Overview of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Cuisine

Like all Balkan cuisines so does Bosnian-Herzegovinian cuisine has many influences. This cuisine is closely related to Middle Eastern, Turkish and Austrian cuisines. However, whenever you are in this country, you should taste some national dishes.

First of all, we must mention that Bosnians and Herzegovinians use many spices. Generally, Bosnian-Herzegovinian meals are cooked in a lot of water so the sauces are natural made of natural juices of the vegetables and the meals are light. Commonly used ingredients are carrots, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, garlic, cabbage, paprika and many others. Then the secret key in this cuisine is always using fresh vegetables which make the food rich and likeable. Bosnian and Herzegovinian breakfast is simple and delicious. It is called “kwizija” or hearty meal, and it includes scrambled eggs and bread with some kind of spreads like butter, honey and jam. Also, one of the most important things is a soft, white cheese. Furthermore, the largest meal of the day is lunch. The national meals are “bosanki lonac”, a pot of meat and vegetables roasted slowly and “japrak”, cooked of cabbage rolls stuffed with spicy filling. The most popular stew is “Begova Čorba” (Bey's Stew) made of vegetables and meat.

According to Bosnians and Herzegovinians “ćevapi” or “ćevapčići” are the most famous and delicious meal in this country. It is a grilled meat meal made of beef and lamb meat with minced garlic, red pepper and salt. This dish is served with bread called “somun” or “lepina” which is actually pita bread. Every region in Bosnia and Herzegovina has specific way in preparing ćevapi. For instance, in Sarajevo the dish has 5 to 10 ćevapi with a specific mixture of meat where as in Travnik the meal has 10 to 20 ćevapi with a somun dipped in an interesting buttery rich soup. In Banja Luka you could find ćevapi that are grilled in groups of 4 or 5 connected with each other. Another national dish from this Balkan cuisine is “sogan- dolma” which is made of onions stuffed with minced meat. What is more is that desserts usually consist of fresh fruit and cream. You should definitely try the national dessert called “tufahija” which is a mouth-watering dessert made of apples stuffed with walnuts poured with plenty of whipped cream. Another Bosnian-Herzegovinian dessert is “krempita” which is creamy and has soft flavor like cheesecake. Like all Balkan countries so does Bosnia and Herzegovina has a huge variety of interesting vines and “rakija” which is available in many flavors like grape, apple and plum.

As you could see many of the dishes are overlapping with the other cuisines on the Balkan. But that is the unique taste and the most significant thing on the Balkans. That is way Balkan is so special. When you visit Bosnia and Herzegovina you must enjoy their traditional meals because they are specific in many ways, and what makes this country interesting is the inspiring hospitality and warmth.

Overview of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Cuisine

Turkish Tea

Turkish Tea

An Endless Menu of Turkish Cuisine

When we start counting Turkish dishes, we would conclude that there is no end. There are enormous numbers of recipes of only one category, and the fact that there are forty ways to cook eggplant is evidence for this Turkish endless menu. Now we would try to give a small picture of the most famous Turkish meals.

First of all, we must mention “meze” which is a common type of dishes brought in small amounts before start eating. Meze is often consumed with raki or other alcoholic drinks. Typical meze menu consists of feta cheese, fresh salad, fried mussels, or dried and marinated mackerel and etc. Another important traditional category of Turkish food is the soup because it is a starter for lunch and dinner, and it is mostly made of vegetables, meat or fish. Second on our menu comes “dolama” or “sarma” which is one of the most famous Turkish dishes, which is also found in all Balkan cuisines. Dolma is general expression for stuffed vegetables, and there are two types of dolmas: one stuffed with meat mixture and one stuffed with rice mixture. There are many recipes for dolma such as cabbage, grapevine leaves, tomatoes, stuffed peppers, eggplants and many more.

Also, the important elements of the Turkish cuisine are yoghurt and bread. Another essential Turkish meal which has significance same as bread is “pilav”. There are two most common types of pilav: cracked-wheat and rice. Many Turkish meals are accompanied with “pilav”. What is more is the base of Turkish food: pastry. There are endless pastry recipes like “simit” (pastry rings with sesame seed), “ekmek” (common white bread), “manti” (dumplings), “açma” (soft bread), “pide” (flat bread), and maybe one of the most wieldy broaden pastry is “burek" (thin sheets of dough filled with meat or cheese). Our menu must list up “kebab” which is a huge category of Turkish food. It included roasted, grilled and stewed meals of small or large pieces of meat, or even ground meat. It could be served in bowls, in sandwiches, or on plates. Moreover, there are many types of kebab, but the traditional kebab is made of lamb, but as the time passed kebab started to be made of goat, chicken, pork, beef, fish, seafood or even falafel or tofu depending on the tastes. Furthermore, Turkish cuisine holds many meat dishes such as “lahmacun” (pizza-like, round, thin meal, topped with minced meat and herbs),”adana” (spicy skewered ground meat), “izgara” (mixed grilled meat), "köfte" or “şiş” (minced meatballs with herbs) etc.

The crown of Turkish cuisine is definitely desserts. Turks are crazy about sweets and they have a whole tradition connected with desserts. “Baklava”, “tulumbe”, "muhallebi", "lokma", "helva”, “sütlaç”, “bülbül yuvası”, “saray sarması”, “kadaif”, “künefe”, “şekerpare”, “dilber”, “güllaç”, “aşure”, “tahin-pekmez”, “cezerye”, “macun” are only few desserts that you must try it. They are real delight. Another flavor that you must taste is Turkish coffee. It only takes a drop of Turkish coffee to become a lifetime “addict”. What is interesting about Turks is that they all day long drink tea (“Çay”-black tea) which is made on a very specific way, with two teapots. Other traditional drinks are “boza” (known as millet wine), “sahlep” (made from the roots of wild orchid), and “sherbet” (a syrup made of any herbs, flowers or fruits).

On the alcoholic beverage menu, Turkish cuisine holds very tasty wines same as Balkan wines. Some famous brands are Corvus, Doluca, Kavaklıdere, Kayra, Diren and Pamukkale. Moreover, local brands of beer are Efes Pilsen, Marmara34 and Bomonti, but many international brands like Carlsberg, Skol and Tuborg are produced in Turkey. Also, like in many Balkan cuisines (Albanian cuisine, Serbian cuisine, Macedonian cuisine etc.) so does in Turkish cuisine we could find raki (a kind of a brandy).

It is obvious that Turkish menu has only a beginning but no end. With our huge list of dishes we have proved you that Turkish cuisine absolutely had and will have an endless menu of amazingly tasty dishes.

An Endless Menu of Turkish Cuisine

Overview of Turkish Cuisine

A Tale from Turkish Cuisine

The centre figure in Balkan Cuisine is definitely the Turkish cuisine. This cuisine has played very important role in the development of all Balkan cuisines and the evidence for that is that many meals that originally come from Turkey are broadly found in all nearby cuisines. Generally speaking, Turkish cuisine is the driving force for the Balkan cuisines. Moreover, this cuisine is one and only that has mystery as a main ingredient in its all dishes. It is hard to define a dominant element such as pasta in Italian cuisine or pita bread in Meditation cuisine. Here everything is important! The diversity of dishes, the ways they are cooked, and the manner of their mixture present an eminent evidence of enjoyment in Turkish cuisine. With one word this glorious cuisine will capture all those who are eager to try it!

A Little Bit of History

First of all, we must mention that Turkish cuisine was developed in three periods: Central Asian (before 1038); Seljuk and Principalities (1038-1299) and Ottoman (1299-1923). All of these periods have left their traces in its development, but the wealthy heritage comes from the Ottoman cuisine. In fact Turkish cuisine is born from the Ottoman. The evidence for this is the kitchens in Topkapi Palace, Istanbul where were invented and developed the most splendid feasts. Everything that was good for the Sultan was also good for his people, so in this way recipes were shared among the common people. Maybe sharing was the strength of Ottoman cuisine thus it has remained as the strong motion in all other cuisines.

The Keys of Turkish Meals

The richness and the huge diversity of Turkish food are easily noticeable in every dish. The keys of every single Turkish meal are the freshness of the ingredients, the quality of ingredient’s production and the uniqueness of meal’s preparation. The secret of all Turkish dishes is the simplicity of cooking, and the taste of the ingredient itself. Turks prefer food that is not hidden under spices or herbs or sauces, they wanted to taste the flavor of the ingredient, hence chicken must taste like chicken.

To conclude, Turkish cuisine has made an enormous influence in all Balkan cuisines, it has been a driving force over many centuries. Turkish cuisine represents a unique art that will fulfill you just with immense pleasure. Once you go with Turkish cuisine, you won’t be able to stop it. It is a must adventure in every human life!

Books for Turkish Cuisine:

• A Taste of Turkish Cuisine
• Traditional Turkish Food for the American Kitchen
• Classic Turkish Cooking
• The Turkish Cookbook: Regional Recipes and Stories
• Secrets of the Turkish Kitchen

Overview of Turkish Cuisine

Kacamak (Cornmeal)

Ingredients:

• 400g. Cornmeal
• 1l. water
• Salt
• Oil

Kacamak that is also known as: Kačamak, kachamak or bakrdan is a traditional dish in Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro that is made of cornmeal/cornflour. Instructions for the recipe are very simple:

Put water in a deep bowl, bring to the boil, add salt and gradually add the corn flour, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. The mash should be medium thick.

Cook for half an hour and when cooked pour over with hot fat or oil. You can add potatoes, cheese, hot pepper or kaymak. Serve with yogurt or sour milk

Kacamak (Cornmeal)

Overview of Greek Cuisine

One of the most diverse cuisines in the world is definitely the Balkan cuisine. It is a mixture of all countries’ cuisines that are placed in this area. Greek cuisine is one of the members of this much mingled cuisine. Mainly, Greek cuisine is Mediterranean cuisine having some same characteristic with Italian and Turkish cuisines. Moreover Greek cuisine offers an extremely rich and varied collection of foods and beverages, and here are several meals that are famous and traditional all over the country.

With certainty we could say that the secret ingredients in all Greek meals are definitely olives and olive oil which are also the keys of Mediterranean cuisine. These two products are often used in many Greek dishes. In Greece there is no yard without olive tree and these trees are all over the country. Also, we could find many kinds of olives such as Kalamata, Black, Green, Naphlion and many more.

First, we must mention gyro. It is pure Greek traditional meal, and the name means "turns around, to rotate" which is obviously taken from the preparing method of gyro. The standing huge pile of thin slices of pork, beef and other meet slowly rotates in front of electric bars or coals; hence the heat slowly melts the fat, which leaks to the bottom of the meat pile, and meat becomes crispy and brown. This is the way how the mouth-watering meat for gyro is made. When the meat is ready, the chef cuts very thin slices of the meat pile, and puts them into pita bread, which is the core of the Mediterranean food.

Gyro could be served with tomatoes, onion, different salads, chips and yoghourt depending of the costumers’ wish. Moreover, this meal has become a fast food, so as the time passes gyro is spreading all over the world. Maybe, this is the most popular Greek meal.

Furthermore, souvlaki is another famous traditional Greek meal. It is made of small slices of meat and vegetables that are grilled on a skewer, a thin wooden or metal stick used to hold pieces of food. Souvlaki is served with pita bread garnished with sauces and fried potatoes.

What is more about Greek cuisine is the fact that this cuisine has many different dips used with pita bread as sandwiches. Tsatziki is one of the most well-known dip, and it is made of strained yoghurt mixed with garlic, cucumbers and olive oil. Another dip is melitzana - made of strained yoghurt and eggplants. The dips are served cold. It is interesting that all Greek dips could be used as a sauce for gyros and souvlaki, and as a accompaniments of many Greek meals.

Another Greek meal that is famous around the world is the Greek salad. In Greece this salad is known as “horiatiki” which means country salad. It is made of tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese, onion and olives, dressed with olive oil. This salad is similar to Shopska Salad. All salads are consumed with ouzo, an anise-flavoured drink, or tsipouro, a strong "pomace" brandy. (Pomace is the hard leftovers of grapes or other fruit after squeezing them for juice) Moreover, Greece is a land with a vast variety of cheeses, different in taste and produced in different areas of the country. Here are several famous Greek cheeses: feta, misithra, kasseri, kefalotyri and graviera.

To conclude, despite the fact that Greek cuisine is a very diverse cuisine, it is simple, but elegant, with different flavours from subtle to strong, with textures from smooth to crunchy. Also, this cuisine is very healthy because it belongs to the Mediterranean cuisine.

Overview of Greek Cuisine

Russian Salad (Ruska Salata)

Ingredients:

• 3 potatoes, boiled and chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 can of green peas
• 300g. of ham, chopped
• 300g. mayonnaise
• 100g. olives, chopped
• 5 pickled cucumbers, chopped
• salt to taste

Cook the potatoes and after that cut into slices as same as the carrots, ham, olives and cucumbers. Take all the ingredients (except mayonnaise) in a serving bowl and mix all slowly.

Add salt to taste. You can add pepper too. Now mix it all with mayonnaise. You can garnish with parsley and olives.

Keep in fridge at least for an hour before serving. Try Russian Salad with kiflichki instead of bread. Enjoy

Russian Salad (Ruska Salata)