My love affair with Turkish food started in 2000 in NYC when i was young, poor intern. I dicovered $2 Falafel sandwiches in a pita at the legendary Mamouns. Thus began the exploration of the cuisine, gyros, humus, babaganoush, grape leaf rolls, pine nuts, and so much more.
My sister tipped me to eat at the Donar Kebab places outside the subway stations. Turns out the Doner is Berlin's most popular fast food. They are cheap, good and very filling.
I requested my Berliner friend Alexej who lived in the trendy Neu Koln area to take me to his favourite Donar place. And that he did. He explained to me that Turkish immigrants had been invited to Germany during the 60s after the war as
Guest Workers as there was a shortage of labor. Here they establised large communities especially in big cities like Berlin and adapted their food and created uniquely Berlin- Turkish cuisine. The Donar sandwich in Berlin is one such speciality. What makes this Doner different from the rest- Well the Turkish doner is
mostly lamb. Germans prefer a mix of veal and chicken. Instead of the
traditional hummous and tahini sauces the Germans make their Doner with hot sauce
(scharfe Soße), herb sauce
(Kräutersoße), garlic sauce (
Knoblauchsoße), or yogurt
(Joghurtsoße) in any no. of combinations. They also
serve it
mit pommes or with fries instead of the salad. In a thin nicely toasted, crispy, sesame encrusted pita bread lay the gyro meat or
shwerma , yogurt with garlic sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, hot sauce, and tahina. Fold it and serve. You have a massively beautiful Donar sandwich. Alexej told me that the doner in Berlin is probably more popular than the hamburger. Wah!
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| Berlin's beautiful NeuKoln area |
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| The courthouse |
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| Gorgeous veal rotating roast |
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| Sauces and other meats |
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| Grilled fish |
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| Rice pudding a bit like kheer |
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| Tomatoes, lettuce, thin slices of Shwerma, garlic and yogurt sauce, all wrapped in one crunchy, sesame laden thin pita bread. Since we were sharing - no hot sauce. |
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| Alexej- my lunch date and tour guide for the day. A true Berliner- born and brought up in Berlin. A rarity I believe. |
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| A testament to how good the sandwich was. Great hangover food! |
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| Spelling my name to a foreigner. The Y always throws people off. |
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Nice post. I like the donor picture and the last picture. That has been your signature font since CEPT!
ReplyDeleteAnd now you are talking. We need to see food :)
ReplyDeleteMumbai could do with some international food too.
It is really heartening to see the young generation becoming more and more open-minded and accepting other peoples' culture. Food is one thing that inspires everybody especially if it is delicious......The pictures are very well shot.......
ReplyDeleteI am also a big fan of Doner Kebab, although I know this food is bad for your health I simply cannot resist it, because of all the different ingredients and flavours it offers. Still, I allow myself only 2-3 doner kebabs a month, but find it very difficult to resist the temptation.
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cheap calls to Turkey
So glad to hear other Desis enjoy it too. Just got back from Berlin literally yesterday and I've already got withdrawal symptoms from not having had Döner for like 2-3 days.
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