Dishes by region

Pick a region on the map to see its recipes.

This is a schematic map. Region borders are approximate.

Marmara dishes

Marmara page

Traces of palace cuisine and city classics: aubergine hünkar beğendi, buttery İskender and the simit of the streets.

Diced meat and pepper on aubergine purée on a copper plate

Hünkar beğendi (sultan's delight)

1 h 40 minHard

İskender with meat, tomato sauce and yoghurt on pide on a plate

İskender kebab

2 h 40 minMedium

Simit

2 h 7 minMedium

Aegean dishes

Aegean page

A cuisine of olive oil, vegetables and wild greens. Artichokes, tomato-rich menemen and İzmir köfte baked with vegetables come from this region.

İzmir köfte baked with potatoes in tomato sauce on a plate

İzmir köfte (baked meatballs and potatoes)

1 h 5 minEasy

Olive oil artichokes stuffed with a rice filling

Zeytinyağlı enginar (olive oil artichokes)

1 hMedium

Menemen

20 minEasy

Mediterranean dishes

Mediterranean page

A table of strong heat and fire. Adana kebab chopped by hand, tantuni from the griddle and hot künefe.

Adana kebab

1 h 37 minMedium

Künefe

35 minMedium

Finely chopped tantuni meat cooking with peppers on a large griddle

Tantuni (Mersin beef wrap)

45 minMedium

Central Anatolia dishes

Central Anatolia page

Filling dishes of the steppe: tiny Kayseri mantı, long Konya etli ekmek and kebab cooked in a clay pot.

Mantı on a plate with garlic yoghurt and chilli butter

Kayseri mantı (tiny Turkish dumplings)

1 h 50 minHard

Sliced long, thin Konya etli ekmek with minced meat on a table

Etli ekmek (Konya meat flatbread)

1 h 45 minMedium

Meat and vegetable kebab served from an opened clay pot at the table

Testi kebabı (clay pot kebab)

3 h 25 minMedium

Black Sea dishes

Black Sea page

Cornmeal, butter and anchovies. Stretchy kuymak, oven-baked anchovy pilaf and boat-shaped pide.

Kıymalı pide (minced meat pide)

1 h 40 minMedium

Stringy kuymak served with a wooden spoon in a copper pan

Kuymak (Black Sea cornmeal and cheese)

20 minEasy

Round tray of pilaf covered in anchovies, fresh from the oven

Hamsili pilav (anchovy rice)

1 h 25 minHard

Eastern Anatolia dishes

Eastern Anatolia page

A butter-rich table for long winters. Cağ kebabı over a wood fire and kete filled with toasted flour.

Layered cağ kebab browning on a horizontal skewer in front of a wood fire

Cağ kebabı (Erzurum skewered lamb)

45 min + restingHard

Sliced layered kete topped with nigella seeds on a white plate

Kete (Erzurum filled pastry)

2 h 5 minMedium

Southeastern Anatolia dishes

Southeastern Anatolia page

Spice, pistachios and skill with dough. Pistachio baklava, thin lahmacun and ezogelin soup are the symbols of this cuisine.

By city

Istanbul dishes