Recipes › Turkish

Turkish cuisine

Every Turkish dish we have, with the recipe for each — 128 of them, each one written for this site rather than adapted from anybody else's.

By protein

• Chicken (1)
• Beef (11)
• Lamb (35)
• Fish (4)
• Shellfish (2)
• Egg (38)
• Vegetarian (49)
• Vegetables (22)
• Desserts (40)
• Pastes, sauces and basics (17)

By region

• Mediterranean recipes (750)
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Every Turkish dish

• Açma, sourced from Turkey. Rolled out, oiled and coiled before shaping, so it tears into layers instead of breaking like bread. Egg, vegetarian.
• Adana Kebabı, sourced from Turkey. Pressed onto a wide flat skewer with the palm, never threaded, and the tail fat is what holds it there. Lamb.
• Alinazik Kebab, sourced from Turkey. The smoked aubergine and yoghurt bed is the dish, and the meat is what goes on top of it. Lamb.
• Analı Kızlı, sourced from Turkey. Two different dumplings go into one bowl — bulgur-shelled meatballs and whole chickpeas. Lamb, Egg.
• Arnavut Ciğeri, sourced from Turkey. Tiny floured cubes fried hard and then dressed cold, served as a meze rather than hot off the pan. Lamb.
• Aşure, sourced from Turkey. Every grain and pulse is cooked separately before they meet, because none of them cooks at the same rate. vegan.
• Ayva Tatlısı, sourced from Turkey. The seeds and cores go into the pan with the fruit, because that is where the pectin is that sets the syrup. vegetarian.
• Ayvalık Tostu, sourced from Turkey. Pressed flat in a hot press until the cheese leaks out and fries against the plates. Egg.
• Bağaça, sourced from Turkey. Leavened with a chickpea ferment started half a day ahead, not with yeast. vegetarian.
• Balık Çorbası, sourced from Turkey. The heads and bones make the soup and the fillet goes in for the last four minutes. Fish, Egg.
• Balık Ekmek, sourced from Turkey. The mackerel is grilled on the bone and boned at the last moment, so it never dries out. Fish.
• Barbunya Pilaki, sourced from Turkey. It is cooled in its own liquid, which sets to a light jelly around the beans. vegan.
• Bazlama, sourced from Turkey. A dough wet enough to spread with the fingers rather than roll, cooked on a dry griddle. vegetarian.
• Beyran, sourced from Turkey. Built bowl by bowl over a fierce flame, from lamb that was cooked the night before. Lamb.
• Bici Bici, sourced from Turkey. A plain starch block is cut into cubes and served over ice shaved fine enough to melt on the tongue. vegan.
• Biga Peynir Tatlısı, sourced from Turkey. The balls are baked rather than fried, and they must not break apart once the syrup goes on. Egg.
• Boyoz, sourced from Turkey. The oiled dough rests overnight before it is stretched, which is the only thing that lets it go thin enough. Egg, vegetarian.
• Buğu Kebabı, sourced from Turkey. Steamed in a sealed pot with no added liquid and no flame — the name means steam. Lamb.
• Bülbül Yuvası, sourced from Turkey. The sheet is wrapped round a thin rod and pushed together to pleat before it is coiled, with the centre left hollow. vegetarian.
• Burdur Şiş, sourced from Turkey. Marinated in plain milk rather than anything acid, which tenderises without firming the surface. Lamb.
• Cağ Kebabı, sourced from Turkey. Grilled horizontally on a turning spit, then carved and re-threaded onto a small skewer to be served. Lamb.
• Cevizli İrmik Tatlısı, sourced from Turkey. The walnuts go into the batter rather than on top, and the syrup is spiced with cloves and orange zest. Egg, vegetarian.
• Cezerye, sourced from Turkey. Grated carrot is boiled and then roasted dry with sugar until the paste comes away from the pan in one mass. vegan.
• Çiğ Köfte, sourced from Turkey. Nothing is cooked and nothing is heated — the bulgur is worked by hand for half an hour until it binds. vegan.
• Ciğer Kebabı, sourced from Turkey. A cube of tail fat between every piece of liver, because liver has none of its own and dries in ninety seconds. Lamb.
• Cimcik Erişte, sourced from Turkey. Each piece is pinched at the middle between finger and thumb, one at a time, into a bow. Egg, vegetarian.
• Çökertme Kebabı, sourced from Turkey. Built on straw potatoes fried twice, which is the actual work of the dish. Beef.
• Çöp Şiş, sourced from Turkey. Tiny pieces on soaked wooden twigs, cut small enough to cook in two minutes before the wood can burn. Lamb.
• Çorbalık Kesme, sourced from Turkey. Cut into small squares rather than strips, because it has to sit on a spoon. Egg, vegetarian.
• Çılbır, sourced from Turkey. The eggs are poached and laid on yoghurt warmed to blood heat, with foaming pepper butter poured over. Egg, vegetarian.
• Dibile, sourced from Turkey. The strips are folded in the hot oil itself and then dipped in syrup, where the dry version is only dusted. Egg, vegetarian.
• Domates Mücveri, sourced from Turkey. You cannot wring out a tomato, so the tomatoes are crushed into the batter and flour does the drying instead of the hands. Egg, vegetarian.
• Dondurma, sourced from Turkey. Salep and mastic make it chewy enough to pull, and it is beaten rather than churned. vegetarian.
• Döner Kebab, sourced from Turkey. A vertical stack carved from the outside in, so only the outside is ever cooked and the inside waits its turn. Lamb.
• Düğün Çorbası, sourced from Turkey. Thickened twice over — flour browned in butter first, then egg yolk and lemon off the heat. Lamb, Egg.
• Dürüm, sourced from Turkey. The filling goes in a line down the middle and the bread is rolled tight and then toasted shut on the seam. Lamb.
• Ekmek Kadayıfı, sourced from Turkey. Made from a dried bread round and no threads at all, soaked until it swells to twice its thickness. vegetarian.
• Etli Ekmek, sourced from Turkey. Rolled out to half a metre long and baked directly on the oven floor, so it is all edge and no middle. Lamb.
• Etli Makarna, sourced from Turkey. The pasta is finished in the meat and broth with the lid on, so it swells taking up the liquid rather than water. Beef.
• Ezogelin Çorbası, sourced from Turkey. Three starches at once — red lentils, bulgur and rice — each breaking down to a different degree. vegetarian.
• Fava, sourced from Turkey. It sets firm in a tray and is cut into cubes, not served as a dip. vegan.
• Gözleme, sourced from Turkey. Unleavened and rolled paper-thin, filled, folded flat and cooked on a dry griddle. Lamb.
• Güllaç, sourced from Turkey. Nothing is cooked — the starch sheets soften in warm sweetened milk in the dish they are served from. vegetarian.
• Haydari, sourced from Turkey. Strained until it holds a ridge, and no cucumber goes in — which is what separates it from the thinner yoghurt dishes.
• Hoşmerim, sourced from Turkey. Fresh unsalted cheese is cooked until it stops behaving like cheese and turns to a stringy paste.
• İçli Pide, sourced from Turkey. The long edges pinched up and closed over the filling into a boat, and an egg cracked into the middle near the end. Lamb, Egg.
• İmam Bayıldı, sourced from Turkey. No meat at all, an extravagant amount of olive oil, and it is cooled completely before it is eaten. vegan.
• İnegöl Köfte, sourced from Turkey. Worked with a pinch of bicarbonate and rested overnight, which is what makes it soft instead of springy. Beef, Lamb.
• İskender Kebap, sourced from Turkey. Assembled rather than cooked — the dish is foaming butter poured over it at the table. Lamb.
• İskilip Dolması, sourced from Turkey. Nothing is stuffed — the rice steams in a cloth bag above the meat and the pot is sealed shut with dough. Lamb.
• Ispanaklı Yumurta, sourced from Turkey. The eggs are broken into wells pressed into the cooked-down spinach and left whole. Egg, vegetarian.
• İzmir Bombası, sourced from Turkey. The filling goes in frozen, which is the only way the outside bakes crisp while the centre stays liquid. Egg, vegetarian.
• İzmir Köfte, sourced from Turkey. Browned and then simmered in tomato, the only köfte here that goes into a sauce at all. Beef, Egg.
• Kabak Tatlısı, sourced from Turkey. Layered with sugar overnight, then cooked in nothing but the liquid that draws out of it. vegetarian.
• Kadayıf, sourced from Turkey. A thin batter dribbled through a perforated plate onto a hot griddle, so it sets as separate threads rather than a sheet. vegan.
• Kadın Göbeği, sourced from Turkey. A dimple is pressed into each ball with a wet finger before frying, and it survives the oil. Egg, vegetarian.
• Kağıt Kebabı, sourced from Turkey. Each portion cooked in its own sealed paper parcel, opened in front of the person eating it. Lamb.
• Kalburabastı, sourced from Turkey. The dough is pressed against a sieve to take the riddled pattern, then folded round the walnuts. Egg, vegetarian.
• Kandil Simidi, sourced from Turkey. A biscuit and not a bread despite the name — there is no yeast and it is meant to snap. Egg, vegetarian.
• Kapuska, sourced from Turkey. The cabbage is cooked until it loses its structure completely, which takes about three times as long as feels right. Beef.
• Karides Güveç, sourced from Turkey. Cooked and served in the same small earthenware pot, with cheese melted over the top under a fierce heat. Shellfish.
• Karnıyarık, sourced from Turkey. The lamb is cooked before it goes in and the dish is baked in sauce and eaten hot, with a pepper laid on each one. Lamb.
• Kavurma, sourced from Turkey. Cooked in its own fat and then sealed under a layer of it, which is a confit rather than a cure. Lamb.
• Kazandibi, sourced from Turkey. The pudding is deliberately burnt against the base of the pan, and that burnt layer is turned out to become the top. vegetarian.
• Kemalpaşa Tatlısı, sourced from Turkey. The balls are fried and then simmered in the syrup itself, which is what makes them swell. Egg.
• Keşkek, sourced from Turkey. The grain and the meat are beaten together with a mallet until they become one stringy mass. Lamb.
• Keşkül, sourced from Turkey. The almonds are ground and steeped in the milk, then strained out — so it tastes of almond without being gritty. Egg, vegetarian.
• Kesme, sourced from Turkey. The sheet is floured, folded accordion-style and sliced into strips, then dried for a day before it is used. Egg.
• Kol Böreği, sourced from Turkey. One long arm-shaped roll baked at a low temperature, so the inside sets before the outside colours. Egg.
• Köylü Pastası, sourced from Turkey. Four ingredients and no sugar in the dough — it is sweetened only by what goes on top. Egg, vegetarian.
• Kumpir, sourced from Turkey. The inside is mashed with butter and cheese inside its own skin, to a smooth paste, before anything else is added. Egg.
• Kuru Fasulye, sourced from Turkey. The beans start in cold unsalted water and the salt goes in only once they are soft. Lamb.
• Kuymak, sourced from Turkey. The cheese is beaten into the hot cornmeal until the whole pan pulls in strings.
• Kuzu Haşlama, sourced from Turkey. The broth is skimmed obsessively and served first as its own course, before the meat it came from. Lamb.
• Kuzu Şiş, sourced from Turkey. Cubes cut to one size with the fat left on, marinated in onion juice rather than anything acid. Lamb.
• Kuzu Tandır, sourced from Turkey. Cooked on a rack above a tray for five hours so the fat drips away, and uncovered at the end so the skin crisps. Lamb.
• Kısır, sourced from Turkey. The bulgur is soaked in tomato paste and hot water and never boiled, which is where the colour comes from. vegan.
• Lahmacun, sourced from Turkey. The topping goes on raw, spread paper-thin, and everything cooks in three minutes in a very hot oven. Lamb.
• Lakerda, sourced from Turkey. Thick steaks of bonito cured in brine for days and then kept under oil, never cooked. Fish.
• Lalanga, sourced from Turkey. An unfilled yeast dough dropped straight into deep fat, then taken either sweet with honey or savoury with cheese.
• Leblebi, sourced from Turkey. Roasted in stages over several days with rests between, which is what loosens the skins and makes them crisp through. vegan.
• Lokma, sourced from Turkey. A wet yeasted batter squeezed out between thumb and forefinger, so each one tears off round. vegan.
• Lokum, sourced from Turkey. The starch and sugar are cooked together for an hour until a drop in cold water holds a thread. vegetarian.
• Macun, sourced from Turkey. Five flavours are cooked as five separate pastes and never mixed — they are wound onto the stick side by side. vegan.
• Mantı, sourced from Turkey. The dumplings are tiny — forty or more to a plate — and the smallness is the whole achievement. Lamb, Egg.
• Menemen, sourced from Turkey. The eggs are stirred through the tomato and taken off while still visibly wet. Egg.
• Mercimek Köftesi, sourced from Turkey. The bulgur goes into the hot lentils off the heat and swells in the residual heat, never on the stove. vegan.
• Mesir Macunu, sourced from Turkey. The spices are infused into the syrup and then strained out again, so what sets is clear of grit. vegetarian.
• Midye Dolma, sourced from Turkey. The rice goes in raw and the shells are packed so tightly against each other that they hold themselves shut. Shellfish.
• Mücver, sourced from Turkey. The grated courgette is squeezed dry by hand, hard, and the water thrown away. Egg.
• Muğla Halkası, sourced from Turkey. The fat is olive oil rather than butter, and lemon juice is what brings the dough together. Egg, vegetarian.
• Nevzine Tatlısı, sourced from Turkey. The syrup is grape molasses rather than sugar, and a splash of vinegar sets the bicarbonate working. Egg, vegetarian.
• Nokul, sourced from Turkey. A yeast dough rather than pastry sheets, cut into portions before it is baked rather than after. Egg.
• Pastırma, sourced from Turkey. Pressed under weight and then coated in çemen, a fenugreek paste that is most of what it tastes of. Beef.
• Pestil, sourced from Turkey. The pulp is spread thin on cloth and dried until the sheet peels off without tearing. vegan.
• Pideli Köfte, sourced from Turkey. Served on bread that has already drunk the broth, so the bread is a component and not a plate. Beef.
• Pilaki, sourced from Turkey. Pilaki is a way of cooking rather than a dish — the fish is laid on vegetables already cooked and goes in for the last ten minutes. Fish.
• Piyaz, sourced from Turkey. The onion is salted and rinsed before it goes in, and the dressing is a tahini tarator rather than oil and lemon. Egg, vegetarian.
• Piyaziye, sourced from Turkey. The onion is the container, boiled whole until its layers come apart as unbroken cups. Lamb.
• Puf Böreği, sourced from Turkey. Deep-fried rather than baked, and it puffs hollow — which only happens if the oil is hot enough to set the outside instantly. Beef, Egg.
• Ramazan Pidesi, sourced from Turkey. Dimpled all over with the fingertips before it bakes, which is what stops it doming into a balloon. Egg, vegetarian.
• Şakşuka, sourced from Turkey. There are no eggs in it, and the vegetables are fried separately and only then put under sauce. vegetarian.
• Şambali, sourced from Turkey. It is cut into diamonds before it bakes, not after, so the syrup runs down the cuts. vegetarian.
• Sarburma, sourced from Turkey. A stack of separate thin sheets is rolled into a turban, so the layers stay countable instead of fusing. Lamb, Egg.
• Sarıyer Böreği, sourced from Turkey. Coiled flat into a round tray, cut across after baking and sold by weight — and currants and pine nuts go in the filling. Beef, Egg.
• Şekerpare, sourced from Turkey. Each ball is pressed with the thumb and an almond set in the hollow, which is also what stops it doming. Egg, vegetarian.
• Şevketibostan Yemeği, sourced from Turkey. The peeled thistle stalks are held in lemon water or they blacken within minutes. Lamb, Egg.
• Simit, sourced from Turkey. Dipped in thinned grape molasses before the sesame, which is what makes it stick and what turns the ring mahogany. vegan.
• Soğan Kebabı, sourced from Turkey. The onions outnumber the meat and are the point, cooked until they are sweet rather than soft. Lamb.
• Su Böreği, sourced from Turkey. The sheets are boiled in water before they are layered, which is what the name means and what gives the soft pasta-like body.
• Sucuk, sourced from Turkey. Pressed flat between boards while it dries, which is why a slice is an oval and not a circle. Beef, Lamb.
• Sulu Köfte, sourced from Turkey. Finished with an egg and lemon liaison stirred in off the heat, which thickens it without flour. Beef, Egg.
• Supangle, sourced from Turkey. A layer of plain cake goes in the bottom of each glass and the hot chocolate pudding is poured straight onto it. Egg, vegetarian.
• Sütlü Nuriye, sourced from Turkey. Hot milk is poured over it instead of syrup, which is what makes it pale. vegetarian.
• Şıllık, sourced from Turkey. Thin crepes rather than pastry, folded over ground walnuts and then soaked. Egg, vegetarian.
• Tahinli Pide, sourced from Turkey. The tahini is swirled onto the shaped dough with the fingertips, never rolled up inside it. vegetarian.
• Tantuni, sourced from Turkey. The beef is boiled first and then fried on a flat plate, and the bread is steamed on top of the cooking meat. Beef, Lamb.
• Tavukgöğsü, sourced from Turkey. Chicken breast is the thickener, pounded to threads so fine they cannot be seen or tasted. Chicken.
• Tel Kadayıf, sourced from Turkey. The butter is rubbed through every strand by hand before any of it is laid in the tray. vegetarian.
• Tire Köfte, sourced from Turkey. Flattened thin between wet palms and grilled, never rolled into a ball at any stage. Beef, Lamb.
• Tirit, sourced from Turkey. Stale bread is the body of the dish, and the broth is poured over it at the table. Lamb.
• Trileçe, sourced from Turkey. Three different milks soak one sponge, and a caramel is poured over the top to set as a lid. Egg, vegetarian.
• Tulumba, sourced from Turkey. The dough is piped straight into the oil and snipped to length with wet scissors. Egg, vegetarian.
• Türlü, sourced from Turkey. Everything goes in raw and all at once, and nothing is browned first. vegan.
• Vakfıkebir Bread, sourced from Turkey. A single loaf of two kilos or more, which is why it keeps a week where a small one is stale in a day. vegan.
• Yanıksı Dondurma, sourced from Turkey. The milk is deliberately scorched against the base of the pan, and the burnt layer is stirred back in. vegetarian.
• Yayla Çorbası, sourced from Turkey. Yoghurt is the whole soup rather than a swirl in it, so the tempering is the entire technique. Egg.
• Zerde, sourced from Turkey. Made with water and no milk at all, which is what lets the saffron colour show. vegan.

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