TURKISH PIZZA ANYONE..Serving Pides with Pride!
Serving Pides with Pride!
Just the words ‘Turkish pizza’ transported me to an exotic land, the land of my dreams; there was no stopping me. Morning broke &, thanks to Elle, I was engulfed with sweet dreams of Turkey & it’s street food.
This spice, sumac, comes from the berries of a wild bush that grows wild in all Mediterranean areas, especially in Sicily and southern Italy, and parts of the Middle East, notably Iran. It is an essential ingredient in Arabic cooking, being preferred to lemon for sourness and astringency.
I am the proud owner of a bag of Sumac powder that my sweet niece thoughtfully got for me from Dubai. She often makes the Turkish Adana Kebabs I posted long ago, recipe here, & enjoys them a lot. The bag of sumac, a beautiful purple-red powder, has been beckoning me to use it for a while; pide seemed to present one such opportunity, since I had been longing to use sumac for something other than adana kebabs – delightful, delicious & simple kebabs.
‘Moreish‘, rustic & delicious! 
Here’s the recipe as adapted from Elles @ Elles New England Kitchen
Dough: ( I made 1 1/2 times the original recipe, got me 10 Turkish pizzas)
Active Dried Yeast – 1 1/2 tsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Flour – 4 cups
Whole wheat flour – 1 cup
Salt – 1 1/2 tsp
Oil – 2 tbsp
Method:
- Mix the yeast, sugar and 1 cup warm water in a mixing bowl. Proof for 10 minutes.
- Add flour, salt and oil, mix slightly, then knead the dough on a floured board until smooth.
- Shape into a ball, cover and let dough rise for about an hour.
Topping:
Ground lamb – 500gms (or your choice of meat)
Fresh green papaya – 1 tsp ; grated fine (very optional)
Onions – 2 small; finely diced
Garlic – 6-8 cloves/ 2-3 tbsp minced ( I like plenty of garlic)
Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Tomatoes – 4-5; seeded and chopped
Green capsicum – 2 small; diced
Coriander – 1 bunch; finely chopped
Tomato paste – 2 tsp
Sweet paprika – 2 tsp
Sumac powder – 1 tbsp + 1 tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Salt and pepper to taste
Low fat cottage cheese – 300-400gms (I used Le Bon)
Method for topping:
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Marinade mince + 1 tsp papaya paste +1 tbsp minced garlic + 1 tsp sumac powder for 30 minutes, in the fridge.
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Heat a skillet over medium heat, add the oil and saute the onions and remaining garlic for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the mince & stir fry on high till cooked through well & any liquid dries up. If you use papaya, the mince will have a kind of pasty consistency, not crumbly. Take off heat.
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To this, add the tomatoes, coriander, green capsicum, tomato paste & spices & mix it all up. Taste and adjust seasonings.
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Heat oven to 450°.
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Divide dough into 10 portions and roll out to thin circles. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment, and place 2 dough circles on each. Spread some of the topping on the first 2, top with grated cottage cheese or feta, then put the baking sheet in the oven.
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Have 1/2 cup of cold water ready, and toss it in the bottom of the oven quickly, then shut the door. (I forgot to do this)
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Bake for 8-10 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough.
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Remove from pan to a cooling rack.
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Roll pizzas up to eat.
Rolling in the PIDES – Pizza, the Turkish way… 
This one’s on its way to my old friend Ben @ What’s Cookin US for his ‘I Love Baking’ event, a baking event for baking loving people…& to Susan’s @ Wild Yeast Blog for Yeastspotting.
This post featured on
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Reuters.com UK
Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
21 Comments
Nags
i love wraps and rolls 🙂 the bread looks spongy and thick D 🙂 good one!
HoneyB
This looks so delicious!
Mike of Mike's Table
I’ve never heard of this before but I think you’ve sold me on it as well–it looks and sounds amazing! I’ve been thinking a bit about “different” pizzas lately, so this is strangely perfect timing.
nicisme
Oh these are totally scrummy! I love this kind of food!
Laurie
These look really yummy Deeba! The bread is gorgeous and so plump. 🙂
I’m glad I’m not the only one who fears my children’s rejection to new foods! 🙂
Susan/Wild Yeast
Deeba, it’s hard to believe you overcame your yest fear only a few short months ago. You are a yeast baker with the best of them and these pides are proof of it! They look outrageously good.
Manggy
Ah, spices are just one of the things you guys will never run out of! I have barely any idea what sumac smells or tastes like! But your turkish pizza does look amazing, perfect for strolling around the city with it in hand!
Susan from Food Blogga
Hi Deeba! I thought these looked familiar –I saw them on Elle’s blog and thought they looked terrific too. Yours are equally delicious. Now, I have to some of my own. Have a great weekend!
Paula
I’ve never seen the spice sumac before! These turkish pizza’s look just fabulous! I love lamb (just happen to have some in the fridge, too!), and these spices sound amazing. I bet this smells so good! I’ve not used green papaya before; I’ll have to look for that. Great recipe!
Ben
When I saw this post on Elle’s blog I also fell in love with it. You have again made a great dish, my friend. Ant it is a great entry for the event :-p
Lori Lynn
Those look excellent! So glad to learn about a new type of “pizza.” I definitely need to find out more about Turkish foods…
meeso
This looks like a pizza I would love to make, and eat! Bookmarked 🙂
Rose&Thorn
I just know my family will love this, I can’t wait to try it! Thank you.
Rose&Thorn
I just know my family will love this, I can’t wait to try it! Thank you.
Kevin
That looks so tasty!
Elle
Deeba, thank you so much for the shout out! I’m so glad that you and your family loved them! I can’t wait to make these again. And I have to say, gorgeous photos of them, too!
muralimanohar
Okay, now I want to go to the Middle Eastern stores right near me and check out sumac….the only association I previously had was poison sumac, or the tree, lol!
(I made a delicious spinach and feta pide….SO simple, and SO yummy!!)
familiabencomo
Oh, yumm! I really have to try this one. You make me want to lick my pc – your photos are always so beautiful & tempting.
Tanti baci, my friend,
amy
Anonymous
Hi, I’ve been looking for a soft but very chewy flat bread recipe…could this be it??
Anonymous
I am currently living in Europe with our Military. I frequent a Turkish resturant quite regulary. The Turkish Pizza’s I eat from there are noticibly different. First the meat is cooked seperatly and the bread is warmed alone. Everything else is added(lettace, onions, feta cheese, a white cream sauce, cucumber, cabbage, carrots, banana peppers and spice or your choice of combinations) It is very good a filling
Berceste
Hi, it is nice to see some Turkish foods in your blog. If you would like to see the banana shape one, you can check this web site which is in English.
Also I would like to say, lahmacun is not a Armenian pizza. You eat it everywhere in Turkey and also different version in Middle East countries.