Ankara Staple · Bean Stew over Rice

Kuru Fasulye

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Ankara has entire restaurants — some open since the early 20th century — that serve just this one dish, treating it with the same single-minded focus other cities give a signature street snack.

Dried white beans are simmered for hours in a tomato-and-pepper-paste sauce with cubes of beef or pastırma until the sauce turns thick and glossy, ladled over buttered rice and served with pickles on the side. Ankara's no-frills "kuru fasulyeci" counters serve almost nothing else.

Why it's made this way: As Turkey's capital and a major agricultural trading hub for Central Anatolian legumes, Ankara built a reputation around simple bean-and-rice cooking, and kuru fasulye became the city's unofficial signature dish.