Istanbul Diary - Adventures of a vegetarian

Continued from here

Given that food is a long-standing interest in my life, I think I should put down our food encounters of Istanbul!  This roaster is called a doner in Istanbul, and is this huge hunk of meat that is driven through a central stake and then rotates as it is roasted by a side grill.  The specialty of this roast, I believe is that the meat basts in its own fat, increasing the yum factor.

This is what my son had on his first evening out, and that was that.  I think he had it every meal thereafter!  Vegetarian me baulked at what  I thought was a rather poor looking dish.  I do eat fish, so I asked the chap hopefully,"Fish?", so he nodded and directed me to the next counter.  Relieved, I went there and I said,"Two doner, one fish"  So he made out the bill and announced with his fingers 8 lira.  Since the doner were 4 each, where was my fish?  Yes, fish, tamam, he said.  Well, the long and short was that there was no fish.  Maybe fish meant pay in Turkish?!  None the wiser, and still hungry, I set off for the coast, thankful that my son was in a better frame of mind, with some food inside him.  The lovely Sea of Marmara stretched in front of us, but I only had eyes for the corn seller!   Called "misir", the corn was on the cob, and for a grand sum of 1 ytl, I got a corn and filled my stomach, and then enjoyed the view in front of me!

That night, we walked up Divan Yolu, looking for places which also served vegetarian, and most of those serving the Doner, did not have any veggie stuff.  There are so many eateries that they habitually employ criers who stand outside soliciting customers, extolling the virtues of their food and restaurant, but everytime we asked "Vegetarian?", they would look crestfallen!  

My son, surprising me entirely, had actually done a lot of internet reading on Istanbul, and was all clued up as to which restaurant we should go to where.  On spying the Pudding Shop, he recognised it as a place with a good review.  And so we went in.  And I discovered ezo gelin, a lentil soup.  Which become my favourite, had it everywhere I think, and each place made it slightly differently, some more spicey others more tomatoey, and I was clever in not enquiring as to what stock had been used!!  I can imagine that in the cold winters, it must be quite an Istanbulli favourite.

They also brought me a fish, which was more than I bargained for.  It was one of those full-fish affairs, with the eyes staring at you and looking rather alive!  I needed my husband's guidance and coaching on how to eat it without crushing all the bones into the meat.  See, fish for me, has always meant a nice fillet, or the meen kozhambus which have chunky bits, with probably a central bone.  That was the first and only full fish meal I had at Istanbul.  But of course, this is a vegetarian's perception, and is completely biased therefore.

The familiar dishes were the kebaps and the kofatacesi, similar to our kebabs and koftas.  Strangely, things like hummus and felafel were missing from the Divan Yolu places, but we did spy them on the menus of the slightly more pricey places - the ones with the ambience and a more European feel.  Situated near Arasta Carsi (Arasta bazaar), on roads like Torun Sok, Mimar Mehmet Aga Caddesi and Kutlugun Sokak (where the Four Seasons Hotel is), these restaurants also had an extensive vegeterian menu, though Continental.  While on Divan Yolu one could easily eat for 4-5ytl per head, in these restaurants you would need around 10-12 ytl per head.

Upmarket ones would also have the criers, though here they would be dressed in suits, shake your hand solemnly and also give you a business card.  A free drink or free hummus at the table would be thrown in!

The depths of salesmanship we encountered was at the Galata bridge, where, unsuspectingly, we walked past the fish sandwich, or balik ekmek restaurants, situated below the bridge, above the water line. (Balik ekmek, or fish sandwiches are a kind of idiosyncracy of Istanbul.  I believe, it started off as fishermen setting up little roasters on their boats, frying the fish and selling them to customers, on-the-go.  It has since become a bit institutionalised, with boats anchored at the south-west end of Galata bridge.  I believe they are at every large ferry station, but we only went past them at Eminonu.) To get back to my original story though, as we walked past the lower level restaurants, we were met by a barrage of salesmen each urging us to go to their shop.  The worst of the lot was at the Yildlizar, the large one to the right (if you click on the pic, you'll see it better), the most fancy of the lot, but also the one who would just not let us go!  He explained how fresh his fish was, then as he paused for breath, I quickly told him we were not eating then and walked on ahead, triumphant in my escape.  I turned back to see husband and son still ensnared.  When they did get out of his clutches, I believe he rambled on about not getting a discount, and Taksim vs Galata, all of which was completely incomprehensible!

So we followed an easy rule, we walked back on the upper side, and went in to the first shop, where we found no selling but a lot of customers!  

I was surprised as to the amount of bread we saw in Istanbul, I mean regular French loaves, not flat bread.  They have a ringed bread called simit,, which according to Orhan Pamuk in his book on the city dates back to Ottomanian times.  I really liked it, it was sweetish, a bit flaky and with lots of sesame seeds to give crunch and flavour.  Then of course there was the flat bread called pide, which tasted a bit like our naan, though I personally prefer the naan.  
But the most plentiful is just regular French loaves, which seemed to arrive in truckloads, really, take a look!  Restaurants would typically cut a loaf into four, and there would be an unlimited supply for each table.  Once I realised this, my miserly ways came to the fore, and I wouldn't order any other carb, but happily chomp down the bread!!

Another great discovery was Ayran, a thick buttermilk (salt), and it is obviously very popular, because every grocer has it and almost every restaurant sells it.  That was a pleasant surprise, to see that other places also have this habit of having thayir or moru with their meals.

The one diner to which my son and I kept returning was Bereket Halk Doner, discovered on Istiklal Caddesi at Taksim.  This is a Turkish fast food chain, where you take your tray walking past the food counter, loading it with all that you want, and then you pay for the portions and take it in to sit and eat.  It seemed to be popular with the locals, and I loved it because everything was on display so you saw what you were getting!  Also, there would be atleast 3-4 veggie dishes everyday.  With the language problem though, I did not get the local names for the dishes.  My favourites were a channa gravy, brinjal and tomatoes and (will you believe it) pasta with curds!!  Like thayir saadam!!

Turkish delights - bazaar style and deli style, take your pick.  My favourite shop for these sweets and turkish figs, and dried apricots and other such goodies was Malatya Pazari!  We discovered it just the day before we were to leave, and for me, a grown 40+ woman, it was like being in Willie Wonka's chocolate factory!  I was so enthralled I regretfully forgot to take pictures!!  You are free to taste, and my son and I went berserk for a while.  Different varieties of Turkish Delight, lovely dried figs of different types, dried mango, papaya, long cylinder-like halvas, salted almonds....  When I think back now, I deeply regret not having bought more from this shop!!  I think this was one instance where if the salesman had been slightly more English savvy, it would have really helped.  They were very helpful, but we just couldn't understand each other, and also some of the packed products were not labelled.  So when we came back to Madras, opened and tasted, the sense of regret was even more!

And how can I forget the baclava store, Baclavaci Said, where we had those delicious pista-filled baclavas.  Oh and the variety - with almonds, hazelnut, dried fruit, chocolate, and god knows what else.

I also tried the Turkish Coffee, though only at the Hyatt, where I think (and this is only my suspicion) they probably adjust it for international tastes, because he asked me if I would like it medium or strong, and then of course we had a communication breakdown since I was trying to tell him I would like it in the authentic manner, and that was just too big a word for him to get, so I shrugged my shoulders and said, "You choose", there was instant relief, and "I get you medium, with sugar."  It was nice but not great, or maybe I didnt have it right.  Always willing to give it another try.  I've actually brought some powder back, so maybe one of these days, I will try to follow the instructions on the packet...  Just maybe.

And how I can forget Dondurma, Turkish icecream, made from goat's milk.  There are icecream stall everywhere selling this stuff.  But what's interesting is that the chaps selling it are all showmen!  Since this icecream melts slowly, they kind of toss it into the air, before putting it into the cone, then they take it out with a spatula, and its sticky consistency makes it easier for them to do some thingamajiggery with it!!

If you are a vegetarian and do not like brinjals, then, as my nephew would say, you would have "a bit of a problem".  But the tomatoes are so luscious and the fruit variety and quality is amazing - tasted fresh cherries for the first time here, and had some delicious fresh apricots and strawberries as well.  And the streets also have water melon sellers and banana stalls.  So, with a little bit of adjustment, you'll be well fed, even on a budget.  Not-so-tight budget, and no problems at all!

I really liked this set of photos  of food in Turkey.  Take a look.