Tasting Turkish Culture

Eggplant Salad ( Patlican Salatasi ) Ingredients; 2 eggplant 2 green or red pepper 2 tomato 3 scallion 1 lemon juice Half bunch of parsley 2 cloves of garlic 2 tsp oil 1 tsp red pepper 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt Directions; 1-Pierce the eggplants surface with a fork several times. 2-Cook them in the microwave for 30 minutes. Cut green pepper, scallion, parsley and tomatoes into small pieces. 3-Grate garlic. With a knife, take the inside of the eggplants and get rid of the skin. Squash the cooked eggplants. Add the rest of the cut ingredients and garlic in the mash. 4- Finally, mix it with spices, oil,salt , and lemon juice. 5- Serve it cold with meat,soup,chicken... Afiyet olsun !

Ingredients; 2 cups of wheat 1 cup of canned chickpea 2 cups of yoghurt 1 tsp dried mint 1 tsp red pepper 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt1 tbsp butter 2 tbsp oil Direction 1-Boil two cups of wheat until they are cooked well. 2-After it cools down, put cooked wheat into a large bowl and add chickpea, yoghurt and salt. 3-Meanwhile in small pan, fry spices for a few minutes in oil and butter. 4-Then add the hot butter sauce on the mixture with yoghurt. Serve with meatball,chicken or meat... Afiyet Olsun!

Ingredients; 1 package puff pastry sheets 2 cup finely chopped walnut 1tbsp lemon juice 2 and half cups of water 2 cups of sugar Directions; 1-we should start with the syrup so it will cool down in time. 2-Pour 2 cups of sugar and 2 and 1/2 cups of water into a pot.Stir well. Boiled it in a medium hot.After 4-6 minutes boiling, add lemon juice. As a couple of minutes pass, let it cool down. 3- Cut the puff pastry sheets into big squares, then make triangles out of the squares. 3-Put some chopped walnuts in and shape them. 4-Bake in the 350 F preheated oven until they are light brown.When baklava is baked, slowly pour cold syrup on hot baklava.When the syrup is soaked, you can serve it with some whipped cream on top or ice-cream or Turkish tea or Turkish coffee. It is not like real baklava,but it is similar. I am sure you will enjoy it. Afiyet Olsun!

Ingredients 1 cup flour 5 cupmilk 1 T. butter 1 and 1/2 cup sugar 1 package vanilla 2 cup coconut, shredded 1 cup walnut, crushed Direction 1-In a bowl, thoroughly combine flour, sugar and milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring continually until it boils. 2-Remove from heat, add butter and blend with a mixer for 3-4 minutes. 3-In a large, 1-inch-deep tray or dish, sprinkle the coconut. 4- Pour the blended mixture over it. (Use more than one tray if needed, because the mixture should not be thick.) 5- Refrigerate for one hour. Cut into small squares. Roll each piece in the crushed walnuts and place on a different plate. Keep in refrigerator until time to serve. Afiyet olsun...

Ingredients 1 cup lentil 1 carrot 1 potato 1/2 cup rice 1 onion 1tsp dried mint 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp red pepper 1/2 tsp black pepper 2 tbsp oil 4 cups of water Directions; 1-Diced potato and carrot into small pieces.. 2- Mix all ingredients in a pot and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat. 3-After it is cooked, blend the soup using a hand blender. To get the desired texture, you can add more hot water while blending it. 4-You can serve it with lemon juice. Afiyet Olsun!

Ingredients 1 lb. steak or lamb 1 cup frozen green beans 1 cup eggplant, cubed 1 cup zucchini, diced 1 cup potato, diced ¼ cup green pepper, finely diced 1 large onion, finely diced 1 tomato, diced 1 clove garlic 1 tbsp red pepper paste 1 tbsp tomato paste 2 tbsp canola oil 1 tbsp butter 1 tbsp salt 1 tsp red pepper 1 tsp black pepper Direction  1-Sauté the steak or lamb beforehand. 2-In a large, deep pan, spread just enough canola oil to cover the bottom, and add the ingredients to the mixture in the following order: meat, potatoes, eggplant, pepper, green beans, zucchini. 3-In a separate bowl, mix finely diced onion, garlic, tomato, tomato and pepper pastes, and the spices. Add this mixture to the pan. 4-Then add the oil and butter on top. Simmer over low heat for 2 hours. Let sit 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve it warm. Afiyet Olsun!

Ingredients: 6-8 peppers (green, red, yellow), suitable size for stuffing 1 large tomato, sliced (optional) 1 cup warm water For filling: 1 cup of rice 1 medium size onion (finely chopped) 2 tbsp oil ½ lb ground beef (optional) salt black pepper paprika mint flakes allspice (optional) 1 tsp sugar Directions: 1-Take the top of the peppers off and remove the seeds. Keep the pepper tops aside. 2-Wash them thoroughly. 3-Mix ground beef, rice, oil, salt, paprika, allspice and black pepper in a bowl. 4-Stuff loosely the peppers with the mixture. 5-Put the tomato slices or the pepper tops on top of the mixture. 6-Place the peppers in a pot; put a small serving plate onto peppers, pour warm water. 7-Put the lid on, cook on medium heat. When the water boils, reduce the heat to low medium and continue cooking until the rice is done, approximately for 20 minutes. Serve hot if you have meat in the mixture. Otherwise you may serve hot or a...