Le Blog de Doruk Akan

The kebap is one of the finest creations of man. Since Islam seems to be losing some prestige in the past few decades, we can certainly count the kebap as one of the most important contributions of Middle East culture, next to algebra and miniature painting. I’m not sure who began the kebap - I suppose whoever first roasted meat over an open fire - but I believe that the Persians are generally credited with creating the modern kebap. In the ensuing centuries, different cultures have spun their own takes on kebap. Some of the more popular on James Monroe’s shores include Persian, Pakistani and Lebanese versions.

Here, I present the three most prevalent types of kebaps in Turkey.

Döner/Iskender

The döner kebap is similar to your basic gyro or shwarma. It’s a combination of lamb and beef that’s molded or stacked then placed on a rotating spit. You can find it on many street corners in Turkey, where the meat is placed in a pita and different condiments - lettuce, tomato, yogurt, what-have-you - in a sandwich called a dürüm.

The true potential of döner is not met until it is made into Iskender kebap. Here, meat shaved off the spit is placed over pita bread then slathered with tomato sauce and red pepper butter. Thick yogurt is an optional but common topping. Contrary to popular belief, Iskender was not named after Alexander the Great (Iskender is the Turkish version of Iskender) but after the chef from Bursa who first created it. It is ordered in portion sizes and many restaurants specialize in it. I can point you to some prime places in Istanbul or Ankara if you ever find yourself in Turkey.

Kuzu şiş

Your standard shish kebap. Any kebap joint should have this although I don’t think I’ve ever ordered this in Turkey. Kuzu is Turkish for lamb, which is the standard meat of choice although beef has become more common in recent years. By the way, if you’re ever in the Piscataway-New Brunswick corridor of New Jersey, Seven Hills of Istanbul does a spectacular kuzu sis.

Adana Kebap
Adana is a city in southern Turkey on the Mediterranean. Once you get in that area and farther east toward the Syrian border (Antep, Urfa, etc) spices begin to have a bigger say in food. Adana kebap - my standard at a kebap restaurant - is chopped lamb grilled on a skewer. It’s a pretty standard type of kebap spiced with pul biber (southern red pepper) but done well it’s amazing.

There are many different types of kebaps but most are variations on these three mentioned. There are also other standard dishes that a kebap or meat restaurant that must be done well to be worth their salt.

Pirzola

Baby lamb chops. I read someplace you can’t get these in stateside because eating lamb that young is not allowed. So I guess if you’re a PETA type of person you stay away from these. But man are they good.

Lahmacun

They are generally called Turkish pizzas in Turkish restaurants over here but this is a misleading description. It’s basically chopped meat, onions, tomatoes and spices on a really thin pita. So maybe you can call this a pizza but Turkish cuisine has other dishes that are closer to pizza than lahmacun. What’s weird is that I’ve had pretty good approximations of the kebabs I’ve described in the US but I’ve never had anything that comes close to lahmacun from Turkey. This - or the next item - is always my first meal in Turkey.

Kuşbaşı Pide

The word kuşbaşı literally means bird’s head. It must have another meaning I don’t know about because it refers to cutting lamb into very small pieces. The pide refers to pita bread - thick and football-shaped. It is filled with tomatoes, lamb, onions and spices. Actually, the pide is a pretty generic menu category. The other main filling is kaşar cheese.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick primer on Turkish kebaps and meat dishes. You can find all of these at Turkish restaurants around the country but like most cuisines the best versions are in the home country. The lamb in Turkey is generally much better than the kind you find over here, especially in the regions around Bolu. Don’t change the dial as I’ll post more primers on different facets of Turkish cuisine - one of the richest in the world - in the future.