The Ottoman palace kitchen registers offer a fascinating insight into the food once served to the Sultans. These detailed notes contain lists of the ingredients used to make many of their favourite dishes, some of which you may recognise if you are familiar with Turkish cuisine.

If you are hosting a Turkish night or looking for inspiration for a dinner party, consider serving some Ottoman classics, as the flavours are exciting and sure to impress the guests. Here’s a look at a few of the most famous Ottoman dishes that stem from the old palace and family kitchens.

About Ottoman Cuisine

Due to the vast reach of the Empire, Ottoman cuisine was varied, and the dishes developed using a mix of flavours and spices from the Middle East, Central Asia, The Balkans, and Europe.

Traditional Turkish (Anatolian) cuisine is essentially an extension of Ottoman cuisine, and many of the famous dishes you associate with the country, like kebabs, dolma (stuffed vegetables), baklava, and borek (pastries), were also served during the rule of the Ottomans.

Meals were important for the Ottomans, and most families gathered to eat twice a day for a substantial brunch and dinner. The first course was usually soup, followed by a hot meat dish and pilaf. A cold or room temperature olive oil-based dish would follow, before the dessert, fruit, and coffee.

See below a few Ottoman dishes you now find on the menus of some of the best restaurants in Türkiye.

Popular Ottoman Dishes

Pilic Topkapi

Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace was the centre of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years. The chef’s notes from the palace kitchen have inspired many dishes, but none more so than Pilic Topkapi, named after the palace itself.

Pilic Topkapi is a flavour-packed chicken dish consisting of tender skin-on, boneless chicken thighs stuffed with rice, sweet raisins, and spice, then baked until crisp and golden. The dish is an Ottoman classic often served at weddings, events, and dinner parties in Türkiye, so it’s a great option to serve a group on a Turkish night.

Mutancana

Another palace favourite, Mutancana, is said to have been a favourite of Mehmed the Conqueror (Fatih Sultan Mehmet). This unique dish is a sweet and sour mix and could be likened to a Moroccan tagine. It’s typically made with diced lamb, but beef can also be used. The meat is well seasoned and sauteed with butter and onions, then glazed with a tasty mix of sumac and honey and served with saffron rice. There are many variations of the dish, with some recipes including dried fruit and almonds.

Hunkar Begendi (Sultan’s Delight)

When translated, Hünkar Beğendi means Sultan’s Delight, which gives you some idea of how well-loved this recipe was in the palace. This signature Ottoman dish consists of a simple yet rich lamb stew served on a bed of smoky roasted aubergine, cheese, and béchamel sauce which, when combined, tastes incredible.

Patlacanli Pilav

Rice dishes were common at the Ottoman table, and one popular version was patlacanli pilav, or aubergine rice. This simple dish lifts plain and boring rice to a whole new level with the addition of diced fried aubergines, onions, tomatoes, mint, stock, and parsley. It was originally served as a side to grilled meat dishes, but today eggplant rice also appears as a vegetarian main, served with a generous helping of yoghurt for extra taste and contrast.

Mihlama

Although mihlama may resemble cheesy grits, it is actually a heavenly Ottoman speciality originating from Türkiye’s Black Sea region. It’s made by melting down cheese that’s thickened with cornflour and a little butter to give it a silky-smooth shine. It’s normally served hot from the pan at breakfast, so all can dip a little bread into its gooey goodness. Trabzon cheese is traditionally used due to its distinctive flavour, although you may be able to substitute a quality mature cheddar.

Dugun Corbasi (Wedding Soup)

Düğün Çorbası, or “wedding soup”, was a dish traditionally served at weddings. The palace chef would prepare it many hours in advance to allow the lamb neck to stew in the cauldron with the carrots, onions, and vegetables, so the meat would become soft and tender. It’s lightly spiced with paprika, thickened with egg yolk, and finished with butter and lemon.

Piruhi

The Ottoman dish Piruhi refers to cheese and herb-filled pillows or dumplings made with an unleavened dough that’s so thin you can hardly taste it. These tasty parcels are a little like manti or ravioli, but soft Turkish Tulum cheese is used with a little finely chopped parsley, making it a good vegetarian course for a Turkish night. It is usually served simply, topped with a little yoghurt, a drizzle of hot brown butter, and a few finely chopped walnuts.

Vezir Parmagi (Vazier’s Fingers)

There’s a strange little fable as to why these little semolina cakes came to have the name Vazier’s Fingers. It is said that whilst hunting, a man called Vazier accidentally chopped off the finger of a Sultan. The Sultan was understandably angered and in pain, so sentenced Vazier to prison, at which point Vazier said, “there is good in every deed”.

The Sultan went on to hunt many times, but on one occasion, he encountered cannibals that made a meal of his men, all except him, as he was deemed unworthy of eating due to his missing finger. On returning to the palace, the Sultan released Vazier and personally thanked him for what he did, saying he only then understood that good things could indeed come from bad, so in essence, there was a silver lining. This led Ottoman chefs of the time to dedicate this popular dessert to Vazier, as these light, buttery, syrup-drenched cakes loosely resemble fingers.

ORDER A SELECTION OF THE BEST LOCAL INGREDIENTS WITH YOUR YACHTING PROVISIONS

360 Yachting can supply your yacht with the best local or imported products. If you would like to arrange a delivery, please CONTACT US.