Essential Turkish & Middle Eastern pantry ingredients

This page lists almost every local ingredient used in the Turkish and Middle Eastern recipes on this website. So if you’re wondering what something is, or what to look for when buying it, you’ve come to the right place!

Virtually all ingredients that bring about the flavours of Turkish and Middle Eastern cuisine come from dry ingredients or sauces that last for a long time. As such, you won’t need to go to specialty shops too often. In most locations, the ingredients are also easily available online.

Grains, legumes & nuts

Bulgur is parboiled, dried and crushed wheat. It has a nutty flavour and comes in a range of sizes, from fine grain to near whole wheat. It can be used as an ingredient or as a side dish in its own right, similar to rice.

Coarse bulgur (pilavlık bulgur in Turkish) is similar to rice both in size and use. It’s mostly used as a side dish or main ingredient in pilafs. It’s also used in dolma (stuffed vegetables), particularly in the Eastern parts of Turkey, and soups.

• Try it: Bulgur pilaf with lamb & lemon yoghurt
• Try it: How to cook bulgur wheat
• Try it: Vegetarian stuffed dried vegetables (Antep usulü zeytinyağlı kuru dolma)

Fine bulgur (köftelik bulgur in Turkish) is similar to fine couscous in size. It’s mostly used as an ingredient in meatballs (hence its Turkish name), including meatless variations, as well as in salads, including the world famous tabbouleh.

• Try it: Tabbouleh with pomegranate
• Try it: Kisir (Spicy Turkish bulgur wheat salad)
• Try it: Turkish lentil meatballs (Mercimek köftesi)

Read more about bulgur and its uses here:

Freekeh are smoked green durum wheat grains. Traditionally, the wheat is harvested unripe, then set alight, leaving only the grain intact. The flavour is nutty and smokey.

Freekeh can be used to make flavourful pilafs, soups or salads.

• Try it: Root vegetable soup with Middle Eastern flavours
• Try it: Winter tabbouleh
• Try it: Vegetarian “shepherd’s pie” with Middle Eastern flavours

Lentils are a legume that’s widely used in traditional Turkish and Middle Eastern cooking. They come in a range of types, which can be separated into two uses.

Green, brown and black lentils are sturdy and keep their shape well during cooking. They’re best for salads, stews, pilafs and other dishes where you want the lentils to retain their shape and provide a slight bite. Puy or beluga lentils are best for salads, whereas more general green or brown lentils are often used in stews and pilaffs. The flavour of these lentils is earthy and rich.

• Try it: Vegan Turkish lentil stew
• Try it: Syrian lentils
• Try it: Lentil salad with aubergine

Red and yellow lentils are more fragile and disintegrate quickly. They’re best for soups and stews where you want them to disintegrate, as well as for other dishes where you want to use the mashed lentils. Red and yellow lentils have a milder, nuttier flavour.

• Try it: lentil soup
• Try it: Turkish lentil meatballs (Mercimek köftesi)
• Try it: Chunky lentil & vegetable soup

Pistachios

Pistachios are used in both sweet and savoury dishes. The pistachios of the former Aleppo region, which includes modern day Gaziantep in Turkey, are highly sought after.

In my recipes, always use the unsalted, raw kernels, never the salty, roasted ones with shell from the snack aisle.

In Istanbul, I can buy pistachios with the thin, purple skin removed, making the pistachios completely green, but it’s usually fine to use them the way you buy them.

• Try it: Turkish baklava with pistachios
• Try it: Girit ezmesi (Feta and pistachio dip)
• Try it: Katmer (Turkish pistachio pastry dessert)

Pastes & sauces

Grape molasses (Üzüm pekmezi)

Grape molasses (üzüm pekmezi in Turkish) is a syrup made from raisins. It’s most well known for giving the unique flavour to simit, as well as a breakfast spread mixed with tahini.

• Try it: Simit – Turkish sesame bread rings

Harissa is a Tunisian spiced red pepper paste. The key flavourings beyond hot chili peppers are caraway and coriander. It can be very hot, so use with care!

You can make your own harissa, or buy it from the shops. Whichever you choose, please know that harissa can vary substantially in both heat and flavour intensity, so always adapt the amount to your taste rather than follow the recipe to a T.

• Try it: Harissa chicken wings
• Try it: Spiced beetroot and chickpeas with harissa yoghurt
• Try it: Corn salad with feta & harissa

Pomegranate molasses is a thick syrup made from 100% freshly squeezed pomegranate juice which has been cooked down. The flavour is sweet and sour, with an emphasis on the sour. While it’s easiest to buy ready pomegranate molasses, you can make your own by gently boiling down fresh pomegranate juice.

Unfortunately, fake versions abound, often sold under confusingly similar names like “nar ekşili sos”. These consist mostly of glucose syrup and artificial flavourings and colourings, and have a completely different flavour profile. Always double check the ingredient list of your bottle to make sure you’re buying the real thing.

Pomegranate molasses keeps well for 1–2 years after opening and is best stored in the kitchen cupboard, not the fridge.

Pomegranate molasses is widely used in South-Eastern Turkish and Syrian cuisines. It can be used in salad dressings, marinades, stews, meatballs and meat mixtures and more.

• Try it: Turkish tomato walnut salad
• Try it: Turkish inspired meatball pomegranate stew
• Try it: Marinated beetroots with feta cream & pistachios

Tahini is a paste made from roasted and milled sesame seeds. It has a rich, nutty flavour. Tahini splits naturally, so make a habit out of mixing it will before every use. This happens regardless of quality.

Quality of tahini can vary wildly. A good tahini will taste delicious straight from the jar, and will not be bitter or claggy. In my experience, Arab brands are generally far superior to Western brands, though exceptions exist on both sides. I recommend trying a few brands available where you live to find one you like – preferably from an international food store or deli rather than a supermarket.

Tahini is best known as the “other” main ingredient in hummus, but it has a wide range of uses. It’s excellent in dips, condiments and dressings, but also oven roasts and sweet dishes.

Tahini keeps well for 6–12 months after opening and is best stored in the kitchen cupboard, not the fridge.

• Try it: Silky smooth and creamy hummus
• Try it: Chicken fatteh
• Try it: Sea bass with tahini onion sauce

Turkish red pepper pastes are made similar to tomato paste, but with sweet or spicy red peppers. The pastes are used extensively in Turkish and Syrian cuisine. They add umami and depth of flavour to soups, marinades, stews and sauces, and are essential in flavouring meat dolma. They’re almost always used together with tomato paste.

Unlike in most Western recipes, tomato and red pepper pastes are used as an ingredient in their own right in winter recipes, and rarely to deepen the flavour of fresh tomato (which is a summer ingredient).

There are two versions. These can usually be used interchangeable depending on personal preference.

Sweet red pepper paste (Tatlı biber salçası in Turkish) is savoury rather than sweet in flavour, but does not have a spicy kick.

Hot red pepper paste (Acı biber salçası in Turkish) is savoury and spicy, but rarely overpoweringly so. Commercial varieties are fairly mild in flavour and can be used generously.

I often use the sweet version and add a little pul biber (Aleppo pepper) to make it spicy.

In Turkey, you can get home made versions made the traditional way. These are superior in flavour and keep for months after opening as long as you keep it in the fridge. Commercial varieties should also be kept in the fridge after opening, but usually don’t keep for as long.

I strongly recommend getting a jar of at least one of the varieties, but if you can’t get your hand on it, tomato paste can be substituted.

• Try it: Adana smashburger
• Try it: Turkish moussaka (Musakka)
• Try it: Turkish lamb shish kebab from Gaziantep
• Try it: Ezogelin soup (Turkish lentil soup with rice & bulgur)

Spices

Aleppo pepper

→ See pul biber (Aleppo pepper)

Dried mint

Dried mint is exactly what the name suggests. It’s used widely in Turkish cooking, particularly to flavour soups, stuffed vegetables and toppings, often in combination with olive oil or butter, tomato paste, red pepper paste and pul biber (Aleppo pepper).

• Try it: Cacik (Turkish tzatziki)
• Try it: Ezogelin soup (Turkish lentil soup with rice & bulgur)
• Try it: Pasta salad with tomato, olives & feta cheese

Isot biber (Urfa pepper)

Isot biber, often sold as Urfa pepper in Western shops, are dark chili flakes from South Eastern Turkey. They’re mildly spicy with complex flavours with undertones of raisins and dark chocolate.

It works really well in stews, sauces and with meats like lamb and beef. It can also bring depth of flavour and a mild chili kick to vegetarian dishes.

• Try it: Lamb with tomato & isot aioli
• Try it: Stuffed dried vegetables with meat (Antep usulü etli kuru dolma)
• Try it: Vegetarian “shepherd’s pie” with Middle Eastern flavours

Lebanese 7-spice

Lebanese 7-spice is a spice mix that is used widely in the Lebanese kitchen. The mixture and relative amounts vary from place to place, but allspice, cinnamon, cloves, coriander and black pepper are usually part of the mixture. It’s easy to make your own 7-spice mix.

Lebanese 7-spice is a warming spice mix, and will give anything you add it to an unmistakably Middle Eastern flavour. Use it with meats or in stews.

If you don’t have it to hand, you can usually substitute 1:1 with allspice and a pinch or two of cinnamon.

• Try it: Lebanese pea stew with meat (Bazela)
• Try it: Lebanese style pasta with yoghurt and spiced lamb (Macarona bil laban)
• Try it: Arayes (Middle Eastern stuffed pitas)

Mahlab

Mahlab is a spice made from the ground seeds of a certain species of cherry. It has a flavour reminiscent of bitter almond or marzipan.

Mahleb is most commonly used in small amounts to flavour sweet and savoury pastries.

• Try it: Poğaça with feta cheese (Turkish breakfast pastry)

Nigella seeds

Nigella seeds (çörek otu in Turkish) are black seeds used mostly in baking. The spice is sometimes referred to as black caraway, black cumin or black onion seeds.

Nigella seeds have an earthy, slightly bitter flavour and work very well on börek and flatbreads.

• Try it: Turkish tray börek with cheese
• Try it: Turkish ramadan pide (Ramazan pidesi)
• Try it: Cypriot olive halloumi bread (Elioti)

Pine nuts

Pine nuts are the edible seeds of the pine tree. They’re used extensively in Middle Eastern cooking, mostly as a topping to festive dishes or mezes, or in pilafs.

Pine nuts are expensive and their use has therefore reduced considerably in the last few years. The elongated shaped ones are considered superior to the short ones. Note that not all pine trees produce edible seeds.

• Try it: Chicken fatteh
• Try it: Hummus kawarma (Lebanese hummus with lemony lamb)
• Try it: Musakhan (Palestinian chicken with sumac onion flatbread)

Pul biber (Aleppo pepper)

Pul biber are mild and aromatic chili flakes linked to the Aleppo region. The standard version carries approximately ⅓ the heat of cayenne pepper, though in Turkey you can get them hotter as well. Pul biber is always seedless.

Contrary to popular belief, pul biber and Aleppo pepper are essentially the same, hailing from the food culture of the Aleppo region, which was later split into a Syrian and a Turkish part.

Pul biber/Aleppo pepper is widely used in Turkish and Syrian cooking. Use it on anything from soups and stews to meat and vegetarian dishes. In Turkey, it’s common to find pul biber on the table alongside salt and pepper for adding to anything you like.

I highly recommend getting these, as they are widely used in my recipes and I do not recommend substituting “regular” chili flakes, which are usually significantly hotter and less aromatic.

• Try it: Virtually every other recipe on this website has it :)

Sumac is a sour spice made from the crushed berries (technically fruits) of the sumac bush. It was used to add acidity to dishes prior to the arrival of lemon.

Today, its use remains much like lemon, but its acidity is milder and the flavour far more complex. This makes it ideal for salads dressings and marinades. It works especially well with chicken.

• Try it: Musakhan (Palestinian chicken with sumac onion flatbread)
• Try it: Turkish sumac onions
• Try it: Fattoush

Read more about sumac and its uses here:

Urfa pepper

→ See isot biber (Urfa pepper)

Za’atar is a spice mix made from finely ground wild thyme from the Middle Eastern region, toasted sesame seeds and sumac. Varieties of the spice mix will differ, not least because the particular type of wild thyme varies from region to region. Its flavour is closer to savory or oregano than thyme and cannot be easily replicated with a home made mixture that doesn’t include the wild Middle Eastern herb.

Always check the ingredient list when buying za’atar. Many commercial varieties add large amounts of flour, other spicers and flavour “enhancers” to make a cheaper (but lesser) product. Choose a spice mix with as few ingredients as possible. Palestinian za’atar is often highly rated, but brands may differ.

When talking about za’atar, we usually mean the green spice mix. There’s also a red version, which is heavier on the sumac.

The wild thyme that forms the bulk of the spice mix is, confusingly, also called za’atar (zahter in Turkish). In the region, it’s used as a fresh herb.

Za’atar spice mix is a common ingredient in the Levantine cuisines, including the Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian kitchens. It is also widely used by chefs and recipe developers creating new dishes with Middle Eastern flavours.

Mix za’atar with extra virgin olive oil for a classic condiment that can be used as a dip or topping on bread. Za’atar goes particularly well with bread, egg, substantial salads and with chicken and salmon/trout.

• Try it: Lemon za’atar chicken
• Try it: The best tomato salad in the world
• Try it: Za’atar baked salmon

Read more about za’atar and its uses here:

Other ingredients

Filo pastry (yufka)

Filo pastry is a very thin sheet of dough. It’s commonly used for making sweet or savoury pastries. Turks will refer to it as yufka (pronounced “youff-kah”).

While you can make filo pastry at home, it requires a lot of training. It’s commonly bought ready made, including in Turkey and the Middle East, where you can still find many shops specialising in selling freshly made filo pastry.

There are several types of filo pastry available.

Böreklik yufka are large, circular sheets weighing in at around 150 grams (5 oz) a piece. The pastry is soft and not super thin, akin to large, fragile and less dense tortilla. It makes for a softer pastry, making it perfect for making börek.

• Try it: Turkish tray börek with cheese
• Try it: Börek with ground beef & feta (Kıymalı peynirli kol böreği)

Baklavalık yufka are rectangular, super thing and often quite dry sheets weighing in at around 15–20 grams (½ oz) each. Each layer is often separated by a sprinkling of starch. These make for a very crispy pastry, and is used for desserts like baklava. It can also be used for savoury pastries, in which case I recommend using double layers.

• Try it: Turkish baklava with pistachios
• Try it: Börek with spiced beef and pistachios

Additionally, you can purchase triangular filo pastry. These are specifically for making filo rolls such as sigara böreği.