food guide

Karniyarik is one of the most loved home dishes of Turkey, a stuffed eggplant that carries the warmth of the family table in every bite.

Hunkar begendi is one of the great classics of Ottoman cuisine, a regal dish of tender lamb stew served over a silky bed of smoked eggplant and béchamel.

The simit sandwich is one of Turkey’s simplest and most beloved meals, a sesame-crusted ring of bread split open and filled with cheese, tomatoes, and a few perfect ingredients.

Kumpir is Turkey’s answer to the loaded baked potato, and it is one of the country’s most beloved street foods.

Kazandibi is one of the most beloved sweets of the Turkish table: a milk pudding with a caramelized, slightly charred bottom that tastes of butter, toffee, and cream.

Bazlama is the soft, puffy flatbread of the Turkish countryside, baked on a griddle and served warm with almost anything.

In Turkey, no meal truly begins until a bowl of corba has been set on the table.

Dolma is one of the great dishes of Turkish cuisine, and its most famous form is the stuffed grape leaf: tender leaves rolled around a seasoned rice filling, cooked slowly until the flavors melt together.

Turkish pastries are a world of their own, stretching far beyond the baklava you know.

Urfa kebab is the gentler sibling in Turkey’s family of minced lamb kebabs, and for many travelers it is the more approachable one.

Adana kebab is the most famous of all Turkish kebabs, a long, hand-pressed skewer of minced lamb, seasoned with hot red pepper, and grilled over charcoal until the outside is crusty and the inside is juicy.

Sutlac, the Turkish rice pudding, is one of the most beloved desserts in the country, a dish that appears on breakfast tables, dinner menus, and street corners with equal ease.