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Undu walalu
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Undu walalu

Walalu means bangles, and these dark, sticky rings of fried urad dal soaked in kithul treacle are a sweet that Sinhala families bring out for Avurudu and for special almsgivings, often made in large batches by an aunt known for her steady hand. A thick, fluffy paste of ground black gram is piped into loops and fried until crisp, then plunged straight into warm treacle, so the rings stay crunchy on the outside while drinking up the syrup. They taste a little like a darker, smokier jalebi, with a toffee finish from the palm treacle. Watery batter is what ruins them; it spreads into flat blobs, so grind the soaked dal with as little water as possible and beat it until light. This recipe uses no asafoetida, so it is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: pipe the rings onto small squares of baking paper and lower them into the oil paper and all; the paper peels away in seconds.

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Sucuklu yumurta

No Turkish weekend breakfast spread feels complete without a sizzling sahan of sucuklu yumurta carried to the table: slices of garlicky, cumin-spiced beef sucuk fried in their own red fat, with eggs cracked over and cooked just until the whites set. Everyone tears bread and dips it straight into the pan, between bites of cheese, olives and tomato. Sucuk is a cured beef sausage; cook it thoroughly. Common mistake: frying the sucuk on high heat, which burns the spices and makes the slices curl and harden. Chef's tip: add a teaspoon of water to the pan once the sucuk has released its fat; it stops the slices burning and helps cook the egg tops.

11 minTurkishBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
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Tavuk sote

Tavuk sote is what Turkish home cooks make on a busy weekday: strips of chicken thigh seared hard, then tossed with green and red peppers, mushrooms, onion, tomato and a spoonful of pepper paste until glossy. It cooks in the time the bulgur or rice takes, and lokantas serve it from the steam tray with a side of yoghurt. Thigh meat stays juicy; breast dries out quickly. Common mistake: adding all the chicken at once, which drops the pan temperature and leaves it pale and watery. Chef's tip: finish with a knob of butter and a pinch of dried thyme off the heat for a glossy, aromatic sauce.

30 minTurkishChickenGluten free
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Uskumru dolması

Uskumru dolması is a showpiece of Istanbul's old Armenian and Greek meyhane kitchens, made in autumn when Bosphorus mackerel are fat: the skin is eased off whole, the flesh mixed with spiced rice, walnuts, currants and herbs, then stuffed back in so the fish looks untouched. It is dipped in egg and flour, fried and served at room temperature in slices as a cold meze. It takes time but impresses every guest. Chef's tip: roll and massage the fish firmly before you start; the spine snaps at the head and the skin loosens so you can push the flesh out without tearing it.

105 minTurkishFish
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İncir tatlısı

The plain around Aydın grows most of Turkey's figs, and in winter, when only the dried ones remain, local cooks soften them in water, tuck a walnut half inside each, and poach them in a light syrup until they plump up dark and glossy. A spoonful of milk in the pan, an old Aegean trick, gives the syrup a soft caramel note. Serve them cold with kaymak or thick yoghurt. Chef's tip: soak the figs first so they swell before cooking; added dry, they stay leathery in the middle however long they simmer.

50 minTurkishDessertsGluten free
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Girit ezmesi

Girit ezmesi takes its name from the Cretan Muslims who settled in Alaçatı and Çeşme a century ago, and it is still a fixture of every meze table in those whitewashed streets. Soft white cheese is mashed with olive oil, walnuts, garlic, plenty of herbs and a dusting of hot pepper into a rough, salty spread that begs for warm bread. Feta and beyaz peynir are often made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian one if you need to. Chef's tip: mash by hand with a fork rather than blending; it should stay textured, with visible pieces of walnut and herb.

15 minTurkishChutneys & DipsGluten free
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Şambali

Walk through İzmir's Kemeraltı bazaar and you'll see huge copper trays of şambali, cut into diamonds, each topped with a blanched almond and glistening with syrup. It is a dense, moist semolina cake made with yoghurt, sold by street vendors and old pastry shops, sometimes with a spoon of kaymak on top. Plainer than it looks and dangerously easy to eat. Chef's tip: rest the batter for a few hours, or overnight, so the semolina softens fully; otherwise the cake is gritty.

55 minTurkishBaking
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Sıkma

At village markets in the hills behind the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, women sit at a convex sac griddle rolling out paper-thin dough, cooking it in seconds and 'squeezing' (sıkmak) it around a filling of white cheese and herbs. You eat it rolled up and still hot, with ayran. It is the simplest snack there is and easily done in a large frying pan. Beyaz peynir is often made with animal rennet; choose a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: roll the dough as thin as you can and cook it fast on a very hot, dry pan; slow cooking makes it brittle instead of soft and foldable.

45 minTurkishBreads & Parathas
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Ege ot böreği

In spring, Aegean women around Urla and Ayvalık forage for wild greens (radika, mallow, wild fennel, chard and sorrel) and fold them into little half-moon pies, fried or baked, for the Hıdırellez spring festival and village picnics. Spinach and chard with lots of dill and mint make a good shop-bought substitute. They are herby, a little sour, and lovely warm or cold with yoghurt. Chef's tip: wilt and squeeze the greens thoroughly; any water left in the filling turns the pastry soggy and makes it burst.

75 minTurkishSnacks & StartersVegan
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İzmir köfte

Ask anyone from İzmir what their mother cooked on weeknights and İzmir köfte comes up: fingers of cumin-scented köfte, wedges of potato and long green peppers, lined up in a tray and baked in a thin tomato sauce until everything is soft and the edges catch. It is a one-tray family supper served with rice pilaf, a bowl of cacık and plenty of bread for the sauce. Chef's tip: fry the köfte and potatoes briefly before baking; that quick browning gives depth the oven alone can't.

75 minTurkishMeat
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Çökertme kebabı

Çökertme is the kebab Bodrum is proud of: a bed of crisp, matchstick-thin fried potatoes, a layer of garlicky yoghurt, then tender strips of sautéed beef on top, finished with tomato sauce and butter. It is restaurant food in the town but easy to make at home for a Saturday lunch, and the contrast of hot, crunchy, cool and creamy is what makes it. Chef's tip: cut the potatoes very thin and fry them in two batches just before serving; made ahead, they go limp under the yoghurt.

60 minTurkishMeat
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Kumru

The kumru takes its name from the dove-shaped sesame roll baked in İzmir and is the city's favourite beach snack, especially at the stands of Çeşme. The roll is filled with slices of beef sucuk (spicy Turkish sausage), melting kaşar, tomato and green pepper, then pressed flat in a hot sandwich press until the crust crackles. Eat it with an ayran in the shade. Chef's tip: fry the sucuk slices briefly first so they release their red, spicy fat into the bread before you press it.

20 minTurkishMeat
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Ayvalık tostu

Ayvalık, the olive-oil town on the north Aegean, turned the humble cheese toastie into a feast: a long, soft loaf split and stuffed with kaşar, beef sucuk, beef salami, tomatoes and pickles, pressed hot, then opened up again to be piled with ketchup, mayonnaise and Russian salad. It is eaten for breakfast or as a late snack after a swim. This one has beef sausage and salami, so check the label if you avoid pork. Chef's tip: press it twice, once with the cheese and meats, then again after opening it to add the cold toppings, so the bread stays crisp.

25 minTurkishMeat
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Levrek buğulama

Buğulama means 'steamed', and in the fish restaurants of Urla and Foça it is how gentle white fish like sea bass are cooked when the cook wants them to taste of themselves: laid over onions, tomatoes and peppers, covered and left to steam in their own juices with a little lemon and bay. The result is soft, moist fish in a light, fragrant broth to mop up with bread. Serve with a green salad and boiled potatoes. Chef's tip: keep the heat low once the lid goes on; the fish should barely tremble, not boil.

40 minTurkishFishGluten free
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Fasulye turşusu kavurması

Every autumn, Black Sea households pack crocks with green beans and brine, and through the winter those sour, soft beans are fried with onion and a little butter or oil into one of the region's most loved side dishes. Kavurma means fried, and the beans take on golden edges while keeping their tangy bite; a beaten egg sometimes goes in at the end. Eat it with cornbread, rice pilaf or a bowl of fried anchovies. Common mistake: frying the beans straight from the jar; they spit and taste harshly sour. Chef's tip: soak them in fresh water for half an hour first, tasting as you go, until they are pleasantly sour rather than puckering.

30 minTurkishVegetarianGluten free
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Hamsi tava

When the first winter storms push shoals of anchovy along the coast, fish markets from Samsun to Hopa are heaped with silver hamsi and the whole region seems to smell of frying. Hamsi tava is the simplest way to eat them: heads off, butterflied, dusted in cornmeal and laid in a hot pan in a neat circle, then flipped like a cake. They come out crisp outside and soft and sweet within, with red onion, rocket, lemon and cornbread alongside. Common mistake: crowding the pan, which steams the fish and leaves the coating soggy. Cook until the flesh is opaque and flakes from the backbone. Chef's tip: shake off every bit of loose cornmeal; a thin coat is what stays crunchy.

30 minTurkishFishGluten free
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Hamsili pilav

Hamsili pilav is the showpiece of a Trabzon or Rize winter table: a dome of rice cooked with currants, pine nuts, allspice and dill, packed into a tin lined with butterflied anchovies, more fish laid over the top, and baked until the skins turn crisp. Turned out and cut like a cake, it shows silver fish outside and fragrant rice within, and families make it for guests and New Year gatherings. Serve with a sharp salad and lemon. Common mistake: fully cooking the rice before baking, which turns it mushy; it should still have a bite when it goes into the tin. Bake until the fish is opaque and flakes. Chef's tip: lay the anchovies skin side down against the tin, overlapping like roof tiles, so no rice escapes.

100 minTurkishFishGluten free
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Karadeniz kıymalı pide

Pide salons in Samsun, Trabzon and Rize stretch their dough into long boats, pinch the ends into points and fill them with minced beef, onion, tomato and peppers, then slide them into a wood oven for a few minutes. At home a very hot oven and a heavy tray get you close: a crisp, chewy rim, a juicy filling and a brush of butter as it comes out. Slice across into strips and eat with ayran and a sharp shepherd's salad. Common mistake: a wet filling, which soaks the base; squeeze the chopped tomato and let the mince sit on the dough raw so its juices cook into the bread. The mince must reach 71 °C. Chef's tip: crack an egg into the middle for the last 3 minutes if you like it the Samsun way.

45 minTurkishMeat
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Akçaabat köftesi

The town of Akçaabat, just west of Trabzon, is lined with köfte houses whose grills turn out small, oblong, firm meatballs that taste strongly of garlic. Made from beef mince bound with soaked stale bread, they are seared fast so the outside chars while the inside stays juicy, then served with grilled peppers, a pile of onion and parsley, and a white bean salad. Common mistake: overworking the meat with wet hands after the bread has gone in, which turns them dense; knead hard before adding bread, then mix gently. Cook until the centre reaches 71 °C. Chef's tip: rest the shaped köfte in the fridge overnight; they hold their shape on the grill and the garlic mellows into the meat.

37 minTurkishMeat
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Karalahana sarması

In Trabzon and Artvin kitchens the big dark leaves of karalahana are blanched and wrapped around a filling of minced beef, rice, onion and plenty of mint and dill, then packed into a pot and simmered with a little tomato and butter. The rolls are thicker and chewier than vine-leaf sarma, with an earthy taste that suits cold weather, and they're served with a bowl of garlicky yoghurt. Common mistake: leaving the thick central vein on the leaf; shave it flat with a knife or the rolls split. Simmer until the filling is cooked through to 71 °C and the rice is soft. Chef's tip: lay any torn leaves in the base of the pot so the rolls never touch the bottom and scorch.

100 minTurkishMeatGluten free
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Sinop mantısı

Sinop's mantı are not the tiny sealed parcels of Kayseri but larger squares pinched at the corners, filled with spiced beef mince and served in a deep plate with garlic yoghurt, crushed walnuts and a sizzling spoon of chilli butter. In the port town they are a cold-weather lunch, and the walnuts are what make them Sinop's own. Common mistake: boiling them too hard so they burst; keep the water at a lively simmer and cook until the filling is firm and reaches 71 °C. Chef's tip: let the dough rest a full 30 minutes; a relaxed dough rolls thin without springing back and the dumplings cook evenly.

85 minTurkishMeat
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Tarhana çorbası

Late every summer, women across Central Anatolia, from Uşak to Konya and Sivas, ferment a dough of yoghurt, flour, tomatoes, peppers and onion, dry it on cloths in the sun and rub it into crumbs. All winter that tarhana becomes a quick, warming soup with a gentle sourness and the sweetness of sun-dried pepper. It is breakfast in villages, a cure for colds in cities, and is eaten with bread and a squeeze of lemon. Common mistake: tipping dry tarhana straight into hot liquid, which forms stubborn lumps; soak it in cold water first. Chef's tip: finish with a spoon of butter sizzled with dried mint and chilli flakes drizzled over each bowl; it lifts the whole soup.

30 minTurkishSoups
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Etli ekmek

In Konya, etli ekmek is the city's own fast food: dough stretched into a strip almost a metre long and thin as card, spread with hand-chopped lamb or beef, onion, tomato and pepper, baked for a few minutes in a stone oven and cut into squares with a pizza wheel. Unlike lahmacun, the topping is generous and the bread is crisp all the way through. At home, make shorter strips on a hot tray and serve with ayran, lemon and a heap of parsley and onion. Common mistake: piling the topping thick, which keeps the base soft; spread it thin right to the edges. The meat must reach 71 °C. Chef's tip: chop the mince again on a board with the onion and peppers; it spreads thinner and cooks faster.

50 minTurkishMeat
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Fırın kebabı

Konya's fırın kebabı comes from the city's old tandır ovens, where whole sides of lamb hung for hours until the meat collapsed and the fat crisped. Served on a sheet of thin pide with the cooking juices soaked in, a raw onion on the side and a jug of ayran, it is a Sunday treat and a wedding dish. A low home oven and a tightly covered tray give the same soft, juicy result. Common mistake: uncovering it too soon; the lamb needs steamy, sealed heat for hours before it gets its final browning. Chef's tip: rest the cooked lamb on the bread, not on a board; the bread drinks up every drop of juice.

255 minTurkishMeat
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Testi kebabı

In the cave restaurants of Göreme and Avanos, testi kebabı arrives as a sealed clay jug, glowing from the oven, which the waiter cracks open at the table with a sharp tap of a knife. Inside is beef or lamb stewed with tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onion until tender in its own rich juices. A lidded casserole works perfectly at home, and you can still seal the lid with dough for the drama. Serve with plain rice pilaf. Common mistake: adding a lot of water; the vegetables give off plenty and the sealed pot should braise, not boil. Chef's tip: brown the meat in two batches first for a deeper, savoury sauce.

175 minTurkishMeat
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Kayseri yağlaması

Kayseri families make yağlama for big gatherings and festival days: a tower of soft, thin flatbreads cooked on a griddle, each layer spread with a tomatoey beef mince sauce and garlic yoghurt, then cut into wedges like a cake. It sits somewhere between a lasagne and a stack of pancakes, and everyone eats it warm with ayran and pickles. Common mistake: letting the breads dry out while you cook the rest; keep them under a damp cloth so they stay pliable. The mince should be simmered until cooked through to 71 °C. Chef's tip: build the stack quickly while everything is hot, then rest it five minutes so the layers settle and cut cleanly.

80 minTurkishMeat
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Ankara tavası

Ankara's signature dish is a tava, a baking pan, in which tender braised lamb is laid over a pilaf of rice and orzo and finished in the oven so the top grains go crisp and the meat juices soak right through. Old Ankara families serve it for guests and at festival lunches, with a bowl of cacık and pickles. Common mistake: using fully cooked pilaf, which dries out and turns hard in the oven; cook the rice only halfway. Chef's tip: save every spoon of the lamb's braising liquid; it's what flavours and finishes cooking the rice underneath.

150 minTurkishMeat
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Keşkek

Keşkek is cooked in huge cauldrons for weddings, circumcision feasts and religious holidays across Central Anatolia, from Çorum to Sivas, while villagers take turns beating it with long wooden paddles. Whole wheat and lamb on the bone simmer together for hours until the meat falls apart, then everything is beaten into a thick, stretchy porridge and topped with sizzling butter and chilli. Its tradition is listed by UNESCO as intangible heritage. Common mistake: skimping on the beating; vigorous mashing is what turns it from grainy stew into a smooth, elastic keşkek. Chef's tip: a potato masher followed by a wooden spoon does the job at home; beat in hot broth a ladle at a time if it gets stiff.

200 minTurkishMeat
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Arabaşı çorbası

On winter evenings in Kayseri, Konya and Yozgat, friends gather for arabaşı nights: a big pot of fiery, tomatoey chicken soup and a tray of plain set dough cut into cubes. Each person drops a cube of cold dough into a spoonful of hot soup and swallows it whole, without chewing, and the hot-cold contrast is the whole fun. Common mistake: making the dough too soft; it should set firm enough to slice cleanly once chilled. Cook the chicken until its juices run clear and it reaches 74 °C before shredding. Chef's tip: make the dough the morning before, or even the day before, so it is properly cold and firm.

90 minTurkishSoupsSpicy
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Katmer

In Gaziantep the morning starts at a katmer counter: a baker slaps a ball of dough into a sheet so thin you can read through it, scatters it with pistachios, sugar and kaymak, folds it into a parcel and bakes it on a hot iron plate. Eaten straight away, it shatters at the edges and stays creamy in the middle, and locals drink strong tea with it. At home a heavy frying pan stands in for the iron plate. The usual mistake is stretching the dough before it has rested; it tears instead of going translucent, so give it the full hour under oiled cling film. Chef's tip: grind the pistachios only to coarse sand, not powder, so they stay bright green and give each bite some crunch.

45 minTurkishDesserts
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Eastern Carolina pulled pork

In eastern North Carolina barbecue means pork, slow-smoked whole hog or shoulder chopped and dressed with a thin sauce of cider vinegar, chilli flakes and pepper, with no tomato at all. It is served at pit-cooked joints around Ayden and Goldsboro with slaw and hushpuppies, and piled into soft buns at cookouts. This oven version slow-roasts a pork shoulder until it pulls apart. Chef's tip: dress the meat with the sauce while it's still warm, so it soaks right in.

440 minAmericanMeatGluten free
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Bici bici

When Adana's July heat pushes past 40 °C, handcarts on every corner serve bici bici: cubes of wobbly starch jelly piled with shaved ice, splashed with rose syrup and dusted with icing sugar. Children eat it in the shade of the clock tower; grown-ups claim it is the only thing that works in that heat. The jelly is just cornflour, water and a little sugar, set and cut into cubes. The usual mistake is undercooking it, which leaves a cloudy, floury jelly that won't hold a cut. Chef's tip: freeze water in a shallow tray and scrape it with a fork for snowy ice if you have no ice shaver.

25 minTurkishDessertsVeganGluten free
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Biberli ekmek

Antakya's neighbourhood bakeries take trays of topping from customers each morning and bake biberli ekmek in the wood oven to order: soft flatbreads smeared with a spiced paste of red pepper, onion, parsley, cumin and sesame. It is breakfast, a school snack and a picnic bread all in one, often eaten with a glass of tea and a few olives. Some families add a little crumbled cheese, but the classic is meat-free and dairy-free. Spread the topping thin; a thick layer stays raw and wet in the middle. Chef's tip: bake on the hottest preheated tray you have so the base blisters before the topping dries out.

50 minTurkishBreads & ParathasVeganSpicy
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Hatay zeytin salatası

Hatay grows olives on every hillside towards the Syrian border, and its meyhanes and breakfast tables always have a bowl of this salad: green olives tossed with walnuts, spring onion, tomato, parsley, pepper paste and pomegranate molasses. It is salty, sour and sweet at once, and sits happily next to cheese, eggs and flatbread in the morning or as a meze in the evening. Pit and chop the olives yourself; jarred sliced olives are too soft. Rinse very salty olives first, or the salad is overwhelming. Chef's tip: dress it an hour ahead so the olives soak up the molasses, but add the tomatoes and herbs just before serving.

20 minTurkishSaladsVeganGluten free
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Kete

Bakeries in Erzurum and Kars sell kete by the dozen for breakfast and long bus journeys: soft yeasted rolls coiled around a filling of flour toasted in butter until it smells of biscuits. Inside, the layers turn flaky and tender, and the crust is glazed with egg and sesame. They are eaten with strong tea, white cheese and olives, and keep well for a few days. Common mistake: under-toasting the flour for the filling; it should go a pale sandy gold and smell nutty, or the centre tastes raw. Chef's tip: roll the dough thin before spreading the filling and coiling it; thin layers bake into the flaky swirl that makes kete special.

70 minTurkishBaking
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Höşmerim

Höşmerim is a winter dessert of the Erzurum plateau and the Bolu highlands, made from unsalted fresh cheese melted with butter and semolina until it turns golden and gives off its own butter, then soaked with syrup. It's eaten warm in small bowls, chewy and rich, topped with crushed walnuts or pistachios, often after a long cold day. Common mistake: using salty or aged cheese, which turns oily and bitter; you need a soft, unsalted fresh cheese such as lor or ricotta. Chef's tip: keep cooking until the fat starts seeping out at the edges and the mixture is the colour of light toffee; that's where the flavour comes from.

30 minTurkishDesserts
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Kadayıf dolması

In Erzurum, kadayıf means not shredded pastry but small, spongy pancakes cooked on one side only. For kadayıf dolması they're filled with walnuts, folded into half-moons, fried golden and plunged into syrup, and they are the city's pride on festival days and at weddings. The outside is crisp and syrupy, the inside soft and nutty. Common mistake: cooking the pancakes on both sides; the uncooked, bubbly top is what sticks the edges together. Chef's tip: the syrup must be cold and the dolma hot straight from the oil, so they absorb syrup without going soggy.

80 minTurkishDesserts
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İçli köfte

Making içli köfte is the test of a southeastern Turkish cook: a thin, even shell of bulgur dough is hollowed out on a finger and filled with mince fried with onion, walnuts and spices, then sealed into a pointed torpedo. Families in Mardin, Urfa and Diyarbakır make dozens before bayram, freezing them to fry for guests. Crisp outside, juicy inside, they are served hot with lemon. Common mistake: a thick shell; it cracks in the oil and tastes doughy. Chef's tip: keep a bowl of iced water by you and wet your fingers constantly; the dough becomes smooth and stretches thin without tearing.

115 minTurkishMeat
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