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TURKISH ISKENDER KEBAB – ISKENDER KEBABI

The very famous food in the Bursa region Turkey is made of Turkish Meat Doner, Turkish Pide Bread, and a beautiful tomato sauce.
Prep Time 35 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Course Meat
Cuisine Turkish

Ingredients
  

FOR THE DONER:

  • Half a kilo of ground beef
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • Ground red pepper black pepper, cumin

FOR 2 PIDE BREADS:

  • 2 1/2 cups warm water not hot
  • Half a pack of fresh yeast or 1 pack of dry yeast about 1 tablespoon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 5 - 5 1/2 cups flour 200ml classic water glass

FOR TOMATO SAUCE:

  • 1 tablespoon of oil
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 cup of grated tomatoes
  • 1 cup of hot water
  • 3 tablespoons of ketchup
  • Salt

TO PLATE:

  • Butter
  • Plain yogurt
  • Rice Pilaf optional

Instructions
 

DONER:

  • Clean the onion and cut it very finely in a food processor.
  • Add ground beef, plain yogurt, spices, and salt and continue to grind in a food processor.
  • Continue mixing in the food processor for about 5 minutes.
  • Take it on stretch film and roll it up well.
  • Freeze in the freezer for 1 night.
  • The next day, take it out of the freezer and let it sit for half an hour until it has the consistency to cut.
  • Thinly slice your still frozen doner.
  • Throw it directly into the hot pan that you have greased lightly and fry both sides.

PIDE BREAD:

  • Put water, yeast, and sugar in a suitable bowl and mix until the yeast dissolves.
  • Add salt and flour.
  • Knead a dough that sticks slightly to the hand.
  • At the last stage, you can gather the dough together by lubricating your hand with oil.
  • Add 5 cups of flour and make a flexible dough as you can see in the video below. (The amount of dough may vary depending on the quality of your flour. If your flour is insufficient, try adding half a glass of flour gradually to achieve the desired consistency.)
  • Cover the dough and ferment for 45 minutes.
  • Divide the fermented dough in half.
  • Open in an oval/round shape on a floured counter.
  • Place it in a tray covered with greaseproof paper.
  • Cover and ferment again for 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, heat your oven at 200 °C/392 °F.
  • Spread yogurt and molasses mixture or scrambled whole eggs on the rising dough.
  • Shape the edges and center with your fingertips as you can see in the video below. (Shape the pide dough after it rises in the tray, otherwise, the shapes will be distorted while rising.)
  • Sprinkle black cumin and sesame seeds on it and bake in a preheated 200 °C/392 °F oven until golden brown.

TOMATO SAUCE:

  • Add the oils and sauté the tomato paste until its smell come along.
  • Put the grated tomato and hot water on top and boil.
  • Add ketchup and salt when it is close to taking it off the heat.

PLATING:

  • Chop your pide bread into small pieces and sauté them in a pan with three tablespoons of butter until the butter is absorbed.
  • Spread your sautéed pide bread on your plate.
  • Put your doner on your pide bread.
  • Pour your tomato sauce.
  • Put some plain yogurt on the side.
  • You can pour some more melted butter on it to flavor your food.
  • Your Iskender Kebab is ready to be served.

Notes

You can serve your meal with rice pilaf, roasted tomatoes, and roasted green chili peppers.
Keyword Iskender Kebab