Turkish kebabs in Dubai | Turkish Kepabs in Dubai - Zurna | A Nurturing Environment

Early historical documents show that the basic structure of the Turkish Cuisine was already established during the Nomadic Period and in the first settled Turkish States of Asia. Culinary attitudes towards meat, dairy, vegetables and grains that characterized this early period still make up the core of Turkish Cuisine. Turks cultivated wheat and used it liberally in several types of leavened and unleavened breads baked in clay ovens, on the griddle, or buried in ember. “Manti” (dumpling), and “bugra” (attributed to Bugra Khan of Turkestan, the ancestor of “börek” or dough with fillings), were already among the much-coveted dishes at this time. Stuffing the pasta, as well as all kinds of vegetables, was also common practice, and still is, as evidenced by dozens of different types of “dolma”. Skewering meat as well as other ways of grilling, later known to us as varieties of “kebap” and dairy products such as cheeses and yogurt were convenient and staple foods of the pastoral Turks. They introduced these attitudes and practices to Anatolia in the 11th century. In return they were introduced to rice, the fruits and the vegetables native to the Region, and the hundreds varieties of fish in the three seas surrounding the Anatolian Peninsula. These new and wonderful ingredients were assimilated into the basic Cuisine in the millennia that followed.

Anatolia is a Region coined as the “bread basket of the world”. Turkey, even now, is one of the seven countries in the world which produces enough food to feed everyone and then some to export. The Turkish landscape encompasses such a wide variety of geographic zones, that for every two to four hours of driving, you will find yourself in a different zone with all the accompanying changes in scenery, temperature, altitude, humidity, vegetation and weather conditions. The Turkish landscape has the combined characteristics of the three old continents of the world: Europe, Africa and Asia, and an ecological diversity surpassing any other place along the 40th latitude. Thus, the diversity of the Cuisine has come to reflect that of the landscape and its regional variations.

 In the Eastern Region, you will encounter the rugged, snow-capped mountains where the winters are long and cold, and the highlands where the spring season with its rich wild flowers and rushing creeks extends into the long and cool summer. Livestock farming is prevalent. Butter, yogurt, cheeses, honey, meat and cereals are the local food. Long winters are best endured with the help of yogurt soup and meatballs flavored with aromatic herbs found in the mountains, and endless servings of tea.

 

 The heartland is dry steppes with rolling hills, endless stretches of wheat fields and barren bedrock that takes on the most incredible shades of gold, violet, cool and warm grays, as the sun travels the sky. Ancient cities were located on the trade routes with lush cultivated orchards and gardens. Among these, Konya, the capital of the Seljuk Empire (the first Turkish State in Anatolia), distinguished itself as the center of a culture that attracted scholars, mystics, and poets from throughout the world during the 13th century. The lavish Cuisine that is enjoyed in Konya today, with its clay-oven (tandir) kebaps, böreks, mcat and vegetable dishes and helva desserts, dates back to the feasts given by Sultan Alaaddin Keykubad in 1237 A.D.

Towards the west, one eventually reaches warm, fertile valleys between cultivated mountainsides, and the lace-like shores of the Aegean where nature is friendly and life has always been easy. Fruits and vegetables of all kinds are abundant, including the best of all sea food! Here, olive oil becomes a staple and is used both in hot and cold dishes.

The temperature zone of the Black Sea Coast, well-protected by the high Caucasian Mountains, is abundant with hazelnuts, corn and tea. The Black Sea people are fishermen and identify themselves with their ecological companion, the shimmering “hamsi”, a small fish similar to anchovy. There are at least forty different dishes made with hamsi! Many poems, anecdotes and folk dances are inspired by this delicious fish.

The south-eastern part of Turkey is hot and desert-like and offers the greatest variety of kebabs and sweet pastries. Dishes here are spicier compared to all other regions, possibly to retard spoilage in hot weather, or as the natives say, to equalize the heat inside the body to that of the outside!

The culinary centre of the country is the Marmara Region which includes Thrace, with Istanbul as its Queen City. This temperate, fertile Region boasts a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and the most delicately flavored lamb. The variety of fish that travel the Bosphorus surpasses those in other seas.
Bolu, a city on the mountains, supplied the greatest cooks for the Sultan’s Palace, and even now, the best chefs in the country come from Bolu. Istanbul, of course, has been the epicenter of the Cuisine, and an understanding of Turkish Cuisine will never be complete without a survey of the Sultan’s kitchen…

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Dolmas - Zurna

To ‘be stuffed’ or not ‘to be stuffed’?

Turkish verb Dolmak “means to be stuffed” that transforms to the verbal noun ‘Dolma’… basically meaning stuffed thing. Its eaten either as a Mezze or a main dish, and can be cooked as a veggie or a meat dish. The meat version is usually served hot with yogurt and spices like oregano and red peppers with oil. Dolmas have a highly regarded spot in Turkish Cuisine.

The kind made with vine leaves stuffed with a rice-spice mixture and cooked with olive oil is called Zeytinyağlı dolma. These don’t contain meat and are sometimes referred to as ‘Sarma’, meaning ‘wrapping’ in Turkish. They are usually served cold. Meatless dolmas are referred to as ‘yalancı’, which means ‘fake’ dolma. Zeytinyağlı dolma from the Ottoman cuisine is usually sweeten by adding dried fruit like figs, cherries and cinnamon to the mixture. Vine leaves or yaprak filled with meat and rice are called etli yaprak sarma, usually served hot with yogurt. There are also some dessert sarma, like fistik sarma (wrapped pistachios).

Melon dolma along with quince or apple dolma was one of the palace’s specialties. Raw melon stuffed with minced meat, onion, rice, almonds and cooked in an oven. Contemporary dolma recipes constitute mainly of courgette (“kabak”), aubergine (“patlıcan”), tomato (“domates”), pumpkin (“balkabağı”), pepper (“biber”), cabbage (“lahana”) (black or white cabbage), chard (“pazı”) and mussel (“midye”). Palace cuisines have now started replacing dried cherries with currants that now constitute the fillings of dolmas cooked in olive oil. A different type of dolma is mumbar dolması, for which the membrane of intestines of sheep is filled up with a spicy rice-nut mixture.

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Kitchen of the Imperial Palace - Zurna

The importance of culinary art for the Ottoman Sultans is evident to every visitor of Topkapi Palace. The huge kitchens were housed in several buildings under ten domes. By the 17th century, some thirteen hundred kitchen staff were housed in the Palace. Hundreds of cooks, specializing in different categories of dishes such as soups, pilafs, turkish kebaps, vegetables, fish, breads, pastries, candy and helva, syrup and jams and beverages, fed as much as ten thousand people a day, and in addition, sent trays of food to others in the City as a royal favor.

The importance of food has been also evident in the structure of the Ottoman military elite, the Janissaries. The commanders of the main divisions were known as the Soupmen, other high ranking officers were the Chief Cook, Scullion, Baker, and Pancake Maker, though their function had little to do with these titles. The huge cauldron used to make pilaf had a special symbolic significance for the Janissaries, as the central focus of each division. The kitchen was also the centre of politics, for whenever the Janissaries demanded a change in the Sultan’s Cabinet, or the head of a grand vizier, they would overturn their pilaf cauldron. “Overturning the cauldron,” is an expression still used today to indicate a rebellion in the ranks.

It was in this environment that hundreds of the Sultans’ chefs, who dedicated their lives to their profession, developed and perfected the dishes of the Turkish Cuisine, which was then adopted by the kitchens of the provinces ranging from the Balkans to Southern Russia, reaching Northern Africa. Istanbul was the capital of the world and had all the prestige, so that its ways were imitated. At the same time, it was supported by an enormous organization and infrastructure which enabled all the treasures of the world to flow into it. The provinces of the vast Empire were integrated by a system of trade routes with refreshing caravanserais for the weary merchants and security forces. The Spice Road, the most important factor in culinary history, was under the full control of the Sultan. Only the best ingredients were allowed to be traded under the strict standards established by the courts.

Following the example of the Palace, all of the grand Ottoman houses boasted elaborate kitchens and competed in preparing feasts for each other as well as the general public. In fact, in each neighborhood, at least one household would open its doors to anyone who happened to stop by for dinner during the holy month of Ramadan, or during other festive occasions. And this is how the traditional Cuisine evolved and spread, even to the most modest corners of the country.