Tuesday, March 19, 2024 | 17:52 WIB

Turkish Cuisine Evening: Where you can enjoy delectable Turkish dishes

READ MORE

Jakarta, IO – Baklava’s deep sweetness, fresh green tint, and crispy texture made it the favorite dessert among the invitees to the “Turkish Cuisine Evening” event held by the Embassy of Türkiye for Indonesia in Jakarta, Tuesday (23 May 2023) evening.

It was served alongside other delicacies from the Province of Hatay – hummus, kebab, kabak tatlisi, and lentil kofte as the main course. To ensure the authenticity of the Turkish dishes and treat his guests, His Excellency Talip Küçükcan, Ambassador to Indonesia, brought in his chef straight from Hatay Province.

Ambassador Küçükcan went on to declare that he chose to serve Hatay dishes to represent Türkiye, because their regional specialties are what people associate with Türkiye the most. “Hatay is deservedly famous for its culinary culture – you can find more than 700 unique dishes there,” he declared proudly.

“Türkiye’s culinary diversity, especially in Hatay is inseparable from the rich cultural mix and robust trade in the region. Just as Indonesia, the province also has citizens from multiple cultural and religious background. Also, like Indonesia, we have multiple identities living together peacefully.

In Hatay, we have people who identify as Turkish, others as Arabs, and yet others have mixed ancestry. They unite their cultural heritage there. Furthermore, you can see Christians, Jews, and Muslims live peacefully in the same neighborhood,” he said.

As the most famous meat-based offering, the kebab was naturally the star of the Turkish Cuisine Evening. There were two types of kebab served at the event: the adana kebab and the tepsi kebab. Their most glaring difference is their form: adana kebab is a skewered meat dish, while the tepsi kebab is rectangular meat slices.

Other than the shape, they are also processed differently. Adana kebab is grilled on a mangal filled with charcoal. For this serving, they used a mix of ground beef and mutton, which are then compacted and skewered onto wide steel skewers.

Its rich flavors came from the mixture of seasoning, including cumin, pepper, and salt, which mixed with the meat most thoroughly as the chef kneads them.

Compared to adana kebab, we Indonesians might be more familiar with the taste of tepsi kebab. It is extra delicious because of the pan-searing of the meat, which creates a slight charred crust on the surface. The contrast with the tender inside part of the meat in one bite is entrancing.

POPULAR

Latest article

Related Articles

INFRAME

SOCIAL CULTURE