Turkish cuisine combines the best traditions of the Caucasian, Balkan, Islamic and European regions. Historically, most dishes were cooked over an open fire, but now there are many adapted recipes. And we have collected 20 of the most delicious of them!
Lentil soup with mint
No traditional Turkish lunch is complete without this soup. He is also Merdzhimek-chorbasy.
You will need: 150 g red lentils, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 15 g butter, 30 ml vegetable oil, 30 g flour, 50 ml 33% cream, half a bunch of mint, 1/2 lemon, spices.
Preparation: Pour a liter of water or broth over the lentils and let them cook. Chop the onion, grate the carrots and fry them until soft in a mixture of butter and vegetable oil. Add flour, stir and fry for another 2 minutes. Send the frying to the lentils. Add spices and cream, and beat everything with a blender. Serve the soup with mint leaves and lemon slices.
Kefte
Classic Turkish cutlets with spices and breadcrumbs.
You will need: 200 g beef, 1 onion, 1 egg, 3 tbsp. breadcrumbs, 1 tsp. cumin, spices.
Preparation: Grind the beef into minced meat with onions, add the egg, crackers and all the spices, and mix the mixture. Place the minced meat in the refrigerator for an hour, form small oval cutlets and deep-fry until golden brown.
Baklava with spices
Making your favorite Turkish sweet is easier than it seems.
You will need: 400 g puff pastry without yeast, 300 g walnuts, 300 g sugar, 200 g honey, 100 g butter, 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp. cardamom and cinnamon.
Preparation: Grind the nuts in a coffee grinder and mix with sugar and ground spices. Roll out the dough into layers according to the size of the mold. Lay out one layer, brush with butter and sprinkle with nuts and sugar – and so on until the end. Brush the last sheet with beaten yolk.
Cut the baklava into diamonds or squares and place in the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees. Mix 1/4 cup of warm water with honey and pour this syrup over the finished baklava. Leave it to cool and soak.
Muhammara
Vegetable paste made from bell peppers with nuts – you just can’t stop eating!
You will need: 4 bell peppers, 1 onion, 100 g roasted walnuts, 3 tbsp. olive oil, 4 tbsp. breadcrumbs, 2 tbsp. pomegranate sauce, 1 tbsp. wine vinegar, 2 cloves of garlic, 0.5 tsp. cumin, 2 chili peppers, spices.
Preparation: Bake the bell pepper in the oven at 200 degrees until charred, and remove the skin and seeds. Coarsely chop the onion and fry it with garlic until transparent. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Turkish Baked Eggplants
It is best to scorch such eggplants over a fire, but you can get by in the oven.
You will need: 4 eggplants, 4 tomatoes, 1 onion, 5 cloves of garlic, 3 tbsp. olive oil, 2 tbsp. vinegar, 1 bunch of cilantro, spices.
Preparation: Bake eggplants in foil until soft, peel and finely chop. Finely chop the remaining vegetables in the same way, chop the cilantro and mix everything. Add crushed garlic, vinegar, olive oil and spices and mix again.
Kysyr
Traditional Turkish salad with bulgur, herbs and spices. Reminiscent of the more famous tabbouleh.
You will need: 200 g bulgur, 200 g cucumbers, 3 bell peppers, 2 shallots, 1 chili pepper, 100 ml olive oil, 0.5 tbsp. tomato paste, 30 g parsley, 30 g green onions, 1/2 lemon, 1 tsp. dried mint, cumin, chili flakes and other spices, 2 tbsp. sauce nashrab, salt, sugar.
Preparation: Whisk one bell pepper, chili, a spoonful of water, a spoonful of olive oil and a pinch of salt and sugar in a blender. Boil this paste until thickened over low heat for about 20 minutes and grind through a sieve.
Boil the bulgur and mix with tomato paste, pepper, oil, scrape, lemon juice and all the spices. Add very finely chopped cucumbers, remaining sweet peppers, onions and herbs. Mix the salad.
Revani
An unusual sweet semolina pie with lemon syrup.
You will need: 250 g semolina, 50 g flour, 250 g sugar, 60 g butter, 100 g peeled almonds, 9 eggs, 1 lemon, 1 pinch of salt, 3 glasses of water, 4 more glasses of sugar.
Preparation: Grind the almonds, remove the zest from the lemon and squeeze out the juice. Separate the yolks and beat them with 250 g of sugar. Add the zest and beat for 7 minutes until thickened. Add semolina, flour and chopped almonds and mix.
Separately, beat the whites until foamy and fold into the dough. Pour melted butter in there. Place the dough on parchment paper on a baking sheet and place in the oven for half an hour at 180 degrees. Mix lemon juice, water and 4 cups of sugar, boil the syrup for 10 minutes and pour it over the sliced pie.
Turkish ayran
A classic refreshing drink in the heat of summer.
You will need: 750 ml of yogurt, 150 ml of carbonated mineral water, 3 sprigs of dill and parsley, salt.
Preparation: Beat yogurt with mineral water and salt in a blender until smooth. Add chopped greens as finely as possible and stir the ayran.
Fruit sorbet
Light popsicles with no milk, cream or eggs at all.
You will need: 2 bananas, 1/2 apple, 1/2 orange, 1 tbsp. lemon zest, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, 2 tbsp. syrup or honey.
Preparation: Peel and cut all the fruits and place in the freezer in sealed bags. When they are frozen, place them in a blender, add the zest, lemon juice and syrup, and blend everything thoroughly.
Lahmajun
This is something similar to an open-faced puff pastry pizza.
You will need: 2 sheets of puff pastry, 400 g of meat, 2 tomatoes, 1 bell pepper, 1 onion, 100 g of feta cheese, 1 clove of garlic, 1 tbsp. tomato paste, half a bunch of parsley.
Preparation: Pass any meat to your taste through a meat grinder. Finely chop the onion, garlic, tomatoes and bell pepper. Fry the vegetables for a couple of minutes, add the minced meat and simmer until done.
Add tomato paste, spices and chopped parsley and stir. Roll out the puff pastry, form boats and put the filling in them. Sprinkle it with cheese and bake everything in the oven until golden brown at 200 degrees.
Pilav
Or rice with vermicelli. A very unusual Turkish side dish!
You will need: 1 cup rice, 1/2 cup small vermicelli, 1.5 cups water, 30 g butter, salt.
Preparation: Rinse the rice thoroughly, add warm water, leave for 20 minutes and drain in a colander. Fry small vermicelli in butter until brownish. Add rice and fry for a couple more minutes. Add salt, pour in water and cook for 20 minutes, covered, over low heat.
Salad with bulgur and tomatoes
Salads with bulgur are one of the most popular in Turkish cuisine.
You will need: 150 g bulgur, 3 tomatoes, 1 bunch of cilantro, 3 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, spices.
Preparation: Boil the bulgur and let it cool. Chop the cilantro, cut the tomatoes into small slices, mix everything, season and sprinkle with lemon juice.
Tawa kebab
Juicy meat cutlets in the oven and immediately with vegetables, so you don’t have to prepare a side dish.
You will need: 300 g minced meat, 2 eggplants, 2 bell peppers, 2 tomatoes, 1/2 onion, 150 ml water, 1 tsp. paprika, 1 tsp. cumin, 2 tbsp. vegetable oil, spices.
Preparation: Mix minced meat, vegetable oil, chopped onion and all spices, leave for 10 minutes and form small cutlets. Coarsely chop all the vegetables and place them in the form with the cutlets. Add water and season again. Cook tawa kebab in the oven at 180 degrees for about 1 hour.
Turkish shawarma with chicken
Well, how could you do without this recipe in such a selection?
You will need: 100 g lavash, 250 g chicken fillet, 1 cucumber, 1 tomato, 150 g cabbage, 50 g yogurt, 50 g tomato sauce, spices.
Preparation: Finely chop the chicken and fry it with spices until golden brown. Chop all the vegetables. Mix yogurt with tomato sauce and spices, grease the pita bread, add the filling and wrap the shawarma. Fry it in a dry frying pan on both sides.
Couscous with chicken and vegetables
A universal main dish for the whole family and a great alternative to the eternal buckwheat with rice.
You will need: 200 g couscous, 2 lemons, 1 lime, 150 g cherry tomatoes, 200 g chicken fillet, 4 regular tomatoes, 1 purple onion, 1 bunch of parsley, half a bunch of mint, 6 tbsp. olive oil.
Preparation: Boil the chicken and chop it finely. Roughly chop onions, cherry tomatoes and regular tomatoes, chop parsley and mint. Steam the couscous according to the instructions and season with olive oil and lemon and lime juice. Mix all ingredients.
Couscous with minced meat
A delicious Turkish main dish that can also be cooked in a frying pan without any problems.
You will need: 300 g minced meat, 220 g couscous, 300 g bell pepper, 150 g onion, 45 g tomato paste, spices, herbs.
Preparation: Fry finely chopped onion until golden. Add chopped bell pepper and fry for another 2 minutes. Then add the minced meat and continue frying for another 7 minutes. Pour in 100 ml of boiling water, add spices and tomato paste, and cook for another 3 minutes. Finally, add the couscous, another 500 ml of boiling water, and simmer everything under the lid until the couscous is ready. At the end, add chopped herbs.
Lula kebab in the oven
We recommend cooking it on long skewers, pre-soaked in water so that they do not burn.
You will need: 500 g minced meat, 1 onion, 1 clove garlic, 20 g parsley, 1 tbsp. soy sauce, 50 ml dry red wine, 50 ml water, spices.
Preparation: Chop onion, garlic and parsley, mix with minced meat, add spices and soy sauce, and beat it. Then leave the minced meat in the refrigerator for 40 minutes. Form oblong cutlets around the skewers and place on the sides of the mold. Pour water and wine into the mold itself. Cook lula kebab in the oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees. Turn over and cook for another 15 minutes.
Menemen
Even scrambled eggs in Turkey are prepared in their own way – with tomatoes and chili!
You will need: 4 eggs, 300 g tomatoes, 1 onion, 2 chili peppers, 2 cloves of garlic, 0.5 tsp. oregano, spices.
Preparation: Peel the tomatoes and finely chop them with onion, garlic and chili. Fry everything together for a couple of minutes, add spices and simmer for another 7 minutes over medium heat. Beat the eggs into the pan, stir lightly and cook for another 3 minutes.
Turkish flatbread gozleme
They resemble chebureks, but they are not so fatty.
You will need: 200 g flour, 100 ml water, 50 ml vegetable oil, 1 tsp. dry yeast, 25 g butter, 1 pinch of salt, 300 g minced meat, 1/2 onion, half a bunch of herbs, spices.
Preparation: Mix minced meat, chopped herbs, spices and chopped onion. Fry everything together until done. Separately, mix yeast, warm water and a pinch of salt. Add vegetable oil and flour, and knead the dough. Leave it for half an hour.
Divide the dough into 4 parts, roll out thinly and brush with melted butter. Lay out the filling in a thin layer, fold the envelopes, bending all the edges, and fry the flatbread in a lightly greased frying pan on both sides.
Lentils with mushrooms
An ideal side dish and a complete meal on its own for vegetarians.
You will need: 1 glass of lentils, 300 g of mushrooms, 2 onions, 1 carrot, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 bunch of parsley, spices.
Preparation: Boil lentils according to instructions. Fry the chopped onion and garlic until translucent, add the grated carrots and fry for another 3 minutes. Add chopped mushrooms, fry until tender and mix everything with lentils, chopped parsley and spices.