Taste Guide

Turkish Spices Guide: Pul Biber, Isot, Cumin and More

Turkish food is rarely about heat for its own sake. A pot of lentil soup, a plate of köfte or a pan of eggs gets its character from a handful of Turkish spices used with a light hand: red pepper flakes for warmth and colour, cumin for depth, dried mint for freshness. Many Turkish kitchens run on fewer than ten jars. Once you know what each one does, a small, inexpensive shelf covers a lot of everyday cooking. Here is what to buy, what each spice is for and how to keep it fresh in a UAE kitchen. The jars sit alongside the other Turkish pantry essentials, from pastes to pulses. The Red Peppers: Pul Biber, Isot and Toz Biber Pul Biber (Red Pepper Flakes) Pul biber is the shaker you will find on many Turkish tables. The flakes are coarse and a little oily, and they taste more fruity than fiery. Sweet (tatlı) flakes add colour and gentle warmth, while hot (acı) flakes bring real heat. Sprinkle them over eggs and menemen, stir them into melted butter for soups and dumplings, or work them into minced meat for köfte. Isot (Urfa Pepper) Isot comes from Şanlıurfa in southeastern Türkiye. The peppers are dried in the sun by day and wrapped up at night, which turns them almost black and gives them a smoky, raisin-like taste with a slow, steady heat. Use it with lamb and beef, in yoghurt dips, or over eggs fried with sucuk (soujouk). Toz Biber (Red Pepper Powder) Ground red pepper, sweet or hot, is mostly about colour. It goes into soups, stews and rice, and it turns butter sauces a deep red. Sweet pepper powder is the one to keep in the cupboard; hot powder is worth adding only if your household likes heat. Cumin, Dried Mint and Thyme Kimyon (Cumin) Cumin gives minced meat its warm, earthy Turkish taste, which is why it is the first spice many cooks reach for when making köfte. It also goes into mercimek soup, bean dishes and some meze. Use it carefully: a little too much and everything tastes of cumin. Nane (Dried Mint) Dried mint turns up in Turkish cooking more often than fresh. It is rubbed into yoghurt dips like cacık, sprinkled over lentil and yoghurt soups, warmed in butter for mantı and mixed into rice fillings for dolma. Unlike fresh mint, it keeps its flavour through long cooking. Kekik (Thyme) In Turkish, kekik covers a family of wild thyme and oregano-type herbs. Dried kekik goes on grilled meat and köfte, on white cheese with a drizzle of olive oil, and on marinated olives. At breakfast, a saucer of olive oil with kekik is good for dipping bread. Seeds and Sweet Spices Çörek Otu (Black Seed) Çörek otu, known in English as black seed or nigella and in the UAE as habbat al barakah, has a toasty, slightly peppery taste. It is scattered over pide bread and savoury pastries and mixed into cheese fillings for börek. Labels sometimes call it black cumin, but it is a different plant altogether. Sesame, Cinnamon and Cloves Sesame seeds coat simit and top many breads and pastries. Cinnamon goes into rice fillings for dolma and into milk puddings, and cloves turn up in fruit compotes and a few desserts. These are small jars you will use slowly, so buy them last. Which Spice for Which Dish Dish Spices to reach for Menemen and fried eggs Pul biber, black pepper Mercimek soup Cumin, dried mint, pepper butter Köfte Cumin, pul biber, black pepper Mantı Pul biber butter, dried mint Dolma and stuffed peppers Dried mint, cinnamon, black pepper Yoghurt dips Dried mint, pul biber Grilled meat Isot, kekik Börek and pide bread Black seed, sesame Sour Notes: Pomegranate Sour and Sumac Sauce Some of the sour notes on a Turkish table come from a bottle rather than a jar. Nar ekşisi, or pomegranate sour, is a thick, tangy syrup made from pomegranates, and sumak ekşisi is a sour sauce made with sumac. A spoonful of either goes into chopped salads of tomato, onion and pepper served with grilled meat, and into bulgur salads like kısır. You will find both in the pastes, sauces and jars section. Useful Turkish Words on Spice Labels Tatlı: sweet or mild Acı: hot Pul: flakes Toz: ground, powder Kimyon: cumin Nane: mint Kekik: thyme Çörek otu: black seed How to Keep Turkish Spices Fresh in UAE Heat Keep them away from heat and light. A closed cupboard away from the cooker and the window keeps colour and aroma longer than an open rack beside the hob. Give the red peppers extra care. Pul biber and isot lose their colour and oil faster than other spices, so many Turkish cooks keep them in a tightly closed jar in the fridge during the summer. Buy small packs. A pack you finish is better than a large bag that sits at the back of the cupboard. Use a dry spoon. Shaking a jar over a steaming pot lets moisture in, and powders start to clump. Trust your nose. If a spice smells of very little when you rub it between your fingers, it will taste of very little too. A Starter Spice Shelf If you are starting from scratch, begin with five jars: sweet red pepper flakes, isot, ground cumin, dried mint and kekik. Those five take you from menemen at breakfast to köfte and mercimek at dinner. Add black seed, cinnamon and a bottle of pomegranate sour next. Hot pepper powder, cloves and spice blends can wait until you know what you cook most often. The exception is köfte: if it becomes a weekly dinner, a ready meatball spice mix is a handy shortcut. The dry goods section keeps the herbs and spices together. FAQs About Turkish Spices Is Turkish food spicy? Generally, no. Everyday Turkish cooking is seasoned rather than hot, and heat is often added at the table with pepper flakes so each person can choose. Dishes from the southeast, such as Adana-style kebab, tend to be spicier. Can I use regular chilli flakes instead of pul biber? You can, but use less. Regular chilli flakes are usually hotter and drier, while pul biber is milder, oilier and fruitier, so a straight swap changes the dish. Start with half the amount and taste. What spices are used at a Turkish breakfast? Breakfast is lightly spiced. Pul biber goes on eggs, kekik goes on white cheese and olives with olive oil, and black seed tops some breads and pastries. Our Turkish breakfast board guide shows how it all comes together. Is pepper paste a spice? Not quite, but it does a similar job. Biber salçası is a thick paste of red peppers, sweet or hot, that gives stews, soups and köfte mixtures depth and colour. Many cooks use it alongside pul biber rather than instead of it. Where can I buy Turkish spices in the UAE? Bakkal.ae stocks Turkish spices including pul biber, isot, cumin, dried mint, kekik and black seed, along with pomegranate sour and pepper paste, with delivery across the UAE. The small packs make it easy to keep a fresh supply. Here are the jars from the starter shelf, plus the next ones to add. Recommended Products for this Content