The Most Popular Specialties from Turkish Cuisine

Turkish cuisine is exotic for many people and Turkish dishes enjoy supreme popularity.

The entire selection of Turkish soups can be divided into a few main groups. These are meat soups with added vegetables, cream soups with butter, soups thickened with lemon juice and egg.

Characteristic of Turkish cuisine is djadjak, which is similar to tarator to some degree.

It is made from fresh cucumbers, yoghurt and spices. One of the peculiarities of Turkish soups is the addition of tarhana.

This is a dough made of wheat flour, to which various spices are added, and is then dried in the sun.

The most original soup in Turkish cuisine is considered to be the so-called wedding soup, made from lamb meat.

Turkish cuisine is diverse when it comes to bakery goods. Besides white bread, there are various pitas - flatbreads, round pitas with seeds - simit, as well as many kinds of pastries, called burek.

Turkey is also famous for its desserts. The well-established baklava, Turkish delight and kadaif are extremely delicious. It is characteristic for them to be very sweet and are usually served with water or ayran.

Most likely, the oldest meat dish in Turkish cuisine is shashlik or kebab. Meat in pitas - lahmajoon, adana kebab, and of course meatballs, are exceptionally popular.

You can astonish your loved ones by making pilaf using sheep meat.

Ingredients: 17.5 oz of sheep meat, 1 1/2 cups of rice, 1/2 cup of oil, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 3 onion heads, 1 garlic clove, 3 tbsp raisins, 2 tbsp almonds, 1 pinch of sugar, 1 tbsp chopped dill, salt, black pepper, water or meat broth.

Preparation: Dice the meat and fry it. Add the garlic, chopped onions and a little water. Just before the meat becomes ready, pour in the washed and dried rice to it.

Then add the tomato paste and spices, top up with hot water or broth to submerge them and put a lid on. Leave on low heat and pour in more liquid from time to time.

Once the rice cooks, throw in the raisins, almonds and dill. After you remove the pot from the heat, cover it, so the dish remains warm and stews well.