FOOD IN TURKEY

Food, glorious food!

Throughout our three weeks in Turkey, we were able to try a huge range of the delicious food on offer here.  A cuisine rich in meat, bread and dairy - we thoroughly enjoyed the meals here and found Turkey to be one of the cheapest places to eat compared to other countries we have visited. 

We have broken down the food we tried into cities, and have listed the name of the restaurant where possible, in case anyone is wanting to know some recommended restaurants while in Turkey!

Istanbul

 

 

Mixed Kebab (chicken, beef, lamb mince and liver, chicken wings, garlic sauce, rice, red cabbage, lettuce and tomato) 19 TL ($9.5AUD) Erciyes Kebap Turkli Cad. No 19 Kumkapi, Istanbul

 

beautifully soft bread served with the mixed kebab

Mixed Pide (Lamb mince, sausage, cheese, tomato) 9TL ($4.5AUD) Erciyes Kebap Turkli Cad. No 19 Kumkapi, Istanbul

Chocolate baklava, Baklava x 2, Bulbul (Walnut Scroll) and 6 pcs Turkish Delight 4.5TL (2.5AUD) Dodo Fevzipasa Cad. No 237 Fatih, Istanbul

 

Turkish delight Dodo Fevzipasa Cad. No 237 Fatih, Istanbul

XXXL burger, consisting of three meat patties, cheese and salad, in a meal incl. Fat chips + and drink - 34 TL ($16.50AUD) Fatburger istiklal ave

 

Chicken Doner

 

Tavuk Ekmek (crusty bread roll, filled with chicken, tomato, onion, pickles, yoghurt and sumac then grilled)- 2 Turkish Lira ($1AUD)

 

Pistachio Baklava – (Sweet, flaky pastry filled with crushed pistachio nuts and smothered in the traditional sweet syrup) – 2.50 Turkish Lira ($1.25AUD)

 

Lahmacun (thinly rolled bread topped with minced lamb meat and herbs then oven baked, served with chillies, cabbage, lettuce, onion, parsley, tomato and lemon) – 3 Turkish Lira ($1.50AUD)

 

Pide (pizza like dough topped with cheese and sausage then oven baked in the traditional shape) – 3.50 Turkish Lira ($1.75AUD).

 

Tavuk Durum Kebab (A thin wrap filled with chicken, tomato and pickle then grilled) 7 turkish lira ($3.50AUD)

Tavuk Kebab (soft bun, filled with chicken, tomato, hot chips and pickle then grilled) – 5 turkish lira ($2.50AUD)

 

Patatas Tost (hot chips nestled between two thick slices of bread then toasted and topped with mayonaise and tomato sauce) – 5 Turkish Lira ($2.50AUD)

 

Mezze Platter (Stuffed vine leaves, fetta, spicy tomato dip, eggplant dip, garlic dip, hommus) – 20 Turkish Lira ($10AUD)

 

Simit (turkish style bagel topped with sesame seeds and filled with cream cheese) – 2TL ($1AUD)

 

Halka Tatlisi (Heavily fried churro until very crunchy, then covered with sugar syrup and pistachios) 1TL ($0.50AUD)

Goreme

 

Ozlem Speciality (Meatballs baked and topped with cheese, in the formation of cappadocia caves) 20 TL ($10AUD) Ozlem Pide & Kebab house, Goreme

 

 

Iskender Kebab Et (doner meat with pita bread, garlic sauce, tomato sauce and spices) 13 TL ($6.5AUD) Ozlem Pide & Kebab house, Goreme

 

 

Eggplant stuffed with minced meat 13 TL ($6.5AUD) Ozlem Pide & Kebab house, Goreme

 

Cappadocia Chicken Pottery Kebab (chicken and veg cooked in claypot for hours) 18TL ($9AUD) Ozlem Pide & Kebab house, Goreme

 

 

Cappadocia Chicken Pottery Kebab (chicken and veg cooked in claypot for hours) 18TL ($9AUD) Ozlem Pide & Kebab house, Goreme

 

Sausage and cheese Gozleme 6TL ($3AUD) Safak Coffee house, Goreme

 

 

Antalya

 

 

Tea (çay) in Turkey is a very important part of daily life and you will see it absolutely everywhere you go. Men wander down the streets carrying a tray filled with çay taking it to people. The çay is served in beautifully shaped glass cups, on a saucer and always come with two sugar cubes. The çay tastes different to the typical black tea we have in Australia and can sometimes be bitter, however we grew to really enjoy it throughout our time in Turkey.

 

 

Künefe (a cheese pastry, soaked in a sweet sugar based syrup and topped with Kadayif – stringy, sweet and delicious!) 5TL ($2.50AUD), Lider Pide and Kebab Salonu, Antalya

 

 

Chicken Sis Kebab (Chicken kebab, burghul wheat, chilli pepper, tomato, parsley, pita bread) 5TL ($2.50AUD), Lider Pide and Kebab Salonu, Antalya

 

 

Adana meat Kebab (Spicy meat kebab, burghul wheat, chilli pepper, tomato, parsley, pita bread) 5TL ($2.50AUD), Lider Pide and Kebab Salonu, Antalya

 

 

Mixed pide with egg 5TL ($2.50AUD) Lider Pide and Kebab Salonu, Antalya

 

 

We tried some beautiful freshly squeezed pomegranate juice (nar suyu) here. It was sweet and sour at the same time and a beautiful dark red/purple colour. 2.5 Pomegranates were used for this one cup of juice – just think of the nutrients in here!

 

Kaş

 

In Kas, we tried the very popular drink in Turkey – Salgam Suyu.. Turnip juice! When we tried it, only the spicy version was available, but we thought we would give it a go. The taste is hard to describe and not what we were expecting (having made turnip juice by letting slices of turnip extract the juice by sprinkling sugar over them). The only way to describe the taste would be that it was almost like vinegar, with a small amount of heat at the end from the chilli. We did not get this drink again while in Turkey, it unfortunately was not one of our favourites.

 

Fethiye

 

 

In Fethiye we took advantage of our self catering apartment and wandered around the local markets and purchased some amazing olives from a local seller. They were meaty, sweet, just salty enough and a beautiful blushed colour.

 

We also purchased fresh cheese (3TL - $1.50AUD for around 200 grams), eggplants (1.5TL p/kg - $75cAUD), capsicums (2TL p/kg - $1AUD), mushrooms (3TL p/kg - $1.50AUD) and a fresh bulb of garlic and beautifully ripe tomatos (free from the lovely sellers!). We combined this with fresh bread, cig kofte and pre packed meats from the supermarket for a lovely meal.

Izmir

 

It was here in Izmir we enjoyed our first proper Ayran with a meal (the first one we had in Istanbul was from a supermarket when we weren't feeling too well, thinking it was just a normal yoghurt drink). Ayran is a salty yoghurt drink which many Turkish people have with their meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner). It is creamy and light and slightly salty and complements a dish nicely.

 

 

Tavuk Ekmek Doner with Ayran 8TL ($4AUD)

Pide (a different round version we had not seen in Turkey, beautiful thick dough topped with chopped meat, onion, tomato and cheese) 8TL ($4AUD)

Tavuk Iskender (chicken doner meat on a bed of thick bread, topped with a tomato sauce and served with yoghurt and salad, and then topped with warm chicken juices!) served with Ayran and a sweet. 13TL ($6.50AUD)

 

Iskender Et (Beef Doner meat on a bed of thick brad, topped with a tomato sauce and served with yoghurt, chips and a coke) 10TL ($5AUD)

 

Tavuklu Pilav (Chicken Doner meat on Turkish rice, served with chips, salad, pita bread and a coke) 8TL ($4AUD)