Turkish Cuisine – Top 10 Traditional Dishes You Must Try In 2023

When it comes to cuisines, every country has its best ones to offer. Although we know Turki only for their Kebab and köfte, they make some exquisite foods that are irresistible.

The foods here influence the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Although some Turkish cuisines follow some inspirations, you will see some exotic delicacies. The foods here specifically focus on flavors and cater to the eaters of the different regional flavors.

If you are ever in a Turk, you must taste their best cuisines. Talking about the best Turkish cuisines, here are some recommendations that you must try

1. Manti

The world has more dough-based cuisines than you could ever imagine. For example, Manti is a dough-based Turkish cuisine containing a filling inside.

It is a very popular Turkish dish and is often called a Turkish dumpling.

While making this food, they created dough in a triangular shape and filled it up with different spices and ground meat. Once ready, they serve the Manti with mint and melted butter. When served, Manti creates an irresistible aroma. They also add tomato sauce sometimes. There are many manti shops in Turkey.

2. Keskek

Another Turkish cuisine that holds Turkey’s taste and culture in its delicious flavors is Keskek. While making this dish, the Turkish people cook meat and cracked wheat for a long time. They use a cauldron or a pot for cooking Keskek.

After the food is cooked, they mix it with butter and top it up with tomatoes and coriander leaves. This food brings the festive mood of turkey. UNESCO added Keskek to the “Intangible Cultural Heritage” of Turkey. Often, keskek is cooked using chickpeas and chicken.

3. Taratorlu Piyaz

Taratorlu Piyaz is another Turkish cuisine that deserves a spot on this list. It is not a dish of its own, though. This salad often serves as a side dish; only the Antalya people eat this salad with Shish Kebab. Taratorlu salad is a combination of onion, beans, and sumac served with sesame paste. You can also eat this as a separate meal.

Many Turkish restaurants serve these dishes. My recommendation is to eat this with Kebab.

4. Baba Ghanoush

A starter Turkish cuisine, Baba Ghanoush is an Eastern Mediterranean food and is an aubergine dip. They use yogurt, garlic, olive oil, and lemon. They also add sesame seed paste and fresh pepper to modify the taste.

This appetizer can fill your heart and stomach as a complimentary dish or separate meal. But if you ever visit a Turkish restaurant, you can ask for this delicacy as a starter.

5. Tarhana Çorbası

I could not leave this Turkish cuisine off the list judging its taste and popularity. This delicacy is a dried mixture of veggies, yogurts, and flour. It is a very nutritious and fermented mixture, and it lasts long. The Turkish people often make this food in the summer and store it to consume in the summer.

The Turkish supermarket sells tarhana as a packaged food; you can buy it and make the delicious soup they make by adding some veggies to it. If you want to eat at restaurants, many restaurants serve this food to you.

6. Shish Kofte

Shish kofte is the king of the Turkish streets. This Turkish cuisine is one of 300 types of meatballs you can eat on the streets of Turkey. As I told you, the taste changes across the country with different recipes.

They mix various herbs and spices to ground meat and put the meatball on the skewer for grilling it. It all depends upon the recipe; they may also add onions, garlic, and bread crumbs based on the requirements. 

7. Hamshi 

Hamshi, the fish from the Black Sea, is great Turkish cuisine, and you cannot miss it. Of course, there is nothing wrong with poaching or baking it. But the Humshi tastes its best when it is fried. This immensely tasty Turkish fish is fried whole with intense flavor and a flour coating.

They put a series of these small fishes around the palate in a circular formation. Once both sides are fried, you can top these fishes up with green salads.

8. Dolma

Dolma is a fine and delicious Turkish dish in both Greek and Turkish cuisine. They make this slightly sour food by stuffing the leaves of young grapevines with lemon-flavored rice, onion, and ground lamb. Once the stuffing is ready, they cook it in diluted tomato paste.

There are both veg and nonveg versions of this recipe available, and you can eat it in any of the restaurants in Turkey.

9. Lamb

If you are in turkey and your stomach is craving meat, then lamb is the delicacy you must try. It is the most popular meat in Turkey. Many Turkish cuisines use lamb as their source of meat. You can find lamb in lahmacun, kofte, kebab, casserole, ragout, and pide.

When you are out of options, all you need to do is enter a Turkish restaurant and order any lamb dish. You can wait to be surprised.

10. Hibes

Served both as a starter and a sauce, this delicious Turkish cuisine is based on sesame paste. Turkish coastal areas like Antalya have this dish as a regular in their diet. First, then thin the paste with warm water and then season it with lemon juice, cumin, paprika, and garlic.

When you are having a large cut of meat, you can keep it on the side for a variation in taste. Also, spreading this sauce on a piece of bread can bring out the best of its taste.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If you want to know more about the best Turkish cuisines, you need to read the following questions and answers–

Bottom Line

When it comes to delicious Turkish cuisine, you can taste different dishes. From Mantı, Taratorlu Piyaz, Tarhana Çorbas,Baba Ganoush Kebab and Kofte there are many dishes. You cannot miss their desserts and salads also.

Did you like the list of these foods? If you did, please let us know. Also, if there is any question, please reach us through the comment.

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