When we look at the Turkish cuisine culture, we can see that it spans from the 10^th and 11^th centuries to the present day. Among the determinants that ensured a colourful and rich Turkish cuisine are the wide range of products offered by the Asian and Anatolian territories, interactions with other cultures throughout the history, the newly-developed tastes in the palaces of the Seljuks and the Ottomans and the presence of an Anatolian cuisine arising from Mesopotamia.

It is possible to classify the dishes in the Turkish cuisine in various ways such as soups, meat dishes, vegetable dishes with or without meat, legume dishes with or without meat, dishes with olive oil, pilaf, pastries, salads and desserts.

In the Turkish culture, the must of a meal is bread which is also accepted to be a blessed food. Other than bread, there are also pastries, Turkish pancake, katmer, kete and pita with a significant place in the cuisine.

Thanks to the fertile lands of Turkey, one can find almost everything in the Turkish cuisine from hundreds of fresh vegetables and herbs to never-before-tried delicious salads and vegetable dishes.

There are a great variety of meat dishes in the Turkish cuisine such as roasted, fried, grilled, baked, steamed, simmered and boiled meats, steak kebabs, stews, mutton stews, guvecs, meat balls, meat stuffed vegetables and meat dishes with fruits.

Soups is a hot dish consumed in each meal and before other dishes while desserts are served as if to crown the preceding dishes.

Turkish cuisine is the source of a healthy and balanced diet as it contains many unique types of foods such as molasses, bulghur, yogurt and tarhana.

On the other hand, the essential beverages of the traditional Turkish cuisine also bear great importance. Ayran, the first to come to mind from Turkish beverages, became a symbol of Turkey as yogurt spread around the world as a Turkish discovery. Similarly, tea is one of the most preferred drinks in the Turkish culture while coffee became a pretext for conversation.

Meat Dishes

Adana Kebab, Lamb Stew with Quince, Stew with Quince, Gardener’s Kebab, Bitlis Meat Ball, Steamed Kebab, Wrapped Lamb Liver, Mini Meat Ball with Lemon Sauce, Lamb Casserole with Yogurt, Harput Meat Ball, Hasa Pasa Meat Ball, Grilled Meat Ball, Stuffed Lamb Ribs, Meat Ball with Rice, Kayseri Meat Ball, Lamb Kebab in Curl Paper, Wrapped Lamb Leg, Stewed Lamb, Lamb Stew with Vegetables (Woodcutter’s Kebab), Potato Meat Ball, Aubergine Kebab, Aubergine Meat Ball, Garlic Meat Ball, Bulghur Ball, Bulghur Kebab, Meat Ball with Bulghur, Lamb Stew with Vegetables (Tas Kebab), Sauced Meat Ball, Sauced Meat Ball with Rice, Meat with Green Onion, Meat Ball with Bulghur and Yogurt, Mini Meat Ball with Yogurt, Lump Meat Ball, Rolled Meat Ball, Grilled Meat with Vegetables on Stick, Shank Stew, Izmir Meat Ball, Stuffed Potato Meat Ball, Sheftalia Kebab, Meat Ball on Skewers, Tandouri Kebab.

Vegetable Dishes

Stuffed Green Pepper, Zucchini Stuffed with Nuts, Stuffed Bread, Sour Stuffed Vegetables, Sour Stuffed Winter Vegetables, Stuffed Zucchini, Stuffed Celeriac, Stuffed Cabbage, Stuffed Leek, Stuffed Onion, Stuffed Squash Blossoms, Stuffed Aubergine with Chickpeas, Stuffed Quince with Molasses, Aubergine Stuffed with Minced Meat, Stuffed Quince with Sugar, Stuffed Turnip, Stuffed Vine Leaves, Stuffed and Wrapped Vegetables, Aubergine Puree with Grilled Meatballs, Green Beans with Meat, Green Beans with Rice (cooked with olive oil), Lamb Stew served on Mashed Aubergine, Stuffed Zucchini, Squash Ragout, Cauliflower Moussakka, Green Peas with Minced Meat, Cabbage Stew with Minced Meat, Hodgepodge with Winter Vegetables, Aubergine with Minced Meat, Aubergine with Vinegar, Leek with Vinegar, Sauced Stew with Leek, Celeriac with Olive Oil, Leek with Olive Oil, Green Peas with Olive Oil, Turnip with Olive Oil, Artichoke with Olive Oil, Carrot with Olive Oil, Stuffed Aubergine, Turnip Moussakka, Broad Beans with Olive Oil, Jerusalem Artichoke with Olive Oil, Split and Stuffed Aurbergine, Spinach with Minced Meat, Vegetable Patty, Bamia with Meat, Haricot with Meat, Borlotti Beans with Olive Oil, Chickpeas with Meat, Lentil Balls, Lentil Stew with Spinach, Lentil Soup with Zucchini, Green Lentil with Olive Oil, Haricot with Pastrami, Aubergine with Meat.

Pastries

Alt-Ust Pastry, Bundle-shaped Pastry, Bun with Walnut, Cizleme, Turkish Pancake with Tomatoes, Breat with Meat, Pita with Meat, Baked Chicken Ravioli, Gobete Pastry, Anchovy Pastry, Turkish Pancake with Carrots, Nokul with Poppy Seeds, Turkish Pancake with Spinach, Pastry with Spinach, Tandouri Pastry with Spinach, Filo Pastry with Spinach, Winter’s Zucchini Pastry, Filo Pastry with Zucchini, Katmer, Kete, Turkish Pancake with Minced Meat, Filo Pastry with Minced Meat, Tandouri Pastry with Minced Meat, Pancake with Spicy Meat, Ravioli, Twisted Lentil Pastry, Lentil Ravioli, Bread with Chickpeas, Nokul, Pasha Ravioli, Turkish Pancake with Cheese, Pita with Cheese, Spring Rolls with Cheese, Filo Pastry with Cheese, Filo Pastry with Leek, Bun (with Cheese, Minced Meat, Meat and Plain), Puff Pastry, Pishi, Chicken Ravioli, Pastry with Feta Cheese, Bun with Green Olives, Zucchini Pastry, Bun types, Cake types, Breads (Tandouri, Flatbread, Katmer, with Dried Fruits).

Desserts

Baklava, Shredded Wheat with Syrup, Crumpets with Syrup, Tulumba Dessert, Molasses Dessert, Cheese Halva, Semolina Halva, Gaziler (Veterans’) Halva, Wafer Halva, Flour Halva, Rice Wafers with Nuts, Lokma, Turkish Fairy Floss, Kemal Pasha Dessert, Gebol, Rice Pudding, Sekerpare, Ashoura, Milk Pudding with Almond, Custard, Pudding with Caramel Base, Chicken Breast Pudding, Sultan’s Dessert, Pumpkin Dessert, Pear Dessert, Quince Dessert, Baba Dessert, Hosmerim, Kalburabasti, Stuffed Apricot, Elmasiye with Cream, Frozen Halva, Bici Bici, Apple Compote, Apricot Compote, Plum Compote, Nevzine, Jelly Orange, Sultan’s Turban Dessert, Revani, Cherry Compote, Zerde, Stuffed Fig, Turkish Delight, Hard Candy, Almond Paste, Basbousa, Sillik, Sobiyet, Nightingale Nest, Dilber Dudagi (Lip Shaped Dessert)