30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 21: Kuzu şiş

Posted on December 5, 2017 by livingtheturkishdream

Kuzu şiş (lamb shish) is a simple kebab dish, but delicious. Marinated cubes of lamb on skewers, cooked perfectly and served with special flat bread (which is hiding some of the meat in my photo above), rice, grilled peppers, onions and tomatoes, and raw onion salad with sumac sprinkled on top. Perfect when the meat is tender! My photo above was taken at Mozaik Bahçe in Fethiye, their presentation is especially impressive.

I always feel like ordering lamb or chicken shish kebab is so boring when eating out, but it’s so tasty I can never resist!

30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 20: CHICKEN DÖNER

Posted on December 4, 2017 by livingtheturkishdream

A Turkish döner kebab is nothing like the ones you’ve come across in the UK. I’ve never had a lamb one, but chicken döner is one of my favourite fast foods!

The name relates to the way the seasoned meat is cooked slowly on a vertical rotisserie. As the outside layers of meat get cooked, they are carved off and served. There are various ways the meat is served – over rice with salad, in a wrap (dürüm) or in a half-bread like a sandwich (yarım ekmek). We usually get the half-bread – the perfectly cooked chicken is shaved off and put inside along with onion, tomato and lettuce.

It’s served with a side of pickled hot chili peppers. The English in me means I sometimes order chips, cover them in salt and vinegar and stuff them inside too!

30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 16: ADANA KEBAB

Posted on November 30, 2017 by livingtheturkishdream

Adana kebab is a spicy lamb kebab, named after the Turkish city. The meat is minced together with spices and pepper then moulded around a thick, flat skewer and grilled over coals. Usually served with with rice and salad, with sumac to add to the flavour!

I like this dish but sometimes find it a bit fatty/gritty, some are definitely made better than others.

30 DAYS, 30 DISHES – DAY 4: BEYTI KEBAB

Posted on November 15, 2017 by livingtheturkishdream

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!