Turkish cuisine thrives on simplicity, nourishment, and rich culinary tradition. In the second part of our The Most Essential Ingredients in Turkish Cooking series, we explore the hearty world of grains and legumes.
Whether you simmer a pot of lentil soup or serve a fluffy rice pilaf alongside your favorite stew, these most essential ingredients in Turkish cooking build the backbone of kitchens across Turkey. Let’s open the pantry and discover how these versatile staples shape Turkish meals.
🍚 Rice: A Measure of Skill and Tradition
Rice holds a special place in Turkish cooking. It ranks among the most essential ingredients in Turkish cooking, and Turkish chefs celebrate its versatility in countless dishes across the country. In Turkey, cooks prefer medium to long grain, less starchy rice because it cooks up fluffy and separate rather than sticky. Baldo and Osmancık are the two most popular local varieties, prized for their texture and ability to absorb flavors without becoming mushy.
Globally, we classify rice by grain length:
- Short-grain rice (like Japanese or Arborio) is starchy and sticky, ideal for sushi or risotto.
- Medium-grain rice (like Turkish Baldo) is slightly less sticky, perfect for pilafs.
- Long-grain rice (like Basmati or Jasmine) is fluffy and aromatic, often featured in Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisines.
Turkish Rice
In Turkey, regions like Thrace (Trakya), Bafra, Tosya, and Gönen lead rice production. These regions produce high-quality Baldo rice, which home cooks often choose for the signature Turkish pilav.
Rice doesn’t just serve for basic pilafs; it shines in festive and layered dishes like Perde Pilavı. In this dish, cooks combine spiced rice with chicken, almonds, and pine nuts, then wrap it in delicate yogurt-based dough and bake it until golden. Traditionally, families serve this dish at weddings and special occasions in Eastern Anatolia to symbolize prosperity and unity.
Rice also plays a central role in dolma and sarma, where cooks stuff vegetables such as bell peppers, grape leaves, or cabbage with a seasoned rice mixture. They often enrich this filling with onions, spices, currants, pine nuts, or minced meat, depending on regional preferences. Then they bake it in a savory tomato sauce.
In daily life, Turkish cooks treat pilav as a hallmark of their expertise. They aim to achieve a soft yet non-sticky texture, often enriching it with butter and sometimes adding vermicelli or orzo, which they lightly toast to add depth. A well-cooked pilav stands as the cornerstone of many Turkish meals and reflects the cook’s care and skill.
🫘 Beans & Chickpeas: Humble Comfort Food
White beans and chickpeas rank among the most essential ingredients in Turkish cooking for creating hearty, comforting dishes.
Cooks prepare Kuru Fasulye by slow-cooking white beans with onions, tomato paste, and sometimes pepper paste. This classic dish always pairs beautifully with fluffy rice pilaf. The best Turkish white bean varieties include şeker fasülyesi, which resembles navy beans, and horoz fasülye, similar to cannellini beans. Across Turkey, many regions also cultivate other unique white bean types that add diversity to local dishes.
For a refreshing twist, beans can also be used in Piyaz, a white bean salad often enjoyed in summer with onions, parsley, and a zesty vinaigrette.
Chickpeas (Nohut) serve as pantry staples in Turkish cooking. You’ll find them in stews, salads, and especially in Nohutlu Pilav, a popular street food where vendors combine chickpeas with rice and sometimes chicken. Keeping cooked chickpeas on hand makes it easy to turn these most essential ingredients in Turkish cooking into a variety of meals. I often freeze cooked chickpeas and later add them to my soups, pilavs, bulgur dishes, and salads for extra nourishment and texture.
🍲 Lentils: Red, Green & Beyond
Lentils, both red and green, are some of the most essential ingredients in Turkish cooking, forming the base of nourishing soups and stews.
Red lentils star in Mercimek Çorbası, the staple red lentil soup found in almost every Turkish household and restaurant. Some people prefer to make it using yellow lentils but often it is made with good old red lentils. To add more vitamin, you can add from winter veggies like carrots, potatoes (don’t add to much to keep rhe warm lentil taste) and bled everything until smooth. Another delicious variation is Ezogelin Soup, enhanced with rice and bulgur for extra heartiness. You can check my special episode for more soup ideas.
Green lentils work beautifully in salads and soups, like my favorite version cooked with onions, tomatoes, carrots, garlic, and egg noodles, seasoned with black pepper and dried mint. MÜCEDDERE for example is another regional dish using both green lentils and bulgur together. In Bakliyat Çorbası, multiple legumes are combined in a tangy, yogurt-based soup — another creative way to feature the most essential ingredients in Turkish cooking.
🌾 Bulgur: Ancient Grain, Modern Table
Bulgur is one of the most essential ingredients in Turkish cooking, even older than rice in Anatolia. There are different sizes and types of bulgur suited for distinct dishes:
- Coarse Bulgur (Pilavlık Bulgur): Ideal for making hearty bulgur pilafs, often sautéed with a mix of vegetables like onions, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants. It’s a nutrient-rich side dish served alongside stews or grilled meats.
- Fine Bulgur (Köftelik Bulgur): The star of Kısır, a refreshing salad, and Çiğ Köfte, spicy raw bulgur balls traditional in Southeastern Turkey. Fine bulgur is quick to prepare by simply soaking in warm water.
For a more intricate dish, İçli Köfte—stuffed bulgur shells filled with minced meat—is a beloved specialty, showcasing just how versatile these most essential ingredients in Turkish cooking can be.
🍜 Noodles & Small Pasta
Erişte (Turkish egg noodles), orzo, and vermicelli are additional most essential ingredients in Turkish cooking that enrich both simple and complex meals.
Many Turkish families make erişte at home, drying it for winter use. They often serve it with cheese and walnuts, creating a comforting and easy dish.
Cooks use orzo (Arpa Şehriye) and vermicelli (Tel Şehriye) to enhance soups and pilafs. They typically toast these small pastas in butter before combining them with rice or bulgur, adding a toasty, nutty depth. It’s a simple yet effective way to bring out the best in these most essential ingredients in Turkish cooking.
✨ Pantry Tips for Grains & Legumes
- Cook in batches: Soak and prepare beans, chickpeas, and lentils ahead to store easily.
- Mix & match: Combining grains and legumes creates filling, balanced meals.
- Versatility: Fine bulgur is your friend for salads, köftes, and more.
- Flavor depth: Toasting orzo or vermicelli before adding to grains enhances their flavor.
Ready to Expand Your Turkish Pantry?
By stocking your kitchen with these most essential ingredients in Turkish cooking — rice, bulgur, lentils, beans, and chickpeas — you open up endless possibilities for delicious, nourishing meals.
If you missed Part 1, where we explored oils, pastes, yogurt, and spices, you can catch up here. Stay tuned for Part 3, where we’ll uncover even more ingredients that bring Turkish cuisine to life.
