Thursday 12 July 2012

Gourmet Tour - The Streets of Istanbul

My 'tasting-notes' now take you on an enchanting and gastronomic journey of the imperial city of Istanbul which features a cuisine with wide variety of ingredients and cooking styles which include dishes and ideas from the cuisine of Jews, Greeks and Armenians.
The Southeast and the East are known for dishes based on cracked wheat and meat with hot spices while the Aegean for their olive oil delicacies enhanced with local herbs.

The narrow and cobbled streets of Istanbul are abuzz with exotic foods like gyros, grills, fried meats, kebaps, stews, meat cooked in a crock or pan, simit; a bread like a bagel and börek.

Turkish cuisine is believed to be one of the three richest and oldest cooking traditions of the world together with French and Chinese cooking.

A gourmet tour can be exotic. You can savour a long list of Turkish delicacies. It is like biting into a large slice of history ;

Doner Kebab

homemade chicken gyros, thinly sliced and served with bulgur salad, mezze and freshly baked lebanese breads

Schwarma

homemade lamb schwarma, thinly sliced and served with bulgur salad, mezze and freshly baked lebanese breads

Mevsim Salata

lettuce, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese served with olive oil, lemon juice and a drizzle of vinegar
Coban Salata

diced tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, roast aubergine, dill and onion dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar

Kisir (Tabuleh)

cracked wheat lightly flavored with tomato paste, parsley and onions

Izgara Kofte ( Turkish Style Meatballs )

ground lamb kofte served with salad and hummus

Chicken Sheesh Touk

turkish sheeh kebab served with mezze and freshly baked lebanese breads

Lamb Samboussek

deep fried lebanese pastry filled with minced lamb and pine nut

Fatiyer bil – Sabanegh

spinach and haloumi cheese filled pies paired with mezze

Falafel

chick pea and parsley crispies with mezze and pita breads

Breads

Taze Gevrek

delicious crispy simit (turkish bagel)

Ispanikli Börek

traditional spinach and cheese baked filled pastries made of a thin flakes

Dessert

Baklava

sultans homemade buttery dough filled with nuts and served with honey syrup

Mohallabiah with Almond

delectable signature dessert from mediterranean region

By :

Devraj Halder