Culinary delights from Turkey in Gurgaon

A Turkish food promotion event here is offering exquisite dishes from that country be it grained-based, grilled meats, seafood or desserts.

Expat guest chef Sonay Oguz is preparing the dishes and has brought special ingredients from Turkey.

The "Turkish Culinary Delight" event is on till June 16 at Lavana, Hyatt Regency Gurgaon.

Non-vegetarians can relish items like Pacanga boregi (turkey ham with cheese, green pepper, parsley and filo pastry), Kuzu tandir (oven roasted fresh thyme marinated lamb leg), Kuzu beykoz kebap (fried eggplant, lamb meat, bechamel, cheese and almond rice, Izgara tavus sis (grill chicken skewer, pita bread, green pepper pickle, bulgur rice), Izgara levrek (grilled seabass rocket leaves and grill lemon) and karides guvec (shrimps, vegetables, cheese, rocket leaves).

For the vegetarians, there are dishes like Kabak mucver (deep fried vegetables, garlic yoghurt, mint), Etsiz mor sogan dolmasi (red onions with chilli and fresh herb rice, yoghurt sauce) and Izgara sebze sis (chargrill vegetables skewer, green pepper pickle, ajuka, tomato rice).

Kabak tathsi (pumpkin dessert with sesame paste and walnut flakes), Ayva tathsi (quince dessert with clothed cream and cinnamon), Sutlac (Turkish style rice pudding with hazelnut flakes and vanilla ice cream, and Lokma tathsi (deep fried dough with syrup and cinnamon powder) are for those with a sweet tooth.

There is also a fast breaking menu for those looking for an iftar meal. It has premium dates, assorted dry fruits, fruit composte, marinated olives, Turkish cheese plate, pita bread, yoghurt drink, sherbets and many more.

Organised by the Hyatt Regency Gurgaon and Turkish Airlines, the event was inaugurated by Turkish Ambassador Sakir Ozkan Torunlar.

Chef Oguz says he brought some ingredients from Turkey as these are not available here.

"Some of the things I brought are Turkish Baldo rice (bigger than other rice), Kapya pepper paste, crushed wheat (which is also used in cooking pilaf and has no sugar content) and pomegranate molasses (for salad dressing)," he told PTI.

He says evolution of Turkish cuisine is a combination of a nurturing environment, the imperial kitchen and a long social tradition.