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Thali

🇹🇷 The food of Turkey

86 dishes from Turkey, best known first, across 24 cities and regions.

Turkish cooking blends Central Asian roots with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern touches, shaped by centuries of Ottoman influence. Meals are built around vegetables, grains, and bread, with moderate use of spices and a wide range of dairy, especially yogurt and cheese. Regional differences are marked, from olive oil-rich Aegean dishes to spicy southeastern kebabs.

  • Yogurt is central, even giving its name to the English word.
  • Olive oil dominates cooking in western Turkey.
  • Baklava and künefe are signature Turkish desserts.
  • Menemen is a classic Turkish breakfast dish.
  • Anchovies are a staple in the Black Sea region.

The cooking of Turkey

Turkish cuisine draws from a long history, combining Central Asian, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern traditions, especially through the legacy of the Ottoman Empire. The food is known for its balance—spices are used with restraint, and vegetables, grains, and legumes are central. Olive oil is a key ingredient in the west, while the southeast is famous for its kebabs and sweet pastries. Yogurt and cheese are common, and many dishes are named after their place of origin. Meals are often home-cooked, starting with soup and followed by vegetable or meat dishes, usually with rice or bread.

Staple foods in Turkey

Bread, rice, and bulgur are everyday basics, often served with vegetables or legumes. Lamb, chicken, and beef are the main meats, though fish is common along the Black Sea. Eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and pulses like lentils and beans appear in many dishes. Olive oil and yogurt are widely used, and nuts such as pistachios and walnuts are important, especially in desserts.

Breakfast in Turkey 16 dishes

A Turkish breakfast is varied and generous, featuring cheeses, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, jams, honey, and kaymak (clotted cream). Breads like simit and börek are common, along with spicy sausage (sucuk) and cured beef (pastırma). Menemen, an egg dish with tomatoes and peppers, is a specialty. Tea is always served.

Sweets and drinks in Turkey

Baklava, kadayıf, and künefe are well-known desserts, often made with nuts and syrup. Yogurt is used in drinks like ayran, a salty, tangy beverage. Fruit, both fresh and dried, is common in side dishes or desserts, but fresh fruit is rarely found in sweets. Helva, made from semolina or tahini, is enjoyed year-round, with lighter versions in summer.

From region to region in Turkey

Regional cooking varies widely. The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts use olive oil and fresh vegetables, while the Black Sea region relies on fish, especially anchovies, and maize. The southeast is known for spicy kebabs, meze, and syrupy desserts. Central Anatolia features dishes like mantı (meat-filled dumplings) and gözleme (stuffed flatbread). Cheese varieties and preparation styles also differ by region.

Where this page comes from

The facts in this overview come from the Wikipedia article "Turkish cuisine", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Thali rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

Cities and regions of Turkey

Gaziantep 4Mersin 4Kahramanmaraş 3Adana 2Bursa 2Hatay 2Istanbul 2Kayseri 2Tarsus 2Afyonkarahisar 1Anatolia 1Ankara 1Artvin 1Çukurova 1Eastern Thrace 1Eminönü 1İzmir 1İzmir Province 1Kars 1Menemen 1Rize 1Şanlıurfa 1Urfa 1Vefa 1
MealBreakfastLunchTea timeDinnerSupperSnacks
KindMain dishStreet foodSoupStew or curryRice dishNoodle or pasta dishDumplingBreadGrill or roastSandwich or wrapPie or savoury pastrySalad or sideCheese or dairy foodSausage or cured foodSauce, pickle or fermentSweet or dessertDrink
DietVegetarianVeganFish and seafoodMeat
MeatballMeat 🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreGround meat shaped into balls and cooked by frying, baking, or braising in sauce Main dish, Lunch, Dinner MantiMeat 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan and 5 moreSpiced meat dumplings wrapped in thin dough, steamed, boiled or baked Dumpling, Lunch, Dinner LahmacunMeat 🇸🇾 Syria and 3 moreThin flatbread baked with a topping of minced meat, vegetables and herbs Main dish, Lunch, Dinner PastirmaMeat 🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreAir-dried cured meat coated in a spiced fenugreek paste Sausage or cured food, Breakfast, Lunch KhashMeatխաշ 🇦🇲 Armenia and 5 moreA rich stew of slow-cooked cow or sheep parts, eaten across the Caucasus and Middle East Stew or curry, Breakfast HaleemMeat 🇮🇳 India and 7 moreA slow-cooked stew of wheat, lentils, meat and spices Stew or curry, Breakfast, Lunch KeşkekMeat 🇹🇷 Turkey and 3 moreA ceremonial wheat and meat stew shared across Turkey, Armenia, and the region Stew or curry, Lunch, Dinner İskender kebapMeat 🇹🇷 TurkeyThinly sliced grilled meat over bread, topped with tomato sauce, butter, and yogurt Main dish, Lunch, Dinner Roast gooseMeat 🇨🇳 China and 4 moreWhole goose roasted until the skin is crisp and the meat tender Main dish, Dinner Adana kebabıMeat 🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreHand-minced lamb kebab grilled on skewers, named for the city of Adana Main dish, Lunch, Dinner Tavë KosiMeat 🇦🇱 Albania and 4 moreAlbanian casserole of lamb, rice and tangy yogurt baked until golden Main dish, Lunch, Dinner MandiMeatمندي 🇾🇪 Yemen and 5 moreMeat and spiced rice cooked together in an underground pit Main dish, Lunch, Dinner Shish taoukMeat 🇹🇷 Turkey and 3 moreChicken pieces marinated, skewered and grilled over a fire Main dish, Lunch, Dinner TavukgöğsüMeat 🇹🇷 TurkeyTurkish milk pudding thickened with finely shredded chicken breast Sweet or dessert KarnıyarıkMeat 🇹🇷 TurkeyEggplant filled with a savoury mixture of ground meat, vegetables and herbs Main dish, Lunch, Dinner SumaghiyyehMeatالسماقية 🇵🇸 Palestine and 3 moreA tangy Palestinian stew with sumac, chard, beef and chickpeas Stew or curry, Lunch, Dinner TantuniMeat 🇹🇷 TurkeySpiced beef or lamb stir-fried and wrapped in flatbread from southern Turkey Main dish, Lunch, Dinner KoftaMeat 🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreMinced meat shaped into balls or patties, cooked with spices in many regions Main dish

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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