Historical dishes that are not without the Turkish tables in Ramadan

Menna Jameel

The soup occupies a special place among the Turks throughout the year, and its importance multiplies with the advent of the month of Ramadan, to become one of the meals that are not without the Turkish table.

Turkish cuisine includes more than two hundred types of soup, in the forefront of which is yellow lentil soup, and the Eggolin, a type of soup to which bulgur is added with lentils.

And with the advent of the month of Ramadan this year, which coincides with the global pandemic of Corona, soup with new flavors, including the bones, the upper and the large intestine known as "Ichkampi", has been promoted to the fore, and the competition of lentil soups and traditional Zgulun has become competitive.

Bone and meat soup were rarely served except on important occasions, to the point that a type of meat soup was called "wedding soup" because it was associated with weddings.

On a tour of Al Jazeera Net in a number of food outlets, an increase in ready-made tripe soup packages was noted due to the high demand, and the advice circulated among Turks that it has nutritional benefits that increase immunity and reduce the risk of infection with the Coronavirus.

The price of a ready-made bowel soup in shops is 20 Turkish liras (about 3 US dollars), while the price of a fresh kilo is 5 pounds (less than one dollar).

Eggs and cheese
may resemble the Ramadan breakfast table for the Turks, but the reality is that the Turks deal with the period after the Maghrib ears with great caution, so they are careful not to eat fatty foods or starches, and rely on light foods that make up their morning breakfast during the usual months of the year.

The most organized and beautiful dish of cheese, olives and nuts remains on the table for the Turks, especially in the first minutes of Iftar. These nutrients provide the energy needed for the fasting person and other elements that provide him with many vitamins.

Some Turks also add eggs, especially mixture of dried and salted beef (pastrami), to this Ramadan dish.

And eating eggs at the Ramadan breakfast table is an old Ottoman habit, as historical accounts say that the sultans of the Ottoman Empire were keen to have eggs with onions at the breakfast table.

Ramadan Bread
Once the month of Ramadan is announced in Turkey, the ovens will start preparing Ramadan bread known in the country as "Ramadan by hand".

Although Turkish cuisine is known for its many types of pastries, this bread remains the permanent guest of the Turkish trip throughout Ramadan.

Because of the importance of this type of bread, and the ongoing Ramadan coincided with the measures of closure and prohibition, Turkish municipalities deliver free Ramadan bread to homes to preserve the traditions and joy of the Holy Month.

This type of pastry was introduced during the period between 1600 and 1700 AD during the Ottoman Empire, and it was linked to the Iftar and Suhoor tables in Ramadan.

Al-Ghalash Dessert
Although Turkish cuisine is known for desserts, on top of which is baklava, this dessert is not common during Ramadan, especially on traditional Iftar tables.

The glash candy comes at the forefront of the desserts, which are made and served by the Turks during the month of Ramadan.

Turkish gulach is an easy-to-prepare dessert, as it is chips of "dry ground" (a kind of Turkish pastry), milk, blossom water and a little sugar.

Glash derived its name from the addition of blossom water to it, where the flower is called Turkish "ghoul".

The Turks offer this type of dessert in Ramadan in order to preserve the Ottoman traditions, and for being a light and non-fatty type of sweets that is consistent with fasting.

Glash was first made in Turkey in the middle of the fifteenth century, and the purpose of its manufacture was to provide a kind of desserts to the princes that would not cause stomach upset after Ramadan.

Ramadan sorbet,
also known as "Ottoman sorbet ", is a sweetened beverage with flavors of fruits and spices.

Turks specially serve this type of drink during Ramadan, and it is homemade or ready-made from food stores.

Turks became acquainted with this drink in the eleventh century, and it is served on special occasions such as courtship, marriage, childbirth and during Ramadan.

The word "sherbet" is derived from the word "syrup" in Arabic, and Turkish heritage indicates that sherbet was one of the favorite drinks of the Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi.