10 Most Popular Turkish Breakfast

Turkish people are passionate about food and regard breakfast as the most important meal of the day. As a result, a traditional Turkish breakfast, also known as "kahvalti," is truly spectacular. Here are 10 most popular turkish breakfast:

1. Pide

Sfiha, also known as lahm bil ajn that literally means meat on dough, is an Arabic specialty that originated in today's Eastern Lebanon in the 15th century. It is a common dish in the Arab world stuffed with minced lamb, chopped onions and tomatoes, spices, olive oil, and yogurt as the main ingredients. The dish was originally made by stuffing ground lamb and spices into brined grape leaves, but over time it developed. Sfiha is also common in Brazil and Argentina, where Levantine immigrants brought it with them. Normally, it is eaten while it's still hot as a snack, alongside with tahini sauce or a bowl of yogurt, garnished with pomegranate seeds, coriander, or sliced cucumber.

2. Kuymak

This typical of traditional Turkish dish mixes a little rough ground cornmeal with aged local cheeses like trabzon and kashar. Grated cheese is mixed into hot cornmeal until it becomes stringy, and the dish is typically topped with butter or kaymak, Turkish clotted cream. Kuymak is common in the Black Sea region, where it is primarily consumed for breakfast. It must always be served hot and freshly cooked for best taste.

3. Yumurtalı pide

Yumurtal pide (lit. egg pita), a Turkish egg-topped flatbread filled with cheese, pepper, and tomato, hails from the Kayseri region of Middle Anatolia, where locals often use another Anatolian delicacy, thinly sliced, spice-coated, and dry-cured beef called pastrma, as a topping for this form of pide bread. Like most traditional Turkish pita breads and other regional pizza-like foods, Yumurtal pide is made with smooth, chewy oval-shaped pita dough. The egg is cracked in the middle of each bread minutes before it is finished baking for the perfect yumurtal pide.

4.Boyoz

Boyoz is a Turkish pastry introduced to the country in the late 15th century by Sephardic Jewish immigrants from Spain. It's now just made in Izmir, and it's made according to the original recipe. Flour, sunflower oil, and tahini are used to make the dough.

5. Menemen

Menemen is a traditional Turkish spread consisting of tomatoes, eggs, peppers, and various spices. There are many version of menemen, so it can also contain garlic, cheese, spinach, sausage pieces, or onions (when menemen is served as a main dish). It is usually sold at breakfast or brunch places in Turkey, and most restaurants serve it in metal pans, with a big basket filled with bread as an accompaniment. Most people don’t use forks, as they opt for bread as the utensil of choice, scooping up this flavorful spread in the process.

6. Bal Kaymak

A staple breakfast dish in Turkey, bal kaymak is a delicious combination of kaymak - a traditional dairy product produced from water buffalo milk, very similar to clotted cream - that is generously doused with honey. The dish is served as a spread or a sweet dip alongside tea or a variety of other traditional breakfast dishes and is typically paired with bread. Rarely, it is served as a dessert and it sometimes comes garnished with ground, chopped, or whole walnuts.

7. Katmer

A type of sweet börek, katmer is a specialty of Gaziantep, or simply Antep – Turkey's gastronomic capital and a rich melting pot of diverse cultures and cuisines nestled in southeastern Anatolia – an ancient city whose claim to fame is being home to world’s finest pistachios and the delicious Antep baklavası. Katmer is what most locals start their day with: in fact, there are bakeries and cafés in Gaziantep open from early morning until noon serving katmer for breakfast. Traditionally, it is also the first meal eaten by newlyweds after their first wedding night, as it represents the sweetness they hope to find in their marriage.

8. Mercimek çorbası

Mercimek çorbası is a beloved Turkish soup made with red lentils, chicken stock, onions, and carrots. It is often seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, or paprika. Easy to prepare, filling, and warming, the soup is consumed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner in rural parts of Turkey, especially in local eateries known as lokantas.

9. Gözleme

Gözleme is a Turkish flatbread consisting of flour, water, yeast, olive oil, and yogurt, which prevents the flatbread from going too brittle. The dough is filled with ingredients such as meat, vegetables, eggs, various cheeses, or mushrooms, and is then baked on a sac griddle. Originally, gözleme was served for breakfast or as a light afternoon snack, but today it has a status of popular fast food that can be found throughout the country's restaurants, food carts, and cafés.

10. Börek

Börek is a baked dish consisting of a savory or sweet filling wrapped in yufka - thinly stretched sheets of dough made with flour, water, and salt. Heartier than phyllo, but thinner than a tortilla, hand-made yufka is typically brushed with butter before baking. Although many countries have their own versions of this satisfying dish, it was probably invented during the Ottoman Empire in the Anatolian Provinces, an area that nowadays belongs to Turkey. Some sources suggest that börek might be even older, a descendant of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Anatolian dish known as en tyritas plakountas, consisting of layered dough filled with cheese, its recipe dating back to 160 BC. Source: www.tasteatlas.com/