Shish kebab (meat charcoal-grilled on a skewer) is offered in many food outlets, often served with Turkish bread. Most meals serving meat or seafoods come with a healthy portion of vegetables. A common offering during meals is stews, made from tomatoes, egg plants, chili and potatoes mixed with meat.
While in the country, one could try Ottoman cuisines, which were invented and prepared by chefs to serve the imperial households. They were said to have to undergo years of training and practice often in cooking school established by the sultans. Nowadays, Ottoman cuisines can be found in some hotels and restaurants which promote them as their speciality. These cuisines, as expected, are prepared and presented in a way that match those of gourmet dishes served elsewhere. An example of a Ottaman dish is a honey dew stuffed in the centre with minced lamb tastily marinated and garnished with herbs.
Turkey is one of the few countries in the world which is self-sufficient in food. On the coastal plains and on the highlands in central Anatolia, one can see farms growing a wide variety of crops, fruits and vegetables, many with large plots of land and irrigation systems to promote plant life during dry seasons.
Many types of fruits and vegetables are grown. For example, in the middle of the year, one can see water melons for sale everywhere in Istanbul and in the countryside in the Aegean coast. Peaches, oranges, plums, graphs, strawberries, cherries, onions, tomatoes, are in abundance. Different regions have different fruits, citrus fruits are more common in the Antalya region while bananas and avacadoes are grown in Alanya.
Turkey is the world's largest producer of hazelnuts. As Turkey is surrounded on three sides by the sea, seafoods are easily available around coastal regions.
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