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Turkish recipes

152 Turkish recipes to cook at home, each with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Tahin pekmez, takes 5 minutes. Most take around 50 minutes.

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ÇılbırPoached eggs on garlic yogurt

Çılbır goes back to the Ottoman palace kitchens, and today you are as likely to meet it on a brunch menu in Istanbul's Kadıköy or Cihangir as on a home breakfast table. Two soft poached eggs sit on a bed of thick, garlicky yogurt, and a spoonful of butter fried with Aleppo pepper is poured over the top so it runs red into the white. Break the yolks, mix everything together and mop it up with bread. Chef's tip: take the yogurt out of the fridge 30 minutes ahead, or stand the bowl over warm water for a few minutes; cold yogurt chills the eggs and the dish should be served warm.

15 minTurkishBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gözleme with spinach and feta

On roadsides and at weekly village markets across central Anatolia, women sit cross-legged by a domed iron griddle (saç), rolling dough paper-thin with a long thin rolling pin (oklava), filling it and cooking it to order. This is gözleme: a soft, blistered parcel of unleavened dough wrapped round spinach and salty white cheese, brushed with butter as it comes off the heat. Eat it hot, folded in paper, with a glass of ayran. A big frying pan or flat griddle at home does the job. Chef's tip: roll the dough so thin you can almost see the worktop through it; thick gözleme tastes doughy and the filling stays cold.

60 minTurkishBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Adana kebab

In Adana, on the hot Çukurova plain in southern Turkey, this is the kebab of the ocakbaşı, the grill-side counters where the cook presses fatty lamb mince onto broad flat skewers and sets them over glowing coals. It is meant to be fiery with red pepper flakes, juicy from the lamb fat and wrapped in thin lavash with sumac-dusted onions, parsley and blistered peppers. Make it for a summer barbecue, or under a very hot oven grill on a weeknight. Chef's tip: knead the mince with wet hands for a full 5 minutes until it turns sticky; that is what holds it on the skewer.

55 minTurkishMeatSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Turkish tea (çay)Strong black tea

Nowhere in Turkey is far from a glass of çay. Tea from the slopes of Rize on the Black Sea coast is brewed in a stacked double teapot, the çaydanlık, and poured into small tulip-shaped glasses all day long: at breakfast with simit and cheese, in shops when you haggle, after every meal. The strong brew sits in the top pot and each glass is diluted to taste with hot water from the bottom, so one person drinks it dark (koyu) and another light (açık). It should be clear, the colour of a ruby or rabbit's blood (tavşan kanı), never cloudy. Serve it with sugar cubes on the side, not milk. Chef's tip: steam the dry leaves in the top pot for a few minutes before adding any water; the warm leaves open up and give a rounder, deeper colour.

17 minTurkishDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fırın sütlaçBaked rice pudding

In Turkish pudding shops (muhallebici) from Istanbul to Ankara, fırın sütlaç is served chilled in little clay bowls, its surface blistered dark brown under the grill while the rice pudding beneath stays creamy and cool. It is a dessert families make on Sunday or for guests, since it has to set in the fridge for a few hours, and it travels well to neighbours during Ramadan evenings. The flavour is clean milk and vanilla, thickened with rice flour rather than eggs, so it is light compared with Western rice puddings. Eat it cold, plain or dusted with cinnamon or ground hazelnuts. Chef's tip: stand the filled bowls in a tray of cold water before they go under the grill; the water keeps the pudding from boiling up while the top browns.

60 minTurkishDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MuhammaraRed pepper and walnut spread

Gaziantep, a city on Turkey's southern border famous for pistachios and pepper paste, claims muhammara as its own, and you will find it on breakfast spreads and meze tables throughout the southeast. Roasted red peppers, walnuts and breadcrumbs are pounded with pepper paste, cumin and pomegranate molasses into a thick, brick-red spread that is smoky, nutty and gently hot. Spread it on bread, serve it with crudités or alongside a bowl of lentil soup. A common mistake is blending until completely smooth; it should keep a little bite from the walnuts. Chef's tip: toast the walnuts in a dry pan first until they smell like brown butter, which deepens the flavour far more than raw nuts.

20 minTurkishChutneys & DipsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PiyazWhite bean salad with tahini

Antalya does piyaz its own way. Elsewhere in Turkey the bean salad is dressed with oil and vinegar, but on the Mediterranean coast the beans are folded through a pale, nutty sauce of tahini, lemon and vinegar, then crowned with sumac onions, tomato and parsley. Lunch canteens in the old town serve it on the side of almost everything, and at home it is a filling lunch with bread or a cool side on a hot evening. Tinned beans make it a fifteen-minute dish. Chef's tip: when the lemon hits the tahini it will seize into a stiff, grainy paste; don't panic, just keep beating in cold water a spoonful at a time and it turns silky.

15 minTurkishSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KısırBulgur salad with pepper paste

Kısır comes from southeastern Turkey but is now the dish women across the country bring to 'altın günü', the afternoon gatherings where friends meet at each other's homes over tea. Fine bulgur is softened with hot water and kneaded with tomato and pepper paste until rosy, then mixed with spring onion, parsley, mint, lemon and pomegranate molasses. It is served at room temperature, often wrapped in crisp lettuce leaves. The typical mistake is pouring in too much water, which turns the bulgur mushy; use just enough to cover. Chef's tip: knead the pastes into the warm bulgur with your hands for a full minute so every grain turns red and the flavour goes right through.

25 minTurkishSaladsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

RevaniSemolina cake in lemon syrup

Revani is the syrup cake you meet in Turkish pastry shops and on home tea tables, especially at bayram visits, when trays of it are cut into diamonds and handed round with çay. Unlike a dense eggless semolina bake, it is a light, airy sponge of whisked eggs, semolina and a little flour, which drinks in cold lemon syrup straight from the oven until it is moist right through yet still holds a clean cut. It sweetens with sugar syrup rather than icing and is often finished with desiccated coconut or crushed pistachios. Serve it at room temperature or chilled, with tea or a spoon of kaymak or thick cream. Chef's tip: pour cool syrup over the hot cake (or hot over cool), never hot on hot; that contrast lets the sponge soak up syrup without collapsing into mush.

60 minTurkishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MantıBeef dumplings with garlic yogurt

Kayseri, in central Anatolia, is famous across Turkey for mantı so small that, by local saying, forty should fit on one spoon. Families make big batches together on winter afternoons, rolling the dough thin and pinching each square around a pea of spiced minced meat, and the dumplings were traditionally part of a bride's test in the kitchen. They are boiled and served under garlicky yogurt, then drenched in butter sizzled with red pepper. Chef's tip: make a double batch and freeze the uncooked dumplings on a floured tray; they cook from frozen in about 2 minutes extra.

90 minTurkishPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zeytinyağlı taze fasulyeGreen beans braised in olive oil

Along the Aegean coast, from İzmir down to Bodrum, summer lunch often begins with a plate of flat green beans that have been stewed in olive oil and tomato until they are silky, then left to cool to room temperature. It belongs to the zeytinyağlı family: vegetables cooked in olive oil, with no meat, and eaten cold or barely warm with bread to mop up the orange-red juices. Home cooks make a big pan in the morning and serve it over two or three days, because it tastes better after a night in the fridge. The most common mistake is rushing it on a high flame: the beans stay squeaky and the oil never turns glossy. Chef's tip: lay the beans on top of the onions and tomatoes without stirring, cover tightly and let the steam do the work; stirring breaks the beans and turns the sauce muddy.

50 minTurkishSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

AyranSalted yogurt drink

Ayran is what Turks drink with lunch: a chilled, foamy blend of yogurt, water and a pinch of salt, poured from copper jugs alongside cheese pide, börek, lentil soup and bean stews. In the Susurluk area of Balıkesir it is whisked so hard that it arrives under a thick head of foam, and roadside cafés all over Anatolia serve it in tin cups on hot summer days. It is tangy, refreshing and cooling with spicy food. Make it just before you sit down and drink it ice-cold. Chef's tip: whisk the yogurt alone with the salt until smooth before adding any water, and you'll get a silky drink with no lumps.

5 minTurkishDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kuru fasulyeWhite bean stew

Kuru fasulye is close to a national dish in Turkey: a pot of white beans stewed in a red, paprika-scented sauce, eaten with rice pilaf, pickles (turşu) and raw onion at home and in the bean restaurants of Istanbul's Süleymaniye district. Many versions start with lamb or sucuk; this one leans on good olive oil, sweet and hot pepper paste and slow cooking, so the beans become creamy inside and the sauce silky and rich. It is a winter Friday-night staple for lots of families and tastes even better reheated the next day. Serve with domatesli bulgur pilavı or plain rice, a wedge of onion and crusty bread. Chef's tip: add the salt only once the beans are almost tender; salting at the start keeps the skins tough however long you cook them.

90 minTurkishCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SimitSesame bread rings

Stacked high on wooden trays and pushed through Istanbul on red carts, simit is the city's breakfast on the move: commuters tear one apart on the ferry across the Bosphorus, throwing the odd piece to the gulls. The ring is twisted, dipped in diluted grape molasses (pekmez) and pressed into sesame, so it bakes up with a crackly, nutty, deep brown crust and a chewy, close crumb. Unlike a bagel it is never boiled. At home, serve warm with tea, white cheese, olives and tomatoes. Chef's tip: toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan before coating; raw seeds stay pale and taste of very little.

120 minTurkishBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LahmacunThin spiced meat flatbread

Lahmacun belongs to south-east Turkey, especially Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa, where bakeries slide dozens at a time into wood-fired ovens and people eat them on the street at any hour, often with a cold ayran. The dough is rolled almost see-through and spread with a raw paste of minced lamb, onion, peppers, tomato and herbs that cooks in minutes in fierce heat. To eat, squeeze lemon over, add a handful of parsley and onion, roll it up and fold. Chef's tip: blitz the topping vegetables to a fine paste and squeeze out the excess juice, so the meat spreads in a thin, even layer that bakes crisp rather than soggy.

90 minTurkishPizza
by KrazyBadal 0 views

HaydariStrained yogurt and feta dip

Order meze in an Istanbul meyhane and haydari is usually among the first small plates to land: very thick strained yogurt beaten with crumbled white cheese, garlic, dill and mint, then crowned with a drizzle of oil warmed with dried mint and chilli flakes. It is eaten with bread, beside roasted vegetables or with crisp börek, and it takes minutes once you have the yogurt. The mistake to avoid is using thin pouring yogurt, which gives you a runny sauce rather than a dip that holds its shape. Chef's tip: use Greek-style strained yogurt, or hang plain yogurt in a cloth for an hour, and check the beyaz peynir or feta is made with vegetarian rennet.

10 minTurkishChutneys & DipsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zeytinyağlı pırasaLeeks braised in olive oil

Winter in Istanbul brings fat leeks to every neighbourhood market, and zeytinyağlı pırasa is how many households use them: chunks of leek and carrot stewed gently in olive oil with a handful of rice to thicken the juices, finished with lemon. It is served at room temperature on the side of a winter table, or as a light lunch with bread and white cheese, and grandmothers often say it is better the second day. The usual mistake is skipping a proper wash: grit hides between the layers and ruins the whole pot. Chef's tip: cut the leeks on a slant into thick pieces and keep them whole rather than separating the rings, so they hold their shape through the slow braise.

40 minTurkishSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KarnıyarıkStuffed aubergines with beef

Karnıyarık is a summer weekday dinner in kitchens all over Turkey, made when aubergines are glossy, cheap and piled high at the street markets. Small whole aubergines are peeled in stripes, fried until silky, then slit down the middle and packed with minced beef cooked with onion, green pepper and tomato. A short spell in the oven melts it all together. It is eaten warm with plain rice pilaf and a bowl of cacık or yogurt. Chef's tip: press the fried aubergine open with the back of a spoon to make a deep boat, so the filling sits inside rather than rolling off.

75 minTurkishMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Hünkar beğendiLamb on smoked aubergine purée

Hünkar beğendi is a dish from the Ottoman palace kitchens of Istanbul; its name means 'the sultan was pleased', and a well-known story links it to a royal banquet of the 1860s. Today it is a special Sunday or guest dish in Istanbul homes and old-style lokanta restaurants. Tender chunks of lamb are braised slowly with tomato and peppers, then spooned over beğendi, a silky purée of fire-charred aubergine whisked into a light cheese sauce. The smoky, creamy base against the rich stew is the whole point. Chef's tip: char the aubergines directly over a gas flame until the skins are black and collapsing; the oven alone won't give that smoky flavour.

150 minTurkishMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Biber dolmasıRice-stuffed green peppers

Biber dolması turns up in every corner of Turkey, from Istanbul meyhanes to village kitchens in central Anatolia, and the olive-oil version without meat is the one eaten cold at summer lunches or packed for picnics. Thin-walled green dolma peppers are filled with rice cooked with onion, tomato, pine nuts, currants and warm spices, capped with a slice of tomato and simmered until the peppers slump and wrinkle. A frequent mistake is packing the filling to the top: leave a finger of space so the rice can swell. Chef's tip: let the peppers cool completely in their pot; the filling firms up and the flavours of mint and allspice come through much more clearly than when hot.

75 minTurkishVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Yaprak sarmaRice-stuffed vine leaves

Rolling yaprak sarma is a social job in Aegean kitchens around Ayvalık and Manisa, where vineyards supply the leaves: a tray of grape leaves, a bowl of spiced rice and two or three people talking while they roll. This meat-free version is the olive-oil kind, filled with rice, onion, pine nuts, currants, mint and a pinch of cinnamon and allspice, and served cold as a meze or at tea-time gatherings. Good sarma are thin as a finger and hold together when bitten. A common mistake is overfilling: the rice swells as it cooks and splits the leaves. Chef's tip: use only a teaspoon of filling per leaf and roll firmly but not tight, leaving room for the rice to grow.

120 minTurkishSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LokmaFried yeast fritters in syrup

In İzmir and along the Aegean coast, lokma is the sweet of shared moments: families hire a lokma master with a big cauldron to fry hundreds of these golden balls on the street after a funeral or to mark an anniversary, handing them out to anyone passing by, and stalls sell them by the paper cup all year. Each fritter is a little ball of yeasted batter, crisp outside, hollow and soft within, soaked briefly in lemon syrup so it crunches before it melts. This home version needs no eggs or butter, and kids love squeezing out the balls. Eat them warm, on their own or with a sprinkle of cinnamon or crushed pistachios. Chef's tip: dip your spoon or fingers in a cup of water before each ball; the batter then slides off cleanly into round shapes instead of stringy tails.

60 minTurkishDessertsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Çoban salatasıChopped tomato and cucumber salad

Çoban salatası, the shepherd's salad, is on the table at almost every Turkish meal from Edirne to Van, whether that is a home dinner, a lokanta lunch or a summer barbecue. It is simple by design: small dice of tomato, cucumber, green pepper and onion with parsley, dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and a little sumac. It is eaten alongside pilaf, beans, börek or anything grilled. The common mistake is salting it too early, which draws the water out of the tomatoes and leaves it swimming. Chef's tip: rub the onion slices with salt and sumac and rinse them before adding; the onion stays crunchy but loses its harsh bite.

10 minTurkishSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Su böreğiLayered boiled pastry with cheese

Of all Turkish böreks, su böreği is the one cooks are proudest of. Thin sheets of egg dough are boiled for a moment, then layered with butter and white cheese and baked until the top is crisp and the inside is soft and almost silky, a little like a cheesy lasagne made of pastry. Bakeries in Istanbul and Ankara sell it by weight from huge trays in the morning, and at home it appears at holidays and when guests are expected. It takes time and patience but nothing is difficult. Make it the day before and reheat it. Chef's tip: have a big bowl of iced water ready next to the pan; plunging each sheet straight into it stops it cooking and keeps the layers from sticking together.

115 minTurkishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

İskender kebabLamb over pide with tomato sauce

İskender comes from Bursa, the old Ottoman capital below Mount Uludağ, where restaurants have served it since the late 1800s and families still queue for it at weekend lunch. Shavings of grilled meat are laid over cubes of soft pide, soaked in a buttery tomato sauce and finished at the table with a pour of foaming brown butter beside a mound of thick yogurt. Without a vertical döner grill at home, very thin slices of marinated lamb leg seared fast in a hot pan get you close: crisp at the edges, juicy in the middle. Serve it with roasted green peppers and a glass of ayran. Chef's tip: partly freeze the meat for 30–40 minutes before slicing; it firms up and you can cut it almost as thin as döner shavings.

60 minTurkishMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Domatesli bulgur pilavıTomato bulgur pilaf

Across Turkey, from Anatolian village kitchens to Istanbul lunch counters (esnaf lokantası), a pot of bulgur pilaf sits beside beans, stuffed vegetables and yogurt as reliably as bread does. Coarse bulgur (pilavlık bulgur) is cooked with onion, sweet pepper paste, grated tomato and a green pepper until every grain is separate, tender and lightly reddish. It is nuttier and chewier than rice pilaf and ready in half an hour, which is why so many families make it on weeknights. Spoon it next to kuru fasulye, cacık or a simple salad, or eat a bowl on its own with a dollop of yogurt. Chef's tip: once the water is absorbed, lay a clean tea towel under the lid and let the pilaf rest off the heat for 10 minutes; the towel catches the steam so the grains turn fluffy instead of wet.

30 minTurkishRice & GrainsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Peynirli pideBoat-shaped cheese bread

Along the Black Sea coast, from Samsun to Trabzon, the pide salon is where families go on a Friday night, and the oven man shapes each boat of dough by hand before sliding it onto the hot stone floor of a wood-fired oven. The Black Sea way is generous: a pool of melted kaşar and white cheese held inside a rim of soft bread, an egg cracked into the middle for the last few minutes and a knob of butter dropped on as it comes out. Children love tearing off the crusty ends to drag through the cheese. Chef's tip: heat a heavy baking tray or pizza stone in the oven for a full 30 minutes; the hot base is what gives a crisp underside rather than a soft one.

120 minTurkishPizza
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MenemenScrambled eggs with peppers and tomato

Sunday breakfast in Turkey rarely passes without a sizzling pan of menemen set in the middle of the table, crowded by olives, cheese, cucumber and glasses of tea. Mild green peppers are softened in olive oil, ripe tomatoes are cooked down to a jammy sauce, and then the eggs are broken in and gently stirred so they set into soft, juicy ribbons streaked with red. Everyone eats from the pan, tearing bread to scoop it up. Whether onion belongs in it is a national argument; here it is optional. Chef's tip: let the tomatoes bubble until almost all their liquid has gone before the eggs go in, or the menemen will be watery.

20 minTurkishBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mercimek çorbasıRed lentil soup

If one soup feeds Turkey, it is this. Mercimek çorbası is on the counter of every lokanta (tradesmen's restaurant), in factory and hospital canteens, and it is often what Turks eat for breakfast on a cold morning or to break the fast in Ramadan. Red lentils simmered with onion, carrot and potato are blended until velvety, then each bowl gets a squeeze of lemon and a swirl of butter sizzled with Aleppo pepper and dried mint. It is warming, cheap and filling. Chef's tip: rinse the lentils in several changes of water until it runs clear; it washes off the starch that makes the soup foam and taste dusty.

35 minTurkishSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sigara böreğiFried cheese pastry rolls

These pencil-thin rolls take their name from the cigarettes they resemble, and they are the börek every Turkish child grows up on. Triangles of yufka (thin Turkish pastry) are rolled round a finger of white cheese and parsley and fried until they shatter when you bite them. They turn up at five o'clock tea parties, on the iftar table during Ramadan and in many a school lunchbox. Yufka is sold in Turkish shops; filo works too if you use two sheets brushed with oil. Chef's tip: shape them all, cover with a damp cloth and fry just before eating; they lose their crunch within an hour.

30 minTurkishSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ezogelin çorbasıRed lentil and bulgur soup

Gaziantep gave Turkey this hearty soup, named after Ezo, a bride from a village near the city whose sad story is still told in folk songs. Unlike the smooth mercimek soup, ezogelin keeps some texture: red lentils, bulgur and a little rice simmer together with tomato and red pepper paste until thick and soft, and plenty of dried mint goes in at the end. In southeast Turkey it is a winter staple, eaten in the morning and as a light supper with bread and a squeeze of lemon. It thickens as it stands, so add a splash of water when you reheat it. Chef's tip: rub the dried mint between your palms over the pot to release its oils just before you serve.

40 minTurkishSoupsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zeytinyağlı enginarArtichokes braised with peas

In spring, when globe artichokes pile up on stalls in İzmir and Urla, market sellers trim them on the spot into pale hearts kept in lemon water, and families take them home to make zeytinyağlı enginar. The hearts are braised cup-side up with small onions, carrots, potato and peas in olive oil and lemon, then served cold with a shower of dill, often as the first course of a spring dinner. The classic mistake is leaving trimmed artichokes in the air: they turn grey within minutes. Chef's tip: rub every cut surface with lemon as you go and drop the hearts straight into water with lemon juice and a spoonful of flour, which keeps them pale and cream-coloured.

50 minTurkishSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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