Ramadan in Turkey: What's on a Turkish Iftar Table

An iftar in Turkey looks different from a Pakistani one. There are no pakoras or fruit chaat, and the table is calmer, built around soup and a proper meal rather than a spread of fried snacks. But the spirit is the same: family gathered at the table, a few dates waiting on each plate, and everyone watching the clock for the call to prayer. If you’d like to try a Turkish iftar at home, here’s what goes on the table and how to cook it here.

Opening the fast: the iftariyelik plate

The fast is usually opened with a small plate called iftariyelik: dates, a few olives, slices of white cheese, a little sucuk or pastırma (spiced cured beef), some jam or honey, and sometimes tomato and cucumber. It’s a gentle start, sweet, salty and savoury at once. Many families break the fast with a date and water, then pray before the main meal, much as many Pakistani families do.

Soup comes first

After the iftariyelik, almost every Turkish iftar continues with soup. Mercimek çorbası, red lentil soup with lemon, is the most common; ezogelin, with bulgur and mint, is a close second. Soup is easy on an empty stomach and warms you up for the meal. Our Turkish soups guide explains the main types.

Ramadan pide

Ramadan has its own bread in Turkey: Ramazan pidesi, a round, soft flatbread marked with a lattice pattern and sprinkled with sesame and nigella seeds. Bakeries make it only during the holy month, and people queue for it hot before iftar. The closest home equivalent is a soft tawa naan brushed with egg and seeds, or try our filled kıymalı pide for a heartier main.

The main course

The main dish is usually one stew or meat dish with rice or bulgur:

• A meat and vegetable stew such as tas kebabı or etli nohut.
• İzgara köfte with şehriyeli pilav.
• Kuru fasulye, white beans in tomato, a family favourite.

With it comes a salad like çoban salatası and a bowl of yogurt or ayran.

Drinks: sherbets and hoşaf

Instead of Rooh Afza, a Turkish iftar might have hoşaf, icy dried fruit compote, or an Ottoman sherbet like tamarind demirhindi şerbeti or gül şerbeti. All can be made the day before, which matters when you’re cooking while fasting.

Dessert: güllaç

The classic Ramadan dessert is güllaç: very thin starch wafers soaked in sweetened milk with rose water, layered with walnuts or pistachios and topped with pomegranate seeds. The wafers are hard to find in Pakistan, so a chilled sütlaç or firni with rose water is the practical substitute. Afterwards comes tea, usually many glasses of it.

A Turkish iftar plan for Pakistan

• The day before: make hoşaf and a sherbet syrup, and sütlaç. Soak chickpeas or beans if your main needs them.
• Afternoon: cook the stew. Stews taste better after resting, so it can be finished two hours before iftar.
• One hour before: make the lentil soup and the pilav; chop the salad but don’t dress it.
• At iftar: dates, olives and cheese on small plates, soup in bowls, then the main course.

It’s a simpler, calmer iftar than many of ours, with less frying and more room to sit and eat together. For a Pakistani menu, see our Ramadan iftar menu planner; for sehri ideas, what to eat at sehri.