çiğ köfte (raw meatball), it is a fairly simple food made from cracked wheat mixed with raw meat (sometimes) and tomato paste wıth lots of spices. Usually served on lettuce leaves with lemon juice, it is a spicy, crisp, and refreshing consumable with diverse recipes from place to place. Sometimes made with raw beef, chicken, or lamb, most street sellers in Istanbul are serving vegetarian (etsiz) style made from boiled wheat grains.
The story of çiğ köfte which seems to prevail goes something like this: in the time of Abraham, in the city of Urfa in southern Turkey, lived king Nimrod who had all the available firewood collected to erect a giant execution pyre for Abraham. The people, lacking fuel, proceeded to mash their venison into a paste and mix it with spices to make it palatable. I cannot attest to the accurateness of this story, but its a nice one anyway.
The best place in Sirkeci to enjoy this food is at Ali Usta çiğ köftecisi. Here is a map:
View Ali Usta çiğ köftecisi in a larger map
