x0x Istanbul cuisine

x0x Istanbul cuisine

By Renan Yildirim

Istanbul's cuisine has a special place in both Turkish
and world cuisine, with roots going back to ancient
Greece and Rome. Following the Turkish conquest the
traditional foodways of the Ottoman sultans and the
culinary cultures of the many ethnic communities of the
city added new dimensions to its cuisine. As a city
straddling the Bosphorus, Istanbul has an abundance of
fish and seafood, and where the cooking of these is
concerned, Christian and Jewish tradition has been more
important than the Muslim. Not only was fish consumed
fresh, but also preserved in various ways, by salting,
smoking and drying. Meat played an important role in
Ottoman cuisine, particularly mutton and lamb, beef
being used largely for curing as pastýrma. Soups made
with meat and chicken stock were often thickened with
bulgur and noodles. Rice became widely used from the
second half of the 16th century in particular, and
pilaf began to be served with roasted and stewed meat
dishes of many kinds.

Pilaf itself came in many varieties, cooked with
ingredients such as tomatoes, almonds, pistachio nuts,
currants, aubergines, and chicken. That versatile
vegetable aubergine featured in scores of different
dishes, and in summer sparks from fires on which
aubergines were being grilled were a frequent cause of
fires that destroyed wooden houses. Desserts came in
innumerable kinds, the main categories being sweet
pastries, of which the king was baklava, and puddings
made of milk or fruit respectively. Baklava was made at
home by housewives for special occasions and sent to be
baked at the local bakery. Of the milk puddings, keþkül
made with ground almonds and ground rice was served
first at meals for guests. On winter evenings
gatherings known as 'helva parties' were held, at which
the entertainment consisted of music, singing, and
games, after which the guests were served helva made
with flour or semolina, pickles and afterwards coffee.


One of the earliest accounts of Ottoman palace cuisine,
dating before the conquest, is that of Bertrandon de la
Broquiere, who was a guest at a banquet given for the
Milanese ambassador by Sultan Murad II (1421-1451). I
quote from Sula Bozis's Istanbul Lezzeti: 'Pilaf with
mutton was the main dish. A red leather table cloth was
placed in front of the sultan, and over that a silk
cloth. The sultan used a silk napkin and was served his
food in gold dishes. One of the most famous dishes of
court cuisine was pilaf with chickpeas containing one
gold chickpea, which was kept by the guest who found
it.' The main elements of the Ottoman mosaic, Muslims,
Jews, Armenians and Greeks, lived together in Istanbul
for centuries, and the cuisine reflects the traditions
of all these cultures. The dish known as priet'se stew
is one such example. Made with wine by Christians and
with vinegar by Muslims, this famous dish is shared by
Greek, Armenians, Georgian and Ottoman cuisines.
Russian salad, which was invented for the czar of
Russia by a French chef called Olivier became popular
among the Greeks of Istanbul in particular.

The Sephardic Jewish cuisine was characterised by
extensive use of fish, vegetables and olive oil, some
of which dishes were adopted by other communities,
while others, such as leek rissoles and börek filled
with aubergine, remained specifically Jewish. The
rockling fish was a favourite both with the Jews of
Istanbul, who cooked it with sour plums, and with
Sultan Abdülhamid II, who enjoyed it fried in butter.
Herise, the national dish of the Armenians, is known as
keþkek in Anatolia. Another famous Armenian dish is
topik, which originated as a Lenten food. Stuffed
vineleaves, mussels and mackerel were all enjoyed by
Greeks, Armenians and Jews. Stuffed mackerel was known
as Forget Me Not, and the stuffing consisted of a large
quantity of onions with less rice. Another renowned
Armenian dish was stuffed spleen.

Much more could be said about Istanbul cuisine, which
is so vast in extent that researchers are constantly
discovering new details, but I hope that this brief
glimpse gives an idea of its extraordinary and exciting
diversity.

* Renan Yildirim is a journalist



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