Culture of Konya Wedding Meal

Wedding Rice is the most important element of Konya culture and gastronomy. It is the sunnah of our Prophet (PBUH) to provide food at weddings. Of course, in addition to its spiritual aspect, it has a special place and importance for Konya with its magnificent taste and integrity. 

Preparations start during the week before going to the wedding pilaf. The stomach can be relieved by drinking vinegar. Before and after pilaf, people talk about and discuss the ceremony like a football match. Shoemakers have acquired the custom of hitting the table with a spoon and wanting extra plates to the table. They are famous in the city for eating too much and torturing cooks and waiters, and they set an example for many other people.

There is no position of authority at the rice table. Everyone eats the same food from the same bowl and experiences the same excitement and same pleasure. At the dinner table, any other worries are forgotten, and the focus is on the meal. 

Since Konya is an agricultural city, pilafs used to be cooked between 08:00 and 12:00 in the morning, but today it is preferred at any time (except in rural areas).

Young people of marriageable age or their parents are asked not when they will make the wedding ceremony, but when we will eat their rice. 

Wedding tables… Service usually begins after all the guests sit at the tables. At crowded wedding ceremonies, guests waiting around the table expect the previous table to be full as soon as possible, and their appetites increase even more. As soon as they sit at the table, they help the waiter clear the table and open a new table because of their impatience.

As a starter to the meal, “Yayla” soup (a kind of soup prepared with yoghurt and rice) is served and everyone starts eating from the same bowl. Although many people find it strange to eat from the same bowl, its abundance and taste are of special importance for Konya. The bread served with it is only consumed with soups. (Bread is not consumed with rice) 

Rice with meat is given second. Guests who are hungry enough are served extra pilaf until they are full. The fact that the pilaf is granular and offers a wonderful taste with its meat increases the demand even more.