Traditional Food of Northern Cyprus

Cyprus has been an island invaded and inhabited by many different nations and people throughout its history and as a result Cypriot cuisine owes a great deal to the external influences that have directly affected it.

Unsurprisingly most of the traditional food and drink in North Cyprus nowadays is very similar to mainland Turkish cuisine though more modern European influences are now beginning to become apparent as are Asian influences and you can find traces of tradition from as far away as the Balkans to Northern Africa in the food and drink of Northern Cyprus today.

Here’s a very brief look at the traditional food of Northern Cyprus.

Soups

A soup is generally served to start a meal rather than being the centre of the meal: though some of the heavier, richer and more substantial soups are a meal in themselves! The most common and best loved soup is lentil but expect to see offered tarhana soup, tarhana is a mixture of crushed wheat and yoghurt, rice, noodle or humus soup, and even chicken soup on menus in Northern Cyprus.

Pilaf

Pilaf is rice or cracked wheat carefully cooked so as not to become sticky, sometimes mixed with vegetables like peas or aubergine and either served alone as part of a many-course menu, or served in small potions as an accompaniment to meat dishes.

Mezes

A selection of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres often served with drinks before a meal to entice the appetite, or they can form the main part of a meal when served with bread and salad. Dishes are generally plentiful and they tend to keep on coming! Don’t eat everything put in front of you because you will quickly be too full to keep sampling the tasty dishes that will likely include cacik (a yoghurt dish), chakistes (a green olive dish), humus, tahin, fried hellim, various salads and pickles, calamari and fried aubergines to name but a very few.

Kebabs

There are so many different kebab specialities that you have to keep trying them to find your favourite! Kebabs are dishes of meat which are either grilled or stewed, the meat is either plain or marinated and it’s either served on skewers, in bread or sliced.

Sis kebab is probably the most well know dish and it is made of chunks of lamb and vegetables all skewered together and then cooked over charcoal.

Kebabs are mainly made of lamb but expect to also find vegetable, chicken, beef and fish kebabs available.

Main Dishes

Other than kebabs there are a myriad of main dish available offering something for everyone and these include the likes of Kofte (meatballs), Dolma (stuffed vegetables, meat or fish), Bumbar, beans and vegetable dishes.

Deserts & Sweets

Apparently there’s a traditional saying in Turkish that one should eat sweetly and also speak sweetly which may be why Turkish Cypriots tend to have such a sweet tooth and also be some of the friendliest most welcoming people around!

Honey and nuts form the centre for many desert and sweet dishes; pastries are also hugely popular filled with cream, fruit, sugar, yoghurt or nuts, and on every street in every town you’ll likely come across a coffee shop serving a huge selection of small sticky cakes which are deceptively harmless looking and which will actually fill you up after only a bite or two!

You’ll at least need to try Lokma (deep fried honey or syrup covered delicacies), katmer (cream filled pastries), Ceviz Macunu (green walnuts in syrup) and Turunc Macunu (oranges in syrup)!