Turkish iskender kebab recipes

These are some easy recipes for the iskender kebab recipes, which is named after Alexander the great...

the name alexander is Iskender in turkish and persian.

here is a recipe for beef, followed by a recipe for chicken which is the healthier alternative...

2 pieces of beef tenderloin, each 200 gr
200 gr regular ground beef
4 pieces of Asian Nan Pita bread or plain pita bread (pide)
Salt
Pepper

Garnish:
Yogurt
tomatoe sauce (recipe follows)
2 tbsp butter

Add the salt and pepper to the ground beef. Knead and give it a round shape, then place in the middle of the two pieces of tenderloin.

Cover in plastic wrap and leave in the freezer overnight. The next day remove from the fridge 45 minutes before cutting. Use a knife, electric knife or meat cutter to shred it .Then fry in a large pan (be careful not to over-fry).

Cut the pitas in bite size diagonal shapes and place on the plates .Spread the beef over the pita bread pieces. Pour the tomato sauce on top and place a few spoons of yogurt on the side. Lastly, melt the butter in a small pan. When it starts bubbling, pour over the tomato sauce .

tomatoe sauce.
1 large onion chopped fine or grated
5=6 tomatoes (grated)
2-3 cloves garlic
olive oil
dash of vinegar
sautee the onions till they are transluscnet, then add the tomatoes and garlic, cook till it is thick, then add just a dash of vinegar, salt n pepper to taste.

Serve Iskender Kebab while still hot. This recipe makes 4 servings.

and here is the chicken recipe

• 4 pita bread rounds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - chopped
• 2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 cups of the tomatoe sauce from above recipe
• ground cumin to taste
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Arrange pita bread on a baking sheet, and lightly toast in the oven. Cut pita bread into bite-size pieces, and keep warm.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the chicken, onion, and garlic, and cook until chicken juices run clear.. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking 10 minutes.
3. Arrange pita pieces in a serving dish. Drizzle with butter, add the chicken, then add the tomatoe sauce. Garnish with yogurt and parsley to serve.

accompanying dishes:

Tomatoe dip (ezme)
5 tomatoes, discard the seeds, very finely chopped
1 red or white onion, very finely chopped
1 cup parsley, very finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp pomegranate paste or Granadine syrup
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cayenne pepper, crushed
1 tsp sumac
Salt

Crush the onion with sumac and salt with your hands. Mix all the ingredients in a service bowl. Put aside for at least an hour (tastes better this way), then serve with any kind of Kebab.

Ok, the way I do it is just throw everything into the cuisineart and chop it all up, then add the oil and lemon juice, let it sit for an hour or so for all the flavors to meld…….

Sumac comes from the berries of a wild bush which grows in the Mediterranean. The berries are dried and crushed to form purple-red powder. The flavour is sour and fruity. It's mostly used with Kebabs, preferred to lemon for sourness


Eggplant salad
1 eggplant
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 medium-sized tomato, seeds discarded and diced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice or 1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp feta cheese, crumbled
Salt
Pepper

Before putting in the oven, make holes on the eggplant with a fork so that it will soften and cook better. Then place on an oven tray and roast for about 35 minutes on broil. Alternatively, you can barbecue it until softened. Then peel it, remove any seeds and place in 2 cups of water with 1/2 lemon juice. Leave in for about 10-15 minutes. After draining, cut into small pieces with a knife. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix with a spoon. Place in service plate and keep refrigerated. (or just zap it in the cuisineart til it’s a pulp)


If you don't want to bother with roasting the eggplant, you can skip the step above and instead just use approximately 350 gr of Roasted Eggplants in a jar. Just mix all the ingredients together and you're good to go.

This recipe goes well with any kind of meat, Kofte or Kebap on the side.

And here is a pilaf recipe that we eat all the time…..

1 cup rice
2 cups hot water (or stock – I use knorr bouillion cubes)
3 tbsp orzo (check the pasta aisle)
1 tbsp butter
Salt

Place the orzo in a medium sized pot. Stir continously on medium-low heat, without water, until the colour turns light brown. Then add the butter, salt, hot water and rice. Stir and put the lid half on. Cook on low heat until the rice is done (when all the liquid has evaporated). Make sure to stir a few times when you start seeing holes in between the rice towards the end.