Turkish/Kurdish Cuisine

Turkish cuisine is well-known, especially in Europe and is said to be one of the best cuisines in the world. Frequently used ingredients in Turkish dishes include eggplant, green pepper, onion, lentil, bean, tomato, garlic, and cucumber. Grape, apricot, cherry, melon, fig, lemon, pistachio, pine nut, almond, hazelnut, watermelon, and walnut are among the most abundantly used fruits and nuts. Preferred spices and herbs are parsley, cumin, pepper, paprika, mint, and thyme.

Turkish cuisine went through dramatic changes in 20th century and the eating habits of the Turkish people has significantly changed due to the Western influence. An important pillar of a traditional Turkish meal is that the food is served in a little amount compared to Western standards and one has to eat lots of bread. Even other staple foods like rice and bulgur are eaten with bread. In recent years, though, many Turks avoid eating bread with them, apparently due to weight problems.

Meat has always been a luxury item for the Turkish people, mainly since milk-fed lambs, the most popular source of meat, have a very low yield. Meat was eaten almost only at the wedding ceremonies and during Kurban Bayramı (Eid ul-Adha), usually not in the form of kebabs but as etli pilav (pilaf with meat). However, after the advent of fast-food chains all around Turkey and introduction of industrial meat production, meat had become a part of the daily diet for most Turks, often in the form of döner kebab eaten at fast-food restaurants. Veal, which was usually shunned, became a familiar kind of meat. However, even today, the main use of meat at cooking is putting kıyma (ground meat) in small amounts to vegetable dishes, thus attaining names such as kıymalı fasulye (bean with kıyma).

Soups

A Turkish meal usually starts with a thin soup (çorba) with a low consistency. Soups are usually named after the main ingredient they are prepared with. The most common types of soup are made of lentil (often mashed) called mercimek çorbası and tarhana called tarhana çorbası. Delicacy soups are the ones that are usually not the part of daily diet, like shkembe (işkembe çorbası) and paça çorbası (made with lamb's or kid's feet), although the latter also used to be consumed as a nutritious winter meal. Before the popularisation of the typical Turkish breakfast, soup was the default morning meal for most households. Cacık may also be classified as a soup but it is usually eaten as a side dish.

Vegetable dishes

A vegetable dish is the usual main course in a Turkish meal. There is a very large variety of vegetables used. A typical vegetable dish is prepared with a base of chopped onions and garlic sautéed in olive oil, later with tomatoes or tomato paste. The vegetables or legumes and boiling water will then be added. Vegetable dishes usually tend to be served with a large liquid part (with the cooking water), thus often named in colloquial Turkish as sulu yemek ("watery dish"). Sometimes meat can be added to a vegetable dish but vegetable dishes cooked with olive oil (zeytinyağlılar) are almost always conceived to be strictly vegetarian.

Meats

Meats (especially shish kebabs) are usually marinated and grilled over an open fire. Although every kind of halal meat is consumed, lamb from milk-fed lambs is especially favored. A famous beef delicacy is pastirma. Iskender kebap is a relatively recently invented type of döner kebap which is usually consumed in the northwestern parts of Turkey. Döner kebap has established itself as an alternative fast food in Western Europe countries like the Netherlands, Germany and Britain.

Mezze

Mezze which is a selection of food served as the appetizer course with or without drinks or sometimes as the main course and consists olives, mature kashar cheese (similar to strong cheddar cheese in flavor) or white cheese, pickles, cacık (tzatziki), köfte (meatballs), pilaki (made of bean, garlic and olive oil), dolma (grape leaves, green pepper or eggplant stuffed with rice or meat), börek (very thin phyllo dough stuffed with cheese, meat or vegetables), hummus (coming from Arabic and prepared from sesame, chickpea, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice), seafood, and several other varieties. Gözleme is a food typical in rural areas, made of lavash bread folded around a variety of fillings -- spinach, cheese, meat, potatoes -- and cooked on a large griddle.

Desserts

One of the best-known desserts in Turkish cuisine is baklava (related to the Greek and Arabic desert.) Milk based deserts such as Rice and starch puddings (muhallebi, sütlaç) are also popular dished and have a Byzantine origin, helva (From arabic halva) (halvah), kadayıf (kataifi), revani (made of semolina and starch) are among other varieties. Kaymak (clotted cream) is often served with sweet desserts to cut through the sweetness.

Tea or thick Turkish coffee (with or without sugar) is usually served after dinner or more rarely together with desserts. Lokum (or Turkish Delight, in English) is another well-known jelly like sweet/candy with many varieties. Tavukgöğsü is a sweet, gelatinous, milk pudding dessert made from very thinly peeled chicken breast which is used to give a chewy texture.

Beverages

Although the majority of Turks profess the Islamic faith, alcoholic beverages are as widely available as in Europe. However, most of the Turks abstain from alcohol during the holy month of Ramadan. There are a few local brands of lager such as Efes.

There are also a variety of local wines such as Kavaklıdere and Angora which are getting more popular with the change of climatic conditions that affect the production of wine. Rakı, an alcoholic beverage flavoured with anise, is the usual tipple with meze. The other favorite beverages include ayran, boza, and turnip juice.

Quoted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_food#Turkish_eating_habits