Saturday, August 29, 2009

Eggplant Patlicanli Kebab - A Savory Turkish Dish


While I'm a vegetarian, my mom isn't, so she was able to order off basically anything on the menu (my next post will be on what I mostly ate during my trip. A hint - it wasn't anything exciting).

Kebab and gyro dominate street corners and menu spaces. Lacking in the vegetable department, my mom needed some 'fiber' in her dinner. We spotted eggplant patlicanli k ebab (eggplant kebab) and she was sold. Well, it turned out to be a kebab of cubed eggplant AND beef. It was a great deal at about $8 US and it came with rice (FYI, their rice is cooked in salt and butter, so not plain rice), grilled tomato, onion, and pepper, plus lavash to wrap the food in, such as a DIY burrito meal. The beef was nicely spiced and it was a lot of food. Our dinner also came with complimentary ezme (spicy tomato dip) and pickled condiments. I wasn't too fond of the dip (too spicy for me).

Although I didn't consume this dish, I still wanted to share it with you the reader because it is a typical meal you'd find in Turkey. It would be boring to just showcase what I ate. I think we can all learn something from each other through sharing our knowledge in addition to personal experience. I may not eat meat due to personal belief, but I still encouraged my mom to order some of the common, national dishes so SHE could experience what's it like to eat like a local. Food plays a significant role in any culture, so if it isn't due to religious, health or personal reasons, I think it's important to try out different food as a way to respect and appreciate a particular culture.

Bon appétit!

2 comments:

Jessica@FoodMayhem said...

That looks really good. It's cool that you and your mom travel together and respect each others' lifestyle choices.

Gar said...

Thanks! She does get annoyed at my vegetarian lifestyle though. Always think I don't get enough protein per se.