This dish is actually a meat and vegetable casserole. In restaurants, the traditional pot is broken open right on the serving table for a little theatre for the customers. Now that pot is not available everywhere in the world but we can certainly improvise and use something from our own kitchen to create the same cooking environment for the ingredients.
Any type of earthenware casserole dish can be used for this dish, which confers a delicious earthy smell to the final dish. Even heavy based casserole dishes work just fine, they just do not confer the same smell. Luckily, in most cultures, some form of clay pot cooking is done, like we have our clay handis in South Asia which should work just fine for this purpose. The cooking technique is quite similar to the Dum Pukht and Sajji methods we use to make biryani and roasts in South Asia, handed down to us by Mongols and Mughals.
Ingredients can slightly vary in different recipes. Some people add potatoes or eggplants to make the stew more filling. Also you can use any of your favourite herb for flavouring instead of thyme; basil, oregano, rosemary, mint and tarragon can add lovely flavour to it. The heat loving palates can chop a few green chilli peppers or add red chilli flakes to suit their taste.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 kg chicken, lamb or beef
- 1 big onion, cut into cubes
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into cubes
- 4 green bell peppers, cut into cubes
- 3 tomatoes, diced
- 1 head garlic
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Dried or fresh thyme for flavouring
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
This Is What You Do:
Add the meat chunks and vegetable mix to cooking pot. Chuck in the garlic head or you can add 2-3 cloves chopped garlic. There is no need to add extra water for chicken because it gets cooked pretty easily in the juices from vegetables. But if you are using lamb or beef, add 1/2 cup water.
Cover the casserole dish tightly, either with bread dough or foil paper. The dish should be airtight. Make a tiny whole in the centre of the dough or foil lid for a little steam to escape.
Place in the hot oven and allow to braise slowly. Cook chicken for 1 hour, lamb and beef for 2+1/2 hour.
Serve hot from the oven, remove the lid right at the table to wow your guests with the aromatic steam that bursts out of the pot as soon as the lid is removed. Just be careful while doing, better wear your oven mittens to save your hands.
Serve with toasted pita bread or saffron rice and hummus or thick yogurt.
I’ve been in Turkey this summer and I’ve tasted his recipe. Now a friend of mine wants me to cook it at home! I think that the one we tasted had eggplants and potatoes, is it posible? If the casserole lid has a tiny hole is it necessary to do another in the dough? And if you want to cook it in coals how many time it last?
This is my first experience with Turkish cooking so wish me good luck!
Thank you!!!
Hello Inma Garcia! Welcome to my virtual home 😊
I can imagine how amazing an experience it must have been enjoying the authentic Testi kebab in Turkey.
Yes, absolutely use eggplants and potatoes in your casserole. I’ve come across recipes that even add beans to the dish. Personally, I believe the more vegetables, the merrier a dish is! I love adding vegetables to my meat dishes to break the heaviness.
You can cover the tiny hole in your dish with dough or you can cover the dish first with a foil sheet tightly then put on the lid.
If you want to cook in coals, make sure they are properly burnt down to ashen heat first. The heat should be just enough to allow the meat to simmer slowly for hours – 4-5 hours without burning it. There should be no flames.
Happy cooking and eating Turkish food. I’m already a fan! 😊