Monday, March 25, 2013

Tour of Taste (12) : Turkey


It is said that Turkish, Chinese and French are the three major kinds of cuisine exist in the world. Fully justifying its reputation, Turkish Cuisine is always a pleasant surprise for the tourist where 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.




Kebab

Kebabs are dishes of plain or marinated meat either stewed or grilled. Lamb is the basic meat of kitchen in Turkey. There are various types of kebab. “Sis Kebab”, pieces of lamb threaded on a skewer and grilled over charcoal, 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.


Pilav

A delicious Turkish specialty is "pilav" which is a rice dish.  This dish is difficult for the inexperienced cook to prepare. In the Black Sea region of Turkey they make a great dish with rice and small fish called "Hamsili pilav". 


Börek

Börek is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of thin flaky dough known as phyllo (or yufka). It can be filled with cheese, minced meat, or vegetables. Most probably invented in the Anatolian Provinces of the Ottoman Empire in its early era, which known as Modern Turkey today. Börek is also a very popular element of Ottoman cuisine. 


Lentil Soup

There are a wide variety of soups available in Turkey, may be light, or rich and substantial. These soups are generally based on meat stock and served at the start of the meal. Lentil soup is the most common and best loved variety. The soup may consist of green, brown, red, yellow or black lentils, with or without the husk.


Meze

Mezes are appetizers figuring mainly at meals accompanied by wine or raki. Examples of meze consisting gozleme, fried aubergines with yogurt, lakerda, pastirma, kisir, humus, fish croquettes, and lambs' brains with plenty of lemon juice. A selection of meze is provided to the table on a tray immediately after the drinks are served for the customers to make their choice at many restaurants.


Cacik

The delicious Turkish natural yoghurt, "yogurt", is justifiably renowned. A typical appetizer prepared with yogurt is "Cacik". Cacık is famous throughout the former Ottoman countries. Cacık is made of yogurt, salt, olive oil, crushed garlic, chopped cucumber, dill, mint, and lime juice, diluted with water to a low consistency, and garnished with sumac. Among these ingredients, olive oil, lime juice, and sumac are optional.


Turkish Coffee 

Turkish coffee is different in the method of preparing the coffee where oasted and then finely ground coffee beans are boiled in a pot (cezve). 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. This method of serving coffee is found in the Middle East,North Africa, the Caucasus, and the Balkans.


Baklava

Turkish desserts are famous throughout the world. One of the well-known desserts of Turkish cuisine in the world is baklava. Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey.


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