The following listings, recipes and texts will further your understanding of this cuisine, whether planning for a future trip, or to enjoy at home. "C" is pronounced "j" in Turkish. The Turkish alphabet uses letters with the cedilla, or tail. For pronunciation purposes, the spellings have changed here from the cedilla "c" or "s" for example: to "ch" and "sh" for phonetic purposes.
ashure
a pudding made of cereals, dried and fresh fruits, nuts, sugar and spices, referred to as "Noah's pudding."
ayran
a drink of beaten yogurt, cold water and salt.
beyaz penir
a medium soft brined cheese.
borek
filled pastries in various shapes, baked, fried, or grilled.
cacik
grated cucumber with diluted yogurt, garlic, salt, sprinkled with dill and olive oil.
cezve
a tapered cup with long handle for making Turkish coffee.
dolma
any filled or stuffed vegetable. The term means to stuff, the most famous filled grape leaves
helva
a sweetmeat dessert of flour, semolina, butter, sugar, milk, and nuts.
kadayif
finely shredded pastry used to make a dessert. It looks like shredded wheat cereal.
kavurma
lamb cut into small cubes, braised and browned, for use in stews.
kofte
any dish made with ground meats, or bulgar and rice meat mixture; skewered, baked, and fried versions exist.
leblebi
roasted and dried chickpeas used an appetizer much like salted nuts; yellow salted, unsalted, white or mastic leblebi is common.
lokum
Turkish delight, made of sugar, cornstarch, gelatin, grape juice and flavoring agents.
manti
small pastries filled with minced meat, similar to ravioli, but very small.
oklave
: a long smooth rolling pin, tapered, 24-32 inched long, used to roll flatbreads and filo.
oturma
similar to stuffed vegetables, only fried, and filled with browned spices then simmered.
pastirma
heavily spiced sun dried beef
pekmez
grape molasses used like molasses
pide
a flattened, oval bread served plain, or meat filled. "Turkish pizza"
pilaki
a bean dish cooked in olive oil, served cold with lemon.
piyaz
any kind of dried bean salad with egg and vegetable.
sach
the curved griddle used to cook yufka, filo, or borek
pilaki
a bean dish cooked in olive oil, served cold with lemon
piyaz
any kind of dried bean salad with egg and vegetable
sarma
any dish of wrapped leaves of grape, or cabbage; fillings are either minced meat or rice.
sucuk
a preserved meat product similar to pepperoni, made of lamb and beef.
sumak
the ground berries of the edible sumac, used to give a tart lemon taste to food.
sis kofte
commonly known as shis kebab in the west, pieces of meat or kofte formed around skewers and grilled
tandir
a beehive shaped oven in the wall or free standing, used to cook pide and other breads.
tatlisi
the Turkish work for sweets, or desserts.
terbiy
a sauce of egg with lemon juice, used in some koftes, dolmas and vegetable dishes.
yufka: ready made thin flatbread made upon a sac.
General Food Terms
aci: hot or bitter
ak ekmek: white bread
anchuez: anchovy
armut: pear
aschi: cook
az pishmish: rare
az shekerli: slightly sweet
badem: almond
baharat: spices
bal: honey
balik: fish
bardak: drinking glass
beyaz: white, as in white beans
beyaz sharap: white wine
bezelye: pea
biber: pepper
biftek: beefsteak
bira: beer
buz: ice
buzlu chay: ice tea
buzlu su: ice water
ceviz: walnut
cay: tea
chig: raw
chilek: strawberry
chorba: soup
dereotu: dill
dolma: stuffed vegetable
domates: tomato
dondurma: ice cream
ekmek: bread
ekshi: sour
elma: apple
erik: plum
et: meat
fasulye: bean
findik: filbert or hazelnut
fincan: cup
gazo: soda drink
gul: rose
guvech: earthenware casserole
ham: green
ham sheker: brown sugar
havuc: carrot
hazirlop: hard-boiled
hiyara: cucumber
incir: fig
ishkembe: tripe
kahvalti: breakfast
kahve: coffee
kakao: cocoa
kara: black
kara biber: black pepper
karanfil: clove
karides: shrimp
karnibahar: cauliflower
karpuz: watermelon
kavun: melon
kayisi : apricot
kekik: thyme
kizartma: browned in oil
kozleme: grilled
kuru: dried
kuzu: lamb
limon: lemon
lokanta: restaurant
mantar: mushroom
maydanoz: parsley
meyve: fruit
misir: corn
mutfak: kitchen or cuisine
muz: banana
nane: mint
nar: pomegranate
orta: medium, as in medium sweet coffee
orata shekerli: medium sweet, as in sweetened coffee
pancar: beet
pane: breaded
pazar: farmer's market
peynir: cheese
pilaki: dish with olive oil and onions, served room temperature
recheli: jam
sakiz: the resin from the mastic tree, Turkish term
sarimsak: garlic
sicak: hot
soguk: cold (silent g)
sulu yemek: home cooking
sut: milk
sarap: wine
sheftali: peach
seker: sugar
shishe: bottle
tava: frying pan, food which had been breaded and fried
taze: fresh
tuz: salt
un: flour
uzum: grape
yarim porsiyon: half, a regular size portion
yeshil: green as in green peppers
yeshil zeytin: green olive
yumurta: egg
zeytin: olive
zeytinagli: olive oil