CONDIMENTS, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: HOT PEPPER FLAKES, ONION AND PARSLEY SPRINKLED WITH SUMAC (SEE THIS PAGE), CUMIN, AND DRIED HOT PEPPERS.

Spices and Ingredients

Turkish cuisine is not, as most people think, spicy; however, it has its own unique aromas that are not always derived from spices. The heavenly aroma of browned butter, used especially in pilafs and börek (savory pastries), and the smoky fragrance of grilled eggplant are two delectable examples. The refreshing smell of mint or dill that’s sprinkled on most summer dishes and salads also characterizes Turkish cuisine. In contrast to these fresh fragrances, whole and ground aromatic spices are used sparingly, which is much in line with today’s almost universal precept of using spices judiciously so as not to overpower the natural flavors of the other ingredients. This approach is especially apparent in Turkish dishes that originated in the kitchens of the Ottoman palace. Some regional dishes, however, are more powerfully spiced, making them attractive to those who like more robust tastes.

This careful use of spices derived first from the simple cooking of the nomadic cuisine and also the palace’s view that spices should be used strictly for medicinal purposes. Some spice concoctions are still produced today for their health benefits in honor of this traditional view. Occasionally, the palace showed its opposition to using spices in cooking by forbidding them. Nevertheless, the consumption of spices remained high in the palace because they were used extensively for purposes other than cooking.

Until the sixteenth century, the spice used most often in the palace was black pepper, followed by cumin, saffron, ginger, mustard seed, and mastic. As the borders of the empire expanded, new spices entered the palace, including nutmeg, anise, cardamom, celery seed, basil, cassia, and coriander. Recipes of the time suggest that these spices were most likely used in food preparation.

OLD AND NEW WORLD SPICES MINGLE

Today’s dishes that use an abundance of a variety of spices are kofta (balls or patties made from lamb, beef, or a mixture of the two) and, in some cases, dolma (stuffed or wrapped vegetables)—especially those made in the cities of Urfa and Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey. The Egyptian Bazaar in Istanbul, thus named because the spices of the Far East used to come by ship from the port of Alexandria in Egypt, was assembled in this covered area, with spices to be sold to local dealers and also transferred to European markets. At the Egyptian Bazaar, also known as the Spice Market, one can find special mixtures of spices for dolma and kofta: combinations of black pepper, hot red pepper flakes, coriander, cumin, thyme, and mint. These Old World spices are supplemented by New World spices such as allspice and ground red pepper that hold an established position in Turkish cuisine—so much so that in some areas allspice is literally called “dolma spice.” Cumin, used both in food preparation and as a condiment on tables where grilled meat is served, is favored as much for its digestive qualities as for its aroma and taste.

REGIONAL AROMATICS

In Turkish cuisine, the flora specific to particular geographical regions play an important role in how dishes are spiced or flavored. In eastern and southeastern Turkey, hot red pepper flakes, cumin, dried mint, sumac, and tarragon form the spice backbone of the regions’ cuisines. In these regions, a soup is never served without browned butter and dried mint or tarragon to give it a final twist. In eastern Turkey, fresh coriander is brined—creating a spice found nowhere else—so that it can be used in the region’s famous yogurt soups. In southeastern Turkey, this aromatic herb is replaced by haspir (false saffron) and is used in yogurt soups as well. (Haspir is not related to saffron but, as it looks like saffron and also gives a yellow color to foods, it has been called so by American cooks.) Central Anatolia competes with these regions with a special spice mixture called çemen. A paste made from ground fenugreek, cloves, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, garlic, hot red pepper flakes, and pepper, çemen makes any dish delicious. For locals, it makes an appetizing spread that is perfect on a slice of bread. Çemen is the spice that gives pastırma its unique taste and which helps preserve this spicy dried meat.

INDISPENSABLE SPICES FOR SWEET DISHES

In Turkey, sweet dishes also get their share of spices. Rose water, a distillation of rose petals, is one fragrance that is often used in milk-based sweets. Mastic (hardened drops of resin collected from the mastic tree) is a runner-up to rose water, but cinnamon is the spice that is sprinkled on almost every sweet. Salep is a spice derived from wild orchid bulbs that is common to all traditionally made ice creams, giving them flavor as well as their consistency. In winter, salep is boiled with milk and sugar to create a creamy hot drink that’s consumed with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon and ginger.

HERBS

While tarragon is the herb of eastern Turkey, dill is the herb of western Turkey. Wild fennel, which grows in the spring and has no bulbs, is used in lamb dishes, and bay leaves are used when grilling fish and in fish stews. Purple basil is the queen of bulgur dishes, but the king of herbs is flat-leaf parsley. It is used so much that the idiom “Don’t be a parsley” refers to those who think everything is their business. Thyme is used with meats where it grows wild. Most herbs are generally used dried. One that may be called a national aroma is dried mint, which is often swirled in browned butter and used as a dressing for soups. Fresh mint, however, along with fresh parsley, is a required accompaniment to kebabs in southeast Turkey.

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• The Turkish Spice Rack •

Some of these spices can be found in any grocery store. Look for the others at Middle Eastern grocers, or buy them online.

Allspice: Most likely because this New World spice was integrated into Turkish cuisine much later than other spices, its name in Turkish, yenibahar, literally means “new spice.” It is the spice of the olive oil dolma of Istanbul, and it goes into the meat dolma and into the filling for dried vegetables, like the dried eggplant, bell pepper, or zucchini dishes of eastern Turkey.

Anise: This is used in the twice-baked hard bread known as peksimet. In Turkey, the beloved alcoholic drink raki is flavored with anise seeds only—no other herbs or spices are added.

Black pepper: In Turkey, black pepper is ground very finely; it is hardly visible in food, yet its taste and aroma are very strong. It is the main spice used when cooking meat, and also is prominent in egg-based dishes. Surprisingly, laz böregi, a sweet dessert pastry, is exceptional with black pepper added to its cream.

Cassia: This spice is often confused with cinnamon, most likely because it comes from similar-looking bark from a tree also cultivated in southern China and Indonesia. However, cassia’s birthplace of Burma is a long way from cinnamon’s origin in Sri Lanka. In my opinion, the deep and robust aroma of cassia is more suited to savory dishes and gives them a unique character. In more remote places such as Ula, the traditional use of cassia continues in the form of a special holiday bread, for which the hard cassia sticks are pounded at home (in contrast to cinnamon, usually bought in powder form). I have suggested cassia in some rice and meat dishes here, using the old Ottoman recipes as my guide. You may use either spice, as you prefer.

Cinnamon: Cinnamon is used ground, mostly as a spice for sweets—especially in milk desserts and sprinkled on some pastries. It is also sprinkled over salep (a hot drink made from milk and orchid root starch) and boza (a nourishing fermented beverage).

Clove: Clove is the main spice in all fruit compotes; it especially suits apple and quince compotes. This spice is sometimes put into tea, and people say that chewing it takes away the smell of garlic. In some areas of the Aegean region, cloves are ground and put in special breads, usually prepared for holidays.

Cumin: Cumin originated in Anatolia, and its wide use in Turkish cuisine reaffirms its origin. Cumin is an ingredient in most kinds of kofta, a condiment for the famous çöp şiş (tiny pieces of meat grilled on wood splinter skewers), and the dominant spice in the spice mix çemen, which is also used for making pastırma, the spicy Turkish air-dried beef.

Haspir: This spice is used only in the area surrounding the city of Gaziantep, the gastronomical center of southeastern Turkey (and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world). It has a faint aroma but gives a wonderful saffron-like color to the yogurt soups in which it is extensively used. It is thus also known as “false saffron,” mostly by American cooks. But botanically speaking, false saffron (or Carthamus tinctorius from the Asteraceae family) and saffron (or Crocus sativus from the Iridaceae family) are completely different.

Mahlep: This bakery spice gives baked goods a faintly earthy, warming smell, which your nostrils will identify as unique and almost magnetic, and adds a crispiness that gives pastries a crumbly texture. A native plant of Anatolia, mahlep is produced by grinding the small seeds of a wild cherry, which look like pale, tan-colored pepper-corns.

Mastic: This spice has a special place in Turkish cuisine and has probably been used since ancient times in this area (the ancient Greeks added mastic to their wine to make it tasty). Mastic has to be added with care, though, as it imparts a bitter taste if too much of it is used. Today, mastic is mostly added to milk desserts and ice cream. Its most interesting use is being mixed with oil and spread over fish. It is one of the favorite spices for the world-famous confection known as Turkish delight, called lokum in Turkish. I was not surprised to hear it has been added to tea. It is also used, along with clove and cassia, in the making of bayram (festive) bread. A pastelike dessert made with sugar, water, and mastic by Istanbul’s Greeks was very famous during the Ottoman era. Mastic is grown in the microclimate of the island of Chios. In Ottoman times, almost all of it had to be sent to the palace, where the sultan’s mother was given the power to distribute this spice in any way she chose.

Nigella seeds: These are literally called “pastry herb” (çörek otu in Turkish) because they are widely used on savory pastries. Nigella seeds are also used in a cheese made from whey, and this spice is put into amulets made to chase away bad spirits in regions where this ritual continues.

Red pepper flakes: There are two types of these ground dried red peppers: sweet and hot. The peppers are dried in open air in the shade and then ground. Sometimes the dried peppers are ground after being lightly dipped in oil, which makes them shiny. Red pepper flakes are mostly used in eastern and southeastern Anatolian cooking, especially in Maraş and Antep’s regional cuisines. They are sold as Maraş or Antep pepper, and also as isot pepper (see below), which hails from the neighboring Urfa region where it is produced in a different way. These dried red pepper flakes are sprinkled on soups and swirled with butter then added to the yogurt sauce served with mantı (Turkish dumplings). Quality red pepper flakes contain no seeds, for taste as well as aesthetic reasons—the heat of the seeds will burn your throat. Therefore, check to be sure there are no seeds in red pepper flakes before you buy them. Although Maraş, Antep, and isot are the most famous kinds and are offered commercially, in local markets in most areas of Turkey, village women sell homemade dried red pepper, ground almost to a powder, which would be the best choice if only one could get hold of it. These women sell sweet, medium, and hot red pepper. Commercially the heat of the ground pepper is graded too. The crushed red pepper flakes commonly found in the United States are much spicier than what we use in Turkey. Use them sparingly, or seek out milder chile flakes like Aleppo, Antep, or Mattaş pepper.

Isot red pepper flakes: Also known as Urfa pepper, isot’s distinct dark color comes from being put into bags as protection from the sun during the day and taken out only during the nighttime to dry. Ideally, it should be dried uncovered in the shade, which will make it a red the color of a fez. The best time to dry isot in Urfa is between September and November when the sun is less hot. As its dark color suits the color of ground meat, isot red pepper flakes are mostly used in making the raw köfte (the uncooked meatballs called ciğ köfte that are very popular in this region). The name isot comes from ıssı ot, which means “aromatic herb.”

Rose water: Rose water is added to the syrups of desserts more for its aroma than its flavor. It is also added extensively, along with powdered sugar, to the sugarless muhallebi (a kind of pudding) to create a dessert known as su muhallebisi. This muhallebi is literally immersed in rose water, which has a light flavor and an aroma that complements its taste, which is also very light on the palate.

It is customary to add rose water to aşure (this page), a traditional dessert. The famous palace dessert güllaç (this page), a light Ramadan sweet made from thin sheets of cornstarch and flour dough, a traditional artisanal product made by masters in special ateliers, is never made without rose water. When buying rose water, make sure it is for flavoring, not the kind used for cosmetics. Pharmacies sell the cosmetic rose water, whereas dessert or spice shops carry the naturally distilled rose water that’s appropriate for cooking.

Saffron: This spice is derived from a cultivated plant. The three threads or stigmas in its flower are collected to be used as a spice. Since it takes eighty thousand flowers to yield a pound (half a kilo) of saffron, it has been rightly called the most expensive spice. The town of Safranbolu, on the Asian peninsula of Turkey, near Istanbul, was a center for growing saffron, hence its name. But presently most of the saffron in global markets is Iranian or Spanish. It used to be called zaferan, the Arabic name in the Ottoman times, but now it is called saffron in Turkish. We come across saffron in old rice and meat recipes. Today it is used mostly in zerde, a rice dessert. Saffron is sometimes put into çemen, the spice mixture for pastırma. You will also find saffron in Palace Fish Soup (this page) and Sea Bass and Saffron Pilaf (this page). Saffron in these recipes is used to give flavor and color. Turbo is a very light fish, and being immersed in saffron water gives it more depth. Saffron, for that matter, may be used in light soups to give them a subtle kick as long as it is used sparingly. Too much of it will make the food taste bitter.

Salep: This is the main ingredient of a winter drink known by the same name made with milk and sugar, and sprinkled with cinnamon and ginger. Salep comes from the bulb of a wild orchid found mostly in the Maraş and Muğla areas of Turkey; it gives both flavor and substance to the drink. The bulbs are boiled with milk in order to bring out the salep’s taste, and then they are dried. The bulbs become unbelievably hard, so rice is added during the grinding process. Salep is one of the main ingredients in Turkish ice cream, in which no eggs are used. Turkey is a major salep producer.

Sesame seeds: Sesame seeds are a favorite in Turkish cuisine. Many pastries include their share of sesame seeds, and are all the prettier for it. One of the most popular street foods, simit, is a circular bread covered with sesame seeds. Simits are first dunked in pekmez (see this page), and then covered with sesame seeds that have been soaked in a mixture of pekmez and water, so that both the simit and the seeds turn golden during baking, giving the loaves a harmonious color. (Another demonstration of how in Turkey the aesthetics of food are as important as the taste.) Turkey grows a large amount of high-quality sesame and is a major producer of tahini and tahini halva, both of which are made with sesame seeds.

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• Sweeteners and Souring Agents •

These ingredients can all be found at Middle Eastern grocers. If you don’t have one near you, you can purchase them online.

Pekmez: A ubiquitous sweetener in Turkish cuisine, pekmez is also consumed on its own as an energy tonic thanks to its iron content. Pekmez is a reduction of fresh grape juice, which is traditionally first boiled shortly with high-lime-content soil to separate particles from the grape juice. Then this mixture is left to stand for several hours to allow particles to sink to the bottom and clarify the juice. The clear juice is then boiled down to a syrupy consistency, which takes a while to reach. Mulberries and harnup are two other traditional fruits that are used for making pekmez in Anatolia. Today pekmez is made industrially as well. Note that this product is sometimes incorrectly called “molasses.” Molasses is a by-product of the process of refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar and contains only 50 percent sugar. In Turkish, the syrupy by-product is called melas, and it does not taste similar to molasses at all. To maintain an authentic flavor, look for pekmez in Middle Eastern stores or online (see this page) and do not substitute molasses in its place.

Pomegranate syrup: This typical ingredient of southern Turkey is often used instead of lemon juice in salads and other dishes that require a souring agent. Pomegranate juice is boiled until it is the consistency of olive oil and is then set out in the sun to give it a thicker consistency. The sourness of the syrup depends on the kind of pomegranate. There are sour-sweet, sweet, and sour kinds. It is best to taste before adding it to a dish. Lemon juice may always be added to lend more sourness to a syrup that is on the sweet side.

Sumac: This popular spice is made by grinding the fruits of the sumac shrub. Ground sumac has a deep purplish red color and is a popular souring agent especially in the cuisine of southeastern cities of Turkey like Urfa, Gaziantep, and Diyarbakır. It has become a condiment served at the tables of kebab restaurants all over Turkey. It is a souring agent especially used for salads or simple accompaniments like onions and parsley served with kebabs or with lahmacun, a very thin flatbread baked quickly with a spread of ground meat and minced onions on top. It is also used to add sourness to dolma. There is also sumac syrup, used in dolma, made from either fresh bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant and tomato, or the dried versions of the same vegetables.

Zahter (Za’atar): Za’atar is also the name of a spice mix, most commonly made from sesame seeds, thyme, marjoram, zahter, and sumac. This mix is ubiquitous on breakfast tables throughout southeastern Turkey, where it is mixed with olive oil and served as a condiment and a dip for bread.

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• Other Essential Ingredients •

HOW HOT PEPPER PASTE IS MADE

This paste is made in August, when the sun is at its hottest and peppers are abundant. The peppers, Bursa biberi, which actually is paprika, and Antep biberi, a very hot bell pepper with thinner skins, are washed, the seeds are removed, and the peppers are sliced and then crushed in a food processor. Some salt is added (2¼ pounds/1 kg crushed pepper plus 1 teaspoon salt), and then the crushed peppers are poured into shallow trays, covered with muslin, and left in the sun for three to four days until the peppers lose all their juice (depending on the temperature and the humidity, this may take up to a week). When they reach a paste consistency, olive oil in a ratio of 1 part oil to 20 parts peppers by volume is added and the mixture is transferred to jars. Before filling the jars, more salt is added if necessary. It should have enough saltiness to be used as a spread on a slice of bread or served as a dip. Today, pepper paste is also made industrially, but many households make their own out of habit and taste preference.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TOMATO PASTE

The best tomato paste is homemade. In Turkey, store-bought paste is watery and has a raw taste. That is why I suggest sautéing tomato paste in the recipes. This is not necessary with homemade paste. To start, select Italian-style tomatoes, Roma or other plum tomatoes, which are meaty, slightly oval, and not too juicy. Wash the tomatoes, cut each into four or five pieces, place them in a shallow bowl, and sprinkle them with a little salt. Then cover them with plastic wrap and leave them in the sun. (In the past, dried tomatoes were put in a container covered with a dish; today, however, plastic wrap is preferred for its better heat transference.) When the tomatoes begin to separate from their skins, in a day or two, squeeze them thoroughly by hand to mush, and then pass them through a sieve to remove any skin or seeds. Add more salt, mix, and pour the resulting paste into enameled dishes or pots. (In the Aegean region, enameled dishes with slanted sides are used for this purpose; almost every home has one or two for making tomato paste and sun-reduced pekmez called sun’s honey.) Let the paste sit in the dish for one day, under the sun, and stir occasionally. In three to four days, the paste will be reduced to the desired consistency: It’s the right consistency when its top glistens. Then spoon it into jars and cover tightly. The jar will keep for more than a year if stored in a cool place, but it does not need to be stored in the refrigerator.

HOW TO COOK CHICKPEAS

These recipes call for cooked chickpeas or dried chickpeas then cooked with meat. Since cooking chickpeas takes a lot of time I make them in big batches and store them in the freezer in useful quantities. This is not only very practical, but also I have a feeling they taste better than canned ones. You are your own judge, but when a recipe calls for cooking chickpeas with meat, especially for soups, it is better to use dried ones and cook them together as it will make a great difference in the taste.

A NOTE ABOUT YOGURT

Yogurt is an essential part of Turkish cuisine, appearing on the table at every meal and as an ingredient in many dishes. Turkish yogurt is plain and unflavored with a thicker consistency than what is called Greek yogurt in the United States and a pleasant tangy flavor. If you cannot find Turkish yogurt in a Middle Eastern market, Greek yogurt is a good substitute. You may find the more commercial brands lacking in tanginess, in which case, add a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten the flavor.