Turkish Cuisine

Another fun day in the big city wandering around trying to figure out what to eat, or where! Lucky for you Istanbul has unlimited chances of getting your back. In today’s article we will find out some of the most interesting and tasty foods worth trying and enjoying. So, let’s buckle up and travel into the world of Istanbul and Turkish gastronomy.

Dolma and Sarma (Stuffed vegetables and wrapped leaves)

One of the most famous dishes in the Turkish cuisine too, it belongs to the old Ottoman empire, Dolma however is basically stuffing zucchinis, eggplants, onions, and peppers with rice and meat and then cook it with a smooth sauce. Sarma is similar with a small different, it is vine leaves that wrapped around an amazing rice and meat and then dipped into olive oil. Those two dishes are so important in Turkish cuisine and so widely famous in the nearby countries.

Çiğ köfte

Çiğ means raw and köfte is meatballs kind of name, but it is actually a meat free vegan little sandwiches that are made without meat, totally vegan. It is made with fine bulgur, pepper, tomato paste, onion, garlic, and a mix of Turkish spices. The main key is kneading because it must be kneaded to get the beautiful texture and then they put it to get rested. In the shops they prepare as a hell or mountain of that texture to get some attention and good looking eye pleasing dish, and they bring slices of fine bread and spread the çiğ köfte on, after that they slice put some slices of tomatoes, some parsley, chopped onion and lettuce, and some hot sauce with pomegranate sauce and lemon. They roll it and it is ready to be tasted. Really delicious tasty and you can have it almost anywhere. I recommend O ses çiğ köfte shops to get your sandwiches from.

Mantı

A very wide-spread, delicious and creamy Turkish dish. To make the cozy soup, it’s made with simple ingredients mixed in together. First, they prepare small balls of dough filled with chopped meat and onion, then they dip it into warm yogurt and wait for it to cook. They serve it in beautiful bowls and put some boiling oil hot pepper sauce on it. It’s a very moist and tasty experience worth trying.

Baklava

As you may noticed we talked a lot about the main foods but we must not forget to mention our lovely small dessert pieces of Baklava; it is a layered pastry filled with nuts and covered in syrup and ground pistachios. Baklava is so famous and delicious and can be delivered as gifts even. Must try for sure.

Most used Turkish sentences in food

The most common sentence in the Turkish language regarding food and eating is “Afiyet olsun”; which means Bon Appetit! And the response to it is “Gel beraber olsun”; which means “let’s enjoy it together”. Also, in the streets if you want to ask for something like döner sandwiches you can say “Bir tane döner alabilir miyim”, that means “Can I have one please” and once you pick it you may say “Sağ ol” or “Teşekkürler”, which does mean thanks in Turkish.

When you enrolle to Magic Talk Academy for Turkish course you will have outdoor practicing activities. You will have trip with your teacher and classmates. Thus you will apply your Turkish language to daily life while triying delicious Turkish foods. For some of our trips you can check the photo gallery!