Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, Seljuk cuisine and the Turkish diaspora. Turkish cuisine with traditional Turkic elements such as yogurt, ayran, kaymak, exerts and gains influences to and from Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern European cuisines.
Dolma is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, typically made with a filling of rice, minced meat, offal, seafood, fruit, or any combination of these inside a vegetable or a leaf wrapping. Wrapped dolma, specifically, are known as sarma, made by rolling grape, cabbage, or other leaves around the filling. Dolma can be served warm or at room temperature and are common in modern cuisines of regions and nations that once were part of the Ottoman Empire.
Iraqi cuisine is a Middle Eastern cuisine that has its origins in the ancient Near East culture of the fertile crescent. Tablets found in ancient ruins in Iraq show recipes prepared in the temples during religious festivals—the first cookbooks in the world. Ancient Iraq's cultural sophistication extended to the culinary arts.
Manti is a type of dumpling mainly found in Turkish cuisine, Armenian cuisine and Central Asian cuisine but also in West Asia, South Caucasus, and the Balkans. Manti is also popular among Chinese Muslims, and it is consumed throughout post-Soviet countries, where the dish spread from the Central Asian republics. The dumplings typically consist of a spiced meat mixture, usually lamb or ground beef, wrapped in a thin dough sheet which is then boiled or steamed. The size and shape of manti vary significantly depending on geographic location.
Bolani, also called Periki is a stuffed flat-bread from Afghanistan, fried with a filling. It has a thin crust and can be stuffed with a variety of ingredients, such as potatoes or leeks but also grated pumpkin, chives, red lentils or with minced meat. It can be served with plain yogurt or mint yogurt and is usually served with a doogh drink.
Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant, in the sense of the rough area of former Ottoman Syria. The cuisine has similarities with Egyptian cuisine, North African cuisine and Ottoman cuisine. It is particularly known for its meze spreads of hot and cold dishes, most notably among them ful medames, hummus, tabbouleh and baba ghanoush, accompanied by bread.
Gözleme is a savory Turkish stuffed turnover. The dough is usually unleavened, and made only with flour, salt and water, but gözleme can be made from yeast dough as well. It is similar to bazlama, but is lightly brushed with butter or oil, whereas bazlama is prepared without fat. The dough is rolled thin, then filled with various toppings, sealed, and cooked over a griddle. Gözleme may sometimes be made from prepackaged hand-rolled leaves of yufka dough.
Sarma is a traditional food in Ottoman cuisine – nowadays, Turkish, Greek, Levantine / Arabic, Armenian, etc. – made of vegetable leaves rolled around a filling of minced meat, grains such as rice, or both. It is commonly marketed in the English-speaking world as stuffed grape leaves, stuffed vine leaves, or stuffed cabbage leaves. The vegetable leaves may be cabbage, patience dock, collard, grapevine, kale or chard leaves. Sarma is part of the broader category of stuffed dishes known as dolma, and has equivalents in Eastern European cuisines from the northern Baltic through Romania.
Indian breads are a wide variety of flatbreads and crêpes which are an integral part of Indian cuisine. Their variation reflects the diversity of Indian culture and food habits.
Tajik cuisine is a traditional cuisine of Tajikistan, and has much in common with Iranian, Afghan, Russian, Chinese, and Uzbek cuisines. Palov or palav (pilaf), also called osh, is the national dish in Tajikistan, as in other countries in the region. Green tea is the national drink.
Cheburek are deep-fried turnovers with a filling of ground or minced meat and onions. A popular street dish, they are made with a single round piece of dough folded over the filling in a crescent shape. They have become widespread in the former Soviet-aligned countries of Eastern Europe in the 20th century.
Chitrali cuisine refers to the food and cuisine of the Chitrali people from the northern region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and the bordering Nuristan province in Afghanistan. Chitrali food has a regional variance in contrast to many other cuisines of Pakistan. The food of Chitral is very similar to the cuisine in neighboring Gilgit-Baltistan.
Dumplings are a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of cooked dough, often wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, wheat or other flours, or potatoes, and it may be filled with meat, fish, tofu, cheese, vegetables, or a combination. Dumplings may be prepared using a variety of cooking methods and are found in many world cuisines.
Roti canai, or roti prata, also known as roti chanai and roti cane, is a flatbread dish of Indian origin found in several countries in Southeast Asia, especially Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. It is usually served with dal or other types of curry but can also be cooked in a range of sweet or savoury variations made with different ingredients, such as meat, eggs, or cheese.
Zhingyalov hats is a type of flatbread stuffed with finely diced herbs and green vegetables. It is a traditional dish of Armenians from Artsakh and Syunik and has traditionally been a staple in times of scarcity, such as famine and war.
