ISTANBUL'S IMPERIAL CUISINE

Restaurant Deraliye (Istanbul)

With its velvety texture and subtle almond flavour, enhanced by a hint of nutmeg and garnished with ruby-red pomegranate seeds, the Almond Soup served at Deraliye Restaurant was at once a comfort food and the beginning of an out-of-the-ordinary culinary journey for me. It was also a trip back in time to the exotic and esoteric world of the Ottoman Sultans of Istanbul, powerful monarchs who controlled a mighty empire from 1453 to 1922.

I was in Istanbul on a quest for Ottoman palace dishes which have become trendy on the city’s dining scene. I was also eager to learn about life in the ornate palaces, such as the Topkapi and Dolmobahce, where these dishes were originally created by the most innovative chefs of the day.

At lunchtime on a spring afternoon, my Istanbuli friend Lale Utkan and I strolled into Deraliye, in the Sultanahment neighbourhood of the city. We were cordially welcomed by Necati Yilmaz, current owner of Deraliye and former manager of the Asitane, the restaurant that pioneered the revival of this heritage cuisine.

As I savoured the almond soup prepared by his Executive Chef Nuri Ozer, Yilmaz explained that this was recreated from a 1539 palace recipe, and, like other Ottoman dishes on his menu, is the fruit of painstaking research in palace archives and antique bookstores. He added that it was first served during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1526), one of the most distinguished members of the dynasty.

More exotic tastings were to follow, as I sampled my way through an entire meal at Deraliye and, on another occasion, at the Bella Mira Restaurant co-owned by Mehmet Gunay and his Executive Chef Habib Atkan.

Two of my favourite dishes, sampled at both Deraliye and Bella Mira, were a stuffed cantaloupe and Mutancana, a richly flavoured lamb stew. The stuffed melon (Kavun Dolmasi) is an ambrosial blend of sweet and savoury flavours. It is one of the dishes Chef Nuri Ozer of Deraliye demonstrates in the cooking workshops he conducts every day at the restaurant.

After cutting the top off a cantaloupe, he removes the centre with an ice cream scoop, and serrates the edges with a sharp knife before stuffing the melon with a mixture of sautéed onions, minced meat, rice, almonds, currants, pistachios, herbs and spices. It is then baked in the oven.

Watching Ozer cooking this dish is almost as much of a pleasure as eating it. The expression on his face, as he performs his art, is one of pure delight. He clearly loves to cook, and he is a true virtuoso in the kitchen.

Mutancana is another symphony in sweet and savoury tastes. The lamb stew is cooked with a medley of dried fruits — figs, apricots and raisins — spiced with shallots and laced with honey. I tried it at Deraliye first, and on another day, at Bella Mira. Both were delicious.

This dish, Bella Mira owner Mehmet Gunay explained, was created for the circumcision feast of two royal princes, Beyazid and Cihangir, sons of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The recipe dates back to 1539.

As my friend Lale pointed out, an Ottoman menu was more than a meal. It was a symbolic expression of power, wealth, prestige and indulgence.

Holding sway over a vast territory that for almost 600 years (1453–1922) stretched from the banks of the Danube River and the Balkans to the Arabian Peninsula and the northern shores of Africa, and included most of the Mediterranean basin, the Ottoman Sultans and their entourages ate and drank as if at some celestial banquet, complete with music and dancing girls to entertain them.

With access to the finest ingredients grown or produced in their vast, fertile lands, and exotic spices brought by ship and caravan via the spice routes from Egypt and India, Ottoman chefs could give full play to their creative talents.

Typical of the palaces where such lavish meals were enjoyed was the Topkapi in Istanbul, one of the major residences of the Sultans for almost 400 years (1465–1856) of their 624-year reign.

As well as being a royal residence, the palace was a setting for state occasions and royal entertainments. It is now a museum and a major tourist attraction. On this, my third visit, I focused mostly on the kitchens, which give a fascinating inside view of the elaborate production process that resulted in day-to-day meals and special occasion feasts.

Remodelled by the famous court architect Mimar Sinan after the original structures were burned down in 1574, the Saray Mufaklari (palace kitchens) consist of ten domed buildings, and include separate sections for such items as soups, desserts, jams and sherbets, beverages and confectionary; also a pantry which today houses the archives.

Meals had to be produced on a daily basis for all the 4,000 or so inhabitants of the palace, who included the Sultan, his harem, his administrators and servants.

Then there were banquets for visiting dignitaries and foreign monarchs, special occasions such as royal weddings, circumcision ceremonies and celebratory Iftar meals (eaten at sundown after a day of fasting during the Holy Month of Ramadan) that called for the chefs’best culinary and logistical skills, to orchestrate the most elaborate feasts.

As I admired the immense collection of Chinese blue and white, celadon and Japanese Imari porcelain that was transported over the Silk Road or by sea, I wondered in amazement how they ever reached their destination intact, with not a chip or crack in sight!

Dolmabahce Palace

The day concluded with a visit to the Dolmabahce Palace, across the Bosphorus, a blue-green stretch of water that turned into shimmering gold in the late afternoon sun. By the 19th century, the reigning Sultan Abdujmecid had become enamoured of all things European and had moved his household to this European-style residence. The feasting continued here, but from now on, European-style tables and manners became au courant.

Watching the sunset over the Bosphorus, I imagined the sun setting over the Ottoman Empire, when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who spent his last days and ate his last, presumably more modest, meals at this palace — established the Turkish republic in 1922.

In one remarkable day I had wandered through the homes of some of history’s most privileged people, dined on the food of emperors and queens, and trodden in the footsteps of the founder of modern Turkey.

By Susan Korah in "Taste and Travel International" Canada, issue 23, October-December (Autumn) 2016,excerpts pp. 76-79. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa. 

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