The most well-known Turkish food all around the world is by no doubt kebabs. The dish is made with lamb figure, and in many parts of the world, people use beef and chicken as the main ingredients. But Turkish meat dish is more than just kebabs. Here are Turkish most famous meat and seafood you can try when you’re visiting Istanbul.
1. Kofte 
Kofte refers to a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes popular in Central Asia, India, the Balkans, and the Middle East. In its simplest form, it’s made with minced or ground meat (typically beef, lamb, or chicken) mixed with onions, herbs, and spices. Kofte is an important dish in Turkish cuisine. You can find almost 300 varieties of kofte in Turkey, some of the most well-known being kuru kofte (dry), sulu kofte (soup), cig kofte (raw), and sis kofte (skewered).
2. Lamb 
Lamb is the most popular type of meat used in Turkish food. When someone says “meat” in Turkey, more often than not they’re referring to lamb. Turkish people eat a lot of lamb so you’ll find it in many dishes like kebabs, kofte, lahmacun, pide, ragout, and casserole.
3. Testi Kebap 
Testi kebap was the most interesting Turkish dish we had in Cappadocia. Testi or pottery kebab is an Anatolian speciality prepared in a clay pot or jug. It’s usually made with lamb, beef, or chicken mixed with vegetables, potatoes, and garlic. The ingredients are placed in the pot and sealed with bread dough before being left to cook in its own juices for several hours in a tandoor or clay oven. When ready, the jug is brought out and cracked at your table. If you were to have just one Turkish dish in Cappadocia, then it should definitely be testi kebap. You can refer to my article on pottery kebab for more pictures and information.
4. Fresh Fish 
Turkey is surrounded by four seas so its coastal areas are known for its abundance of seafood. Lamb figures prominently in Turkish cuisine but so does fresh fish. People visiting Istanbul will have plenty of seafood restaurants to choose from. It’s surrounded (and divided) by water so you’ll often find many types of fish being offered at different times of the year.
If you go on a Bosphorus cruise, then you can enjoy seafood dishes at one of the many seaside restaurants in Anadolu Kavagi. It’s the last stop on the cruise and where most tourists get off to have lunch or dinner.
5. Midye Dolmas 
Midye dolmas is a popular Turkish snack made with mussels stuffed with herbed rice, pine nuts, and currants. They’re spritzed with lemon and commonly sold as street food in coastal cities like Istanbul and Izmir. Source: willflyforfood.net
