Turkish cuisine - 20 dishes and delicacies of Turkey

Turkish food offers wonderful Mediterranean flavours and a wide variety of dishes. You can enjoy delicious meze dishes and lots of tasty sweets. In this article, we present tips on Turkish food.

What is typical of Turkish food?

Turkish cuisine developed during the Ottoman era, and therefore has many similarities with Iranian cuisine. Turkish food is known for kebabs and aubergine dishes, as well as all the delicious little starters called meze. The food contains a lot of spices such as garlic, cumin, chilli, mint and various herbs.

Key ingredients in Turkish food

Many Turkish dishes contain meat in the form of beef, lamb or chicken. Pork is mainly not eaten at all, as most people in Turkey are Muslim.

A lot of vegetables are used, such as onions, olives, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and courgettes. Other important ingredients include bread, rice, fish, puff pastry, cheese, yoghurt and fruit.

Turkish food: twenty dishes and delicacies of Turkey

Here we have collected 20 examples of Turkish food in the form of dishes and delicacies. Enjoy!

1. Turkish breakfast

According to our guide in Istanbul, it is common in Turkey to eat bread, olives, cheese, cucumber and tomato for breakfast, and if you have time, you can also cook eggs. In restaurants in Turkey you can order Turkish breakfast, kahvalti, which contains this but usually more, such as sausages, batters and dried fruit. Often everything is served in different small bowls, and looks very tempting.

If you eat breakfast in a hotel in Turkey, you will usually be served a buffet breakfast, which includes both Turkish and international breakfast dishes.

2. simit

Simit is a Turkish bread similar to a bagel, but a little bigger, a little crunchier and covered with sesame seeds. These are often bought in small stalls on the street, as street food, and are really good.

3. Meze - Turkish starters

When dining in a restaurant in Turkey, it is customary to start the meal with meze, or small Turkish starters, which are often plentiful and often placed all over the table for the party to share.

Meze dishes often consist of different kinds of stir-fries, olives and bread, but it can also be cheese, salads, pickled sardines, beans, vine leaf dumplings, fried cheese rolls, Turkish mini pizzas and much more. This is one of the best things about Turkish food in our opinion!

4. Hummus, babaganoush and other mixtures

Stir-fries of various kinds are almost always included in Turkish meze, but because they are so common and important, they deserve their own heading. One of the most common stir-fries is hummus, or chickpea stir-fry. Other common stir-fries include babaganoush (aubergine stir-fry), yoghurt stir-fry and ezme (tomato stir-fry).

5. lahmacun

Lahmacun is a small Turkish minced meat pizza with a thin base. This dish can also be served among the meze dishes, and if you want, you can eat it as a roll filled with vegetables.

6. pide

Pide is an open boat-shaped pie often filled with minced lamb. It can also be filled with cheese, for example, as in the picture below.

7th Mücver

Mücver is a steak or raw shrimp made from courgettes, which can be served as part of the meze. We were served many varieties of zucchini steaks during our recent trip to Istanbul and they were all very good.

8. manti

Manti are a type of dumplings, i.e. small dough dumplings, which are cooked in several countries, such as the Balkans, the United States and the United Kingdom. Armenia and in Uzbekistan. In Turkey they are often served with a yoghurt sauce.

9th Çiğ Köfte 

Çiğ Köfte is a type of raw meatball served mainly in Turkey, but also in some neighbouring countries such as Syria. The dish can be made from either minced beef or minced lamb.

10th Köfte

Köfte is a common Turkish dish and can be described as meatballs, which can be made in different sizes and shapes. The meatballs are usually made from minced beef or lamb, but there are also variants made from minced chicken or vegetarian ingredients, such as chickpeas, broad beans or lentils.

11. kebab

Kebab is extremely popular in Turkey and actually means 'grilled'. There are lots of different types of kebab and the one called "döner kebab" is what we usually call kebab in Sweden. Here are some kebabs to try in Turkey:

• Döner kebab - pressed meat which is rotated and grilled, and from which strips are cut.
• Iskender kebab - sliced kebab meat topped with hot tomato sauce, sheep butter and yoghurt
• Shish kebab - pieces of whole or minced meat that are marinated and grilled on small skewers

12. Hünkârbeğendi

Hünkârbeğendi is an aubergine and meat dish originating from Ottoman cuisine. A meat stew, made from lamb or beef, is served with aubergine puree. We had this on our recent trip to Istanbul and it was one of the best main courses of the trip. Very good Turkish food!

13. duerum

Dürüm is a Turkish wrap usually filled with typical kebab ingredients. We had dürüm with minced lamb at the popular street food place Dürümzade in Istanbul. Very tasty! Vegetarian versions of dürüm can also be found, for example with cheese and vegetables.

14. fish sandwich

In many places, including Istanbul, you can stop and buy a fish sandwich as a form of street food. A common filling seems to be mackerel. We tried a sandwich with salmon, tarama (fish roe mix), red onion and salad. Perfect for replenishing some energy while walking the streets!

15. fresh fish

Fresh fish is plentiful in Turkey, at least if you're near the sea. In markets and restaurants, we saw lots of seafood, including bluefish, albacore tuna (white tuna), salmon, seabream, seabass, mackerel, squid, mussels, roe and the roe "tarama".

Restaurants sometimes serve whole fish and sometimes fillets, often accompanied only by lemon and some salad.

16. Grilled corn and chestnuts

One thing you can try when walking around the streets of Turkey is grilled corn and chestnuts. Among other things, there are many stalls around Hagia Sofia in Istanbulbut also in many other places. We have tried the chestnuts, and they are really good.

17. baklava

One delicacy you won't want to miss is baklava. This sweet pastry is common in several countries around the Middle East and in the Balkans. It is perhaps particularly popular in Turkey and in fact it is believed to have originated in the imperial kitchens of the Ottoman Empire. The pastry is made from filo dough and nuts and is very sweet.

18. Turkish Delight

Another sweet that you don't want to miss in Turkey is Turkish Delight. This is a kind of sweet marmalade confection that usually contains pistachios, among other things, and is very sweet and tasty.

19. Halva

Halva is another type of confectionery that may be interesting to try. It contains tahini, or sesame paste, and is available in many countries in Western Asia, the Middle East and the Balkans.

20 Fresh and dried fruit

Both fresh and dried fruits are abundant in Turkey. Depending on the season, you can indulge in delicious fruits such as citrus fruits, quinces, cherries, plums, apricots, dates, figs and grapes. There are also plenty of dried fruits and berries, and on our last trip we tried dried mulberries.

Turkish food in restaurants in Turkey

Want to try Turkish food in a nice local restaurant? In the report below you'll find tips on both food tours and restaurants in Istanbul and restaurants in Cappadocia.

Combining Turkish food with drink

So what should you drink with your food, or in other contexts? If you like wine, try Turkish wine. There are also plenty of delicious juices made from various fresh fruits. Perhaps the most famous drinks are Turkish coffee and Turkish tea.

Turkish coffee

Turkish coffee has a long tradition in Turkey and its serving was once associated with special ceremonies in the palaces of the Ottoman Empire. Still today, the coffee is made in a special way, and the strong drink is served in small cups, where a relatively large part of the drink consists of the grounds. Coffee can be served with or without sugar, which is chosen before the drink is served, as sugar should not be added afterwards.

Turkish tea

Turkish tea is also a popular drink in Turkey. Traditionally served in a tulip-shaped glass, Turkish tea can be enjoyed at any time of the day.

More to see and do in Turkey

When you visit Turkey, it's great to enjoy Turkish food, but there's also plenty to see and do. We highly recommend discovering Istanbul and Cappadocia. Below you'll find plenty of stories to inspire you.