Turkish Breakfast – A feast for the eyes

The Turkish Breakfast spread is a little culinary journey across the length and breadth of Turkey. It reveals the best produce the country has to offer and it’s a delight to behold. Though mainly served in the mornings, in specialty restaurants it is served till late evenings. On weekends it is a lovely and delicious affair where family members, friends can share stories and the myriad of goodies on offer at the table.

The first thing that strikes you is the freshness of the ingredients. Each place lovingly picks out the their choice from their favourite markets and vendors. And you can see the result in front of you and when you take that first bite. You’ll find the fare to have regional variations of course but there are many common elements too. Here’s a little culinary guide across the Turkish breakfast mezze.

Menemen
Scrambled eggs with green peppers and tomatoes but much richer than your traditional scrambled eggs.

Bal Kaymak
This is decadent stuff; it’s clotted cream with honey and to die-for when spread on bread.

Cheese
There’s beyaz peynir or feta and aged cheese like kaşar peyniri along with others like kashkaval vying and grilled Halloumi for your attention.

Muhlama
Cornmeal cooked with butter then loaded with lots of melting cheese.

Börek
Cooked thin sheets of dough, filled with cheese, minced meat or vegetables.

Sucuk
A delicious spicy dried Turkish beef sausage

Bread
You’ll find a basket of Turkish sourdough white bread or simit a Turkish circular sesame pretzel to spread or soak up all the delicious goodness.

Jams (rose petal, fig marmalade, walnut), preserves and honey

Fresh tomatoes and cucumber (Usually served peeled or slightly blanched seasoned with oregano and chili pepper).

And we cant forget a collection of black and green olives, fruits, yogurt, butter, boiled eggs, different types of omelettes and cold meats that will be served with plenty of brewed black Turkish tea.

This is a breakfast fit for a royal and when you start your day with it, you know your day’s starting on the right note. One place that really stood out for me was Kale café,the first breakfast place in Istanbul , was opened in 1982, they serve the most authentic classic Turkish breakfast you can have.

they offer delicious food over inspiring views of the Bosphorus and the best bit – everything they served there is from organic farms! they also have an in-house bakery so the bread is so fresh and you will be overwhelmed by all their delicious choices, Their breakfast is served all the day starting 6:00 am until mid night, it is so worth it to visit!

And coffee lovers if you have been missing coffee this entire time, you might find it interesting that the Turkish word for breakfast is kahvalti  (kah-VAHL’-tuh) that translates into ‘before coffee’. So if you still have space, finish up with a java of your choice after this long luxurious breakfast.

Lastly is there a better reason than to get out of bed?

Afiyet olsun!