The most underrated dishes that tourists do not try while on vacation in Turkey, but the result will certainly please them, a professional traveler listed on her blog. According to the girl, on the “buffet table” in hotels in Turkey or during a walk in Istanbul, you should pay attention to the seven most delicious dishes.
Lentil soup – merjimek. As a rule, tourists avoid sections with soups on the “buffet table”, and if they do, they only take familiar ones. For example, tomato, vegetable or chicken. However, “weird orange color and not a single big ingredient” is a delicious, hearty soup with healing properties.
Raw patties – or meatballs. Traditionally, these are raw meat patties or meatballs with vegetables. Previously, they were prepared from beef or lamb, but since raw meat dishes are prohibited in Turkey these days, chi-left has become vegetarian in public catering. But the Turks jokingly put the sign “raw minced meat” next to the food on the “buffet” table. “Actually, kefte are small chilled patties made of ground bulgur and spices. It is customary to sprinkle them with lemon juice and eat them with salad leaves, pomegranate sauce, and hot pepper paste. Definitely with ayran (sour-milk Turkish drink),” the author specified.
Meat cake – lahmajun. Only three components – the thinnest dough, fried minced meat with onions and spices, tomato paste – make this seemingly modest dish unique after baking in a wood-fired oven. The correct way to eat lahmajun is as follows: sprinkle it with lemon juice, put vegetables on top (chopped cabbage with onions and tomatoes), roll it up like a pancake, cover it with ayran.
Rice – pilaf. Pre-fried in butter, and then boiled rice – and a magical dish is ready. According to the tourist, such rice is eaten even by those who do not like this cereal as a side dish. Sometimes a little vermicelli, chickpeas or boiled chicken is added to it.
Semolina halvah. Traditionally, tourists choose Turkish delight, baklava and ice cream (dondurma). But few people know about another national Turkish delicacy – semolina halva. It is prepared on the basis of semolina and sweet syrup and served warm with chopped pistachios sprinkled on top.
Turkish Scrambled Menemen. Menemen is a traditional Turkish dish that includes eggs, tomatoes, sweet green peppers and spices such as ground black and dried red pepper cooked in olive or sunflower oil. And the gooey cream cheese.
Warm sweet cake – künefi. Amazing Turkish delight looks like a large baklava, so many tourists simply ignore the cake. Künefe is deep-fried vermicelli dough soaked in sugar syrup. In Turkey, it is considered the king of all desserts. “Hot cream cheese is hidden under it. Warm treats are decorated with a scoop of ice cream on top and sprinkled with nuts,” the blogger clarified.
Previously, DIP wrote about the most overrated dishes that all tourists try to try in Turkey, but the result is more likely to disappoint them. Read details in the article “It is better not to eat for tourists: the most overrated are named dishes of Turkey“.