A FOOD TRADITION
Hatay Cuisine
Hatay cuisine is a Levantine-Anatolian tradition shaped by Arab, Turkish, Armenian, Circassian, and other communities around Antakya and the eastern Mediterranean. Bulgur, wheat, lamb, beef, eggplant, peppers, pomegranate molasses, tahini, olive oil, souring agents, and aromatic herbs are central. Meze preparation, stone-oven baking, grilling, stuffing, and long simmering are characteristic techniques. Notable examples include tepsi kebabi, oruk, and kunefe. The cuisine shares dishes and methods with Syria and the wider Levant, but its local combinations of spice, sourness, meat, grain, and pastry form a recognizable tradition within Türkiye.
Dishes linked to this cuisine
1–5 of 5
Hatay Biberli Ekmek
Thin Hatay bread baked with a spiced topping of peppers, tomato paste and onion.
Hatay Oruk
Hatay's distinct elongated version of stuffed bulgur meatballs, prepared especially for celebrations.
Haytalı
A chilled Hatay dessert combining milk pudding, rose water and ice cream.
Kunefe
A warm cheese-filled dessert of shredded wheat pastry baked with butter, soaked in sugar syrup, and commonly finished with pistachio.
Zahter Salatası
Fresh Hatay thyme salad blended with parsley, onion, pomegranate molasses, olive oil and spices.
Catalogue preview Cuisine connections may be unreviewed. Regional comparisons include their food references and do not establish the ingredients of a particular meal.