Ramadan brings different tastes to our tables, after pide there comes güllaç worth waiting for whole year. Güllaç! Güllaç is a dessert made with rice starch sheets which are layered with walnuts and soaked in a lukewarm milk syrup. Usually rose water is also added to this milky syrup, but…
I crave for lahmacun, all the time, every time! The abusive smell of the mincemeat mixture, the crispiness of the dough and the first bite! I love lahmacun! Who doesn’t?! But I don’t settle for any. Here are my four lahmacun restaurant in Istanbul! Halil Lahmacun at Kadıköy Balık Pazarı. Tiny shop with…
When you start planning your travel, what is your first thing you google? I know it’s food, since you are reading this… Chowzter is all about real bites in the city, the fast bites as well as the local small eateries, everything reflected form the local’s point of view. And let me tell…
In Gaziantep fruits are a big part of the cooking. Kebabs get their share as well, not to mention they change seasonally. Keme mantarı –desert truffles- announces the coming of spring, then yenidünya kebabı -loquat/medlar- follows, last for spring is sarımsak kebabı – the whole bulb of garlic-. Keme mantarı after being…
Artichoke chips, paté, zeytinyağlı enginar, sauteed artichokes…. Artichoke cooked every way, for all, from all. It may sound ridiculous to you but artichoke is the king and queen of the vegetables summoned, for me. Not a true vegetable, but belonging to a thistle family, is like a calling for its…
One great surprise today was the kuzu sarma I came across at Çiya… It was the first of the season, cooked with orzo, it was a true delicacy! And have to admit it was one of the best things I had at Çiya for a long time. Ordered one portion and did…
I know I know… Gluten-free eating in Turkey may sound challenging, I admit. If it is not the dishes themselves makes you take the challenge, it is the slaphappy, carefree, lovely waiters, the know it all restaurants and nothing can happen form this kind of attitude bearers. Yes, you need to…
Pazar changes its color like seasons. Fruits, flowers, vegetables even the stalls selling homemade produce change… spring is one of the liveliest times and as the summer approaches, I was not surprised to see the heap of clothing switched to heap of sun bathing suits, shorts, t-shirts… Some may be taken by…
There is artichoke and then there is artichoke. Do you wonder where the big fatty artichokes you see around the city are from? Izmir, you think? Going through the markets, all these colourful plastic basins full of artichoke hearts, beautiful heaps of artichoke displays stops you. They may look sight for sore eyes. They are called Kıbrıs…