Destination
Antalya
The story
Tantuni is the signature street food of the southern Turkish coastal city of Mersin and one of the country's most distinctive lamb preparations. Diced lamb (traditionally cooked in a specific saç, a large convex flat metal griddle) is stir-fried hard in oil with generous water and salt, then cooked down until the liquid has evaporated and the meat has crisped at the edges. Finished with chopped tomato, sumac, Aleppo pepper and a heavy scatter of chopped parsley. The finished tantuni is served two ways: as a dürüm (rolled in a very thin lavash flatbread with the same additions plus pickled peppers and a squeeze of lemon), or plated on lavash with the fillings on the side. Sold at every Mersin street stall and increasingly across Istanbul via the Mersin diaspora.
Method
Cut the lamb into small 5mm dice. Do not use ground lamb; the dice size is essential.
Warm a wide heavy pan (cast iron or saç if you have one) over the highest heat. Add oil and butter.
Add the diced lamb in a single layer. Do not stir for 3 minutes so the pieces catch and brown. Then toss and cook another 3 minutes.
Pour in 500ml water, salt and black pepper. Bring to a hard simmer. Cook 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the water has completely evaporated and the meat has returned to sizzling in fat.
Continue cooking 3 to 4 more minutes, stirring, so the meat catches on the pan and crisps at the edges.
Off the heat, add sliced onion, diced tomato, sumac, Aleppo pepper, dried mint, oregano, cumin, lemon juice and chopped parsley. Toss thoroughly. The residual heat wilts the onion and tomato slightly without turning them to mush.
Lay a warm lavash on a work surface. Spoon a generous line of tantuni down the middle. Top with sliced tomato, sliced onion and 2 pickled peppers. Squeeze lemon over. Roll tightly into a cigar shape. Wrap the bottom in paper.
Serve one dürüm per person. Provide extra pickled peppers and lemon wedges on the side. Best drunk with cold ayran or hot Turkish tea.
Tips
- Small dice, not mince. Tantuni is defined by the 5mm dice size. Mince gives you a totally different dish.
- Water plus fat cooking. The water evaporation step is what makes tantuni tender. Do not skip.
- Sumac is the Mersin marker. Do not substitute lemon zest; the flavour is different.
- Very thin lavash. Turkish lavash is thin and flexible. Any Turkish grocer sells it. Do not use pita or Mexican tortillas.
- Serve immediately. Tantuni does not hold well. Cook and wrap to order.
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