Turkey

In most of Turkey the kitchen is the teritory of women and men who are not part of the family are keept away from the women. In the big cities in the west its much more liberal, but the amount of traditional cooking at home is a little more scare. However I was lucy enough to have a friend that had learnd from his Mom many of the wonderfull dishes of Turkey. However he spent most of his time while i was arround playing music on the streets so i didn't collect a pleatera of recipies but just a few.

Menemen: This dish is the standard that is quick easy and good, its so standard that it was hard to get anyone to show me anything different. The perportions and quantities are up to you, my numbers are a guiedline for the unsicure. I have had this as a verry thin soupe using about 3 eggs to 10-14 tomatoes, to an almost aumlet like consistancy with maby 8 eggs  to 3 tomatoes.

Ingredients:  
- oil
- 1diced onion
- 3 Fresh peppers cut in strips or circles(there is a kind of green/yellow peper that is verry commonly used in turkey that is more long and thin than a bell peper and  are shaper in taste but not necicarly spicy (though it can be)).
- 6-8 mediumTomatoes cubed
- black pepper
- salt
- 3 eggs blended
 Instructions:
-Heat some oil in a pan and satue onions untill they start to turn pink.
- Then add a couple of fresh peppers and contiue to satue untill peppers start to soften be carfule not to let the onions burn.
- Add tomatoes cooking into a saucey soupy consitancy
-Add salt and pepper to taste
- add egg not stiring if you like big pieced of egg or continually stiring to get small pieces.
Hibesh:This is a simple tahini spead/dip... the problem is that one of the ingredents that makes it so good is a special turkish red peper paste that is extreamly rare outside of turkey.
Ingriedents:
- 1 CTahini
- 3 Cloves Crushed Garlic
- 1t crushed cumin
- water (depends on      your tahini)
- lemon juice from half a  lemon
- red pepper sauce (this is the magic ingredient, it can be spicy or mild either way its so good it could be eaten on its oun with bread. for a replacement you could maby use another peper sauce kind of like (chineese coksauce but preferably without viniger or sugar in it)
- 1/2 t salt
 Instructions:
Add a little water at a time to the tahini stiring untill it is a smoth consistancy to thin out the tahini untill it is the desired texture. and the rest of the ingredents and stir adjusting quantities to taste.

Mercimek Corbasi (red lentil soup): This is another standard standard. I, however I may have tried couldn't get a local to show me how to cook it. So this is my version the way that I gather the Turks probably do it. 

Ingredients:  
- oil
- 1diced onion
- 3 Fresh peppers cut in strips or circles(there is a kind of green/yellow peper that is verry commonly used in turkey that is more long and thin than a bell peper and  are shaper in taste but not necicarly spicy (though it can be)).
- 1T black pepper
- 5-10 water
- 1-2 cup red lentils
- salt
- 2T mint flakes
- lemon
 Instructions:
-Heat some oil in a pan and satue onions and fesh peppers untill the onions become clear.
- Add black pepper let saute for a minuit more
-Add water and lentils cook untill the lentils are soft (i think the turks blend the soup with a blender to make it a smooth creamy textured soup)
- add salt to taste
- when done cooking add mint flakes and stir
- serve with lemon slices that can be squeesed into the soup.