e a s y m e n u e t h n i c c o o k b o o k s Cooking c u l t u r a l l y a u t h e n t i c f o o d s tt hh ee Turk ish i n c l u d i n g l o w - f a t a n d v e g e t a r i a n r e c i p e s ww aa yy K A R I C O R N E L L A N D N U R Ç A Y T Ü R K O G˘ L U Cooking t h e TURKISH w a y Copyright © 2004 by Kari Cornell All rights reserved.International copyright secured.No part of this book may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical,photocopying,recording,or otherwise—with- out the prior written permission of Lerner Publications Company,except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. Lerner Publications Company thanks our expert consultant Nurçay Türkog˘lu for her contributions to this book. Lerner Publications Company A division of Lerner Publishing Group 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis,MN 55401 U.S.A. Website address:www.lernerbooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cornell,Kari A. Cooking the Turkish way / Kari A.Cornell and Nurcay Turkoglu. p. cm.—(Easy menu ethnic cookbooks) Summary:An introduction to cooking in Turkey,featuring such recipes as spinach-filled Anatolian flat bread,lamb kebabs,and baklava.Also includes information on the history,geography,customs,and people of this partly European and partly Asian country. eISBN:0–8225–2173–3 1.Cookery,Turkish—Juvenile literature. 2.Turkey—Social life and customs—Juvenile literature. 3.Low-fat diet—Recipes—Juvenile literature. 4.Vegetarian cookery—Juvenile literature.[1.Cookery,Turkey. 2.Turkey—Social life and customs.] I.Turkoglu,Nurcay. II.Title. TX725.T8C67 2004 641.59561—dc22 2003016543 Manufactured in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 – JR – 09 08 07 06 05 04 e a s y m e n u e t h n i c c o o k b o o k s Cooking c u l t u r a l l y a u t h e n t i c f o o d s t h e tURKISH i n c l u d i n g l o w - f a t a n d v e g e t a r i a n r e c i p e s w a y Kari Cornell and Nurçay Türko˘lu a Lerner Publications Company • Minneapolis C o n t e n t s INTRODUCTION, 7 A TURKISH TABLE, 27 The Land and Its People,9 A Turkish Menu,28 Regional Cooking,12 APPETIZERS, 31 Holidays and Festivals,14 Meat Pizza,32 BEFORE YOU BEGIN, 19 Zucchini Fritters,34 The Careful Cook,20 Spinach-Filled Anatolian Flat Bread,36 Cooking Utensils,21 Cooking Terms,21 SOUPS AND SIDE Special Ingredients,22 DISHES, 39 Healthy and Low-Fat Cooking Tips,24 Red Lentil Soup,40 Metric Conversions Chart,25 Shredded Wheat Soup with Tomatoes,41 Green Beans with Minced Meat,42 Almond Cream,58 Turkish Delight,60 MAIN DISHES, 45 Chicken with Rice,Tomatoes, HOLIDAY AND FESTIVAL Peppers,and Tarragon,46 FOOD, 63 Dumplings with Yogurt,48 Flat Bread with Nigella Seeds,64 Lamb Kebabs with Tomatoes,Peppers, Noah’s Dessert,66 and Onions,50 Baked Meat and Cheese Pie,68 Eggplant with Onion and Tomatoes,51 INDEX, 70 DESSERTS, 53 Baklava,54 Burnt Rice Pudding,57 I n t r o d u c t i o n If you were to travel through Turkey, sampling food along the way, you would be savoring a unique and rich cuisine that has been ranked among some of the best cooking in the world. And you would be tasting a bit of Turkish history. Along the coast of the Aegean Sea, for example, olives and seafood—foods commonly associated with Greek cuisine—are popular. Around 900 B.C., Greeks inhabited this coast, where they established the settlements of Ephesus, Miletus, and Troy. The newcomers brought along the traditions of their homeland, including favorite recipes. Head eastward along the Mediterranean Sea and food begins to take on the flavors of the Middle East. Dishes such as kebabs (chunks of lamb, beef, or chicken roasted on skewers), hummus (pureed chickpeas, sesame paste, and garlic dip), kısır (small patties made from bulgur, parsley, and spicy tomato paste), and muhammara (a spicy red pepper and nut spread) become more prominent. During the time of the Turkish Ottoman Empire (1453–1909), Turks ruled all or parts of modern-day Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. They also ruled parts of many other countries, such as Russia and Hungary. A Turkish holiday meal might include generous slices of a baked meat and cheese pie. (Recipe on pages 68–69.) 7 But it was in Ïstanbul, the former center of the Ottoman Empire, where the recipes traditionally thought of as Turkish originated. In the vast kitchens of the Topkapı Palace, cooks dreamed up new dishes in hopes of delighting the sultan, the great ruler of the empire. Ottoman cooks were fortunate to have a wealth of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, and meats from which to create the most enticing foods. Traders from China and India traveled through the Ottoman Empire on a network of trade routes, bringing spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and cumin, many of which found their way into traditional Ottoman recipes. Eventually these recipes became popular throughout the empire, and they remain favorites among Turks in modern times. In this book, we’ve included a sampling of recipes that represent the vast range of Turkish cuisine. We hope that you enjoy them all. As Turkish cooks say to their guests, “Afiyet olsun!” This expression, which means “Enjoy your meal,” is used both before and after 8 dinner. After indulging in these fine dishes, express your apprecia- tion for food prepared by somebody else by saying “Elinize saglik!” (“May God give health to your hands!”) The Land and Its People Turkey (Türkiye in Turkish) is known as the place where East meets West and North meets South, both physically and in spirit. Because of its strategic location where the continents of Asia and Europe almost touch, Turkey has been important in world history and is the birthplace of many great civilizations. Although most of Turkey lies on the Asian continent in an area known as Anatolia, the Turkish region known as Thrace is firmly planted on European soil. The Bosporus Strait, a busy waterway that connects the Black Sea in the north to the Sea of Marmara in the south, marks the boundary between the two continents. The strait also divides Ïstanbul, Turkey’s largest city. At different times, Ïstan- bul was the capital of three great empires—Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman. Since 1920 Ankara, a city in Central Anatolia, has been the capital of the Turkish Republic. Turkey is one of the largest countries in Europe and the Middle East. With a land area of 309,000 square miles, it is slightly smaller than Texas and Louisiana combined. The country shares its western border with Greece, Bulgaria, and the Aegean Sea. The Republic of Georgia, Armenia, and Iran flank Turkey on the east, while Iraq, Syria, and the Mediterranean Sea form Turkey’s southern border. The Black Sea defines Turkey’s northern edge. The area along the Black Sea receives more rain than does any other part of the country. The Pontic Mountains rim this coastal area and form a natural barrier, separating this region from the rest of Turkey. The thick forests that cover the mountains provide lumber for the boat-building industry, an age-old tradition. Tea plants, whose leaves are dried and crushed to make the Turks’ favorite 9