Ramadan Kebabs in Istanbul

Benjamin Heyden

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:05:35 GMT

Thank you very much for these "Ramadan kebabs in Istanbul"! I"ve been studying Turkish for 3 years now for my job, and I really fell in love with the country and its inhabitants. I loved the bit when you explain you tried to pay and they refused: this often occurred to me in Turkey and the Middle-East. Not when you are in an ordinary tourist/seller relationship of course, but when you get the chance to meet local people and show mutual respect and interest, than you can enjoy the real taste of things! And frienship is very often around the corner!
Well, I"m hungry now!

fx

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:18:12 GMT

Thanks, I would love to visit Beirut too!

tasteofbeirut

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 18:26:50 GMT

I visite Istanbul recently and fell in love with it; it felt middle-eastern yet with a bit of European efficiency (more than the middle-east, for sure)
I love all middle-eastern people and their warmth and generosity.
Thanks for recreating your dinner here and those wonderful photos.

ekiwhick

Wed, 3 Nov 2010 21:14:05 GMT

I find myself coming to your blog more and more often to the point where my visits are almost daily now!

Stavros

Sun, 4 Apr 2010 11:16:12 GMT

Hello! I am from Greece but I really enjoyed this "virtual meal" as I am familiar with the meals displayed.
The "savory liquid yogurt" is called airan (or ayran). I am not fond of it myself but all decent kebap shops serve it together with their spicy food. That is because milk (and its subproducts) is the liquid that most effectively relieves you from the burning of pepper.

PS when you described how you wanted to pay for the meal I smilled, because I could imagine the ending :P

mivanhoxcss

Sat, 6 Mar 2010 00:08:11 GMT

Great Site. Was added to mybookmarks. Greetings From USA.

fx

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:45:50 GMT

Thanks a lot Vinod!

fx

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 20:36:09 GMT

Thanks and I hope you get to visit Istanbul some day!

Fasulye (HTLAL-Forum)

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 13:29:08 GMT

Thank you for this illustative report about your culinary visit in Turkey! Cok tesekk�r ederim, this is an nice impression of the country for me a learner of the Turkish lanugage, it gives some practical insight into the Turkish culture. Fasulye

Vinod Shenoy

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:50:03 GMT

Wonderfull, wonderfull blog! Keep up the good work and if ever in Denmark please visit me and stay at my home .

fx

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:43:50 GMT

Thank you for your insight Alper, you must be right about that vegetable juice!

ALPER

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:33:32 GMT

Hi Francois, i love your site.Never seen anything quite like it.I am turkish,so it pleases me to see that you really enjoy your Turkish experiences.I suspect what you mean (or the gentelman who was having it)by "carrot juice with pepper" is in fact a drink called "salgam suyu" in local language.Which translates as turnip Juice.Although It is not only turnip Juice but mixed with some other herbs.i hope it makes some sense.I can`t wait to read your next article.
Thanks again

fx

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:17:53 GMT

Carrie, I think if one of those guys making hard-core kebabs in Istanbul would set up shop in San Antonio, there would be a queue three blocks long!

Carrie

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:14:42 GMT

STOP! You"re making me so hungry! My Father was U.S. Air Force and we were stationed in Adana from the time I was 3 mos to 4 years old. Our housekeeper/nanny was and my Mom and were like sisters and she taught my Mom how to cook Turkish but the food just doesn"t taste the same. It is one of the great unsung cuisines. We"ve been back for visits a few times but it"s been many, many years. Thank you so much for this wonderful story. Now for the real question - can you deliver to San Antonio??

fx

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:27:11 GMT

Jennifer, glad to see my Ramadan adventure inspired you for a successful dish of your own invention. Well done!

Jennifer

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:12:44 GMT

HI FX! I was invited to a Succoth party. My best understanding of a Succoth is an ancient Hebrew Harvest Festival. The hosts were providing the Kababs, but asked that everyone bring a harvest dish to share. I just picked my (lucky) 13 pomegranetes off my 3 year old tree, and thought they would be nice to share, but I needed to do more than show up with my pomegrantes. I then remembered the dish you wrote about in this article and decided to let it be my insperation. I took mint, tomatoes and pomegrante seeds, from my garden, and mixed them with chopped cucumbers, red & yellow bell pepers, green onions, parsley, and almonds. I then added a little truffle salt, basalmic vinegar, and olive oil. It was a refreshing hit at the party that went well with the Kebabs.
As always thanks for sharing your adventures, and expanding my repretoire of recipes!
Jennifer in NM., USA

fx

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:19:31 GMT

Isaak, gracias por tu visita y ojal� que tu visitas a Istanbul, es una ciudad muy hermosa!

isaak h

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:28:12 GMT

wow! super interesante y ciertamente se me hizo mas que agua la boca. me muero por ir a Istambul a probar esa deliciosa y autentica comida. gracias por la informacion

fx

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 05:00:00 GMT

Pixen, thanks for your kind words, indeed Utkun is a reader like you dream of. Him and the gentlemen who invited me to his castle in France!

pixen

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:56:51 GMT

omg... you had very good adventure! Your site is so informative and I never miss reading it. Thank you so much for all the articles. For this article, you helped me to write Turkey in my Top 10 list! I wished I can meet such readers who are so helpful like in FXCuisine! Thank you!

fx

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:17:59 GMT

Rosedarpam, I wish one day I could visit Persia too!

Rosedarpam

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:43:11 GMT

What a marvelous evening you had. I have always wanted to go to Turkey and it is now higher on my list of places I haven"t visited. I once had the pleasure to visit Iran, during the Shah"s reign, and had a similar experience. Iranian food is extraordinary.

parshu.narayanan

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:03:00 GMT

The iftar dinner from turkey by fx is magnificent proof of my cherished theory that food is the most civilized way to resolve the clash of civilizations. I strongly recommened we foodies campaign to appoint f-x one of the goodwill ambassadors of the UN for promoting world peace and international understanding in such a delicious way.
:-)
Eid Mubarak, in advance, to all of Adam-jaat ( humanity)

fx

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:21:44 GMT

Cris, thanks for your praise, I"m happy to hear my little article helped you imagine the meal in your mind, I"ll try to post more of the same but such memorable meals are not legions!

cris

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:38:34 GMT

I enjoyed a lot this fantastic article about "authentics kebabs", I love turkish cuisine and Istambul and this article was like to be there with all of you.More articles like that.

Jason Sandeman

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:42:58 GMT

What an amazing experience you must have had. Not only did you get to see the "real" cuisine of Turkey, but the locals went out of their way to show you their culture and the experience of your food. You could not pay enough for that, the experience would be priceless.

fx

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:32:40 GMT

CKfusionist, I think such a place in the West would work really well, but most Turkish immigrants go for low-end, cheap kebab joints.

fx

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:30:31 GMT

Tina, although I"m unlikely to visit I would very much like to see Pakistan, the closest (culturally) that I could get to was Lucknow, a muslim city on the Silk Road in Northern India. But my culinary tastes attract me to Pakistan and Persia, not the easiest places to visit nowadays. Glad for you that you could visit Pakistan!

Tina

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:40:59 GMT

FX, what a wonderful article - and I loved the pictures!! Recently I spent a month in Pakistan for work, and I ate so much Naan, Parathi and Kebab that I thought I would need two seats for the plane ride home. I have always wanted to go to Turkey, and after looking at your pictures I"m practically keening for a vacation! Thank you.

CKfusionist

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:45:24 GMT

Now that is something fantastic.. Surely someone could pull that off and change the local kebab joints to that...

fx

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:43:56 GMT

Dave, I think you could share 70% of the experience at least by just showing up at Eda during Ramadan, people there are very friendly with everybody!

fx

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:39:48 GMT

Callipygia, thanks for your appreciation! Indeed it was fun to hear Utkun say "Are you the man eating the Kn�del? - then I"ll recognize you"!

fx

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:38:28 GMT

Luci, thanks for your visit and I"m glad I could share that evening with you through my article!

fx

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:36:33 GMT

Rajesh, thanks for reading FXcuisine.com and I"m glad you liked my Ramadan adventure!

fx

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:34:42 GMT

Carolina, thanks for sharing your beloved memories of Turkey with us! Indeed I would very much have liked to visit the "old" Persia back when it was a tad more open to the West. But I"m told people are still very warm and welcoming. The Turks are some of the most friendly people I know and that"s an easy country to visit!

fx

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:31:12 GMT

Marie thanks for reading my article, the food indeed was beyond words, but hey, what"s beyond pictures?

fx

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:30:36 GMT

Ales, thanks for visiting FXcuisine.com and hold tight for more adventures soon!

fx

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 04:30:12 GMT

Ayhan, thanks for your comment, I will definitely try to visit Bursa in the future!

ayhan u�maklı

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:50:01 GMT

Eda is few hundred yards away from where I stay, İ"d love to join the party. anyway kebabs are the 5% of the cuisine so more to discover. let me know your next visit, I"ll take you to Mahmut Usta. He runs a esnaf lokantası which can be roughly translated as tradesman restaurant. By the way you should visit Utkun"s hometown Bursa which has some amazing stuff like �ib�rek,cantık,pideli k�fte etc.

Ales

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:40:28 GMT

I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your website. Every article IS a new adventure, indeed. Well done!

Marie

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 21:17:22 GMT

Francois,
Your journeys are amazing! Thank you for the experience!
The food was beyond words!

Carolina

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 20:30:09 GMT

Oh, the memories. I lived in Turkey (Ankara) from 1965 through 1968. While there, I attended METU (Middle Eastern Technical University) Of course I took advantage of the location and traveled all over Turkey, as well as the rest of the middle east. Things were not as "dicey" back then. I traveled to Lebanon, Israel, Iran, Iraq and of course, Greece. I consider myself very lucky that I was able to see all of these countries, and especially before so much was destroyed by these senseless wars. I have an especially soft place in my heart for Turkey, which even then was quite different from "traditional" Muslim countries. Actually, Iran was much the same as Turkey back then as well. (Before the Shah was overthrown) Of course I learned to LOVE middle eastern cuisine while there as well. Luckily I have always been a very adventurous eater, so I tried everything I could. I do remember Turkish Donerkebab, apparently they are different now? Because the ones I had most often WERE the lamb slices wrapped hugely onto a skewer, seasoned of course, then cooked on a rotating vertical spit (often turned by hand) They were NEVER dry. My favourite way of having them was piled on top of pida, with yoghurt on top and sprinkled liberally with sumak, plus Turkish cheese, similar to Feta, and roasted onions and peppers on the side to add as desired. It was almost always served with a salad on the side, the typical middle eastern style salad with cucumber, onion, tomato, onions and herbs with olive oil and vinegar, and often more cheese. OH YUM! I dream about this often. It"s just one of those things that can never be made at home. I have, of course, had the other types of kebabs, and love them too. Luckily I can make a fairly good version of those myself. OH!! And the pastry shops!!! Out of the world. Mmm...and the seafood!! SO fresh and succulent. The meze...oh my gosh. One would go out for dinner, and they would bring at least 2 dozen different ones to the table, plus breads and olive oil, nearly the moment one sat down. By the time we worked our way through those, there was little room left for the mains!! (But, being young and healthy...we found room!) I honestly had some of the very best times of my life there. Oh, and inexpensive. You could NOT believe. A huge meal at a seafood restaurant, including all the meze and dessert, plus raki and other beverages would come to possibly $3 American per person. Honest!!! And, the Turkish tea. No matter where you were, at the hairdresser,at the markets, anyplace at all, tea was offered. The business owners would send a "runner" to the nearest "chi" shop to carry back glass after glass of this wonderful tea, and would never accept money for it. (We were allowed to tip the boy who brought it to us, but that was all.) I"m really sorry for being so wordy here, but you have brought back so many wonderful memories with this article. I really COULD write a book about it all. It is so sad that the situation in the middle east, as a whole, has become so very bad. I am so proud of Turkey for rejecting all of the "crap" that has engulfed the rest of the Muslim world. I would so love to go once again and visit "my" beloved country before I die, but that really doesn"t look feasible at present. Thank you SO much for this wonderful post. I hope you do get to travel through Turkey at some point, there are so many beautiful places there. I did manage to see nearly all of it, thanks to having so many great Turkish friends who loved nothing more than to show their amazing country off, not to mention the foods. I know what I will be dreaming of tonight!

rajesh rao

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 19:58:27 GMT

Bravo! You usually just amaze but this one was scintillating.

Luci

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 17:25:42 GMT

Francois, what a fantastic article. Thanks so much for posting that - it couldn"t help but smiling at your photographs and recollection of a wonderful evening. Thank you.

Callipygia

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 17:16:53 GMT

I agree with Scott#49, touched by how warm and generous people can be all over the world. Thank you Utkun/family and you FX for this window into kebab. On another note I find it humorous that you would be identified by the infamous "knoedel picture"- see they"re good for something.

DaveDragon

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 16:13:04 GMT

What an amazing meal and extraordinary experience.
where do I apply? :-)
Dave

fx

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 15:47:45 GMT

Dana, thanks for dropping by! The "not-pizza-but-close" is really nice and quite basic, most of the attraction in from the fragrant, spicy topping. But the k�fte were even better, with their crispy bulgur crust and lovely meat-and-walnuts filling!

fx

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 15:44:48 GMT

Jennifer, thanks for your visit and hold on for more culinary visits to be published soon!

fx

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 15:44:06 GMT

Andrew thanks for your appreciation! I hope to find proper recipes for some of these dishes so that everybody can try them at home! I am not very much of a fly-on-the-wall kind of person and really participate and interact a lot with the people I interview and photograph, but they feel confortable with me (I guess) which means soon they see me as just another colleague.

fx

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 15:41:46 GMT

Annie, no need for envy, these kebabs will always be available at a very reasonable price in Turkey, you can enjoy them in the future with the added benefit of gluttonous anticipation!