The Way to Integration is Through the Stomach – Adnan Maral on Turkish-Bavarian Cuisine
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- Actor Adnan Maral presents Turkish and Bavarian cuisine on Bayerischer Rundfunk.
- (© picture-alliance/ dpa )
Actor Adnan Maral put on his apron to present Turkish and Bavarian cuisine on the TV station Bayerischer Rundfunk. In an interview, he reports on the Turkish variant of Bavarian meat patties and on why the way to integration is through the stomach.
Mr. Maral, in the first program of the series “Turkish-Bavarian Cuisine for Beginners,” you prepared kofte. At first sight, a Bavarian might mistake them for his beloved meat patties. What is the difference?
Kofte are much smaller than meat patties and are not rolled in your hand, but kneaded. Also, pungent spices are used in making them which are not used in meat patties.
Why do Turks like such hot food and what are the main hot ingredients?
People in Turkey, like in India, have always loved hot food because pungent spices, garlic and onions help to kill bacteria. They give the body a really good clean-out. The favorite hot ingredient is pul biber, which is finely-chopped chili. My co-presenter in the cooking program, Fritz Häring, had not come across pul biber before. He thought it was so fantastic that we had to bring him loads of it every time we went shopping.
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- Spices, including pul bibber (pepper flakes), are offered at this Turkish market.
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So you can buy pul biber in Germany too?
Of course. In Munich, for example, there are many Turkish supermarkets around the Goethestrasse. There is a Turkish butcher and a Turkish greengrocer – you can get all the things that are available in Turkey.
What elements of Turkish cooking do you miss on the menu of a traditional Bavarian restaurant?
I don’t miss anything at all, because I like the hearty Bavarian style of cooking.
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- Bavarian Weißwürste (veal sausages) and a pretzel are a traditional mid-morning meal in Bavaria.
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What is your favorite Bavarian dish?
I like veal sausages very much and the tradition that goes along with them of only eating veal sausages at noon and drinking beer with them – which is not always easy if you still have the whole day ahead of you. I originally come from Hesse. Whenever we visit my parents and brothers who still live there, we have veal sausages and Bavarian sweet mustard in our luggage.
Something you don’t have to explain to Germans in your cooking program anymore is the döner kebab.
Everyone knows what döner kebabs are. They have even set a record. Last year, more kebabs were sold than hamburgers. There is a survey on the subject.
Are the kebabs on sale in Turkey the same as the ones in Germany or are they adapted to the German palate like Chinese food in Germany?
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- The döner kebab is one of the most popular fast foods in Germany.
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Döner kebabs look quite different in Turkey than they do here in Germany. They have far fewer ingredients. Turks eat their kebabs without salad, if anything with just a few slices of tomato, and they don’t have any sauce with them. They spice them up with a bit of pul biber instead.
In becoming better acquainted with Turkish cuisine, do you also get to know Turkish culture in general better?
Of course. I have had a lot of feedback from people who went to a Turkish supermarket for the first time after watching my program and who have gone shopping regularly there since. Previously, they would never have thought of doing that. When you go shopping there, you meet not only Turks, but also Romanians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Italians, Arabs and Eritreans. All sorts. People with a Muslim background in particular like to go there because you can buy halal meat at a Turkish supermarket. And when you see what other people eat and why, you get to know them better. What can be better for understanding one another than sitting down together at the table for a meal?
In your view, what are the most persistent prejudices of Germans about Turks and vice versa?
I don’t bother with them anymore (laughs). Because now I only have people around me who have grown up without those prejudices. To be honest, I don’t feel like engaging in this debate but try to look ahead instead.
What do you hope to achieve with your German-Turkish cooking program?
Just to break down fears of contact without dwelling on problems. Each of us wants to approach the other culture with a light touch and openness and to wait and see what happens.
Is there an event during filming that you particularly remember?
Once we grilled a whole lamb – in Westpark in Munich. We went into the butcher’s and collected this huge lamb and carried it on our shoulders into Westpark. We laughed ourselves silly at the perplexed faces of the other people in the park.
Are there any plans for an advanced Turkish-Bavarian cooking course?
They are thinking about that at Bayerischer Rundfunk at the moment, but a decision has not been taken yet. I for one hope that we can carry on.
Interview by Munich-based freelance writer and editor Verena Hütter.
Copyright: Goethe-Institut
