Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

----------------TURKISH QUISINE QUICK GUIDE---------------------

In a world of frozen food, tinned food and "steak and chips"
theTurkish cuisine undoubtedly holds a place of its own. This cuisine
isresisting the encroachment of fast food both in the domestic
settingand restaurants. The broad spectrum foodways of the
cosmopolitanOttoman Empire stretching from the Balkans to North
Africa, combinedwith the traditional cooking techniques of the Turks
going back long centuries, gave rise to a fascinating and richly
diverse synthesis.

SOUPS: Coming in a wide variety, these may be light, or rich and
substantial They are generally based on meat stock and served at the
start of themeal Lentil soup is the most common and best loved variety

PILAF: Generally made of rice, but also of bul gur (cracked wheat) and
sehriye (vermi celli), pilaf is one of the mainstays of the Turkish
table. The rice should not be sticky but separate into individual
grains. The pilaf may include aubergines, chick peas, beans or peas.
Although pilaf is traditionally a course in its own right, in recent
years it has appeared as a garnish with meat and chicken dishes at
many restaurants.

BOREK: Thinly rolled pastry, often the paper thin variety known as
yufka, is wrapped around various savory fillings or arranged in
layers . The myriad types of borek are unmatched delicacies when
cooked to perfection. Boreks can be fried, baked, cooked on a griddle
or boiled. Traditionally it was said that no girl should marry until
she had mastered the art of borek making. Preferred fillings are
cheese, rninced meat, spinach and pota toes. In the form of rolls
filled with cheese or minced meat mix tures and fried, boreks are
known as sigara (cigarette) boregi. Boreks should be light and crisp,
without a trace of excess oil.

DONER KEBAP: Slices of marinated lamb on a tall vertical spit and
grilled as it slowly turns are delicious. The cooked parts of the
cone of meat are cut in very thin slices by a huge sword-like knife,
and arranged on aplate with Ace or flat pide (pitta) bread. This dish
is the most formidable obstacle to the victory of the hamburger in
the fast foodmarket. Doner kebap in rolls with slices of pickle and
chips is the most common stand-up lunch for city office workers.

KOFTE: The diverse koftes of all shapes and sizes are a culinary
world of their own. Finely minced meat mixed with spices, onions and
other ingredients is shaped by hand, and grilled, fried, boiled or
baked. Koftes are named according to the cooking method, ingredients
or shape. Plump oval kofte dipped in egg and fried have the evocative
name of Ladies Thighs (kadin budu). Some koftes are cooked in a sauas
in the case of the delicious izmir kofte, the koftes are first
grilled and then cooked with green peppers, potato slices and
tomatoes in their own gravy.

DOLMA: A sophisticated flavour and skilful dexterity... Vegetable
such as tomatoes, squash, aubergine and peppers are stuffed, while
those like cabbage and vine leaves are wrapped around the filling.
Dolmas to be eaten hot have a filling of minced meat and herbs,
andthose to eaten cold have a filling of rice.

MEZES: These are hors d'oeuvres figuring mainly at meals accompanied
by wineor rakl. Eaten sparingly, they arouse the appetite before the
meal proper. Examples of meze include fried aubergines with yogurt,
lakerda(bonito pre served in brine), pastirma (pressed beef), humus
(mashed chickpeas with sesame puree), fish croquettes, and lambs'
brains with plenty of lemon juice. At many restaurants a selection of
meze is brought to the table on a tray immediately after the drinks
are served for the customers to make their choice.

Submitted By SAM LEFKOWITZ On 06-27-95

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