, one of the most favorite soups of Turks. The vast majority of traditional first courses in Turkey resemble mashed potatoes. Today, such a soup can be made with a blender, but for centuries the Turks have done well without it: they have achieved the desired consistency by carefully selecting the ingredients. Ishkembe is prepared from beef tripe (stomach), kefir or yogurt. And, of course, this soup is full of spices.
Ishkembe chorbasy is so popular in its homeland that there are special restaurants that exclusively serve this soup in various variations.
Merjimek Chorbasy is an easy-to-prepare but extremely tasty red lentil soup. This classic Turkish dish is suitable for fasting and vegetarian meals. There are exceptionally many options for making merjimek, since almost every family had their own recipe.
Dolma is a famous dish common in Central and South Asia, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Balkan Peninsula and in the cuisines of the peoples that once belonged to the Ottoman Empire. Dolma resembles Russian cabbage rolls, only grape leaves are used instead of cabbage. Either rice or meat (lamb) serves as a filling for Turkish dolma, while the option with rice is served as a cold snack, and meat dolma is a hot dish.
Hummus is the most favorite snack among the Turks and the peoples of the Middle East, which is prepared from the so-called chickpeas (chickpeas), tahini sesame paste and spices. It is a pea puree with a lot of garlic. Hummus is seasoned with lemon juice and olive oil and served with freshly baked bread. It is customary to scoop it up with a piece of flat cake from the dish. Hummus goes well with meat dishes. The snack can be served hot, warm or chilled.
Hummus is not poured with olive oil, the oil is simply mixed into the puree
Pilav is a Turkish variety of pilaf, which is very radically different from all the others. Although the word pilâvi literally translates as “rice porridge”, in addition to rice, bulgur or barley can be used for sawing. A wide variety of products can serve as additional ingredients: meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, dried fruits, etc. In the original recipes for the preparation of sawaw, as a rule, they use round rice and lamb liver.
Choban salads, or shepherd’s salad
Choban Salads – A simple fresh vegetable salad. The classic version consists of cucumbers, tomatoes, paprika, green onions and spices – sumac and dried red pepper. The shepherd’s salad is seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and narsharab pomegranate sauce. Choban salads are usually served in a large, shallow bowl, despite the fact that there is a lot of liquid (tomato juice and sauce) in it.
Baklava (aka baklava) is a popular oriental delicacy, whose homeland is now officially recognized as Turkey, namely the city of Gaziantep. The first mention of baklava dates back to 1453. Over the years of its existence, many different recipes have been developed, but the essence always remains the same: baklava is prepared from many layers of dough, thin as paper, between which ground nuts are spread. Most variations use walnuts and pistachios, and the layers of dough are oiled and soaked in sugar syrup.
Jezerye is another delicacy of Turkish origin, the name of which, translated into Russian, means “oriental sweetness”. It is a confectionery product obtained by boiling and gelling juice and adding split nuts. Initially, Jezerye was made from carrot juice, but later many recipes arose from fruit juices (primarily pomegranate) and milk.
Syutlach – Turkish rice and milk pudding. There are two types of its preparation – hot and cold. To get a hot sutlach, the prepared dessert is placed in a heat-resistant dish and baked in an oven until golden brown.