kebabs

KEBABS
The word comes from Arabic and
means "meat cooked ona fire."
Many Turkish dishes made with
meat are called kebab.
Kebab is the general name given to
meat dishes cooked on a fire, such as
shish kebab, döner kebab, and cağ kebab, those cooked in earthenware dishes, such as kuyu kebab, tandır kebab
and testi kebab, and even those cooked
in paper, in short any meat cooked on a
tray, in the oven, or in a skillet is called
kebab.
There is also a stew cooked in a pot
called tas kebab and a meat pastry by
the same name made with minced meat
wrapped in phyllo dough.
Even though both of these dishes
are made in completely different ways,
they are called kebab because they contain meat.
2
-
KEBABS ---..
The types of kebab most recognized abroad are shish kebab and döner
(gyro ).
Mutton, lamb, veal and beef are the
meats most commonly used to make
Turkish kebab.
Today, you can find one or more kebab restaurants in every neighbourhood
in Istanbul.
There are not many dishes in palace
cuisine or in the culinary tradition of Istanbul that cook meat on a grill.
However, those who migrated from
Central, Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia beginning in the l960s brought
their own cuisine so that today there
are kebab restaurants with names from
Adana, Mersin, Gaziantep, Urfa, Mara§,
Konya and To kat.
For example, Adana kebab is a type
of kebab peculiar to Adana made from
meat chopped by hand with a knife
(zırh) that resembles a cleaver.
It is a special type of meat from rams
raised in natural highland pastures on
grasses and plants proper to the area.
..-- KEBABS ---...
Ali Nazik is a kebab from Gaziantep
made from eggplant and meat. Finely
chopped or minced beef or lamb meat
is browned thoroughly in oil and topped
on eggplant puree.
Another famous Turkish kebab is
Tokat Kebab. It is a special variety peculiar to Central Anatolia.
Tokat kebab is from the Tokat region
and is made with fresh lamb, tail fat,
eggplant, tomato, green pepper, potato,
onion, and garlic. It is served with a
specially-baked pide (pita). It is made
in custom-built kebab ovens.
After the finely minced meat is marinated in with spices, peppers and onions, it is stuck ona lightly oiled skewer.
A piece of tail fat is stuck on the very
end of the skewer and eggplant is stuck
on the end by the handie to keep the
vegetables from falling off. Meat, eggplant and vegetables are lined up on
the skewer with a thin slice of potato
between them. The eggplants are not
peeled. They are cut in half and the long
slices are salted ahead of time. Another
skewer of garlic is prepared separately.
4
- - - KEBABS -
There is a famous "kebab" dish with
its own special recipe that bears the
name of the major city in each region
of Turkey.
Allow us to give another example.
In the Marmara Region, Bursa is
known for its "Iskender Kebab". There
are many kebab restaurants in the city.
In fact, you can find at least as many
Iskender Kebab restaurants in Istanbul
as you can in Bursa.
Iskender Kebab, or "Iskender" as it
is called so, was first made in 1867 in
the Kayhan market. It is basically döner
(gyro) but the meat is special. It is made
from the meat of rams that graze on the
thyme-laced pastures of Uludağ.
This kebab is made even more delicious by the butter and tomato sauce
poured over the meat, the yogurt on the
side and oily pita bread underneath.
ADANA KEBAB
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
l kg fatty ground mutton
(chopped with a knife)
200 gr. sheep tail fat (chopped)
Salt, pepper
Hot dried red pepper
Serve with:
Flatbread and fresh greens
- - KEBABS - - -
9
~-~- ~]):"
"<@:~~~
PREPARATION
PU t
the ground mutton in a bowl,
add the tail fat, salt and spices and knead. Let sit for 1 hour. Take
handfuls of ground meat and shape it
as you paste it araund a kebab skewer
that is 2 cm wide. Wet your hand periodically. After pasting the me at araund
the skewers, arrange the skewers over
a charcoal grill. Rotate the skewers as
they cook. Serve on flatbread.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
2 large pieces of sirloin steak
200 gr. offatty ground beef
4 pieces of small pita bread.
Salt, black pepper
3 spoonfuls of butter
For the topping:
ı 00 gr. yoghurt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons butter
ı tomato
2 hot green peppers
__ , KEBABS-
13
·~~~}),
~E·~~~~'
PREPARATION
ı • salt and pepper.
First, knead the ground beef with
Mak e a round
ball the same size as the steaks. Place
between the two steaks. Wrap with
plastic wrap and put in the freezer. Let
the meat sit for one day in the freezer,
then take it out and after one hour, use
a sharp knife to slice it into thin strips.
Roast it ina non-stick pan, turning it to
cook on both sides.
2
Cut the pita bread into small
• squares and place on to four different plates. Melt butter and spread
it over the bread. Spread the roasted
meat onto the bread. Combine 2 spoonfuls of vegetable oil and tomato paste
and make a sauce by cooking it over low
heat, then pour it over the meat.
Serve with yoghurt, tomatoes and
hot peppers.
EGG PLANT KEBAB
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
Vz kg. ground beef
4 eggplants
ı onion
4-5 sprigs of parsley, finely chopped
Vz glass of olive oil
ı tablespoon margarine
3 tomatoes
.
2 hot green peppers
Black pepper
2 glasses of beef stock
ı tablespoon tomato paste
Salt
- - KEBABS -
15
c'~-~--~~
~($~~
PREPARATION
ı
Peel stripes off the eggplants, then
• chop in to round slices. Peel and
chop the onion. Knead the ground beef
together with salt, black pepper, onion
and chopped parsley, then let sit for 15
min u tes.
2
Take walnut-sized pieces of
• ground beef and make slightly
flattened oval patties with your hands.
Line up the meat patties and the eggplant on an oven tray, putting one meat
patty next to each eggplant.
3
Cut the peppers into rings, slice
• the tomatoes into cubes and
spread them over the tray. Add the tomato paste and beef stock to the tray
and cook in the oven for 45 minutes at
200 degrees Celsius. Serve hot.
SHISH KEBAB
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
SOO gr. cubed lamb
2 tablespoons olive oil
l medium size onion, shredded
3 tablespoons yoghurt
3 tomatoes
6-7 green peppers
Salt
...- KESABS--.
17
~~~
PREPARATION
ı • bowl, add olive oil, yoghurt and
Put the cubed lamb meat into a
grated onion, and then mix well. Refrigerate this meat in the sauce for 2
hours .
2
Take the meat out of the sauce
• and arrange on skewers. Grill on
an oven rack, over a charcoal fire or on
an electric grill. Serve hot with vegetables to garnish.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
ı kg. liver
3 hot green peppers
2 sweet red peppers
2-3 garlic cloves
One very smail onion
A little bit of mint
Black pepper
ı tablespoon vegetable oil
ı dessert spoon tomato paste
Thyme according to taste
-
KEBAllS -
2l
PREPARATION
ı • Finely chop the onion. Crush the
Cut the liver into large cubes .
garlic. Remove the seeds from the peppers and slice into strips.
2
Put oil and tomato paste in to a pan
• and saute the onions first and then
the peppers with salt. Add the garlic.
After turning the mixture a few times,
add the liver and stir. When the liver
gets soft, add black pepper and mint
then remove from heat. Serve hot.
PINE NUT KEBAB
Serves 4- 6
INGREDIENTS
SOO gr. ground lean mutton
ıso gr. pine nuts
ı onion
Salt, pepper
ı onion
- - KEBABS ---.
23
(t~-~-"))
i"~~([,.~~
PREPARATION
Pe el
the onion and then shred or
chop it in a food processor.
Put the ground meat into a large bowt
knead with onion, salt, black pepper
and pine nuts. Let sit for 5 minutes,
then form it into a long thin oval shape
with your hands. Cook over medium
heat in a non-stick pan without oil for
15-20 minutes, cooking on both sides,
and then serve.
ALI NAZIK
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
4 eggplants
3 tablespoons margarine
3 cups of flour
3 cups of milk
2 cups of grated kaşar cheese
2 tablespoons margarine
2 onions
250 gr. lean ground beef
4 tomatoes
4 hot green peppers
3 cups of beef stock
Salt
- - KEBABS - - .
27
ı • and then crush them with a fork .
Roast the eggplants, peel them
Melt 3 tablespoons of margarine in a
large pan and add flour . Cook until
browned. Slowly add milk. After l -2
minutes, add the crushed eggplant and
1
/2 cup grated ka§ar cheese to the pan
and stir.
2
Melt 2 tablespoons of marga• rine in a different pan. Saute the
chopped onion. Add the ground beef.
After 2-3 minutes, add finely chopped
tomatoes, hot green peppers, 3/4 cup
beef stock and salt. Remove from heat
after lO minutes . Spread the roasted
eggplant paste on a plate, cover it with
the cooked ground beef and serve hot.
PAPER KEBAB
Serws 4
INGREDIENTS
SOO gr. cubed lamb
3 potatoes
3 zucchini
2 carrots
1 cup peas
3 tomatoes
2 onions
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Baking paper
-
KEl3Al3S - - -
31
PREPARATION
ı • carrots, chop into cubes and place
Peel the potatoes, zucchini and
in a pot. Add the peas. Add salt and
enough water to cover the vegetables
and cook for 1O minu tes. Peel and
chop the tomatoes. Peel and chop the
onions.
2
Heat the oil in a pot and brown
• the lamb meat. Add onion and
garlic, and when it has cooked well,
add tomatoes. When the tomato juice
is absorbed, add salt and peppers and
remove from heat.
3
Prepare 4 sheets of 40x40 cm
• baking paper. Fill them with the
mixture of meat and vegetables and
then fold them up into packets. Arrange them on an oven tray and cook
for 35 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.
Put the paper kebabs onto plates and
slit open. Garnish with dill and serve
hot.