Spicy Tomato and Pepper Salad(Acılı Ezme)
regional
A finely chopped mezze from Gaziantep made with tomatoes and peppers, blended with paste, vinegar, and spices; an indispensable accompaniment to kebabs.
Vegetables are chopped with a knife, not blended in a food processor; excess water is drained.
- Region
- Gaziantep · Southeastern Anatolia
- Category
- Regional Dishes · Breakfast and Meze
- Taste
- hotsour
- Diet
- gluten-freeveganvegetarian
- Season
- all year
- Occasion
- dinnershared table
- Service
- tradesman's eaterygrill-side
Where to eat ↓4 Michelin matches
Table balance
Taste: sour, hot, spice
- Alongside
- Cacık or plain yogurt: dairy tames chili heat far faster than water does. Plain rice or fresh bread rounds the acidity and steadies the plate.
- Afterwards
- After a light main there is room for a syrupy dessert in this meal.
- Easy to miss
- Iced water only masks the heat for a moment; it comes back quickly. On a meze table balance beats variety: one yogurt-based, one olive-oil, one sharp is enough.
Suggestions are about taste balance, not health or nutrition advice. Scores are derived from each record's own flavour description.
Shortcuts worth knowing
How to order
The same dish changes name from city to city. Asking about an unfamiliar name is the shortest route.
Pick the good one
Haydari is made with strained yogurt. If it weeps water on the plate, the yogurt was not strained.
How to order
On a meze table balance beats variety: one yogurt-based, one olive-oil, one sharp is enough.
Where this dish is made best
No match verified by field assessment yet — we never invent scores; assessments will be added with field evidence.
Directory venues serving this cuisine
- 01 Adana Cadde Kebap · Bostancı — directory match
- 07 Midye — directory match
- 07 Simit Fırını — directory match
- 100. Yıl Lahmacun — directory match
- 100. Yıl Pide Kebap Salonu — directory match
- 180 Coffee & Bakery — directory match
An alphabetical directory based on each venue's own cuisine declaration; not an assessment. Data: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
From the Michelin selection
distinguished- Turk Fatih Tutak · İstanbul — two Michelin stars + Green Star
- Vino Locale · İzmir (Urla) — two Michelin stars
- Araf İstanbul · İstanbul — one Michelin star
- Maçakızı · Muğla (Bodrum) — one Michelin star
Venues serving this cuisine, distinguished in the Michelin Guide 2026 selection. An external distinction; not a GustoScore assessment. Full selection
These are also easy to miss
- Does water or yogurt calm chili heat?
Yogurt, ayran and milk work; water does not. Capsaicin, the compound behind the heat, does not dissolve in water but does in fat and milk protein; water merely spreads it and the burn returns.
- What is the difference between Adana and Urfa kebab?
The difference is in the mix, not the cooking: Adana carries hot pepper, Urfa does not. Both use hand-chopped mince with tail fat, grilled over embers on a flat skewer.
- How do you ask for less heat?
When ordering, saying “acısız olsun” (without heat) or “az acılı” (mildly hot) is enough; most kebabs and wraps are made to the heat you ask for. Where heat is added at the end, isot and pepper flakes sit on the table so you set it yourself.