Page 38 - Ramadan 2022

38 LG RAMADAN 2022

The tradition of Ramadan in

Turkish Cuisine

hs, a hymn composed by the Turk- drummers for suhoor, young men of Turkish cuisine, like garniyarik
ish musician Buhurizade Itri is sung on a horse cart beating loudly on (eggplant filled with minced meat
by all people attending the prayer. their drums. The ezan tells people and tomato’s), güveç (chicken
The hymn is a prayer to praise the when they should stop eating. stew), all kinds of böreks (pastries
Islamic prophet Muhammad. As Turks usually eat heavy dishes filled with cheese, meat or vegeta-
Ramadan is also the month of at suhoor, to avoid getting all too bles), dolma (filled grape leaves),
almsgiving, many people organise hungry during the day. Makarna etc. Meals are always served with
iftar dinners for the poor, students, is a typical Turkish suhoor meal, mezze’s, rice and çoban salatasi (a
guests, and foreigners. People can and quite simply exists out of pepper, tomato, cucumber and olive
find Turkish food available in most macaroni, drizzled with hot oil and salad). The iftar meal differs from a
mosques. feta cheese. Eggs contain a lot of usual meal in what is served after
ÇAY, DOLMA AND KÜNEFE: A proteins and energy and are hence the main course. Sweets, sweets,
N Turkey and Northern in the traditions of the former LOOK INTO A DELICIOUS TUR- often eaten during suhoor, either and other sweets, and lots of them.
Cyprus, the month of Ram- Ottoman Empire. At the minarets KISH RAMADAN boiled or stir-fried, with tomatoes Baklava, muhallebi (a sort of pud-
adan is celebrated with great of mosques, lights called kandil are and peppers (menemen) or sausage ding) or künefe (pastry shreds with
Ijoy, and iftar dinners play switched on from sunset to dawn. Typically, Turks open their fast (sucuklu yumurta). cheese between the layers, drizzled
a big part in this. In larger cities As soon as the sun sets, a tradition- with dates. Iftar meals are always Kaymak is also regularly served with syrup) are typically served
accompanied by side dishes, mostly
like Istanbul all of the restaurants al “Ramadan Cannon” is fired from salads and mezze’s made from fresh at suhoor. You simply pour some during Ramadan. As I said before,
offer special deals and set menus the highest hill in every city as a vegetables. Turkish Tea is served cream in a saucepan and stir it I will be trying to go healthy this
for iftar. Most of the set menus signal to start eating the iftar. after iftar. For suhoor, Turks favor continuously until it becomes thick. Ramadan – so no baklava or künefe
start with a soup or an appetiser In Istanbul, one of the more heavy dishes that will keep you full Kaymak is typically eaten with for me (yet). My first iftar meal
platter called iftariye. It consists notable places to celebrate the iftar for a long time, like pasta. Rama- bread. I decided to go healthy this was far from traditionally Turkish:
of dates, olives, cheese, pastırma, dinner is the Sultanahmet Square. dan preparations usually exist out Ramadan (let’s see how long I’ll spaghetti and a salad.
sujuk, Ramazan pidesi (a special Located near the Sultan Ahmed of cleaning and tidying the house, persevere) and will avoid all these
bread only baked during Rama- Mosque (Blue Mosque) the Sultan- and storing the pantry with food. heavy, though utterly delicious, TEATIME
dan), and various pastries called ahmet Square hosts many activities, Lots of food. Tea, pasta and rice dishes. My first suhoor meal was Ramadan makes us realize how
börek. The main course consists of including mini restaurants opened all have a long shelf life and are quite simple. A small piece of much of our daily lives actually
various Turkish foods, especially during the month of Ramadan, spe- usually bought in large quantities chicken breast, some bread, a piece evolve around food. For Turks it
the Ottoman Palace Traditional cial shows, and traditional Ottoman in advance. Dates are also bought in of feta cheese, two glasses of water, means realizing how much of our
Foods. A dessert called güllaç is theatrical shows. At Topkapi Palace large, and are kept in a cool place. some milk and a banana. Oh and daily lives evolve around tea. Tea
served in most places. Most of the the Ottoman sultan-caliphs would Fruits and vegetables are purchased çay of course. A Turkish meal is is everywhere in Turkish culture,
fine-dining restaurants offer live break their fast under the gilded a day before they are consumed, so never complete without çay. it is served at every meal, every
musical performances of Ottoman bower. that they are fresh. They also break their fast with day, whatever the occasion. My late
classical music, Turkish music and The Tarawih prayer is mostly dates, a glass of water and a piece of grandfather used to say : ‘susadikça
Sufi music. practised in Turkish mosques as 20 NIGHTLY INDULGENCE : fruit. Mezze’s and soups are served çay, aciktikca çay’ which translates
Most of the Ramadan celebration rekahs, broken into 5 groups of 4 A TURKISH SUHOOR as a starter. Iftar meals consist as ‘when you’re thirsty; çay, when
practices in Turkey have their roots rekahs. Between each set of 4 reka- In Turkey, people are awakened by out of the usual traditional dishes you’re hungry; çay’.