Turkish Cookery Book
- Year
- 1864
- Era
- 19th century
- Origin
- Turkey · Middle East
- Language
- English
- Category
- Middle Eastern
Turkish Cookery Book, compiled by Turabi Efendi and first published in 1864, is among the earliest English-language treatments of Ottoman cuisine, prepared for British readers whose curiosity about Turkish foodways had been sharpened by the Crimean War. Drawing on Ottoman culinary tradition, it sets out recipes for pilafs, kebabs, dolmas, stews, and sweets, offering Anglophone kitchens a rare contemporary window onto the dishes of the late Ottoman table.
Cooking from this book
Imam Bayildi
Signature dishThis celebrated dish of aubergines stewed gently with onions, tomatoes and olive oil until meltingly soft has long stood as a banner of Ottoman cookery, and its inclusion in Turabi Efendi's volume helped introduce Victorian English readers to the refined vegetable traditions of the Sultan's kitchens. Served cold, fragrant and glistening, it captures the leisurely, oil-rich character that distinguishes Turkish cuisine from the spicier kitchens further east, and remains emblematic of the book's cultural bridge.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
