Traditional food of Istanbul: 12 dishes

• Balık ekmek · Street food · Istanbul (Eminönü)

  Balık ekmek means "fish bread": a fillet of grilled or fried fish, usually mackerel, in a half loaf of crusty bread with onion, lettuce and lemon.

• Midye dolma · Street food · Istanbul and İzmir

  Midye dolma are mussels stuffed with rice cooked with onion, pine nuts, currants and spices such as allspice, cinnamon and black pepper, then steamed in their shells.

• Simit · Bread & pastry · Istanbul

  Simit is a ring of bread dipped in grape molasses and covered with sesame seeds, then baked until crisp and dark brown outside and chewy inside.

• Hünkâr beğendi · Main dish · Istanbul (Ottoman palace)

  Hünkâr beğendi means "the sultan liked it".

• İmam bayıldı imam bayıldı · Main dish · Ottoman kitchens

  İmam bayıldı means "the imam fainted".

• Lokum · Dessert · Istanbul

  Lokum, known abroad as Turkish delight, is a soft, chewy sweet of sugar and starch, flavoured with rosewater, lemon or mastic, or packed with pistachios or hazelnuts, cut into cubes and dusted with powdered sugar.

• Turkish coffee Türk kahvesi · Drink · Istanbul

  Turkish coffee is coffee ground to a fine powder, boiled with water and, if wanted, sugar, in a small pot called a cezve, then poured unfiltered into a small cup, where the grounds settle.

• Kokoreç · Street food · Istanbul and İzmir

  Kokoreç is lamb intestines wrapped tightly around seasoned offal, such as sweetbreads, hearts and lungs, roasted on a long horizontal spit over charcoal, then chopped on a griddle with tomatoes, peppers, oregano and chilli flakes, and served in half a loaf of bread.

• Kumpir · Street food · Istanbul (Ortaköy)

  Kumpir is a huge baked potato split open, mashed in its skin with butter and grated kaşar cheese until creamy, then piled with a choice of toppings: corn, olives, pickles, peas, sausage, Russian salad, mushrooms and sauces.

• Tavuk göğsü · Dessert · Istanbul (Ottoman palace)

  Tavuk göğsü, "chicken breast", is a milk pudding that contains finely shredded chicken.

• Islak hamburger ıslak hamburger · Street food · Istanbul (Taksim)

  Islak hamburger, the "wet burger", is a small burger soaked in a garlicky tomato sauce and kept in a steamy glass box, so the bun turns soft and red.

• Su böreği · Bread & pastry · Istanbul and Anatolia

  Su böreği, "water börek", is a layered pie of thin sheets of dough that are boiled one by one in water, like pasta, and then layered with butter and cheese, often white cheese with parsley, before baking.

Other regions in Türkiye

• Traditional food of Bursa: 3 dishes
• Traditional food of Gaziantep: 5 dishes
• Traditional food of Şanlıurfa: 3 dishes
• Traditional food of İzmir: 5 dishes
• Traditional food of Kayseri: 3 dishes
• Traditional food of Konya: 3 dishes
• Traditional food of Trabzon: 5 dishes
• Traditional food of Mersin: 3 dishes
• Food of Türkiye