30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 12: SIMIT

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Ok, so not really a ‘dish’ but a Turkish staple food regardless!
Simit is a round bread with a hole in the middle, covered in sesame seeds. It’s kind of a cross between an American pretzel and a bagel, a perfect mix of the two.

It’s perfect with breakfast, or as a quick snack while walking around the streets of Turkey. It’s sold in bakers, corner shops and from little carts on street corners and  markets. It’s even sold from trays piled high with the bread, expertly balanced on the seller’s head, while wandering the streets shouting ‘simit!’.

Perfect with a glass of Turkish tea, too!
Funny story – my maiden name is ‘Smith’ and Turkish people cant pronounce that – they always said ‘Simit’ instead!
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30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 11: Sucuklu Yumurta

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Sucuk & egg is one of my favourite weekend breakfasts.

Sucuk is a spicy Turkish sausage, made from beef or lamb. It is mixed with garlic, cumin and other spices/seasonings then left to dry for weeks before selling.
It is sliced then fried in oil for a few minutes, then eggs are cracked and mixed into the mixture, or left whole. It is quite spicy and has a strong flavour, so I always chop up some fresh tomatoes and drizzle them with olive oil and eat them along side it, with some fresh crusty bread of course!

It’s often served as part of a big Köy Kahvaltısı (village breakfast).

The only bad thing is how strong it smells – when Berkay cooks it I can smell it for hours afterwards! I love the fancy pans it’s sometimes presented in.

 

30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 10: ALI NAZIK KEBAB

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Ali nazik kebab is one of my favourites! Cubes of marinated lamb on a bed of patlıcan (aubergine) puree mixed with yogurt and served with rice and salad. I love the smoky taste of the creamy aubergine mashed with garlic yogurt, so delicious!

Would you believe, before I lived in Turkey I had never tried aubergine, now I always look for it on the menu!

P.S Sorry I missed a day of posting yesterday – I was just so busy!

30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 9: Sütlaç

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Sütlaç is Turkish rice pudding. There are two types – simple rice pudding cooked on the stove, and ‘fırın sütlaç’ – where it’s put in the oven afterwards to brown off, which gives it a different taste. It’s always served cold and can be flavoured with lots of different things, but usually vanilla. The first photo was a simple banana flavoured rice pudding made by Berkay’s aunt, the ones below are oven-baked rice pudding, vanilla flavoured with coconut on top.

I do like the taste, but the texture puts me off a bit, especially when it has the skin on!
 

30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 8: BAZLAMA

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Bazlama is a kind of village bread. It’s big, round and flat. It’s quite heavy and thick, kind of like a cross between a naan bread and a crumpet? I can’t really explain, but it’s really yummy.

My favourite way to eat bazlama is at the gözleme stalls in Fethiye or Calis market. They slice the bread in half and fill it with your choice of filling, cheese is the most popular but I love cheese, tomato and chili flakes. It’s then cooked on a metal plate. It’s like a giant toastie! So delicious and so filling. One whole bazlama is definitely enough for two people and is usually served with salad or pickled vegetables.

Berkay’s stepmum made some bazlama bread from scratch while we were there in September – the family goes through so much bread that it’s cheaper to make their own sometimes!

  

30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 7: KAYMAK & HONEY

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Kaymak is the Turkish version of to clotted cream, made using buffalo milk.

It’s thick, creamy and very rich! Its sometimes served as an accompaniment to desserts like künefe and tel kadayıf, but my favourite way to eat it is with honey.

It’s delicious served like this with honey for breakfast, along with some fresh bread to spread it onto. It’s often served as part of a Köy Kahvaltısı (village breakfast) in restaurants along with the usual olives, eggs, tomatoes, eggs, jams and various other goodies!

30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 6: Zeytinyağlı taze fasulye

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Zeytinyağlı taze fasulye is one of my favourite, simple Turkish dishes and it’s quite versatile. It can be eaten warm like a stew, eaten as a side dish with meat, served over rice or eaten cold along with other dishes as a meze.

It’s made with fresh green beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, peppers, onions, garlic and lots of olive oil. You can make it in large batches as it freezes well, and the olive oil means it last for a few days in the fridge too, and the flavour just gets better over time, making it delicious as cold leftovers too.

I love eating it warm in winter with fresh, crusty bread to mop it up with.

Meat is quite expensive in Turkey so a nice vegetarian dish like this is ideal, cheap and very easy to make. I have a recipe for it on my blog, click HERE to see that. In fact, writing this post has really made me want to make some soon so I think I’ll be buying some beans in the weekly shop!

30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 5: Türk kahvesi

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Turkish coffee is very strong and very thick black coffee. It’s unfiltered, so you really need to master the art of avoiding swallowing the grains at the bottom of the cup, otherwise it won’t be a very pleasant experience! It’s always served black, with a small glass of water, and is often accompanied by a piece or two of sweet Turkish delight.

It’s served in tiny, porcelain espresso cups, some of which have beautiful brass or copper cases, with intricate designs and patterns, making it look rather regal!

Turkish coffee has it’s own traditions. When a boy wants to marry a girl in Turkey, the boy and his family have to visit the girl’s family’s house to ask for their blessing in marriage. Whilst there, the potential bride will make Turkish coffee for the guests. Sometimes, she puts salt in the potential groom’s coffee, instead of sugar, and waits for his reaction. If he doesn’t react negatively, or show his disgust, it’s said to show his good character.

Turkish coffee also has fortune-telling abilities. After you finish your cup, turn it upside down on the saucer and wait for the grounds to form a pattern. Some people are able to read these grounds and interpret the meaning. Last year, when Berkay was awaiting the decision of his visa application, he had a BBQ with his friends. One of their wives made coffee and they sent a photo of the remaining grounds from the bottom of the cup to an app which reads them and tells you the meaning. The app said Berkay’s meant the following: “you’re waiting for some results and they’ll be on the doorstep tomorrow, it’ll be good news. You’ll be going on a long journey”.. and how right they were too, because the very next morning the visa arrived in his hands!!

30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 4: BEYTI KEBAB

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Beyti kebab is a popular kebab dish. Minced beef or lamb is cooked on skewers, then wrapped in thin lavaş bread (similar to tortilla wraps). It’s then sliced up into inch-thick pieces and arranged in a circle on a plate. A tomato based sauce is poured over the top, and yogurt placed in the middle. It’s a bit spicy, and usually served with rice. The combination of the rice and lavaş bread makes it very filling!

I’ve actually never had this dish in Turkey, but have in two different Turkish restaurants, one in London, one in Essex. It was served slightly differently in each place, one served it with peppers and tomatoes, and a thicker sauce, the other served it with cucumber.

It’s a good one to try – as long as you’re not put off by the sight of yogurt on your dinner plate. It took me years to get the hang of that!

30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 3: LOKMA

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Lokma are balls of dough, deep fried then covered in sweet, sticky syrup, best served while hot or warm.

Crispy on the outside but soft in the middle, when you bite into them they are slightly chewy, they are similar to donuts, but less cakey.

Lokma is often made in large batches and is a popular choice of food at celebrations or festivals, given out for free by families to all the local people during weddings, henna nights, openings of new shops/restaurants and even during sünnet (circumcision celebrations) and funerals (a certain amount of days after someone dies, their family arranges to serve food to local people).

When we were down in Ölüdeniz in April, there was a parade and celebration marking the official start of the summer season and they were cooking fresh batches of Lokma in the street and handing them out to everyone passing by. Wherever you find a stall giving them away, you can be sure there will be a huge line of people waiting!

Delicious, sticky, gooey, crispy… and full of sugar!