Kofte
Kofte is a common dish in Turkey loved by people of all ages. It is similar to the meatballs that Italians serve but has a special Turkish touch to it. These meatballs are made up of patties that are ground beef or lamb cooked lightly. People here enjoy Kofte in various forms, like in gravy or wrapped in pita bread.
This food item also has a vegetarian version, and thus, you need not worry if you follow a strict vegan diet. The vegan version of Kofte is made of vegetables and chickpeas and tastes delicious as well. These meatballs form an important part of an authentic Turkish meal served in big restaurants and roadside shops. Therefore, Kofte stewed in sandwiches or pita bread is a must-try food item for visitors in Turkey.
Manti
You must have tasted ravioli, but how about mini-sized ravioli stuffed with meat? Turkish people are an expert at preparing miniature ravioli called Manti that taste heavenly and look amazing. The stuffing inside Manti is made by combining beef or lamb, either boiled or fried and different spices. This dish is served with a sauce made from garlic and tomatoes, which enhances the taste many-fold times.
Visitors to Turkey should not miss having Manti while their visit to any part of the nation. This traditional Turkish dish finds a permanent place on the dining table of every resident. Women here can prepare these miniature ravioli in huge quantities within a short time. The dish will melt in your mouth the moment you have it and is available in all food joints across the country.
Lahmacun
A pizza-lover should never order authentic Italian-style pizza while on tour in Turkey, or else the local Turkish pizza will be offended. Lahmacun is a Turkish-style pizza that tastes excellent and can give a tough competition to the authentic one. It is flat and crispy and has minced meat, salad, and lemon as the toppings. This flavourful counterpart of the famous Italian dish will be a treat to your taste buds.
You should try Lahmacun with tomatoes, lettuce, and parsley leaves to get the best taste. Lemon juice sprinkled on top of this Turkish pizza is like icing on the cake. Lahmacun becomes tastier with the addition of Mediterranean spices. It is a famous street food of Turkey, and you will find it selling in almost all food stalls across the country.
Iskender Kebab
Your trip to Turkey shall remain incomplete without tasting Iskander Kebabs. Long strips of lamb tossed in tomato sauce and spread over pita bread or steamed rice is a favourite dish of local people. They add yogurt on top of the Kebab to add more flavours to it and make it tastier. Iskender Kebab is named after Iskenedr Efendi, who is believed to invent this dish.
People in Turkey do not complete their celebration tables without this famous local dish. Iskender Kebab’s popularity is not only limited to the country but has reached beyond its boundaries. This dish tastes the best with pita bread, and you can have them calmly in all food stations in the nation.
Corba
Corba is the Turkish counterpart of soups served across the world but with special Mediterranean spices. People in Turkey emphasise a lot on soups and leave no stone unturned to prepare the best ones. It is their comfort food for all seasons, and they can have it at any time of the day. A wide variety of Corba is available in the food joints across the country, but tomato-flavoured ones are the most famous.
The tangy taste of the tomato Corba combined with spices and lemon can satisfy your tongue and stomach the best. Besides, if you visit Turkey during the winter, you need this dish to keep yourself warm at night and during snowfall. Therefore, you should look for the best Corba shops in the country and visit those that come in your route without fail.
Pide
Pide is the Turkish version of Patty prepared with lots of love and care. It looks fantastic and can make anyone following a strict diet plan go weak on their knees. Pide is prepared from nicely kneaded dough that is rolled into patties. It contains various spices that will hit your taste buds and make you hungrier at the first bite.
This dish is available in all restaurants in Turkey at a reasonable price. You can enjoy the beauty of the scenic view across the nation with this favourite local food in hand. Pide will help you explore the authentic taste of Turkish food prepared by native people with a lot of pride and enthusiasm.
Pilav or Pilaf
Rice cooked in butter, spices, and other ingredients is called Pilav or Pilav in Turkey. You can have it with chickpeas, eggplants, liver, or meat slices combined with almond, thyme, pepper, cumin, and cinnamon. This dish tastes great due to the perfect mixture of spices and butter. Visitors can try both vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions of Pilaf sold in all restaurants across Turkey.
In this dish, rice is golden in colour due to sautéing in butter, and thus, it has an excellent aroma and flavour. Turkish people enjoy Pilaf in both summers and winter and combine it with their favourite gravies. This food item is budget-friendly and is the best choice to keep your tummy filled for a long time.
Dolma
Dolma is a famous Turkish dish, which is stuffed vegetables cooked in water and butter. People here usually use peppers, tomatoes, zucchinis, or eggplants for preparing dolma. The stuffing comprises a mixture of rice and onion cooked with spices. This dish tastes the best when served not too hot neither too cold. You can have it without any sauce since the spice inside the vegetable is finger-licking.
This popular dish of Turkey was invented a few centuries back and still holds its legacy. It is budget-friendly and sold in almost all food joints in all the cities and towns of the nation. You should try all types of dolma while visiting the country unless you are allergic to any of the vegetables mentioned earlier.
Durum
Durum is a burrito cooked in authentic Turkish style and wrapped inside a bread wrap. You will get numerous varieties of this dish, including beef, chicken, or lamb. Durum is one of the oldest dished old in every corner of the streets in Turkey. The outer warp is called lavash, and it is thin bread having a good taste.
This popular Turkish dish is a go-to meal for most citizens across the nation. They grab one from the roadside vendors while returning from work and satisfy their hunger. Durum is a low-budget food item that is extremely tasty and heavy on the stomach. Therefore, you can have it for lunch or dinner to reduce your expenses in this Mediterranean country.
Simit
The list of the top ten local food items to taste in Turkey will not be complete without adding Simit to it. This circular bread is the cheapest street food in this country that everyone enjoys with ease. It is encrusted with sesame, sunflower, poppy, or flax seeds and can fill your empty stomach very well. Simit was a famous dish of the Ottoman Empire that ruled the nation for years.
This circular bread is available in various styles, and the taste might also vary from one region to another. Simit is crunchy and made up of flour, yeast, salt, and water. The combination of Turkish tea and Simit is a favourite of people here. You will find many people enjoying their tea and Simit throughout the day in different corners of Turkey.
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