İç pilav is a flavorful Turkish pilaf made with a combination of rice (often of the Baldo variety), onions, currants, tomatoes, mint, and pine nuts. It is typically flavored with allspice, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. The ingredients are combined, and when the rice is cooked, the pilaf is ready to be stirred for one last time, then consumed. İç pilav is traditionally used as an accompaniment to roasted or fried meat dishes, but it is sometimes also used as a stuffing.
MOST ICONIC İç pilav
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Bulgur pilavı is a nutritious Turkish pilaf that is often additionally flavored with onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and various spices. When the bulgur is tender and ready to consume, it is recommended to garnish it with fresh parsley. The dish is typically served as an accompaniment to casseroles or meat dishes such as kebap, izgara, and köfte.
MOST ICONIC Bulgur pilavı
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Etli pilav is a traditional rice dish. For this pilaf variety, the rice is cooked with onions and chunks of meat such as beef or lamb. Other ingredients include butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Once cooked, the pot is turned upside down and the dish is served on a large plate or a tray so that the onions and the meat will be on top, with the rice underneath.
Etli pilav is typically served hot, then seasoned with salt and pepper. It's recommended to accompany the pilaf with sautéed eggplants or refreshing yogurt-based salads.
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Dolma is Türkiye's national dish, and it signifies any sort of vegetable stuffed with a mixture based on rice. For traditional dolma, grape leaves are stuffed with rice and ground meat. Stuffed leaves were first made at the court of King Khusrow II in the early 7th century.
The popularity of dolma spread throughout the Muslim world, so there are numerous variations of the dish. Dolma is divided into two groups: dolma without meat and dolma with olive oil. Those without meat and cooked with olive oil are called yalanci, meaning imitation.
MOST ICONIC Dolma
Perde pilavı or drape pilaf is a traditional dish consisting of dough that is filled with rice, chicken, currants, almonds, pine nuts, butter, and spices such as salt, oregano, and pepper. The dough is made with flour, eggs, butter, and yogurt.
This pilaf is typically prepared for weddings because it symbolizes the building of a new home, while rice symbolizes fertility and the currants are a sign of future children.
MOST ICONIC Perde pilavı
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Nohutlu pilav is a traditional dish that's usually sold as street food. This pilaf is made with a combination of white rice, chickpeas, oil, butter, onions, and vegetable stock. The ingredients are cooked and once done, nohutlu pilav is served either on its own or with the addition of pieces of chicken or pickled chili peppers.
The dish is usually sold in Istanbul and throughout Turkey from glass street vending carts. It's recommended to pair it with a cup of refreshing ayran.
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Patlıcanlı pilav is a traditional pilaf dish. The pilaf is usually made with a combination of eggplants, rice, onions, tomatoes, parsley, mint, stock, olive oil, salt, and pepper. The eggplants are cut into cubes, sprinkled with salt, rinsed, dried, and fried in olive oil until browned.
The cubes are removed, and the onions are fried in the same pan until translucent before they're mixed with the tomatoes, herbs, salt, pepper, and fried eggplant. The mixture is brought to a boil and mixed with the rice and stock. The dish is simmered for about half an hour until everything is tender.
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Hamsili pilav is a visually attractive Turkish dish of oven-baked pilaf that is encased in anchovies. The pilaf is usually prepared with long-grain rice, onions, raisins, pine nuts, mint, lemon juice, and spices. In order to prepare hamsili pilav, a baking dish is first brushed with butter, then layered with anchovies so that they fill the whole bowl.
The rice pilaf is placed over the anchovies, and the ends of anchovies are then folded towards the center of the bowl so that the rice is completely encased. After the baking process, the dish is typically turned upside down and served garnished with dill sprigs and slices of lemon.
MOST ICONIC Hamsili pilav
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Mıcırık aşı is a traditional dish originating from Gaziantep. This stew is usually prepared with a combination of eggplants, rice, onions, tomato paste, bell peppers, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, paprika, and mint. The onions and garlic are sautéed in olive oil, then mixed with the tomato paste and bell peppers that are fried in the same pot.
The mixture is covered with water, and the eggplants and rice are added to the pot. The dish is cooked until the rice becomes tender, and lemon juice is then mixed into the stew. Once served, mıcırık aşı is traditionally drizzled with the sauce consisting of olive oil, paprika, and mint.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 9 Turkish Rice Dishes” list until March 20, 2025, 1,327 ratings were recorded, of which 728 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.