Kumpir

In Turkish food recipes, snacks and appetizers are very tasty. You will often encounter these flavors in various luxury restaurants and restaurants. Especially in large and famous cities such as Istanbul, you may encounter dishes called snacks such as doner, kebab, kumpir, and so on. Kumpir offers a very different flavor by separating it from the street flavors that are very well known. 

Must-Have Snack Kumpir

Kumpir is one of the most popular Turkish food recipes and is suitable for every taste of every culture due to the ingredients it contains. In some places in Anatolia, the word kumpir is also used instead of potato. This Turkish recipe is made by adding some ingredients to the baked potato. Although Kumpir is quite famous in Turkey, it can be said that it is a new recipe made in the country. So what is kumpir, and what are the ingredients you can put inside? 

Turkish recipes have been shaped over the years due to a cultural synthesis that has been going on in the country for many years and different climates. An example of Turkish food recipes influenced by the Middle East, the Balkans, and Central Asia is definitely kumpir. It is believed that the dish kumpir originally came from potatoes cooked in ovens in foil in Yugoslavia and called “krumpir” in its name. According to a rumor, the arrival of the kumpir in our country was made by Bulgarian immigrants, and in Bulgarian, the word potato was mentioned initially as “krumpir.” However, the Turks developed this potato cooking technique and threw the potatoes into large ovens, and then put Turkish-specific appetizers and ingredients in them. 

Kumpir’s Recipe

Kumpir is a must-have snack for locals and tourists, which you can often find, especially in metropolitan cities of Turkey such as Izmir and Istanbul. Kumpir, which is relatively easy to make, is combined with the indispensable flavors of Turkish food recipes. 

Restaurants and cafes that make kumpir usually bake large potatoes by foiling them in large ovens. For making kumpir, you will need quite large potatoes because there will be a lot of ingredients in this Turkish recipe. To prepare this must-have snack, first, the potatoes are washed and dried well, then wrapped in aluminum foil and placed on trays. These trays are placed in regular-sized ovens in homes and wood-fired or large ovens in restaurants and cooked. After cooking in the oven for at least 2 hours, the outside of the potatoes should be soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.

After the potatoes are removed from the oven, it will be possible to put the desired ingredients in them. Before putting the ingredients, the potatoes are cut in half, butter and melted cheeses are put in them and turned into mashed potatoes. The appetizers and snack ingredients that will be placed in this must-have snack usually range from sausages, Russian and Italian salads, special Turkish appetizers, mushrooms, roasted peppers, olives, and similar ingredients. You can have your food by choosing any kumpir ingredients offered in buffet form in restaurants. 

Kumpir in Istanbul

In Istanbul, kumpir has become a must-have snack for locals. There are certain points specifically for you to try this delicacy. One of these points is Ortaköy, located in the province of Istanbul because the kumpir of this place is very famous. The first place you can visit in Besiktas-Ortakoy and try this food will be the 1991 Tarihi Ortakoy Kumpircisi. Ortaköy Kumpircisi has developed over time and has started to open branches to some locations while adding different flavors to its structure. Don’t go past this point, which is one of the first places you can think of to eat kumpir in Istanbul.

Another well-known popular place of the kumpir is Bebek Waffle & Kumpir in Ortakoy, Istanbul. While researching on the Internet, this place, which is ranked at the top for kumpir food, gets quite high scores in terms of taste. Therefore, this point is one of the most accurate places to try kumpir, which is among the unique Turkish food recipes.

Another example of an Ortakoy Kumpir place is the Allpato Kumpir, which is very popular. This is the first kumpir restaurant that opened in Istanbul and has been serving its customers since 1990. You should definitely try it at Allpato Kumpir, one of the first places where kumpir is made