Ramazan Meals in the Ottoman Times
The month of Ramazan is not only a time of religious significance but also a chapter of
its own in Turkish cultural history. The evening meal known as iftar was marked
by its own special customs, family visits where exchanged, and a nation of normally early
risers sat up until late or even promenaded in the illuminated streets, visited cafes and
watched shadow plays. It was a way of celebrating Ramazan which
took its cue from Istanbul, where these customs developed over the centuries. Special
delicacies adorned the tables to make up for the deprivation of fasting.
 Those old Ramazans represented many of the high spots of
Ottoman Turkish Cuisine . Even the humblest household bedecked their Ramazan tables with
treats they could not normally afford, and with dishes associated particularly with that
month. Meals and refreshments offered to guests reflected the polyphonic voice of this
imperial cuisine.
On the fifteenth day of Ramazan the Sultan would visit the holy Mantel of the Prophet
and the palace kitchens would prepare huge round trays of baklava for the janissaries, one
tray to each ten men, plus a tray which would be presented to the sultan. Two janissaries
would shoulder each tray and carry it off to their barracks, returning them the next day
together with the cloths which had covered them.
Preparing baklava according to the high standards of those times was no mean
feat, and one of the tests of an accomplished cook. No less than one hundred tissue thin
sheets of pastry had to be layered in the tray, and when a gold sovereign was dropped from
half a meter height above it, the coin was expected to pierce right through the pastry and
make contact with the bottom of the tray. Cooks who passed this rigorous test were
rewarded for their skill, and baklava which failed the test was sent back in disgrace to
the kitchen.
One of the traditional hot entrees to a Ramazan meal was eggs with onions palace style.
This simple sounding dish was in fact a delicacy fit for a gourmet when prepared by the
palace cooks, who rivaled one another to produce the finest on a specified night in
Ramazan. Having attached papers with their names to the pans, the sultan would taste each
of them one by one and select the best. That cook would then be appointed to the post of
chief pantry keeper for the year. The secret of the delicious flavor was to stir the
onions in butter over a low heat for three or three and half hour.
 There were many other customs associated with Ramazan. For
example, following iftar, at the palace the intendant of the kitchens would
prepare an aromatic tisane for the sultan, the grand vezir and the other vezirs. This
infusion containing Carduelis spinus, cyclamen, Indian aloe, calambac, agalloch, acacia
gum, cochineal, soapwort, sesame root, musk, arrange flower water and rose water would be
filtered and presented to the sultan's vezirs and high ranking officials in gilded or
plain bottles and bowls according to their status. This gift took the place of an
invitation to attend the ceremony of the Holy Mantle on the fifteenth of the month. The
wealthy held open table throughout Ramazan, and anyone who knocked on the door at iftar
time would be invited into eat at tables laid in the halls. In one occasion as the hour of
iftar approached Mahmud II ordered his barge to hearth at Salacak
on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, and arrived at the house of a prominent official
named Darüzzade Abdullah whose reputation as a lover of fine food had reached the palace. His wife and servants were in a
panic, but Darüzzade Abdullah invited the sultan to the table calmly and gave orders to
bring in any extra specialties the kitchen had to offer. The
dishes served in gold plates came up to the sultan's expectations and he enjoyed his
delicious meal. Finally it was time for the stewed fruit, which traditionally rounded off
Turkish meals. This was served not in a clear crystal bowl but in a strangely clouded
glass bowl, and Mahmud II was surprised after having been served with the household's
finest ware throughout the rest of the meal. Darüzzade explained that the cook had carved
a bowl of ice to keep the hosaf cool without watering dawn the fragrantly
perfumed fruit juice, You know how to live, my friend declared Mahmud II
admiringly. Although much of this pomp and extravagance of past Ramazans has gone never to
return, it is still a time of carefully prepared tables with special dishes to celebrate
the month of fasting, and of getting together with relatives, neighbors and friends.
- Source:
- Ramazan Meals in Ottoman Times
By Ali Esad Göksell,
SKYLIFE 01/97
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