Turks are born with the ability to do one thing perfectly: cook kebabs. There’s nothing worse in life than expecting freshly-made şeftali kebabs and köfte, only to be handed sausages or burgers.
It’s imperative we understand the difference between a kebab and a BBQ. It’s not just ditching the ketchup and mustard for humus and tarama, or buns for pide. And who needs cider when you have rakı? The fundamental element that makes any kebab better than BBQ is using coal, not gas. There’s nothing like lighting a mangal to bring men together and pass techniques to the young’uns. Some use a tin can to funnel the heat, others a hairdryer, but mostly we use a Kıbrıs tepsi to get the mangal lit just that little bit quicker.
Perhaps it’s time we had a helpline and some counselling for Turks traumatised by the BBQ? Or a self-help guide on YouTube…
