Taste the Delicious Döner Kebab in Turkey

One of famous Turkish cuisine is Kebab. It refers to a great variety of meat-based dishes in Turkish cuisine. Kebab in Turkey encompasses not only grilled or skewered meats, but also stews and casseroles. There are many kinds of Kebab. And Doner Kebab is the one. Doner kebab  is a Turkish dish made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, normally lamb but also a mixture of veal or beef with these, or sometimes chicken. The dish is also widely known by its Arabic name "shawarma" or the Greek name "gyros".

Döner meat is sliced from a rotating spit. The burning wood ember behind the spit is used to cook the meat. The ingredients and sauces vary, and often it even comes under a different name. Shawarma, gyros, tacos al pastor, sufllaqe or kabab Torki are some of the derivations of it. But the döner basics remain the same: beaten pieces of meat are seasoned with suet, local herbs and spices, skewered on a spit and grilled vertically. Originally the meat used for döner kebap was lamb. Today, in Istanbul, it is made of a lamb and beef mixture, or even only beef.

There are some variations in serving Doner Kebab :

• Döner Kebap is served in various ways. The meat used can be lamb, lamb and beef or chicken. Mostly in the restaurants it comes on a plate with rice or fried potatoes, and salad on the side. Since it has recently become a fast-food dish too, you can also get it as a sandwich in between pide – pita like traditional thick bread.
• Döner Dürüm is another very delicious serving style of döner meat which is wrapped in lavaş – tortilla like thin leaves of bread. The companying ingredients like green salad, fried potatoes, pickles or hot tomato sauce are optional. So ask what you can have in the wrap and add or omit according to your taste. Sometimes dürüm is made by using grilled minced meat brochettes mounted on a wide skewer, again wrapped in lavaş. There is no better or worse, it is all about preference.
• İskender Kebap is the döner meat served on pieces of pide dressed with butter and yogurt on a side of the plate. If preferred, tomato sauce and extra butter can be used for dressing. It is also known as Bursa Kebabı. It’s one of my personal favorites.

You can find these dishes all around the city in Turkey, whether in a chic or a modest small restaurant.