Fine bulgur kneaded for an hour with isot, pepper paste and spice until it turns dark and sticky, then served cold in lettuce or rolled into a wrap. Now made without meat by law.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
Çiğ köfte was originally raw lamb worked into bulgur, and the kneading, which can take an hour, is what breaks the grain down. Turkish food regulations ended the commercial raw-meat version, so every çiğ köfte sold across a counter in Gaziantep today is meat-free, built on bulgur, isot, pepper and tomato paste alone. That has made it one of the few genuinely vegan street foods in a city built on lamb. The bulgur is squeezed in the fist so each piece keeps the finger marks, and it is eaten cold with lemon, lettuce and pomegranate molasses.
Common allergens: Gluten
Tip from the editors. The kneading is the recipe. Stop after twenty minutes and you get seasoned bulgur rather than çiğ köfte.
Çiğ Köfteci Yuşa Usta sells meat-free çiğ köfte wraps in Değirmiçem at student prices, and the portions run to twice the usual Gaziantep size.
Try: Çiğ köfte dürüm
Tip: The bulgur is kneaded without meat, so the wrap is plant-based before anything is added to it.
Çulcuoğlu Et Lokantası is the esnaf lokanta of the Gaziantep bazaar, serving kebab, pide and bottomless soup to coppersmiths and shoppers alike.
Order: Kuşbaşı kebab with firik pilav and the free soup refill.
Tip: Complimentary fruit and soup arrive unasked. Do not over-order the starters.
More cities are in research. Want çiğ köfte covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.