TRADITION OF TANDIR

Writer: Yavuz İşçen
April 2007

The most conspicuous characteristic of Cappadocian cuisine is that it carries the tradition of Tandır that has survived since the archaic period. It is interesting that a 2500 years old tradition still lives in the area in a similar way.

Continental climate and preparations for the winter
There are many factors that affect the culture of the local cuisine, including geographic and economical conditions, ethnic and historical characteristics. It is possible to say that the cuisine culture in Cappadocia has been set by production and consumption habits from the past.
Having a continental climate, the summers are hot and rainless and the winters are cold and rainy in Cappadocia. The local food production is closely related to the climate and the lifestyle it brings. Cold and long winter months demand the storage of high calorie food products and require the Cappadocian people to be well prepared for it. Summer products are prepared for the winter, keeping the locals busy especially around September and October. Grape molasses are boiled, jams are prepared, grapes and other fruits are dried, tomato pastes are made and vegetables pickled. They even prepare tarhana (dried dough made out of yoghurt for soup), bulgur wheat, bread for winter and yufka (thin sheets of pastry). These preparations are made in “imece style” which means all the village or neighbour women gather and work together, finishing off by drying pumpkin seeds, and frying them in milk.

Keystones of Cappadocian Cuisine
The keystone of the Cappadocian cuisine includes the local products, wheat being the most important one amongst them. The wheat is boiled on wood fires in big cauldrons until it gains a yellowish colour. Afterwards it is spread onto a flat sheet and left to dry. The dried bulgur wheat is pounded to bran. Then come pulses such as beans, chickpeas and lentils. Potatoes which have been produced in the area since the 1950’s are one of the primary agricultural products.
Fruit and vegetable farming, especially grapes, is widespread in Cappadocia. As well as fresh, grapes can be consumed dried or boiled to molasses. The grape molasses (pekmez) can be eaten in the winter months for breakfast with butter and yoghurt.
Dried apple, pear, quince, apricot and fig are called ‘kak’ in the region and can also be stewed.

No kitchen without Tandır
Tandır is the name of a hole which is 1 meter deep and 60 cm wide and dug usually in the middle of the house or in the kitchen. It is easy to prepare the hole for tandır in Cappadocia since the ground is generally soft rock. The inside of a tandır contains a section that is made out of fired clay from the Kızılırmak River.
Wood fire is used in a tandır and the embers cook the food. As well as being used like an oven to cook bread, another function of a tandır is heating the rooms. During the winter months the tandır room, which is called the ‘tandır house’, is used as the living room. The walls of the tandır house display the kitchen equipment and below it are rooms that are used as a larder or cellar for food.
If the tandır is used for making bread, the thin branches are used for the fire; however if it is used for cooking a dish then oak logs are preferred. Foods that need a long time to cook are placed at the bottom of the hole in clay dishes and covered with a large tray for slow cooking. It is well known that this style of cooking adds a different taste to the food.

Tandır Menu
Today it is possible to find good restaurants that serve tandır food in Cappadocia. A good tandır menu starts with tandır soup that is made out of a mixture of bulghur, lentils, chickpea and mince meat and cooked in a clay dish covered with dough. A dish called ‘ağpahla’, which contains lamb with dried beans and cooked in a similar way, follows the soup. Instead of Ağpahla, a type of kebab called Osbar can be tried. Of course we shouldn’t forget the delicious hot tandır bread, excellent local salads and ayran (a drink made out of yoghurt) to accompany the main course. The menu ends with a dessert that is made with pekmez or apricot with walnut topping, or another dessert that is made out of grapes.

Note: This article has been published in Peribacası Cappadocia Culture and Publicity Magazine, April 2007 issue. It is under protection of the copyrights of the magazine. No part of this article may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by electronic, mechanical or other means without prior permission from the owner. www.cappadociaexplorer.com