PREFACE

What a delightful experience it is for a visitor to Turkey, when he, first sets his eyes on a fully garnished table. He might well imagine himself to be at a Sultan's banquet!

What he would see is a table arrayed with a fantastic variety of dishes - egg plant puree, lambs' brain, white cheese, cold beans in sauce, deep fried shell fish and a host of others.

One notable variety are the "Zeytinyaglar" - dishes cooked with olive oil. These include grape leaves or cabbage leaves stuffed with spiced rice, fried egg plant or squash and "borek." This last specialty is thin sheets of pastry dough stuffed with meat or cheese and then fried or baked in the oven.

Of course you will find famous Turkish yoghurt on your table and you will be amazed at its thick, creamy richness. It can be found topping a dish of fried egg plant or green peppers or as "cacik" which is whipped yoghurt with garlic, oil and cucumber and eaten with a spoon. Have you already had enough? These "meze" as Turkish hors-d'oeuvre are called, are so plentiful, rich and tasty that it's not unusual for one to make an entire meal of them!

After leisurely eating your "meze" you will have the pleasure of tasting perfectly fresh fish or shell fish, that is if you don't prefer some tantalizing broiled meat such as "sis kebab" a tangy stew, or meat grilled in a wrapping of oiled paper. There is "doner kebab", as well, which is a roll of lamb meat on a vertical skewer turning parallel to a hot grill. Some meat dishes are prepared with vegetables such as "Karni Yarik" - ground meat grilled in a hollowed eggplant.

Notice how the egg plant is used in a large variety of dishes. It can be cooked with onions and then served cold, (Turkish: Imambayildi) or fried and served topped with yoghurt or tomato sauce in a salad or served hot with roast lamb. A delicious Turkish specialty is "riz pilav" a rice dish which is difficult for the inexperienced cook to prepare. It's always popular because it "sticks to the body" and is a staple dish for the Turks as spaghetti is for the Italians.

A Turkish meal does not have a cheese service because cheese can be found throughout the meal in various forms. Among the "meze" it is served in simple slices, as filling for borek or mixed with ground meat to make juicy Turkish meat balls or "kofte" as they are called. You'll also notice that cheese is an important ingredient in a number of "kadayif" deserts.

Yes, let's move onto the deserts. Many of these have milk as the basic ingredient but best known are "Baklava" and "Kadayif" pastries - favorites of young and old alike. Small salted cakes are often served with these sweets.

To end your good meal perhaps you would like to taste some of the luscious fresh fruit which is so plentiful in Turkey - peaches, apples, figs, grapes, oranges, melons: followed by a delicious demi-tasse cup of Turkish coffee.

We hope that with the help of this book you will be able to re-create these Oriental specialties and that they will continue to delight you wherever you go.

"Good appetite" or as the Turks say, "Afiyet Olsun."