In case you are considering going to Istanbul, you may be planning to explore the local cuisine. Because Turkish cuisine is full of delicious food options and you can try many of them in Istanbul. So, what are some of the Istanbul famous food options to know about? On this blog post we will talk about some of them and if you are curious, keep reading to learn more!
Looking for Istanbul famous food options? Here are some awesome ones to know about…
Istanbul Famous Foods
If you are asking “what is Istanbul famous for?”, one of the answers we can give is the tasty food options in this city. There are lots of amazing Istanbul famous food choices such as manti, kokoreç, çiğ köfte and numerous other options… On this blog post we will discuss a variety of famous dishes that can be worth trying while visiting Istanbul and answer a common question about each of them.
1. Mantı is One of the Istanbul Famous Food Choices
When it comes to delicious comfort food options in Turkish cuisine, manti is definitely a great choice to mention. We can also consider manti to be among the Istanbul famous food choices, as it is a fairly well-known Turkish food. There are many places in Istanbul where you can try this awesome dish.
What is Turkish manti made of?
One thing that you may be curious about when it comes to manti can be the ingredients in this dish. As this dish is basically a type of dumplings, it is made with dough and filling, which is usually made with meat, onions, ground black pepper and salt. Also, after the preparation of this dish, it is often served with yogurt and a tomato paste sauce.
2. Kokoreç Can Definitely Be Worth Trying
One of the delicious food to try in Istanbul can be kokoreç. If you are unfamiliar with this food, you may wonder what it is made of. Basically, kokoreç is made with the intestines of lamb. So the preparation of this food should be done properly and for trying it, you should definitely pick a good place. While it is most often served between bread, kokoreç can be served on a plate, too.
What does kokorec taste like?
If you like unique and interesting local foods, kokoreç can be an awesome food to try. But since it is made with lamb intestines, you may be cautious and want to know what it tastes like before trying. When it comes to the taste of kokoreç, proper preparation is important. Because improperly made kokoreç can taste bad, while a good kokoreç can be a very tasty food to enjoy.
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3. While Visiting Istanbul, Consider Trying Çiğköfte as Well
Çiğköfte can be a nice snack to enjoy during an Istanbul trip. There are lots of çiğköfte shops in Istanbul and you may check them out to find a good one. Çiğköfte can be eaten between lettuce or lavash wraps. When eating çiğköfte, don’t forget to try it with a squeze of lemon on it. Aside from this, a type of pomegranate syrup called nar ekşisi can be added on top as well.
Is there meat in çiğ köfte?
When translated directly to English, çiğ köfte means “raw meatball”. So due to this, you may be wondering if there is meat in çiğköfte. While the original version of this food has meat in it, many of the çiğköfte shops in Turkey sell çiğköfte without meat. But before you try this food, make sure to ask the vendor about it, just to be sure.
4. For Those Looking for Istanbul Famous Food Suggestions, Another Nice Option Can Be Pide
There are mainly two foods that some people refer to as Turkish pizza, and one of those is pide. This can be because pide resembles pizza due to the way it is prepared and it can be made with many different toppings. It is one of the wonderful Istanbul famous food choices and it can be an amazing food to try while visiting this city. In case you are making a list of foods to try when visiting Istanbul, you may want to include this one as well.
What is Turkish pide made of?
While Turkish pide is made in a similar way to pizza, it can be quite different in terms of ingredients. The components of pide are the base, which is made of dough and the toppings. Common toppings include options like ground meat, cheese or flaked meat. Aside from those, there can be other toppings like pastırma, sucuk, spinach and so on… In addition, an egg can be cracked on the pide as well. Therefore, when it comes to toppings, there are many options that can be tried.
Related Post: Turkish Traditional Foods: 9 Tasty and Amazing Choices
5. Döner Kebab is Another Example for Istanbul Famous Food Options
One of the well-known foods in Turkish cuisine is döner kebab. When visiting Istanbul, you can find döner kebab restaurants in many spots. It is a fairly popular fast food option and along with this, it is a very delicious one, too. So döner kebab is certainly one of the Istanbul famous food choices.
A similar food to this is gyro but they differ in some ways. Gyros are usually served with a different bread and they may have tzatziki sauce. Döner kebab, on the other hand, can be served in lavash, bread or on a plate with various sides and it traditionally doesn’t have tzatziki sauce. In terms of sauce, döner may have sauces like a tomato paste sauce, ketchup or mayo.
Is döner Turkish or German?
If you have tried döner kebab in Germany for the first time, you may wonder whether this food is a Turkish food or a German food. Döner kebab is a Turkish food and it can even be inferred from its name, which has a Turkish origin. This food was brought to Germany by Turkish immigrants and it is originally from Turkish cuisine. There are other versions of this food in other cuisines, like gyro in Greek cuisine and shawarma in Middle Eastern cuisine.
6. In Case You are Looking for an Istanbul Famous Food, Lahmacun Can Be a Wonderful Choice
As we have previously stated on this blog post, there are two foods in Turkish cuisine that people consider similar to pizza. We have already talked about one of those and the other one is lahmacun. Even though lahmacun is different from pizza in many ways, it can be an amazing food on its own. It is certainly one of the Istanbul famous food choices to know about. When eating lahmacun, you can enjoy it on its own or by adding some extra fillings inside of it, like lettuce, grated carrots and many others… Also, don’t forget to squeze some lemon, either.
What’s the difference between a lahmacun and pizza?
Some people refer to lahmacun as Turkish pizza. While some people may call this Turkish pizza, it is actually fairly different from pizza. Because the dough of lahmacun is usually thinner than pizza. When lahmacun is made properly it can be very crisp. But this may not be a definitive difference as there are crisp pizzas, too.
Also, another difference is the toppings. Pizza is usually made with tomato sauce and cheese as the basic toppings, and others like pepperoni, mushroom and olives can be added. However, lahmacun is made with a single type of topping and it is a meat mixture, although it can be made without meat, too.
Related Post: Istanbul Famous Restaurants: 11 Wonderful Places to Know About
7. Ever Tried Traditional Turkish Breakfast with Menemen? It Can Be a Great Idea While Visiting Istanbul
On this post we talked about numerous Istanbul famous food choices. Now let’s discuss a concept, rather than a single food option. Enjoying traditional Turkish breakfast can definitely be among the things to do while visiting Istanbul. Because this type of breakfast can contain lots of different foods and you can have a wonderful experience while enjoying it.
A popular breakfast food in Turkey is menemen. Another well-liked breakfast food is kuymak (a very similar one is muhlama) and Turkish breakfast can contain other foods like eggs, bread, cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, various spreads and jams, and many other foods…
What is the difference between shakshuka and menemen?
One of the popular breakfast foods in Turkey is menemen and it can be considered among the Istanbul famous food choices. A similar food to menemen is shakshuka and you may be wondering the difference between these two foods. While they are quite similar, there are some significant differences between menemen and shakshuka.
For example, shakshuka contains onion and garlic. While it can be debated whether to include onions in menemen or not, it is usually made without onions. In addition, shakshuka has many spices and menemen is a simpler food in this regard.
Istanbul Famous Food Choices Final Words
Have you been curious about Istanbul famous food options? On this blog post we discussed many different Istanbul famous food choices such as menemen, lahmacun, döner kebab and many others. While visiting Istanbul, many of these foods can surely be worth checking out and if you are making a list of foods to try from Turkish cuisine, you can consider the choices we mentioned.