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HERE ARE SOME FAMOUS TURKISH DESSERT RECIPES. BON APETITE
Tulumba Dessert (Tulumba Tatlisi) Dough: 1 2/3 cup (400 ml) water 45 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 cup flour 3 eggs
2 cups sunflower oil
Syrup: 6 1/4 cups sugar 4 cups water 1 tsp lemon juice
Boil all the syrup ingredients in a large pot for 10-15 minutes. Let it cool down, then divide into two different bowls.
Heat the water, butter and salt in a pot. When it starts boiling, lower the heat and add in the flour. Stir constantly until the mixture leaves the sides of the pot and becomes doughy. Remove from the heat put aside for a few minute. Add in the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is well blended before adding the next.
Heat the oil in a large cooking pot on medium heat. Fill in your Pastry Bag with the dough. Squeeze out pieces the size shown in the picture. Break them off with your finger. Fry each piece uniformly, mixing with a perforated spoon. Take out the fried Tulumba and place them on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
Throw in all the fried tulumba into the cold syrup in the two bowls. Leave them in for about 20-25 minutes and stir occasionally. Make sure they all soak in the syrup.
Use a perforated spoon to remove them from the syrup. Place on a large service plate and serve while they are still crispy.
Revani
Dry ingredients: 1/2 cup semolina 2/3 cup flour 1 tbsp baking powder
Wet ingredients: 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp vanilla extract 4 eggs
Syrup: 1 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar 500 ml water 4-5 drops lemon juice
8x8x2in oven Pyrex dish or regular cake tray
Boil the syrup ingredients for a few minutes, put aside and let warm.
Use a mixer to blend the wet ingredients for a few minutes until the sugar melts. Then mix together the dry ingredients with a spoon in another bowl. Combine the two thorougly, again using the mixer.
Grease the bottom and sides of the Pyrex dish and place in the mixture. Preheat the oven to 175 C (375 F) and bake for 25 minutes. Cut Revani into nine equal square pieces. Then pour the warm syrup on top while the cake is still warm. Use a tablespoon to do this and make sure to do it slowly so the cake absorbs the syrup equally.
Let cool and serve Revani with thick cream and pistachios. Keep this dessert in the fridge.
Semolina Dessert (Irmik Helvasi) Main: 1 cup semolina flour 125 ml unsalted butter 2 tbsp pine nuts
Syrup: 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 1 cup milk
Cook the main ingredients on medium-low heat until golden brown in a large pot, constantly stirring. In another pot, mix the syrup ingredients until boiled. Pour the syrup very slowly into the pot with the semolina while stirring with a long wooden spoon. The mixture will be bubbly and will spit so be careful. Stir until the mixture leaves sides of the pot (it will become doughy), this shouldn't take more than a couple minutes.
Then place away from heat with the lid on, wait for 5 minutes and put in a bowl, levelled. When cooled, put it on a flat plate upside down. Serve in slices. You can put some chocolate sauce on top, if you like.
Posts: 2591 | From: **Ex Oriente Lux** | Registered: Jan 2007
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my friend is back from Turkey next week and should be bringing some Turkish Delight back for MEEEEE, its mine mine mine and no one is having ANY of it!!
-------------------- If you don't learn from your mistakes, there's no sense making them. Posts: 15090 | From: http://www.egyptalk.com/forum/ | Registered: Jul 2004
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Ayisha ask for the 1st one Tulumba, others can be done easily at home Posts: 2591 | From: **Ex Oriente Lux** | Registered: Jan 2007
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quote:Originally posted by Ayisha: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
my friend is back from Turkey next week and should be bringing some Turkish Delight back for MEEEEE, its mine mine mine and no one is having ANY of it!!
Turkish Delights are the only dessert like stuff im familiar from that country.It's actually more of a sweet than a dessert.Very famous indeed!
Posts: 3833 | From: here,there,everywhere | Registered: Nov 2007
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That Revani looks scrumptious! Next time my girlfriend and her husband come over for dinner I'm going to have to make them some. Cenk hasn't had a Turkish desert like that since he left Istanbul. It's only fair since he makes Kefta for me all the time. Thanks!
-------------------- Ra's Warrior & the Talismans of Time An Egyptian fantasy for mature audiences coming soon to Ra's Warrior Posts: 14 | From: Florida | Registered: Jul 2008
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quote:Originally posted by 'Shahrazat': Ayisha ask for the 1st one Tulumba, others can be done easily at home
Shah, "Tulumba" is available in Egyptian souqs, that's like the greasiest, sweetest dessert on the face of the earth. People love to eat them warm, you ever seen them cook 'em ... not a pretty sight, they squeeze out what seems to be dough on to boiling oil (grease) and you just know in Egypt such oil is used again and again and again.... Posts: 2418 | Registered: Nov 2007
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Ohh I see and I guess that smell of old oil That remind me of the old streets of Jerusalem smelling falafel oil Posts: 2591 | From: **Ex Oriente Lux** | Registered: Jan 2007
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You know Exile that s our problem, I mean we cannot promote Turkish cuisine. It is in the top 3 list with Chinese and French cuisines but people don't have idea about it or most of the Turkish foods are known as they belong to Arabs or Greeks Posts: 2591 | From: **Ex Oriente Lux** | Registered: Jan 2007
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quote:Originally posted by 'Shahrazat': You know Exile that s our problem, I mean we cannot promote Turkish cuisine. It is in the top 3 list with Chinese and French cuisines but people don't have idea about it or most of the Turkish foods are known as they belong to Arabs or Greeks
Well the Turkish cuisine is heavily influenced by the Arab, Persian and Byzantine cuisine maybe that is why. Turkish cuisine inherited its Ottoman heritage which could be described as a fusion of Turkic, Arabic, Greek, Armenian and Persian cuisines. The North African influences on the Turkish is quite obvious when we look at the wide spread use of sweet peas, fruits and nuts with meats. The Sultans had complete control over the spice roads of the region. This meant the easy availability of these spices which were freely incorporated into their cuisine. The Ottoman Turks brought Persian cooks to their courts and modeled much of their cuisine on that of the Persian. Persian influence is evident in rich dishes, Pilav (rice), and use of spices and fruits in the preparation of meat and chicken. From the Greeks, Turks learned the use of Olive Oil and Seafood, perfecting the concept of Meze, trays of pre-dinner delicacies, and they also learned the art of wine making. Turkish Coffee - was introduced from Levantine Arabic culture & became central to Ottoman society.
Taken as a whole, Turkish cuisine is not homogenous. Aside from common Turkish specialities which can be found throughout the country, there are also region-specific specialities.
The southeast-Urfa, Gaziantep and Adana-is famous for its kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as baklava, kadayıf and künefe. Especially in the western parts of Turkey, olive oil is the major type of oil used for cooking. The cuisines of the Aegean, Marmara and Mediterranean regions display basic characteristics of Mediterranean cuisine as they are rich in vegetables, herbs and fish. Whilst central Anatolia is famous for its pastry specialities such as keşkek (kashkak), mantı (especially of Kayseri) and gözleme.
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That's what makes the Turkish cuisine good SW, I mean rich. Geographically, Anatolia was the crossroad of many cultures. And the flora of the land is very rich as it is one of the most fertile lands of the world. Also being an empire is another and the biggest reason as the palace cuisine must be excellent all the time.
The recipes weren't inspired by Allah to Turkish people, it's because of being a cosmopolitan nation.
So don't you think that Turkish culture also influenced the Arabs and Greeks a lot??
Posts: 2591 | From: **Ex Oriente Lux** | Registered: Jan 2007
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While I was writing, you editted your post So yes it differs a lot from region to region. Adana, Urfa, Antep and Antakya foods are not so familiar for the northern people as they are generally hot and meat based. West use vegatable a lot and northern cuisine completely based on fishes...
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Turkish Food Ottoman chefs created delicious dishes for the sultans for centuries in culturally rich Middle East and left today's Turkey with an extraordinary culinary heritage. Some of today's popular dishes have their roots in recipes written 700 years ago. The Turkish cuisine is considered one of the top three world cuisines and offers a tremendous selection of authentic dishes.
These overwhelming variety of dishes, each with a unique combination of ingredients, a way of preparation and presentation can be categorized into: grilled meats, grain-based, vegetables, seafood, desserts and beverages. Before describing each of these categories, some general comments are necessary. Each category of dishes contains only one or two types of main ingredients. Turks are purists in their culinary tastes ; the dishes are supposed to bring out the flavor of the main ingredients rather than hiding it behind sauces or spices. Thus, the eggplant should taste like eggplant, lamb like lamb, pumpkin like pumpkin. Contrary to the prevalent Western impression of Turkish food, spices and herbs are used with zucchini, parsley with eggplant, a few cloves of garlic has its place in some cold vegetables, cumin mixed in ground meat when making "köfte". Lemon and yogurt are used to complement both meat and vegetable dishes, to balance the taste of olive oil or meat. Most desserts and fruit dishes do not call for any spices. So the flavors are refined and subtle.
According to the historians Turks rolled their first börek and bread-type dough almost a millennium ago. Böreks are baked or fried variety of ways with using several types of dough (page 129and page 130). When you walk into specialty dessert and pastry shops "Baklavaci-Börekçi" in Turkey, you would find an extensive selection of these böreks as well as extensive selection of baklava type desserts. Börek is a special-occasion food which requires great skill and patience, unless you are able to buy thin sheets of dough already rolled out from your corner grocery store. Anyone who accomplish this delicate task using the rolling pin, becomes the most sought-out person in their circle of family and friends. The sheets are layered or folded into various shapes before being filled with cheese or meat mixes and baked or fried. Every household enjoys at least five different varieties of börek as a regular part of its menu.
There are more than 30 kinds of desserts made with sweet syrup using phyllo type dough, shredded dough (tel kadayif), and other types of dough (page 160 and 161). The most well known sweets associated with the Turkish Cuisine are the Turkish delight and the "Baklava", giving the impression that these are the typical desserts eaten after meals. This is not true. First, the family desserts is much richer than these two. Secondly, these are not typical desserts as part of a main meal. For example, baklava and its relatives are eaten usually with a coffee, as a snack or after a kabob dish.
Most wonderful contribution of the Turkish Cuisine to the family desserts, that can easily be missed by casual explorers, are the milk-based healthy desserts with unique tastes.These are "guilt-free" puddings made with starch and rice flour, and, originally without eggs or butter. In addition to this, There is a large selection of soft-gourmet candies made with pistachios and almond pastes, candies made with whole chestnut, chestnut pieces, chocolate and nuts "Sam fistigi ezmesi, badem ezmesi, kestane sekeri, çikolatali kestane sekeri".Turkish delight (soft candies made from sugar or honey topped with coconut flakes and nuts) are part of the sweets in Turkish cuisine that can be found at baklavaci-börekçi (dessert and pastry shops) and sekerci (gourmet candy stores).In addition, you can find other types of desserts (including western interpretations) at pastahane (cake and dessert shops) in Turkey.
Kabob "Kebap" is another category of food which, like the börek, is typically Turkish dating back to the times when the nomadic Turks learned to grill and roast their meat over their camp fires. Given the numerous types of kebabs, it helps to realize that you categorize them by the way of the meat is cooked. Restaurants which specialize in kebaps generally have an extensive selection of kebaps (over 20 kinds). Meat grilling techniques are much the same around the world, but nowhere are they better used than in Turkey, justifiably famous for its shish kabob.Sis kebap is grilled cubes of skewered meat. Döner kebap is made by stacking alternating layers of ground meat and sliced leg of lamb on a large upright skewer, which is slowly rotated in front of a vertical grill. As the outer layer of the meat is roasted, thin slices are shaved and served. There are numerous other grilled kebaps beside those cooked in a clay oven. It should be noted that the unique taste of kebaps are due more to the breeds of sheep and cattle, which are raised in open pastures by loving shepherds, than to special marinades and a way of cooking. "Izgara", mixed grilled meat is how main course meat dishes are prepared at a kebab restaurant. Mixed grills are likely to include lamb chops, köfte and sis. The way of preparing ground meat will be the "köfte" (page 69). These are grilled, fried, oven-cooked or boiled, after being mixed with special spices, eggs, and grated onions and carefully shaped into balls, oblongs, round or long patties.
Turkish cuisine has a large selection of vegetable dishes. Vegetables are also consumed in large quantities in the Turkish diet. The simplest and most basic type of vegetable dish is prepared by slicing a main vegetable such as zucchini or eggplant, combining it with tomatoes, green peppers and onions, and cooking slowly in butter and its own juices. Since the vegetables that are cultivated in Turkey are truly delicious, a simple dish like this, eaten with a sizeable chunk of fresh bread, is a satisfying meal for many people.
Cooking with olive oil is one of the fine and healthy ways to cook vegetables.The vegetables and the oil work beautifully together, each bringing out the taste of the other. These dishes are refreshing, soft textured, healthy and not at all greasy. A whole class of vegetables is cooked in olive oil. Practically all vegetables such as fresh string beans, artichokes, root celery, leek, eggplants, pinto beans, or zucchini can be cooked in olive oil, and are typically eaten at room-temperature. So they are a staple part of the menu with variations depending on the season.
Then, there are the fried vegetables such as eggplant, peppers or zucchinis that are eaten with a tomato or a yogurt sauce. Yogurt, a contribution from Turks to the world, has also become a popular health food. A staple in Turkish diet, it has been known all along for its detoxifying properties.
"Dolma" is the generic term for stuffed vegetables, being a derivative of the verb "doldurmak" or to fill; it actually means "stuffed" in Turkish. There are two categories of dolmas: those filled with a meat mix or with a rice mix. The latter are cooked in olive oil and eaten at room- temperature (page 58). The meat dolma is a main-course dish eaten with a yogurt sauce, and a very frequent one in the average household. Any vegetable which can be filled with or wrapped around these mixes can be used in a dolma, including zucchini, eggplants, tomatoes, cabbage, and grapewine leaves. However, the green pepper dolma with the rice stuffing, has to be the queen of all dolmas, a royal feast to the eye and the palate. In addition to these general categories, there are numerous meat and vegetable dishes which feature unique recipes. The eggplant (or aubergine) has a special place in the Turkish cuisine. According to the Turkish cooks, there are 60 ways to prepare an eggplant dish. This handsome vegetable with its brown-greencap, velvet purple, firm and slim body, has a richer flavor than that of its relatives found elsewhere. At a party, a frustrating question to ask a Turk would be "How do you usually cook your eggplant?", a proper answer to this question would require hours! Here, it will have to suffice to mention two eggplant dishes that are a must to taste. In one, the egg plant is split lengthwise and filled with a meat mix "Karniyarik".This is a common summer dish, eaten with rice pilaf. The other one is "Her Majesty's Favorite", a delicate formal dish that is not easy to make but well worth trying. The name refers to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, who fell in love with it on her visit to Sultan Abdulaziz. The name of the dish is also being used as "Sultan's Favorite"
Four seas (the Black Sea, the Marmara Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean) that surround the Turkland are rich in seafood and residents of the coastal cities are experts in preparing their fish. Winter is the premium season for eating fish. That is the time when many species of fish migrate from Black sea to warmer waters and when most fish reach their mature sizes. So, the lack of summer vegetables is compensated by the abundance of fish at this time. Every month has its own preferred fish along with certain vegetables which complement the taste. The local seafood of Marmara and Aegean seas such as fishes: levrek, barbunya, karagöz, trança; shelled seafood: prawn and lobster are delicious and their tastes are unique to the region. Seafood dishes are cooked in several special ways which would also seal the flavor inside them.
If you plan to visit to Turkey do not forget to visit locals' favorite dessert and pastry shops, restaurants which specialize in authentic Ottoman/Turkish cuisine and kebaps. Also, do not forget to taste the famous KahramanMaras ice cream that is made with new age interpretation, offering variety of flavors.
Have a wonderful adventure, taste the most delicious cuisine, see the rich history and the culture, the beautiful nature; and meet the friendly people.
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[QUOTE]Well the Turkish cuisine is heavily influenced by the Arab, Persian and Byzantine cuisine maybe that is why...
I don't if I explain it above but Noone can reduce Turkish cuisine to the Arab,Persian or Byzantine.It is much more than this in every aspect of a being a worldwide cuisine.
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Do you want a little more information about that Here you are ; The three eras have left their marks on the evolution of the Turkish cuisine.
Central Asian (before 1038) Seljuk and Principalities (1038-1299) Ottoman (1299-1923)
Central Asian (before 1038) Knowledge about the food and eating habits of the early normad Turks in Central Asia is rather limited and based on conjecture. It is likely that in common with the other nomad tribes, they relied on mutton and horse meat, unleavened pastry or bread made with wheat flour, milk, and milk products such as yoghurt. Koumiss a liquor, and ayran are known to have been drunk.
Evidence from communities of Kazan Turks and Tatars in Anatolia, who still observe many Central Asian Customs, indicates that a number of foods from the Central Asian period survive today. Manti, corek, various pies and tarhana, all originated in Central Asia.
One of the earliest written sources on pre-Islamic Turks, the Turkic inscriptions of the Orhun Relics, show that deer and hare were the principal meats of the
Seljuk and Principalities Era (1038-1299) From the time of the Seljuk sultans more written information about the food has survived. Divanu Lugat-i Turk, a dictionary compiled by Kasgarli Mahmut in 1072-1073 to teach Turkish to the Arabs, not only gives the names of certain foods, but also describes some dishes. Among those described as old Turkish dishes are tutmac (noodle soup), yufka (flattened bread), katmer (layered pastry), ekmek (bread), yoghurt, ayran, koumiss, corek (ring shaped bun), pekmez (a syrup made of boiled of grape juice and helva made with cornflour. There are also some references to cooking in a pit dug in the earth, to grills and skewers and earthware cooking pots.
The other important written work of the 11th century, by Yusuf Has Hacip entitled Kutadgu Bilig (The Book of Knowledge), deals with eating habits, feasts, and table service rather than dishes.
Another work which enlightens the same period is the Dede Korkut Hikayeleri (The Tales of Dede Korkut) compiled towards the end of the 14th century. These twelve tales are a rich source of information about the customs of the Oghuz Turks who lived in the southwestern Asia. Yahni (stew), kebabs (food on skewers), togya corbasi (a soup made from wheat flour and yoghurt), clotted cream, yoghurt, cheese, milk, ayran, koumiss, and wine were all consumed in the Tales of Dede Korkut.
The literary works of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, a philospher who lived in the 13th century, contain many references to the food culture of the time. Many dishes are categorized and described in detail in Mevlana's works: for example meat is stewed or fried; helva may be made with grape syrup or with almonds, zerde (desserts include sweetened boiled rice with saffron) and paluze (starch pudding).
Mevlana's writings show that in 13th century Anatolia the following foods and beverages were common: vegetables such as leek, aubergine, marrow, celery, garlic, cucumber; pulses such as blackeyed bean, lentil, chickpea, broad bean; fruits such as apple, pomengrate, pear, peach, fig, melon, watermelon. date; buts such as walnut, almond, hazelnut; milk products, such as yoghurt, ayran, cheese; food made with flour such as tutmac (homemade noodles cooked with meat and yoghurt), etli ekmek (flatbread), etli ekmek (flat pastry baked with ground meat), borek (pastries), corek (ring shaped buns), tirit (bread cooked in gravy); sweet foods like honey, grapes and grape syrup, helva, kadayif, zerde; drinks such as sweetened fruit juices and wine.
Mevlana's cook, Ates Baz-i Veli was a prominent personality, who died in 1285, was buried in a mausoleum of red stone. He was the first cook to have a mauseloum built in his memory in Turkey. It is revealing attention devoted to food and the culinary art and the esteem in which a cook was held during that period. There is widely held belief in Turkey today that to visit his mausoleum and take away a pinch of salt distributed there will bring a blessing to the visitor's kitchen, enhance their cooking and prove beneficial for any illness from which they might suffer.
The Seljuk archives are an invaluable source of information on the period. When the Seljuk ruler Alaaddin Keykubat I arrived for the first time as a monarch in Konya, the capital of the Seljuk Empire, there were fireworks and ceremonies the like of which had never been witnessed before, and feasts and drinking parties were organized. These feasts are described as "Various kinds of rice and stewed marrow dishes were, stewed and fried vegetables, meat stews, unpeeled vegetables cooked in hot ashes, roasts, partridges and quail, all in gold and china dishes, were arranged on a dais in keeping with the traditions of the two clans of the Oghuz Turkish tribes. Koumiss and a variety of sweetened fruit juices were drunk in accordance with the Oghuz customs."
There were organizations in Anatolia at that time which adhered strictly ro the regulations and statues governing the running of the kitchens. Foremost among them were the Wakif socities, religious charitable which provided many free benefits and services.
Ottoman (1299-1923) During Ottoman period Turkish cooking became increasingly sophisticated. In the kitchens of the palace and in the homes of nobles and officials, cooks developed high level of specialization, and so Istanbul cooking or palace cooking, which is regarded as the pinnacle of Turkish Cuisine, was created.
When Sultan Mehmet II conquered Istanbul in 1453 he ordered as his first act the building of a palace where he could reside. In a famous imperial decree at the court, the rules of protocol be observed and the table manners be adhered to in the Topkapi Palace, the manner in which food was to be prepared and served for the sovereign, his ministers, the court treasury dignitaries and other members of the palace staff was set out.
At Mehmet II's time the palace kitchen comprised of four main areas, of which the most important was the Kushane named after a small cooking pot. In this kitchen only food for the sovereign was prepared in small quantities and in small vessels. The second kitchen, known as the Has Mutfak, was where food destined for the mother of the sultan, the princess and the privileged members of the harem was prepared. The other kitchens included the kitchens of harem, the chief eunuch, the imperial state chancery and members of the palace household according to their ranks.
The member of the household responsible for kitchens was the head butler and he, with the chefs who headed the kitchen and the kitchen superintendent, who was responsible for materials and provisions, formed the triumvriate of personnel who ran the kitchen.
During Mehmet II's reign the kitchen staff included bakers, dessert cooks, helva makers, pickle makers, the chief yoghurt maker, etc. The move towards culinary specialization already witnessed in Mevlevi monastery in the 13th century had been accomplished by the 15th. The entire staff in the palace kitchens strove to produce dishes that were equisite, and experimented with new ideas to improve existing dishes.
The nobles and officials entertained each other regularly and competed to provide the best food. Those who boasted kitchens of the same excellence as the palace kitchens saw their fame spread, and the sultans honored them by paying them a visit. Just as in the palace kitchens, all Ottoman grand houses employed staff who specialized in particular aspects of culinary art.
At this period various chefs' guilds were organized in the capital and to this day they continue to play an important role in perpetuating and improving old recipes. Under Ottoman rule only the best ingredients were brought into Istanbul, and the sale of inferior foods was prevented under a system of very strict control. This fact, together with the lively competition between the cooks and confectioners to provide the best, ensured that high standards were always maintained. The confectioners, soup shops and street traders are some interesting elements of Turkish cuisine which have originated from this era.
Turkish Cuisine owes its development and survival to this day to the particular culinary expertise which the palace, the grand houses and the numerous associations of cooks and confectioners passed on from generation to generation. The Turkish saying "Never mind what you ate and drank, tell me where you have been and what you have seen", shows it was considered bad manners to talk about food and this is why there is little cullinary literature in Turkish.
Aprt from some dictionaries and medical books based on early studies which gave descriptions of dishes and definitions of foodstuffs, the first cookery book was translated work entitled Tabh-i Et-ime (Instruction in Cookery) believed to have been translated from the Arabic Kitabut-Tabih (The Book of Cookery) in the 15th century by Sirvani. Other noteworthy books are Agidiye Risalesi (T he Manual of Nourishment) by Abdullah Efendi, and Yemek Risalesi by unknown authors published in the 18th century. The Melceu't Tabbahin (The Sanctuary of Cooks), compiled by in 1844 by Mehmet Kamil was the first cookery book to be printed by lithography; it was later translated into English by Turabi Efendi.
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quote:Originally posted by Millas: [QUOTE]Well the Turkish cuisine is heavily influenced by the Arab, Persian and Byzantine cuisine maybe that is why...
I don't if I explain it above but Noone can reduce Turkish cuisine to the Arab,Persian or Byzantine.It is much more than this in every aspect of a being a worldwide cuisine.
I am not trying reduce the Turkish cuisine into anything.
There are many dishes that many countries claim as their own, (so called "national dishes") but to claim monopoly for them is ludicrous.
Mussaqqa for example is a dish associated with Greece and Turkey. But you can find it in many other countries. In fact, the word mussaqqa is of Arabic origin. The roots of the word which both nations claim, come from the Persian word "magouma'", a dish with layers of eggplants, onions and minced lamb meat. In Arabic it means "soaked" because this dish has to be eaten juicy, served with all the rich juices of its vegetables, meat and olive oil.
In Lebanon, people name musaqqa a pot dish, which is served with layers of eggplants, a sauce of fresh tomatoes and raisins.
In Europe however mussaqa is associated mostly with Greece. I guess it is because people associate a certain taste with it.
The very same dish can taste very different from country to country. Different spices are being used, different cooking techniques and so on.
The Turks, keep cooking mussaqa in its Arabic version, that is to say with plenty of eggplants or zucchini, minced meat and chickpeas.
As far as potatoes is concerned there is no way that they would be used since this vegetable of the "New World” has never managed to totally infiltrate the Middle East dishes.
The French educated chef, born in Sifnos, Nikos Tselementes was the one who added on the “top”of the dish the white sauce called béchamel. Thus, the “development" of Middle East mussaqa in the beginning of the century, took a Greek version where all is covered with a sometimes thick or sometimes washy "sauce" depending on the mood of the chef.
It would be wrong however for Greeks or Turks to claim monopoly for the dish.
Mussaqa is as much Persian and Arabic as it is Greek or Turkish.
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Moussaka ([musa'ka]; Greek: μουσακάς, South Slavic: мусака/musaka, from Turkish: musakka, ultimately from Arabic: مسقعة musaqqaʿa "chilled" [1][2]) is a traditional eggplant (aubergine)-based dish in the Balkans and the Middle East, but most closely associated with Greece and Turkey. The Greek version, which is the best-known outside the region, traditionally consists of layers of ground (minced) lamb or red meat, sliced eggplant and tomato, topped with a white sauce and baked. Turkish musakka, unlike the Greek version, is not layered. Instead, it is prepared with sautéed and fried eggplants, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and minced meat. It is eaten with cacık and pilaf ("Pilav" in Turkish). There are also variants with zucchini (courgette), carrots and potatoes. In the Arab world, moussaka is a cooked salad made up primarily of tomatoes and eggplant, similar to Italian caponata, and is usually served cold as a mezze dish. The Slavic Macedonian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Bosnian, Montenegrin and Romanian versions are also made with potatoes. Despite its Arabic name, moussaka is usually thought of as a Greek dish in the West.
In the standard (3-layer) Greek recipe, the bottom layer consists of eggplant slices sautéed in olive oil; the middle layer is ground lamb precooked with onion, garlic, chopped tomatoes, herbs (bay leaf, oregano, thyme), and spices (cinnamon, allspice and black pepper); and the top layer is a cheese-flavoured béchamel sauce, or egg custard (probably introduced by Tselementes in the 1920s). The three layers are laid in a lightly buttered or oiled pan and baked until the top béchamel layer turns golden brown. No more baking is required as the bottom two layers are already almost cooked beforehand.
The butter in the béchamel can be omitted, used sparingly, or substituted by cream. In the rest of the Balkans, the top layer is often a custard. Grated cheese or bread crumbs are often sprinkled on top.
There are variations on this basic recipe, sometimes with no sauce, sometimes with other vegetables. The most common variant in Greece may include zucchini (courgette), part-fried potatoes or sautéed mushrooms in addition to the eggplant. There is even a fast-day version in the Greek cookbook by Tselementes which includes neither meat nor béchamel sauce, just vegetables (ground eggplant is used instead of ground meat), tomato sauce, and bread crumbs.
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I know that Musakka is a Persian word.It has a Turkish meaning same as Persian.It may be related to Arabic also but I cannot accept it is related to Greek.Greek people like appropriating Turkish meals,traditions,desserts very much.Actually it is normal because they were the citizens of Ottoman Empire for centuries.
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quote:Originally posted by Millas: Greek people like appropriating Turkish meals,traditions,desserts very much.
What makes you think it's not the other way round?
From the wiki:
"Byzantine cuisine was augmented by cultural influences from several locales—such as Lombard Italy, the Persian Empire, and an emerging Arabic Empire. The resulting melting pot hugely impacted Ottoman cuisine and therefore both modern Greek cuisine and Turkish cuisine, as well as general food in the Middle East. Sauces still eaten today, such as Tzatziki, testify to this end."
"Contemporary Greek cookery is typical of Mediterranean cuisine, making wide use of olive oil, grains and bread, wine, fish, and various meats, including poultry and rabbit. Greece has an ancient culinary tradition dating back several millennia, and over the centuries Greek cuisine has evolved and absorbed numerous influences and influenced many cuisines.
Some dishes can be traced back to ancient Greece: trahanas, skordalia, lentil soup, retsina, pasteli; some to the Hellenistic and Roman periods: loukaniko; and Byzantium: feta cheese, avgotaraho, paximadi. There are also many ancient and Byzantine preparations which are no longer consumed: porridge as the main staple, fish sauce nuc mam, salt water mixed into wine, etc.
Many dishes' names come from the Ottoman cuisine tradition and their names reveal Arabic, Persian or Turkish roots such as moussakas, yuvarelakia, keftethes. Many dishes' names probably entered the Greek vocabulary during Ottoman times, but there was earlier contact with the Persians and the Arabs. Some dishes may be pre-Ottoman, only taking Turkish names later; Ash and Dalby, for example, speculate that grape-leaf dolmathes were made by the early Byzantine period"
Posts: 1029 | Registered: Feb 2008
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No need to go back too much further to Byzantine period.I don't understand the relation between Greece and Byzantine except the word Hellen.They are claming ownership of Byzantine period,Ottoman Period,Today's Turkey period ,everything... what so ever... The following abstract from Turkish Ministry of Culture Enjot it
One of the renowned three cuisines The Turkish tribes that once took the long trek from Asia to Anatolia had carried with much success this rich culture which stemmed from the Far and which they had enriched with the materials gathered from every country along their pathway to their new homeland cradling so many civilisations. It was quite logical that the culinary culture would receive its right place in this process. The task in their new homeland was communicated to the newcomers with the sacrosanct order of “feed the hungry, cloth the poor, rebuild the ruins and increase the population”. Thus have evolved, developed and acquired renown the Ottoman culture.
There were a lot of elements to develop this flexible cultural acquis in the new homeland: The country was first of all encircled by three seas: Black Sea, Aegean Sea and Mediterranean and the two straits (İstanbul strait and Dardanelles) connecting them were offering their unmatched fertility to the squatters while the Anatolia, with the benefit of living all four seasons at the same time was providing fresh vegetables and fruits to the entire country that had the luxury of a springtime in the West, summer in the South and a mild autumn along the Black Sea coast. Don’t we still have the same pleasure? Which encompassed the Anatolia and the European soils of the empire, together with the culinary culture constituting and important component of the former. These conditions have made the Ottoman kitchen one of the three grands of the world. Of course, this culture is in a continuous process of change due to the major changes in the new conditions.
Its chances of being permanent fade out a little more everyday. The human being has little opportunity today to gather around the family table at home. The changing work practices convert the warm meal habits into devouring toasts and sandwiches and restaurants become preferred grounds for dinner parties. The modern medicine takes a somewhat dim view of fatty meals, pasta and pastries, once much appreciated by previous generations and those afraid of overweight lay emphasis on easier meals with the urge of dieting. Thus the new world’s phagotic systems dissociate themselves from the old one under its own rules. Yet, a careful study of the old system reveals that it had adopted several precautions, in particular in the field of health, and that the ancients had their own yardsticks under the then prevailing conditions.
Since our topic is the Ottoman kitchen, let’s hear what a wise Ottoman had once said on eating pastas, desserts and sweets around those rich tables: “Who eats little becomes angel, Who eats much finds its danger.” Be careful, dear friends, watch it. The master calligraphers used these sayings to produce artistic inscriptions that embellished the dining room walls: “He who eats little eats everyday. He who eats much eats once” or, “Mouth eats, face is ashamed.” Just like the following verses saying that gourmandise will get the people nowhere: “So much food these teeth have seen, Neither gold, nor silver have they been.” Let’s then return to the past and examine how and when ate these prudent, jovial and wise men.
MENSAL CULTURE
The Ottoman kitchen was hot merely a space where food was prepared. The place of the table was extremely important in the ingredients used, in the tableware, in the side dishes (types of salads for each different dish), in the beverages and in the breads. The respect of the people for each other was extremely important in this mensal culture. The Ottoman was very careful for making sure that the smell of the food being cooked did not bother, others, since these odours might be disturbing the not-so-well-off neighbours. For this reason, talks that might lead to such feelings were carefully avoided. The principle in such conversation was “not to make the rich ashamed, and the poor awed” while the proverbs had make this rule almost an iron-clad principle: “Problems arise when one eats and the other watches.”
TABLE TYPES
The Ottoman tradition foresaw a variety of tables - Family table, - Guest table, - Collective meal table, - Special day table, - Wedding and circumcision tables, - Rhamadan table, - Muharrem (the first month of lunar calendar) table, - Hammam table, - Palace table.
THE FAMILY TABLE
The Ottoman family eats twice a day: a brunch and a dinner. The centre of the table is the father. If there are grandparents, they sit at both sides of the father while the mother is between the children and helps them. A cloth is spread on the ground and a collapsible sexapodal atop supports the meal tray. Spoons are arranged around the tray. The Islamic Prophet had an important order for the family table: “Eat the family meals together with the whole family, because they bring prosperity to the whole family.” The families generally obeyed this order. Around the tray are placed cushions on which the family members sit slightly askew, with their right arms closer to the tray. The water jug is outside of the tray, on the cloth. The first course is generally a soup, served in an oversized copper tureen.
The meal starts with a prayer by the father. There is not much conversation during the meal, laughters are discouraged and those who do not like the meals served never say so. Lips are never smacked and bread is consumed in small lumps torn off the slices and never bitten off. Those in a morose mood are silently warned to pull themselves together. Water is poured into the glasses of the thirsty by one of the younger members of the family and the rest awaits until he drinks it off in order to preserve his right in the meal. The food is taken from the same pot. There were at first no forks and knives, which reached the family table only with the advent of the Restoration Period and everybody gradually learned to use them. The soup is followed by a meat dish with pilaf, then a cold olive oil dish or a fritter, crescendoed with a dessert or fruit. At the end of the meal, the father utters the prandiolithany. All members of the family throw a grain of salt into their mouths and thank the cooker for the meal. The grown daughter of the family then proceeds to the kitchen to brew the after-meal coffee. While the grandparents are still seated, the rest pick up the tableware and carry them to the kitchen. Bread crumbs are never left on the floor.
THE GUEST TABLE
Invitations extended generally to close relatives, friends neighbours were subject to some minor modifications. Depending on the proximity of the invitees, tables were laid separately for males and females or two separate tables were placed in the same room. A third possibility was to arrange the invitations for females during the daytime and for males in the evening when they returned from work. The host usually extended the invitation by saying “Let’s have the dinner with us tonight, to partake what Lord has given us.” The invitees used to come with an appropriate gift for the host or for the children. This custom did not apply much for the all-male invitations. The guest lady presented the gift package to the hostess with a statement like “This is but a small gift to you” to which she received a reply “Well, thank you; but why did you go into such troubles.” It is on the records that the guests were given each a spoonful of honey or jam, suggestive of a wish to eat sweet and talk sweet. There were also the family’s God’s guests dropping by during the meal time. They were first asked whether they had their meals or whether they were hungry.
The host was never taken in surprise, never displayed his anger even if he were upset and always seated the guest at the table by saying that the “guest ate what he found, and not what he hoped”. If the thought the guest was not full, he frequently offered the cheese or salad bowls to him. Where the guest declined to partake them, he used to say: “A guest is a cherished member of the family, please take some more” while pushing the bowl toward him. The guest always thanked to the host who filled his glass by saying: “Be as holy as the water” or, if the server was a young person, he would utter: “May the grace of God be upon you.” The meal of which the menu depended on the family’s wealth, the season of the year and the city where they lived, started with a soup in the winter, followed by a meat dish, a pilaf, an olive oil dish or pasta and a dessert. When the ritual ended, the oldest of the guests thanked the host, recited a prayer and closed the meal with a poetical statement like: “Let the divine halo be on your table, “Let the scourges be after from you, “Let our hosts forever be well-off”. Here are sole expressions used in these invitations by way of thanks: “Guest is the pride of the house, thank you. “A guest is forever welcome. “Say hello to a Turk and don’t worry about your meal. Cheese and bread are good to be had. The best of them all perhaps the following: “Think not what you will eat, but what you will make guest eat.”
COOLLECTIVE MEAL TABLES
The collective table tradition, obviously an offspring of our way of social life, was widespread at the garrisons, shrines, templets, caravanserais, schools and inns. Costs of the meals there were met generally by foundations. The meal time was announced by the kitchenmaster from an elevated podium outside the building from which he used to intone aloud the phrase of “Come ye, to the meal”. Everybody would then immediately abandon work, wash their hands and proceed immediately to where the food was distributed. Everyone knew their places in the hierarchy, sit on their habitual cushions, cover their knees with the huge handwoven floorspread and respectfully await the trepolithany to be recited by the tablemaster. Then all spoons dipped immediately into the huge tureen and so began the meal ritual. Rules of the family table were also valid here. Talk, laughters, refusing food, biting into the bread slices and reaching for what belonged to others were all disapproved. At the end of the meal, the tablemaster or a person that he selects for this purpose read the prayer and everybody took a grain of salt into their mouths. The collective meal tables were as a rule male domains, and the women were not allowed there.
ALMSHOUSES
We find another sort of collective table in the almshouses, which were public kitchens intended to feed the poor. They were closely related with the Islamic traditions of zeqat (donation of one-fortieth of the annual revenue for philanthropic purposes) and fitre (handing to the poor the foodstuffs for one day or its cash value). Meals in the almshouses were free; all costs were borne by the foundations established by well-to-do citizens. Around four to five thousand meals were used to be offered a day in İstanbul and this figure rose even higher during religious holidays and festivity days. Persons establishing foundations were held to donate their property to the almshouses run by the former as a requirement for the continuity of the service from these kitchens. A special type of bread, similar in appearance to a pampernickel, was used to be baked by the almshouses.
COFFEE RITUAL
No matter which meal was involved, coffee constituted an indispensable finish. It had a certain importance also in the daily life and had their own anecdotes, expressions and traditions. Coffee fad, coffee peddlar, divination in coffee dregs, coffee cup and the dicton of “one cup of coffee entails forty years of affinity.” The types of coffee were bitter, sweet, medium-sugared-quasi-sugared. Depending on the time of the day, brewing was different. The morning coffee had two forms. The first was the one taken as soon as one got up in the morning and the other followed the brunch. Sometimes milk was added to them. A cup of coffee go get rid of the fatigue, to divine from the dregs, to help gossiping among the women, to accompany the breaks in the work and to act as the final of a dinner. In the Turkish traditions, one would normally extend the invitation for a meal by saying: “Please come and have a cup of coffee with us.” The occasional get-togethers of coffee fads produced slogans such as “tobacco with the coffee, a mixture pleasing thee.” Let’s not forget, however, those preferring tea to coffee following a meal: “The tea a very wise man discovered, Two in the morning, one before the bed.”
BREAD AND YONDER
The bread was a bliss formerly baked at home ovens in cooperation with the neighbouring ladies in certain days of the week. It is certain that a meal without bread in an Ottoman table was imagined. It use to be concocted with wheat, rye or maize flour or bran and acquired such forms as loaf, pitta, pumpernickel, flatbread, roll and muffin. The cornflour bread of the Black Sea region and the baguettes of İstanbul were deemed to be the refined types. Needless to say, the time plays around with our bread and changes its shape and content. For example, the pitta is something we see only during the Rhamadan. When the Ottoman began to become influenced by the Western life, changes occurred also in baking the bread and the bakery bread gradually replaced its home-baked counterpart. The former was first not appreciated by the women. They even scorned it at first and disdained those buying bakery bread during their coffeeklatsches. Ladies switching to bakery bread expressed their joy by these verses: “Barns became now palaces, “Now same are all classes.” “Gone to grocer’s shop now the bread is, “Hunger’s grip will now all of us squeeze.” Of course, the hunger will not do anything of this sort to us. Being an indispensable foodstuff the bread will surely and certainly continue embellishing our tables with all its taste and grace. Therefore, let’s place the sliced bread piles on the table, and go on with our chat regarding the Ottoman kitchen.
OTTOMAN MEALS
Until the reign of Emporer Murat II, father of Mohammed the Conqueror, the meals were simple and varieties were rare in both the imperial and popular tables. The development of the Ottoman cuisine actually began when Murat II ascended to the throne. The Ottoman meals are known to begin always with a broth. Deemed to be healthy foods the broths were concocted with beef or chicken stock, yoghurt, fish stock, to which were added rice, parched wheat, ground minestrone, dried or fresh vegetables and roots. As such, the stomach was being conditioned for the courses to follow. The wedding, yoghurt, minestrone and vegetable soups were considered as premium components particularly of the brunches. Since the broths and bread were the mainstays of the table, taste in the former was perforce a precondition. When mention is made of soups, it is not easy to put an end to it. The industrious ladies of those days easily exceed a hundred when they begin to cite the names of various soups. One evidence of the soup’s importance among Ottoman of the may be found in the worries of mothers and grandmothers for not being able to marry away the family’s young daughter “who couldn’t cook a decent soup”. The advice given to the daughters who did not share this belief was: “What good to a dumb bead the words do, “What good to a plain soup the spices do, “What good to the family a spinster does”.
MEAT COURSES
Red meats like mutton, lamb and veal, white ones like fish and fowl were the building blocks of the homemade meals. Some of these meats, seasoned with tomato paste, onions and garlic, were cooked for a long time over a slow fire while the kebabs and meatballs were prepared in pans or grills and consumed together with pastes of local vegetables, pickles, green salads and yoghurt. Eggplant salad, fried potatoes, shish kebab and swirling kebab were definitely brought to the table together with tomatoes and peppers. The meats cooked in a brazier, terracotta bowl or jug and in a pit filled with hot ashes were followed according to the general practice by a pilaf. Importance of dishes of fowl and game should not be minimised. Among the ambroses of the dinner invitations were the circassian chicken and filled Turkey.
Bluefish, pelamide, mullet, plaice, sole, mackerel and bream caught in the Marmara Sea, turbot from the Black Sea and anchovies which are prepared in an untold number of ways plus chippers from the Aegean were among the elites of the sea foods. The fish in fried, grilled, boiled, smoked, baker and steamed forms were among the much appreciated health foods and much sought- after by the gourmet. They were frequently demanded also by the Ottoman emperors. As for the read meats, the kebabs of Maraş, Adana and Urfa origin had later penetrated into the entire country. Such new dishes as pureed eggplant royal, imam’s, choice, priest’s kebab, circassian chicken and lady’s thing had begun to embellish the tables and those that seek the excellence in life had developed a preference for tastier foods. Thus grew the fame of the Ottoman kitchen. Naturally, the dishes that I cited above are but a fraction of what this kitchen had up in its sleeve. Various local dishes of seafood also joined the long list. Fish and other products from lakes and rivers were hot late in joining the bandwagon. The part of the geography, seasons and climate of this country may certainly not be denied in this culinary wealth. Shrimps in their pane, salad, pilaf and grilled forms are still among us. Yet everyone knows that the anchovy, fish with which are infatuated the Black Sea people, outdistanced all other fish species with its fried, grilled, baked, souped, stewed, steamed, smoked and salted versions.
AS FOR THE PILAFS
The pilaf types, accompanying majority of meat dishes and such dried vegetable as white beans, were made of rice, parched wheat and couscous. It comes in plain, tomatoed, almonded, pistachioed, raisined, chicpeaed, eggplanted and chickened versions. These dishes originated from the Ottoman, and particularly from the palace kitchen. The rice pilafs changed according to the rice species and were offered in the wedding ceremonies together with safflower dessert. Pilaf is an indispensable food not only of the Ottomans, but also of the entire Turkish world. The adept Ottoman women were brewing 27 different types of pilafs in their kitchens. The wedding, betrothal and noodle pilafs are but a few that jump into the mind just to begin.
VEGETABLES
The Ottoman tables bore an incredible wealth in hot and cold vegetable dishes. Beans to the list, followed by eggplants with its more than 40 varieties. Tomatoes, bell peppers, cabbage, okra, squash, marshmallow, artichoke, carrot, spinach, cauliflower, celery, asparagus, purslane, artichoke, leek... There probably many others that I forgot. Among the dried vegetables were the broad beans, okras, speckled and white beans, lentils, peas and chickpeas. Those cooked with meats of these vegetables used to come to the table first while their brethren with olive oil awaited their turn in the fly-netted kitchen cupboards.
PASTAS
The pastas of the Ottoman cuisine, an unfathomable subject to study, may be divided into doughs, fritters and sweets. The first two are generally warm dishes, baked either in an oven or on a frying pan. Between the leaves of dough are spread ground meat, various cheeses or spinach. They were among the indispensable foods of Rhamadan tables. The dough leaves were used to be prepared in those day at homes with the help of thin wooden rollers. The trays of fritters were used to be sent to a local bakery if there was not an oven in the house. The best of frying pan pastas was the so-called cigarette rolls, with a scraped cheddar fill. They were much appreciated, especially in the drinking tables. The fritters with cheese, spinach, ground meat and milk were used even as the sole dish, but then always with a diluted yoghurt beverage. The syruped fruits or cider, a wonderful beverage made at home from the juices of several fruits, were frequently encountered in the Rhamadan tables to accompany the pastas.
AND OTTOMAN DESSERTS
The Ottoman had three different types of sweets: pastries, milked custards and fruit desserts plus the baklava. Basic ingredients of the latter were the wafer-thin leaves of dough, butter, sugar and honey together with cream and any of the crushed hazelnuts, walnuts or pistachios. All baklava sorts are oven-baked. Women from the Black Sea region offer baklava instead of candies to you during your holiday greeting visit and whisper to you while pushing the baklava platter toward you that she had prepared it from sixty leaves of dough. Imagine that this figure may go up to as high seventy or eighty. The milky sweets are plain milk custard, oven-baked milk custard, milk custard with rice, milk custard with rice flour, custard with chicken and attared rice-flour dish. Milk custard with rice flour preceded the dessert procession in the special dinner tables as its oven-baked version and custard with chicken were made for a long time by confectionaries. The attared rice-flour dish is the chief dessert during Rhamadan. Its ingredients came from local shops and the housewives cooked it in milk and served it with cream atop. It’s debatable to say know how many people are still able to prepare it today.
Yet the gourmets are still unable to resist to milk custard with rice flour. It was the most favoured dessert of late Vehbi Koç and my father, two of the last true Ottomans. Unfortunately, all these dishes gradually go into oblivion since our tables have begun to reflect the menus of foreign restaurants and the famous meatbread of Konya converted itself into Italy’s pizza. The most renowned dessert of the Ottoman tables was, however, the aşure, that we may literally render into decachyle. It was a ceremonial dessert, generally prepared between the tenth and twentieth days of Muharrem, the first month of the lunar year. It is also claimed that this time bracket has to do with the Kerbela incident. Rumour has it that the last meal concocted in the Noah’s Ark at the end of the flood contained forty different ingredients that were the last remnants of the supplies. The same forty ingredients are known to be put into the huge saucepans of the Ottoman houses while verses from Koran were chanted. A part of the end-product was then distributed to neighbours. There are other histories regarding this brew. The tenth day of Muharrem is said to be the day when Adam and Eve had met and the first aşure was cooked to commemorate this day. There are those that deny it and say that it was a dessert designed to express the gratitude of Adam and Eve to God that had later forgiven them after their dispatch to the Earth because of Adam’s unpermitted presentation of the famous apple to Eve, We like, however, this delicious but difficult-to-make dish as the dessert par excellence rather than an amnestic. Concoction. May God benedict he who engineered the recipe.
HALVAS
The basic ingredients of halvas are flour or semolina, fat, sugar, milk and cream. The Ottoman house used to prepare one of the halva varieties and distribute it to relatives, acquaintances and neighbours when a birth or death occurred in the house, a male went off for military duty, someone returned from pilgrimage, a child began to go to school, upon graduation, during the udolithanies, in the yoghurt festivities (when lambs are weaned) and during saffron celebrations (when the first saffron appears in springtime.)
RHAMADAN TABLES
Though the Rhamadan, called the as the king of all other months among the Turks, has many traditions of its own, we will take up here solely those that pertain to the tables. Two types of tables were laid during Rhamadan: for breaking the fasting and for starting it. The first is laid at the sunset, which was announced by an artillery piece fired from a predominant hill in the city. The believers then sat around the table according to the family hierarchy and terminate their fasting, usually first with a couple sips of water followed by an olive or a dried date. This ritual was performed in two parts, in the first of which merely the fasting is ended. It is designed deliberately for avoiding a greedy attack on the food after a long day of hunger. Olives, minute quantities of jams and small pieces of cheeses are taken from undersized platters and eaten with a little bit of fresh-baked pitta.
The foods are then immediately removed from the table since it’s the time of evening prayers that started with the muezzin’s call from the minaret. Then everybody returned to the table that was laid anew to partake the actual meal. Following the broth, the pastrami with eggs, a dish not normally figuring during the other days, was served. The pastrami was cooked with the addition of onions. I cannot say with any degree of certainty whether the pastrami, a routine meal in the imperial table during Rhamadan, was served regularly at homes. The following meals started with meat dishes and ended with the rice flour dessert. The second Rhamadan meal was the one with which the fasting started. It was allowed until such time “a white thread could be differentiated from a black one” in the morning. There were no guests for this meal and only the family members were the persons around this particular table. The courses were designed in such a manner that thirst would not be created during the day. Pilafs, macaronis and fritters together with a fruit sherbet. Some families had a preferred special course in addition to the normal menus for such occasions as the advent of springtime, birth or death in the family, wedding and circumcisions. The most important of such courses and desserts was always the halva. It was always prepared in the Ottoman houses also when somebody from the family went away from the house or returned to it, when a family member regained his or her health after an important illness or after any major event of common interest to the family. Why always halva? I don’t know; but it always played the majordomo in those ceremonial events.
Sir Edward Burton who was the first British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire had reported in his letter to the Queen that he had counted around one hundred different courses in the dinner organised for commemorating his arrival, that the rose leave sherbet had an unprecedentedly delicious taste and that his hands were washed at the end of the dinner by servants in a fragrant water with aloe and sandalwood leaves, flower extracts and must. The Sultan used to send to the janissaries is huge silver trays as one tray for each ten. Each tray was carried by two janissaries from the palace to the garrison and the next day the trays together with their velvet covers were returned to the palace. If the janissaries were satisfied with the treatment given to them, they used to accept and eat the baklavas. Otherwise, the trays were returned untouched.
So was the life in those days.
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People love to eat them warm, you ever seen them cook 'em ... not a pretty sight, they squeeze out what seems to be dough on to boiling oil (grease) and you just know in Egypt such oil is used again and again and again.... ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
That's them alright, admittedly i used to crave them a lot during Ramadan - just before iftar, walking down the souq *blush*![[Frown]](frown.gif)
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