Sinfully Sweet Endings in Turkey

Though this list is not exhaustive, it is quite extensive. The first is obviously the video that attracts you to Turkey, an elaborately dressed man in front of a small ice-cream stall. You place your order to him, he complies – the ice-cream is on the cone, one outstretched hand tries to meet another to grab the ice-cream. If it were only that easy….

Again, no brands for the ice-cream, any street vendor churns out equally tasty ice-cream, but if you want to burn some calories before consuming the ice cream, make sure one person gets the camera out while the other goes for the ice-cream. The vendors really love the spotlight 😊 . Also, the ice-cream, made from goat’s milk, and an ingredient called ‘salep’, does not melt easily – make sure you have the time to enjoy it properly.

Then, of course, is the national dessert of Turkey, the Baklava, looks like a puff, but filled with nuts and syrup, it is something really addictive. The best fresh ones would be at Hafiz Mustafa if you want a fine-dine-Baklava experience, however, this sinful dessert is also found in markets, and in local shops.

Dessert experience at Hafiz Mustafa

The Turkish Delight, or the Locum is a confection made from starch and sugar – it’s that simple, but elaborate dressings of nuts, dates, fruits and even flowers give it a very different and colourful feel. My favorites were the ones fused with Nutella, and a variant coated with rose petals! Turkish delight and Baklava can last for a month, and comes in small gift boxes, and is an ideal souvenir to carry back home (where it finishes off in a jiffy!)

What's your Delight?

The not-so-popular of the dishes, the Kunefe is an eclectic dessert that can only be enjoyed piping hot and fresh, straight from the oven. With a mildly sweet, honey-dipped crisp crust on the outside and molten local cheese on the inside, this is nothing short of pure bliss. Yes, I had grimaced too when I heard about the composition, and had initially felt I wanted to give it a pass, but one bite and I was sold. For starters, the cheese is not too pungent, and dampens the effect of syrup, thus producing a dessert mildly sweet, and still as sinful. It is usually endemic to Turkey, and definitely a must-try.

After gorging on these dishes for over a week, it was time to come back to more mainstream cuisines back home, but every once in a while, I find myself visiting a restaurant which has some Turkish options and everytime I ask myself, would I go back to Turkey just for the food, and the mice inside my stomach respond with a resounding, YES!

The Turkish Lunch (And sometimes Dinner)

The Turks have a huge breakfast (I believe the phrase on eating breakfast like a king would have been inspired from an Ottoman ruler, and passed on the proletariat through the Chesnidjibashi (royal taster of food, for taste and poison)), but if you think that it stops there you are mistaken.

Giant potatoes stuffed with goodness - A snack or a meal in itself?

Roam any of the bylanes of Istanbul as an example, the omnipresent cafes with patrons are testimony to the fact that the day has just begun. Even before we had the opportunity to peruse the menu, we found ourselves breaking the bread and sampling it with the Cacik (A yoghurt-based dip infused with herbs)

The complimentary Bread with Cacik

We sampled a vegetarian version of the Pide (another East-Meets-West dish), a cross between a Pizza and a stuffed Parantha (It was about as tasty as it sounds). 

On another occasion, we had the chance to try Mixed vegetables in a Casserole (Sounds familiar, right?). 

Where's my dish??

It turned out to be the most unique experience. The vegetables cooked with gravy were kept in an enclosed earthen pot, which is broken right before serving, and the fragrant curry just oozes out.

So, the taste of the clay becomes more and more pronounced as you go further into the dish like the Christoffel Bier, which gets more and more bitter as you get into the drink, but that is for another day 😉 Of course, if you cannot decide what to eat and want to go for a melange of tastes, go for the Mezze platter and wash it down with the homemade Limonita (Lemonade) or Ayran (A yum sour drink)

The ubiquitous Mezze Platter

No restaurant gets it wrong in Turkey, believe me! From the hummus, to the Muhammara, to the Ezme, or the Babaganoush, if you like the cuisine you will love it. There are a lot of innovative cooking methods like food cooked in salt which is baked to form an outer layer. It is fascinating to see how the dish unlayers itself! If you do not like the cuisine, you will still love it, especially with the complimentary tea/ coffee which follows a meal.

Life is Full of Difficult Decisions

We had kept a list of Italian/ Indian options in Turkey as we felt we would need that for variety, you know, with us being vegetarians, there was only that much before it got boring and repetitive. On our second day in Istanbul, after eating to our heart’s content, we tore that list. It was a decision we would never regret as we walked down the road to Hafiz Mustafa 1864 for a sweet ending.

The Sumptuous, Scrumptious Turkish Breakfast

So, one of the major concerns we have while traveling, (also a major opportunity) is Food.  Constraint because we are lacto-ovo vegetarians, and opportunity, because within that constraint, we are open to literally trying everything. So, the first thing when we talk about Turkey – is a big, hearty Turkish breakfast. Lots of salads, jams, cheese and breads for vegetarians, but ohh so tasty!

Salad counter at a typical Turkish breakfast. Apart from one dish, all vegetarian!

Plenty of cereals to choose from!

And breads too!!

From fixing a salad with fresh tomatoes, olives and cheese (A typical breakfast buffet consists of 8-10 types of cheese, each tastier than the previous). Then there is Menemen (which is a cross between scrambled eggs, and omelettes), and consists of eggs mixed with red and green peppers,  tomatoes, and spices. 

Menemen

Eaten with bread, to me this dish is the ultimate fusion of east meets west. If you are a fan of bread, chances are that you will like the Borek (Thin pastry filled with spinach and cheese) or the Cigara Boregi - think Spring roll on the outside, and mozzarella/ cheddar heaven on the inside. All the dishes were scrumptious, and we ended up spending about an hour everyday in trying all these dishes and more. And if you want to get started with a sweet tooth in the morning, why not try some fresh honeycomb? Yes, that’s a thing!

Fresh Honeycomb..

Once done and swearing to ourselves that this was the last meal we had for the day, we ventured out of our hotel , walked up to Topkapi palace, and took a left for the boulevard where you have the Hagia Sophia Museum on one side, and the Blue Mosque on the other. That’s when the street food starts beckoning you. From fresh pomegranate juices, to Limonita (Home-made lemonade), and even with a filled stomach, we had to get a drink! Oh, picked up a Simit to go as well (That’s a sesame bagel, eaten plain or with Nutella topping – Turkey is one of the higher per capita consumers of Nutella, and hence, its ubiquitousness).

Breakfasty street food

It’s just day 1 and by the time we reach lunch time, we are already packed to the rafters. It’s really a wrap for the day. Our lunch will have to wait until tomorrow….