Tasty Turkish Dishes (Part 2)

This post is a little late and is a continuation from my last one about my trip to Turkey.  I was there December 2-9th, then came back to Kuwait.  I left Kuwait December 12th to come back to the US.  So, now I actually have some time to put this together.  It was weird to leave Kuwait and come back to this side of the world again, but I am happy to be back home.  I hope to do more international traveling again soon ;-).

Here are a few pictures that show some of the traditional dishes:

These dishes are traditional dishes that were tasty, but quite heavy. The Turkish spices and unique way of cooking these meats can not be found any where else.  I honestly can't remember what they are called, but they are somewhere on the menu below :-). 

Another popular beef Turkish dish is their dumplings.  Topping the dumplings is yogurt (often served with many dishes) and a tomato paste.  Along side is a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

These dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with rice and seasonings) were the best ones I have ever tasted.  Sooooo good!

The next dish is a lentil soup that is popular in Turkey.  It can come with or without the buttery layer on top.  Sooo good :-)

Now let's talk breakfast.  Turkish breakfast typically includes pastries, toast, cheeses, olives and of course tea.  I was a little worried about trying these things for breakfast, especially olives.  I don't like olives.  I did try these ones though, and they were different than any olives I have tried.  I actually liked the green ones!  (The black were good too, but I liked the green ones better.)

This was the usual breakfast spread.  The pastry on the blue rimmed plate is a cheesy pastry, the ones on the white rectangle plate is a sweet pastry that was my favorite.

Let's move onto to dessert.  There are soooo many DELICIOUS Turkish desserts!  The picture below is a dish that is like pudding with a gum like flavor.  Sounds a bit strange, but it was very good.  It also went good with the pistachio dessert also pictured (forgot the exact name).

These are just a few to wet your appetite.  Turkish cuisine is definitely very diverse, delicious blend of flavors and spices and is very unique.  A must try for all!