The Kebab that will conquer your taste buds Bursa sits across the Marmara Sea, a relatively quick trip from Istanbul with the “sea bus”. The Marmara Sea eventually spills into the Aegean Sea near a narrow strait that is well known to Australians: the Dardanelles, site of the fateful Gallipoli shore. Bursa does have its own rich history, much like the metropolis Istanbul to the north, a meeting point of ancient traders, silk industry, of conflict and conquering, and at one stage it was even the capital of the Ottoman empire. The historical centre has some interesting alleys and Han places, but it seems to be encircled by soulless neighborhoods, and the outlying regions are all heavily industrial. The ferries arrive over 30km outside the city centre, forcing one into first an uncomfortable bus ride followed by a tedious train trip. In short, I’m not the biggest fan of Bursa. But we gave it a go again, with the (rare) luxury of both my friend and me having a full day at our dispersal - my fellow “Food Hunter” as we have come to jokingly call ourselves. He simply doesn’t have weekends, or really ever more than half a day to himself. So across the Marmara Sea we went. We arrived in Mudanya and were greeted by haman-like conditions. We inched our way into town in the fashion described above, and finally arrived in the centre. Having had freshly returned from the internationally acclaimed, astronomical gastronomy stronghold of Gaziantep, my expectations were modest. Our vague goal was merely to eat Bursa İskender Kebab, and otherwise just play it all by ear. But a few pleasant surprises were in store along the way. Mehmet Tanju Geye While we were strolling through the Okçular Bazaar, by now starting to entertain the idea of getting lunch soon, we noticed a little eatery from underneath our giant umbrella to shield us from a rather heavy downpour. At first glance it seemed to be one of the ‘dövme’ ice-cream places that the Anatolian town of Maraş is famous for, the continous kneading and prodding technique with a large metal petal christening this sweet (dövme meaning beating). Those can be found - and especially heard - all over Istanbul, with their rhythmical beating of the ice-cream in a catchy stakkado, culminating in the ringing of some cowbells that dangle above the head of the Dondurmacı (ice-cream man). In Istanbul they also often wear the historical fez head covering (once outlawed by Atatürk) , further trying to catch the attention of the passer-by. But there was no commotion coming from the shop of Mehmet Tanju. Still the shop was full. There was an option to just buy ice-cream, but it was evident that the one attraction here was their pairing of kazandibi ("burned bottom") with ice-cream. The former is a historical mastic-flavored custard with the burning of the bottom being a feature rather than a cooking disaster. It’s done with precision, don’t think “burning milk taste penetrating the dish”. Rather it adds some caramel notes in flavor, and textual stability to a delicate dessert that seems to caress the serving plate much like a woman’s breast would rest in the hands of a gentle lover (who would have thought one would need a PG rating on a food blog? A first for me). And let me tell you, the pairing was a beautiful alliance. Later that day to be challenged, but I’ll get to that. Iskender Half a portion of Kazandibi were not going to throw a pair of food hunters off the scent of a good İskender kebab. İskender is Turkish for “Alexander”. And while there is a bunch of references in Turkey that trace back to Alexander the Great (for example the town of İskenderun near the Syrian border), the kebab isn’t amongst that. Rather, it takes its name from its inventor İskender Efendi. I had had this a couple of years back, standing in the queue of some eatery in the centre of Bursa (the name escapes me now), and remember my first mouthful of this wondrous take on kebab. Shavings of lamb, adorned by grilled tomatoes and chillies, and no sooner does the waiter put the plate down in front of you, another one will arrive with a long-handled pan, drizzling… no, pouring sizzling hot browned butter over this symphony of flavors. The meat rests on a bed of pre-cut pide cubes that will have soaked up all the liquid: the juice from the cut meat, some tomato-ey drizzle, and the butter. I remember back then, the bread was as morish as was the meat. For Turkey, this is not a cheap feed, and sets you back 35 Lira for a portion - there are options to order 1.5 or even double portion. The obligatory two glasses of tea later, and now it was getting late in the afternoon. So it was time to move on out so we would be seeing a little bit more of Bursa. We strolled through more bazaar streets, and past the stalls of a number of political parties, their supporters in a heightened state of campaigning, this being the final days of the election lead-up. We left the scenes of music blasting from huge loudspeakers, with songs dedicated to individual politicians, and promises of brighter futures, and dived through a gateway finding ourselves inside Koza Han. Hacı Şerif Being completely ignorant of the food scene of Bursa, the laminated ad we saw meant nothing to me. A cup of semolina which has some ice-cream at its centre. Alright… But the punters at Zomato were unanimously voting on this dish. An untainted 5-star rating. We were intrigued. We were there, we might as well….? (Must be said that both food hunters were at this particular point somewhat mindful of the delights of various Turkish cuisines settling down unflatteringly around the midriff section). It was around 6pm, the weather far from inviting to stay outside, after the rain the oppressive humidity had returned. Yet the outside tables were all full. The same litmus test as for Mehmet Tanju Geye kazandibi dessert? So we ordered. This is a combination of irmik helvası and dondurma - semolina halva with the same ‘beaten ice-cream’ described earlier. The semolina halva is usually eaten on its own, and is closely connected with religious holidays as well as post-funeral offerings. It is cooked lightly, notably there’s an absence of milk. Instead it mingles with cinnamon and browned pine nuts and has a flavor reminiscent of toasted grains and nuts. First some ice-cream gets ladled into the cup, and then followed by warm halva, pressed down firmly to form a compound casing around the cold core. Eating it, the contrasting temperatures make for interesting sensations in your mouth. Competing, yet combining forces. Semolina always brings back childhood memories for me. In my native Germany we too sprinkled cinnamon on it, and added what fruits our gardens or ice boxes yielded at the time. I connected with this small cup of simple goodness as it was somehow so relatable to me. No frivolity, no whimsical cooking method or exotic ingredient. My father, a great lover of both Griessbrei (German for halva) and even more of ice-cream would have eaten this by the bucket load. I really wanted to share this moment with him, this exact food in this very setting. I felt a pang of nostalgia for a minute, all triggered by this small cup of afternoon dessert in front of me, unknown up to that moment and yet so familiar. Somewhat melancholically I pulled out my phone to take photos and started putting mental notes together in my head for this blog. Our tour to Bursa was a way to celebrate my birthday (at 50, one of those imagined milestone moments with trigger potential), to discover something new, and coincidentally, through the food I found, it was a silent sojourn of who I am and where I come from. And all that in a dear-to-my-heart, but entirely foreign land, far removed from all my kith and kin.
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AuthorInnate curiosity, learned (discovered) deep love and appreciation for Turkey, a bit of time at my hands, and always hungry: voila, a food blogger! Archives
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