Many visitors to Turkey talk about Turkey's unique and delicious street food, but perhaps some will overlook the fact that on the streets of Turkey one can find a treasure trove of sweet desserts that must be tasted.
After studying in Istanbul, I had the privilege of trying many Turkish street food. It gave me a priceless experience that was cheap, fast and delicious on the streets of Istanbul, although how healthy it is in the long run is debatable! We've written extensively about street food here before, but there's not much introduction to desserts. We enjoy a wide variety of food here, and things like marshmallows are also popular street food here, but I want to focus on what you won't find anywhere else. So here's a small selection of popular Turkish desserts.
pump、lokma和halka
Why put these three together? Because, they are essentially the same, except for their shape. Do you know fritters? Add a simple syrup, plus a little lemon and you'll have your own tulumba and halka desserts. The tulumba is like a short fritter, all around it is rolled up. Halka means "circle" in Turkish, and as the name suggests, it is the shape of a circle. Tulumba is usually sold in small cups, while halka is placed directly in your hand, usually with a piece of paper to prevent your hands from becoming sticky.
Lokma is close to these, but they have a long tradition of small balls that are also freshly made and distributed as treats after funerals and other occasions as treats. Over the past few years, they have become wildly popular as shops have sprung up offering this syrup dessert with chocolate and various toppings.
Tulumba is made using a star tube nozzle, and you can make it look as real as possible! The first few that I just made may not look like it, but practice makes perfect.
ingredient:
Dough: 300 ml water, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon oil, 3 eggs, 150 g flour
Syrup: 300 ml of water, 400 g of sugar, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
method:
Before doing anything, prepare the syrup by dissolving the sugar in water and boiling it. Let it simmer for five minutes, then add the lemon juice and set aside to cool.
For dough, bring water, salt, oil, lemon juice and vinegar to a boil in a pan. Continue to add the flour and stir without stopping for about 3 to 5 minutes. Put it aside and cool it down until you can touch it, but it's still a little hot. If you forget about it and it cools down completely, then this is not a problem at all. Just don't mix the eggs when they're hot because you don't want to cook them too early. Mix the eggs with a blender or spatula until you get a smooth dough.
Prepare a mounting bag with a star-shaped tip and transfer the dough to the mounting bag. In a saucepan deep enough, heat the oil and pour a short clip of the dough (about 3 cm, slightly larger than an inch) into it. Let them fry and stir from time to time until they turn golden brown. Remove them from the oil and place them directly into the syrup. Let them soak in the syrup for a while and then remove from that syrup. Finally, enjoy your tulumba!
Putty
Street vendors cleverly wrap different flavors of "macun" from colorful trays to make your own personal lollipop. This macun actually originated in ottoman times and had medicinal purposes, called "mesir macunu". These sellers can be found at many festival venues, especially during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan. If you want to try more of its medicinal version, I'll share a recipe.
karsambaç
I was so glad I came across a dessert in the sweltering heat of the Mediterranean. As the ancestor of the snow cone, karasambaç was made of ice or snow from the Mersin Mountains and their surroundings. Scrape off the ice cubes with a knife and pour over the sweet syrup. Depending on the seller, the syrup can have different flavors, but the watermelon syrup I've eaten is really delicious! You can also find it if you go to the neighboring Adana, although its name is "bici bici". Sometimes they are collectively referred to as "kar helvası", which literally means "Shekhalva crisp".
Maraş ice cream
This ice cream is named after the city of Kahramanmaraş and is distinctive. Not only does the street vendor skilfully tease you with his technique, which has been seen hundreds of times on social media, but its distinctiveness is also reflected in its taste and texture. It's very dense, doesn't melt as fast as traditional ice cream, and it's chewy and quite elastic. The reason for this texture is gum arabic and salep, which also give ice cream a unique taste that is best experienced if you ask for "sade" – otherwise a tasteless version of ice cream.
Kağit Halva shortening
"Halva crisp, but as a wafer." This dessert is a unique dish that contains a layer of sweet Halva candy between thin layers of wafers. If you're stuck in traffic, you might find vendors selling this one, allowing you to take a break from stress with fast food. However, you can use the previous part to enhance this light dessert: ice cream! Place the thick Marash ice cream between two slices of Halva crisp and you can quickly make an ice cream sandwich. Many street vendors will make a food for you that suits your tastes.