turkish vegetarian cuisine

TURKISH VEGETARIAN CUISINE

“Turkey is a great country for vegetarians.”

In fact, most dishes start with a vegetarian base, and meat is mostly added as an afterthought. Turkish cuisine relies on bold flavors, and utilizes a variety of spices and sauces in every dish; isot (ee-soht), a dried black pepper, is one of the most common.The strong flavors are complemented with both rich and bright notes, typically by topping the dish with yoğurt and/or lemon.

With aromatic appetizers and soups to savory main courses, it’s easy to find something authentic (and delicious) in Turkey.

Traditional Turkish Breakfast Spread: a buffet that is brought to your table. It’s the ultimate meal of hors d’oeuvres, complete with a selection of cheeses, tomatoes, cucumbers, yogurt, olives, and sigara böreği-filo pastry sticks filled with a smooth white cheese. Honey, jam, and butter are provided for dippers, and the çay [chai] (Turkish tea) is ever-flowing.

“Simit” is indeed the quintessential Turkish food; these sesame-encrusted bread rings must be the most popular snack. You can have simit for breakfast with a cup of cay (tea), sliced cucumber, tomatoes, feta cheese and olives. You can enjoy them for a mid morning or afternoon snack with cheese or simply plain.

Zeytinyagli Dolma: grape leaves stuffed with rice that has been seasoned with olive oil and herbs. Be careful- these frequently contain meat, so make sure to request them without when ordering them.

Gözleme the Turkish version of parathas. We recommend spinach, cheese, or (even better) spinach AND cheese. Potato and mushroom are sometimes available, as well.

Menemen: the equivalent of a scrambled egg casserole baked with onion, tomato, and green pepper. Melting cheese on top is always a bonus. Normally eaten for breakfast…

Kumpir: the ultimate loaded baked potato. You can choose as many toppings as you want from a diverse buffet. These are sold at small sit-in places everywhere.

Mercimek çorbası This thick, warming lentil soup is healthy and widely available; just about every Turkish restaurant offers it as a starter. Typically accompanied by half a lemon, heaps of bread and a pot of pulbiber(red pepper flakes), mercimekçorbası makes for a perfect comforting lunch or snack on a chilly afternoon.

Meze You’ll find the Turkish version of tapas where a large tray of meze will always be offered to your table. Good vegetarian meze dishes include;

sigara boreğı (white cheese wrapped in rolls of thin pastry and lightly fried),soslu patlıcan (an aubergine sauce with tomato and herbs),çoban salatası (shepherd’s salad, a mix of cucumber and tomato with parsley and olive oil)mercimek köfte (cooked lentils kneaded into fist-sized portions with garlic, parsley and seasoning).

Meze are small plates of appetisers served before a main course, especially in restaurants (which makes them surprisingly veggie friendly), and usually shared by a group. They are almost always served with fresh bread which is an essential part of a Turkish meal.

Meze are so plentiful and delicious, and with many meat-free options, that it’s easy to make a full meal of them. You can order them individually from the menu, go for a mixed meze plate, or sometimes choose them from a buffet or a tray that’s brought to your table.

Peruhi: Vegetarian Turkish pasta, stuffed with a bit of cheese and mint, and cooked with yoghurt, milk and olive oil.

Ayran: A traditional yoghurt drink in Turkey. Similar to the Indian chaach or buttermilk, and served with almost any kind of food in Turkey.

Pide is a Turkish pizza made from dough and various toppings, but no tomato sauce. Cheese pide (kaşarlı pide) is very common. It’s best served sprinkled with pul biber (red pepper flakes).

Çiğ köfte is the quickest meal for vegetarians. These spicy balls are veggie-friendly and made with bulgur, onion, pepper and tomato pastes, spices and herbs, all kneaded together.

Çoban Salatası –Meaning shepherd’s salad this is a simple, refreshing salad of cucumber, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and parsley, with a lemon and oil dressing. Sometimes Turkish white cheese (like feta) is added.

Sigara Böreği – Cigar shaped fried pastry sticks filled with cheese. These are sometimes served for breakfast.

Green beans cooked with olive oil, tomatoes, onions, garlic and carrots. Zeytinyağlı means cooked in olive oil and is a common way to prepare vegetables and beans in Turkey. They are served cold.

Mercimek Köftesi – Spiced red lentil and bulgur balls, served at room temperature on lettuce

Dolma means stuffed and Zeytinyağlı Dolma are meat-free rice stuffed vegetables served at room temperature. Common varieties are peppers (biber dolma) or aubergines (patlıcan dolma). They can be a meze or a vegetarian main.

Ezme – Spicy tomato and chile dip, a bit like Mexican salsa.

Similar to Rajma rice, Flavored with tomato and chilli, the soft beans were always a great meal choice at the “lokantas” or cafetarias throughout the country,It’s called ”kurufasulye”

Traditionally, when a man was about to marry a woman, his parents would ask the permission of her parents by visiting the future wife’s house. The bride-to-be was supposed to serve the guests the best Turkish coffee she can — a test to show her skills. Today many people simple decide to get married and announce it to their parents. Yet, the traditional ceremony with the coffee treat is very rarely skipped.

Another well-known and still very common tradition while enjoying a cup of Turkish coffee is fortune telling (fal). This is done by looking at the bottom of a finished coffee cup. Whether you believe the outcome or not, the fact is that it’s another nice invention to extend the conversation.

“Turkish coffee plays an important role in Turkish society.”

“AFIYET OLSUN”means

“GOOD APPETITE”