Like India has its famous chaat and street food gullies, there many places around the world that host street vendors and allow them to showcase the foods of the nation with pride. Jamaica has its jerk chicken while the Philippines has Halo-halo, on the other end of the spectrum is Turkey which houses some great desserts. In this article, we’ll be breaking down more about these street desserts.
Prior to the pandemic, the streets of Istanbul garnered millions of tourists every year and within those streets, you had the access to cheap, quick and delicious Turkish desserts. Most people assume Baklava is the only good dessert in the region but they're salty wrong. The streets of Istanbul are home to some spectacular desserts like halka, tulumba and loakma.
Halka
Halka, which looks much like a round churro, is a delicacy on the streets of Istanbul. In fact, they are also termed Turkish churros or Halka Tatlisi in Turkish. Most locals purchase halka for either a quick dessert, snack or breakfast. They drip with sweet syrups which makes the experience even transcendent. The vendors don’t give out napkins with the Halka and customers would never ask for them.
Tulumba
A tulumba is a lot like our Indian jalebis. It is crunchy on the outside soft on the inside and just sinfully sweet. It is deep-fried and also called Bamiyeh. The tulumba is also very popular in Greece and it shares origins in the Ottoman empire.
Loakma
The loakma is a very famous street dessert in Turkey and plays a vital role in their culture. Though it holds an important place in their family function like weddings and celebrations, it is also easy to enjoy gran-n-go street dessert. It is best served when hot, so when street vendors get a new warm batch loakma - the lines for the desserts stretch on for miles.