During our 5-week trip in Turkey, we indulged ourselves with the best foods throughout the nation, and I came up with a conclusion of the best Turkish dishes to ever get your hands on. I put together the most unique foods I could think of, other than the many classics I am sure many of you have heard of, such as kebabs and doners. Enough blabbering on, let’s get on with the first dish (just so that you are aware, the list’s orders are random):

Manti

Starting small, this “Turkish Ravioli” is a perfect start to any meal as it is small and acts as an appetizer, coated with yogurt for a slightly sour taste, and is soft yet chewy as well. There even is a meaty filling inside that bursts with flavor in your mouth, and combined with all of the other flavors, it is an extremely delicious take on pasta. 

Köfte

If you did not know, these meatballs were what influenced the creation of Swedish meatballs, which are certainly more known than their Turkish counterpart. They are both a bit different, as Köfte is not served in cream sauce and the shape is flattened, generally being served on rice or marinated vegetables. You can find this dish in almost any Turkish restaurant you go to, so if you are a meat-lovin’ guy, there is no need to worry. 

İskender (kebab)

This dish is perfect if you are starving as it is pure meat and carbohydrates (things that will fill you up, basically). Shredded pieces of tender meat on top of chunks of bread floating on a big lump of yogurt; all of these combined make a perfect meal to get you filled up in no time. 

Pide

This “elongated pizza” was one of my favorite things I had while traveling in Turkey. I had this countless times, and each place served it differently. Some were thin, a few were overhauled with meat, one in particular was the cheesiest and greasiest of any, and several were just right – the perfect balance of ingredients. The one thing I found incredibly impressive in any restaurant we went to was they always cooked the pides in a gigantic wood-fired stone oven. The bread and filling were always freshly made, so much so you could see the chefs preparing them in front of you (mostly in local places). They are many types of pides (similar to pizza), so I never got bored of eating them, even for a month. 

There is a similar dish called Lahmacun, which is essentially an exceedingly thin pizza and is a traditional dish throughout the Middle East. 

Pottery Kebab

Pottery kebabs are exceptionally famous in Cappadocia, also being the first location I tried this, and all I can say is it is truly unique to the region. Judging by its name, this dish is slow-cooked under a fire and baked in a small pot holding all of the juice-filled meats and tender vegetables. The basic idea started in a small river-side town called Avanos in Cappadocia (often called “pottery town”), famous for its red clay mined from the nearby hills. If you explore the streets, almost all of the shops there sell some sort of pottery, cluttering the small rooms with shelves of the stuff. Anyway, not getting too carried away, this dish is not only spectacular because of the food’s taste, but also the presentation. Carried on a fire-lit tray, the single-use pot is slowly cracked open to reveal the steaming insides, which are dumped on a plate and ready to serve.  

Piyazcı

I mentioned this dish in a past blog post before, but to sum it all up, this soup’s overwhelming flavors explode in your mouth with all the ingredients’ various tastes. The eggs, onion, chickpea soup base, beans, tomatoes, and more all dance around on your tastebuds harmonizing the flavors together. This is an Antalya specialty and I believe is only found there, so if you’re ever visiting, you have to try this. 

Kumpir (baked potato) 

Last but not least, this baked potato is no ordinary and is like none other I’ve tasted before. After being baked for long enough, the large potato’s spongy inside is carved out (still inside the skin), and many toppings are hurled in, such as black olives, corn, red cabbage, sausage, peas, and other condiments. Above all, to get that famed silky texture, melted cheese is mixed in and whisked together with the other components to acquire arguably the best-mashed potato out there. This dish was one of my favorites out of any in Turkey, so if you ever are considering going to Istanbul – even for a quick weekend trip – get your hands on this baked potato! 

(The most well-known place to find this dish is from a region slightly north of Istanbul, where the Grand Mecidiye Mosque is.)

Numerous other irresistible foods couldn’t make it on the list, for example, the classic shawarmas or juice-soaked dürüms (wraps) that are sold worldwide. They were honestly the dishes I ate most as they’re cheap, easy to eat, and most of the time, delicious. Urfa kebabs (Adana if you like a bit of spice) are no exception too, as the softness of ground meat melts in your mouth with a rich and salty aftertaste. 

Don’t worry; I will never forget about the desserts. I mean, who can’t go without a mouth-wateringly delicious sweet? Here are my top favorite desserts I tried while in Turkey, starting with;

San Sebastian (cheesecake)

This cheesecake is distinctive and like none other, as it is the softest and creamiest I’ve ever had. With the slightest of pressures, the cake falls apart giving it an almost liquid yet solid texture, similar to oobleck slime. Scraping off the edge of the slice’s surface oozes out milky and moist “sponginess” from the cake, so every bite you take is truly magnificent and perhaps even heavenly. 

Cold Baklava (Soğuk Baklava)

This is a relatively new dish, becoming popular in Turkey about 3 years ago, and I must say, it’s my favorite baklava variant. The mushy yet crunchy texture and almost “cerealy” and sweet taste gave it an addictive punch whenever consumed – definitely an interesting twist on the traditional, honey-heavy version. 

Like the ‘main courses,’ there were many other desserts and treats that I didn’t mention, such as the famous baklava and Turkish delight varieties. Although delicious, these treats are already well-known around the world, so I intentionally listed the not-so-known, intriguing foods. That being said, there were probably many desserts and confectionaries that I missed, either being delicious or disgusting. 

One of my favorite things about Turkey and its culture was the food. There’s so much diversity between the dishes, Turkish cuisine is even one of the three most influential (Three Grand Cuisines) in the world. I never got bored eating here, even the local restaurants were delicious. And yes, there were some repulsive meals here and there, but that’s just down to preference. For example, it seems like most Turkish locals love kokoreç even though I’m never able to swallow it down, and who’s to say, I probably love foods some people find revolting. 

Any culture would be dead without its own food, and that’s what makes Turkish culture so deep and abundant. Florida has barely any culture as it doesn’t have distinctive food of its own, I mean, the first thing you imagine when thinking of Florida is most likely Disneyland, which is just a theme park! Turkey’s history (and therefore culture) has been going on for millenniums and throughout that period it has been home to hundreds of different civilizations with different traditions, meaning present-day Turkey has one of the most rich and diverse cultures in the world. Going back to the subject, food has been a major reason for that. You can see that by eating the food as each dish tells its own story of how it originated, a lot of the time you can guess how, and although I already stated this countless times, Turkish cuisine is truly delicious.