Turkish Food @ Mangal Restaurant, Cologne, Germany

Turkish Food @ Mangal Restaurant, Cologne, Germany
We've eaten German, Peruvian and burgers in Germany - what's next? The Unc offered to bring us for either Korean or Turkish food in Cologne, and we chose the latter since we can easily get good Korean food in KL. We settled for Mangal Restaurant, since it was a hot day and this restaurant was air-conditioned. We were told that this street that the restaurant is on is known to the locals as the "Turkish Street" as you will find many Turkish restaurants and shops here.

Some Cologne sights, on the way to the restaurant 

On the less busy side of Hohenzollern Bridge (where you will find the love locks)

On the menu, they have English translation next to their German and Turkish names, though some of them may be incorrectly translated so better to check if you have a German-speaking friend around. There are lots to choose from, as their menu has over 160 items. We decided to order one appetizer to share, and a main course each.

The restaurant interior is modern, with an open kitchen at the front of the restaurant as well as their meats on display in the chiller

Kebab

To start, we ordered the Karisik Meze, which is translated as Mixed Appetizers Plate (€7.50). We were expecting different Turkish appetizers (there was an illustration of different items on a plate) but what arrived was some flatbread with five different dips. It was nice enough, but we would have ordered a small portion if we knew they were serving this as we didn't even manage to finish 1/4 of the dips even with 4 adults.  The dips include Carrot, Beetroot, Parsley, Tomato, chilli powder and special sauce, as well as Herbs and garlic.

The main courses made up for the boo-boo with the appetizer. All main courses came with a side salad and rice (bulgur and pilaf rice).

Our friend, Debi had the Tavuk Sis (€11.50) which is marinated chicken shish kebab. The chicken was moist and juicy.

The Unc had the Kuzu Sis (€13.50), a very tasty lamb shish kebab.  He also ordered a couple of glasses of ayran (€2.20), a cold yogurt drink mixed with salt. It is considered the national drink of Turkey.

I had a look at the chiller and spotted some lamb cutlets and they looked good, so I ordered that. They were cooked to a beautiful pink in the centre, with a nice char on the outside. I shared this with the kids and they enjoyed it too :) By the way this was described as chopsticks on the menu.

Kuzu Pirzola (€13.50)

Hubby had the Iskender Kebap (€10.50), which is doner kebab served with flatbread and yogurt. The waiter came with some melted butter and asked if Hubby wanted some on his kebab. Remember to tell him when to stop! :P

After lunch, we had some Turkish tea (kucuk Cay - €1). It comes with cubes of sugar, apparently they like their tea super sweet. Overall, we had a great meal here and service is good, so would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a great Turkish meal in Cologne. :)

Opening times: 8am to 1am daily.

Price: Total bill €75.00 for 4 adults (inclusive tips and drinks for 6).

Location: Mangal Restaurant, Weidengasse 58-62, 50668 Koln, Germany

Tel: +49 221 29883420

Website: http://www.mangal-restaurant.de

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http://goodyfoodies.blogspot.com/2016/11/turkish-food-mangal-restaurant-cologne.html

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Doi Methi Maach / Fish in a creamy yogurt and fenugreek leaves curry

Just a few days after moving to Abidjan, one day out of the blue moon our wifi box stopped working. I was just starting to stay alone and without the wifi the life seemed to stop all of a sudden. I had maids for cooking and cleaning at that moment and that left me completely inactive those days. I used to read and sleep all the time. I read a lot...and if you give me just books I will not disturb you for a long long time. So I read. I almost finished all my books I took with me and then after 2 weeks we had our wifi box repaired. And I realized how much I have missed in between those days. I was not sad to let go of the internet but I actually felt good when it came back. We have become so much dependent on internet in such a way that living without it means living like a caveman. I know lots of people out there will disagree with me but this is how I felt. And since we did not have our t.v connection yet, life appeared more boring. I couldn�t call my family; I could not talk with my friends. I became completely detached with everything. So when the internet came back my smile stretched across my ears. My pointy teeth couldn�t help but appeared in front of my leaps and I heaved a sigh of relief.

For the lonely life I lead internet has become my partner in all the crimes. Even though I live so far away from my friends and parents...because of all the apps and voip calls yet they feel so so terribly close to me. And it�s only because of it that I can still talk with my school friends, although with most of them I had no connection for 11 long years. In between all those reading and cooking and cherishing all those fine half melted gelatos I really became serious about blogging. And here I am after almost 2 years...still learning, still cooking and still smearing my face with half melted gelatos. And what can I say more other than the fact that although it is really not what I had imagined of I love the way it has turned out!!

Temper the oil with whole spices and add the onions. Cook them until golden.

Then add the ginger - garlic paste and cook till the raw flavour is gone.

Next add a little water and thepowdered spices except garam masala. Cook on low flame to make a smooth gravy.

When the oil starts to separate add the dry fenugreek leaves.

Simmer on low flame for 3-4 minutes more. Add little water if required to prevent the gravy from burning.

Add water and the fried fishes. Put cover and simmer until the gravy reaches your desired consistency.

I made this Doi Methi Maach or Fish in a creamy yogurt and fenugreek leaves curry a few weeks ago to have something different. Adding fenugreek leaves to the curry added a different flavour which really goes well with rice. And now I am obsessed!! Didn't know fenugreek leaves can do such wonders!!

Doi Methi Maach / Fish in a creamy yogurt and fenugreek leaves curry

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 medium onions � chopped

4 pieces of fish

2 tsp turmeric powder

2-3 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tbsp dry fenugreek leaves / kasuri methi

1 tsp garam masala powder

2 tbsp yogurt � whisked

� cup of mustard oil

1 small cinnamon stick

3 green cardamoms

3 cloves

1 bay leaf

Salt & a pinch of sugar

Method:

Sprinkle 1 tsp turmeric powder and some salt over the pieces of fish. Rub them well to evenly coat the fishes. Let the fishes marinade for 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a kadai and once the oil piping hot fry the fishes in that oil. Do not crowd the fishes in the kadai or pan, fry them separately one by one.

Once done, take the fishes out of the kadai and keep in a separate bowl.

Temper the rest of the oil with the cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, cloves and bay leaf.

Saut� for some seconds till the oil becomes aromatic and then add the chopped onions to them.

Sprinkle some salt and sugar and fry the onions till they are nicely golden.

Then add the ginger � garlic paste to the onions and cook for another2 minutes or until the raw flavour of the garlic is gone.

Now add � th cup of water to the onions and add in the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, ground cumin and ground coriander.

Stir and cook this paste until the raw flavours of the spices are gone.

Next take the whisked yogurt and slowly pour it into the kadai and mix in with the curry we prepared. Put the flame on low at this point so that yogurt doesn�t cuddle.

Keep stirring the gravy every 2 minutes, so that they do not burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.

Once you see the oil being separated at the edges of the kadai, add the dried fenugreek leaves / fenugreek leaves and give a good mix. Simmer on medium flame for a minute or so and then slowly pour in 1 cup of water.

Add the fried fishes to the gravy and put cover.

Simmer the curry on medium flame until the gravy reaches your desired consistency. You can have your curry a little thin but the thicker you make the curry the richer it gets in taste.

Finally sprinkle the garam masala powder evenly over the curry and put off the flame.

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