Wedding Meal in Konya

WEDDING PILAF; is the most important element of Konya culture and gastronomy. Serving food at weddings is the Sunnah of our Prophet (PBUH). Of course, in addition to the 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 pilaf, (Stomach is soothed by drinking vinegar). Before and after the pilaf, it is talked about and discussed like a football match.

SHOEMAKERS; They have acquired the habit of HITTING THE TABLE WITH A SPOON and asking for food over and over again during pilafs. They have become famous in the city for eating too much and torturing the cooks and waiters and have set an example for many professional groups.

There is no distinction of rank or profession at the pilaf table. Everyone eats the same food from the same bowl and experiences the same excitement and pleasure. If there are other concerns at the pilaf table, they forget about it and focus on the meal.

Since Konya is an agricultural city, pilafs used to be made between the morning hours (08:00/12:00), but today they are preferred at any time (except in rural areas).

Young people of marriageable age or their parents are not asked “when will you have the wedding", but when will we eat the pilaf.

Wedding tables

The service usually starts after the tables are filled with 10 people. In busy weddings, the guests waiting around the table expect the previous table to be full as soon as possible and their appetite increases even more. As soon as they sit down at the table, they help the waiter clear the table and start a new service because of their impatience.

Starter;

YAYLA SOUP is added and everyone starts eating from the same bowl. Although many people find it strange to eat from the same bowl, its abundance and taste have a special importance for Konya. The bread given with it is consumed only with soups. (Guests generally do not eat bread with pilaf.)

PILAF WITH MEAT starts to be served second; the guests who are hungry enough are served rice in additions until they are full. The fact that the rice is in grains and offers a magnificent taste with its meat increases the demand even more.

SEMOLINA HALVA; It is the first dessert in the Konya wedding pilaf menu and it means the end for those who are unfamiliar with the menu, but later on, you learn that another legendary soup will follow. While dessert is served last in many menus, it is served after the first pilafs in the Konya wedding pilaf menu. In recent years, it has also been eaten with ice cream.

Okra Soup; In addition to its appetizing feature, it is the crown jewel and legend of Konya wedding pilafs with its stomach-soothing and authentic preparation, flavor and warmth. It may not be produced in the region, but Konya consumes it the most among the regions where it is produced. Kilos of flower okra are lined up one by one while they are dried in advance, and then they are picked one by one after they are boiled. Each one has a different story. Maybe that is why its value is accepted as GREEN GOLD for us.

2nd MEAT PILAF; It is put on the table as the last main course and if there is a demand, another one is added as an extra so as not to waste. Our elders eat it as plain meatless pilaf, combined with zerde dessert.

ZERDE DESSERT; It is the messenger that the menu is coming to an end and is served with the last drinks. And it is preferred plain.

COMPOUND & SOFT DRINKS; Previously prepared by boiling naturally sour cherry and apricot compotes have been replaced by all cold drinks upon request.

SUBMARINE; It is a well-known feature in Konya, a presentation style where meat is placed both under and on top of a rice dish to be served to special guests of wedding hosts in order to honour their guests. In the past, in order not to be rude to other guests (as a courtesy), twice as much meat was placed under the rice and served to the wedding guests. This is the reality of talking about SUBMARINE in a geography without a sea.

PRAYER: To our LORD, who made such a menu a blessing for us. To the wedding hosts, preparers and servers who made it possible, and to our young couples who got married, prayers are made at every table so that their families will always have abundance, peace and happiness.

There should be one coordinator at each table. He manages the table like an orchestra conductor and informs the waiter of the demands of the table. He is not good for those who eat with appetite, but for those who do not, with classic phrases like, "Come on, why do you wait, eat more, the rest will come", you will remember that you are at the Konya wedding pilaf table.

In the old Konya wedding traditions, when guests were invited, no one was discriminated against and "THOSE WHO HOLD A SPOON, LET THEM COME" was invited to weddings. Everyone carried their own wooden spoon in their pocket and ate with their own spoon.

WEDDING TORT; It is a type of meal prepared by the wedding cook before the wedding, consisting of yoghurt, sumac onion, sauce or sautéed vegetables on dry bread, depending on the available ingredients, for the guest and his/her relatives.

WEDDING CLOSURE; In old Konya weddings, the method of serving the wedding pilaf with whole meat instead of sautéed meat, according to the possibilities and preferences, is called CLOSURE.

LAST WORD;

WE WISH MERCY AND GRATITUDE to our ANCESTORS who have contributed to the transfer of this Culture from the Ottomans to the present day, especially to the chefs Piri Ateshbaz-i Veli, and to our valuable chefs...