Balkan cuisine

Kebab ( , ), kebap, kabob (alternative North American spelling), kebob, or kabab (Hindi and Kashmiri spelling) is a variety of roasted meat dishes that originated in the Middle East.

Pilaf (), pilav, pilau or plov () is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables and meat, and employing some technique for achieving cooked grains that do not adhere.

Baklava (, or ) is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with either syrup or honey.

Moussaka (, , ; ) is an aubergine (eggplant)- or potato-based dish, often including ground meat, which is common in the Balkans and the Middle East, with many local and regional variations.

Turkish gelatinous candy

Tahini (; , or, in Iraq, ) is a Middle Eastern condiment (a seed butter) made from ground sesame seeds. The most common variety comes from hulled seeds, but unhulled ones can also be used; the latter variety is slightly bitter, but more nutritious. The seeds are more commonly roasted than raw. Tahini can be served by itself (as a dip), made into a salad dressing, or used as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, or halva.

Dolma is a family of stuffed dishes largely associated with Ottoman cuisine. It mainly includes vegetables and leaves, and occasionally seafood, offal, fruits, and meats, that are hollowed out or wrapped, then filled with a mixture of rice, minced meat, herbs, and spices. The leaf-wrapped type can be specifically known as sarma, but colloquially dolma is used for both.

Pita ( or ; ; ) or pitta (British English), also known as Arabic bread, Arab bread (), Syrian bread, Lebanese bread, and pide (Turkish) is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas. It includes the widely known version with an interior pocket. In the United Kingdom, the term is used for pocket versions such as the Greek pita, used for barbecues as a souvlaki wrap. The Western name pita may sometimes be used to refer to various other types of flatbreads that have different names in their local languages, s

Börek (also burek or byrek) is a family of pastries or pies made in the Middle East and Southeast Europe. The pastry is made of a thin flaky dough such as filo with a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach, or potatoes. A börek may be prepared in a large pan and cut into portions after baking, or as individual pastries. They are usually baked but some varieties can be fried. Börek is sometimes sprinkled with sesame or nigella seeds, and it can be served hot or cold.

thumb|upright|Boza from Turkey Boza, also bosa, is a fermented beverage originating from Central Asia and made in Turkey, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and North Africa. It is a malt drink made by fermenting various grains: millet, wheat (or bulgur) and maize (corn) in Turkey. It is one of the oldest Turkic beverages. It has a thick consistency, a low alcohol content (around 1%), and a slightly acidic sweet flavor.

thumb|Koofteh Tabrizi from Iran Kofta is a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes found in South Asian, Central Asian, Balkan, Middle Eastern, North African, and South Caucasian cuisines. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced meat—usually beef, chicken, lamb or mutton, camel, seldom pork, or a mixture—mixed with spices and sometimes other ingredients. The earliest known recipes are found in early Turkish cookbooks and call for ground lamb.

Meze ( ; also spelled mezze or mezé) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in Eastern Mediterranean cuisines. It is similar to Spanish tapas and Italian stuzzichini. A meze may be served as a part of a multi-course meal or form a meal in itself. Meze are often served with spirits such as arak, rakia, raki, oghi, ouzo, or grappa at meyhane and ouzeri.

Levantine appetizer consisting of finely chopped roasted eggplant, olive oil, lemon juice, various seasonings, and tahini

Ćevapi (, ), known as kebapi () in North Macedonia, is a grilled dish of minced meat found traditionally in the countries of southeast Europe. It is considered a national dish of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, with Bosnia and Herzegovina taking steps in branding and placing them on the list of intangible heritage, with a nomination for inclusion on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Ćevapi are also common in Albania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Romania.

Sujuk, sugou or sucuk (/suːˈd͡ʒʊk/) is a dry, spicy and fermented sausage which is consumed in several Anatolian, Balkan, Middle Eastern and Central Asian cuisines. Sujuk mainly consists of ground meat and animal fat usually obtained from beef or lamb, but beef is mainly used in Turkey, Egypt, Sudan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Georgia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Kaymak, sarshir, or qashta/ashta ( ; or ; ) is a creamy dairy food similar to clotted cream, made from the milk of water buffalo, cows, sheep, or goats in Central Asia, Turkic regions, some Balkan countries, some Caucasus countries, and the Levant.

dairy product

Tulumba, tolomba or bamiyeh (; ) is a deep-fried dessert found in Egypt, the Levant, Greece and the regional cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire. It is a fried batter soaked in syrup, similar to jalebis or churros. It is made from unleavened choux pastry dough, usually about 3 inches long, piped with a pastry bag using an open star or similar tip. It is first deep-fried to golden colour and then sugar-sweet syrup is poured over it when still hot.

Filo, phyllo or yufka is a very thin unleavened dough used for making pastries such as baklava and börek. Filo-based pastries are made by layering many sheets of filo brushed with oil or butter; the pastry is then baked.

cold salad found all through Southeastern Europe

thumb|right|Pastirma

culinary traditions of Albania

culinary traditions of Bulgaria

Pljeskavica (, , Romanian: plescavița) is a Serbian grilled dish consisting of a mixture of spiced minced pork, beef and lamb meat. It is one of the national dishes of Serbia as well as being popular in the neighbouring countries, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Montenegro. Pljeskavica is also popular street food in countries of the Central and Eastern Europe, including Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Slovenia.

thumb|Turşu in Turkey Torshi, tursu or turshi () are the pickled vegetables of many Middle Eastern, Caucasian, Slavic and Balkan cuisines.

culinary traditions of Romania

culinary traditions of Croatia

culinary traditions of Bosnia and Herzegovina

culinary traditions of Serbia

Gibanica (, ) is a traditional pastry dish popular all over the Balkans. It is usually made with cottage cheese and eggs. Recipes can range from sweet to savoury, and from simple to festive and elaborate multi-layered cakes.

Avgolemono ( or literally egg–lemon) is a family of sauces and soups made with egg yolk and lemon juice mixed with broth, heated until they thicken.

Keşkek, also known as kashkak, kashkek, or keške, is a ceremonial meat or chicken and wheat or barley stew found in Turkish, Iranian, Greek, Armenian, and Balkan cuisines.

traditional Macedonian dish

culinary traditions of North Macedonia

regional cuisine

cabbage, vine leaf, or other leaf roll

dish involving filling the cavities of a pepper with other food

culinary traditions of Montenegro

thumb|Famous Bled cremeschnitte

Koliva, also spelled, depending on the language, kollyva, kollyba, kolyvo, or colivă, is a dish based on boiled wheat that is used liturgically in the Eastern Orthodox Church for commemorations of the dead.

culinary traditions of Kosovo

thumb|A carp cooked in a sač

tomato dish

dish common in the former Ottoman Empire

Türlü is a Turkish casserole made of stewed vegetables that may also include stewed meat. Varieties of the dish are also found in different Balkan cuisines. In particular, it is known as turli perimesh in Albania, tourlou in Greece, and turli tava in North Macedonia.

eggplant dish

Turkish sweet bun (çörek) with tahini

cuisine of the Aromanians

Proja (Cyrillic: Проја, ) is a dish made of corn flour, baking powder, sunflower oil, sparkling water and salt. As one of Serbia's national dishes, an alternative name for proja (Проја) is also projara (Пројара). Proha, prova or razljevak are alternative names used in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a type of cornbread and is usually eaten with honey, milk or jam.

Pasulj (from phaseolus; ), grah () or grav () is a bean stew made of usually white, cranberry or pinto beans, and kidney beans, which is a popular dish in Balkan cuisine. It is normally prepared with meat, particularly smoked meat such as smoked bacon, sausage, and ham hock, and is a dish typically eaten in the winter months, especially around the Christmas period. Other commonly used ingredients include carrots and onions. Another version of the dish using baked beans is known as prebranac.The dish can be served both hot or cold, and it is typically served with a side of sour cream or ajvar,

American roasted beef dish

Ražnjići () is a common Balkan specialty of grilled meat on a skewer, equivalent of the Greek souvlaki and Turkish şaşlık. The name is derived from Serbo-Croatian word ražanj () meaning 'skewer'. In Slovak and Czech languages it is called ražniči.

Podvarak (Serbian Cyrillic: подварак) is a dish popular across the countries of the former Yugoslavia. The primary ingredients are sour cabbage or sauerkraut (подварак од киселог купуса) or fresh cabbage (подварак од слатког купуса), finely chopped onions and meat, usually pork roast or lightly cooked chicken, which are then combined and baked in an oven for all flavors to combine. It is considered poor man's food in parts of Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. The dish is commonly seasoned with very finely chopped bacon (typically fried together with chopped onions), garlic, ground paprik

an eggplant dish from the Turkish cuisine

Apples stuffed with lamb and rice

Höşmerim or hoşmerim is a Turkish dessert popular in the Aegean, Marmara, Trakya and Central Anatolia, Black Sea, East Black Sea regions of Turkey. It is sometimes called peynir helva or "cheese halva". It is generally consumed after a meal as a light dessert and may be topped with ice cream, honey or nuts.

Turkish Cypriot confectionary similar to murabba

Zelnik is a traditional pastry eaten in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. It is composed of layers of thinly-rolled leavened wheat flour dough, or possibly phyllo pastry, filled with various combinations of sirene (a white cheese), feta cheese, eggs, sorrel, browned meat, leeks, spring onions and/or rice. In winter, the filling traditionally includes pickled cabbage, from which the dish derives its name ("cabbage" in or , in ). Bulgarian zelnik could be made also with various wild and cultivated leafy greens like collard, lettuce, orache, rumex, Chenopodium album, spearmint and many others. Zelnik

Šampita (Serbian Cyrillic: Шампита) is a whipped meringue dessert with egg yolk crust, originating in Serbia. The name is a combination of the German word Schaum "foam", and the Serbian word pita "pie".