It was an absolute pleasure to travel in Turkey there was so much to taste and explore absolutely foodies paradise…. u cannot go hungry in this country…. i was amazed by the variety that you get to taste here… a blend of middle east, Mediterranean and Greek cuisine, turkey has its own flavor and boasts of numerous recipes that originated here… evolved and got adapted by its neighbors…. kofte, kebabs, dolma, manti, pillav, borek, gozleme, acma, …. I was lost on the variety and the way the dishes played with technique of cooking, fillings, spices and the presentation… street food.. the fine dining restaurants… homes… every place had something to surprise me n offer something new…
The lavish spread of the Turkish breakfast is never complete without cheese and olives…. kasar and tulum were my favourites… beyaz peynir a variety of feta is also popular in traditional turkish breakfast…. the oil dipped olives were just delicious….
Turkish cuisine has a range of savoury and sweet pastries. Dough based specialties form an integral part of traditional Turkish cuisine.
Gözleme is a food typical in rural areas, made of lavash bread or phyllo dough folded around a variety of fillings such as spinach, cheese and parsley, minced meat or potatoes and cooked on a large griddle (traditionally sač). The lady at the Citadel served us mouth watering gozleme i have ever had…. with the rustic touch and cooked over the traditional sac griddle…..
I couldnt have enough of the home cooked manti the triangular meat filled pasta in the tangy tomato sauce and yogurt…. almost mastered the recipe…
Börek is the general name for salty pastries made with yufka (a thicker version of phyllo dough), which consists of thin layers of dough. Su böreği, made with boiled yufka/phyllo layers, cheese and parsley, is the most frequently eaten. Çiğ börek (also known as Tatar böreği) is fried and stuffed with minced meat.
Not to mention the deserts… a good blend of the traditional versus the modern deserts… you definitely need a sweet tooth to have a sample of all what Turkey has to offer… the sakerpare, lokum, baklava, helva, revani…. are only a few i tried other the exploring the ice cream parlors in Istanbul and Ankara…. loved the turkish variety of tulumba… similar to the Indian gulab jamuns….
Finally to drown it all….. need the turkish tea….
