A Bodrum-coast dish of thin strips of marinated veal laid over a bed of shoestring fried potatoes, garlicky yogurt, and tomato sauce. It layers hot, cold, crisp, and creamy in one plate, unlike any skewered kebab.
Also known as: çökertme kebabı, cokertme kebabı, Bodrum çökertme, cokertme kebab
Visual recipe guide
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Watch it made
Ingredients
- 600 g veal or beef sirloin, in thin finger-length strips
- 1 onion, grated for its juice
- 500 g potatoes, cut into fine matchsticks
- 300 g strained yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 ripe tomatoes, grated
- 20 g butter
- 60 ml sunflower oil plus more for deep-frying
- salt and black pepper
How to make it
- 1
Rest the veal strips in the onion juice with a little pepper for 2 h.
- 2
Cook the grated tomato in the butter 10 min to a loose sauce; beat the yogurt with garlic and a pinch of salt.
- 3
Deep-fry the potato matchsticks at 170 C until pale gold and crisp; salt them hot.
- 4
Sear the drained veal in a smoking pan with 60 ml oil for 90 seconds, no longer.
- 5
Layer at speed: fries, garlic yogurt, veal, tomato sauce, and serve instantly.
Pro tip: Assembly is the recipe; the tower goes together in the last sixty seconds or the yogurt flattens the fries to mush.
The story of Cokertme Kebab
Çökertme kebabı is named after a small coastal village near Bodrum, and it is one of the very few Turkish kebabs whose signature is a plate architecture rather than a fire technique. Thin strips of marinated veal are laid over a bed of shoestring fried potatoes, garlicky yoghurt and tomato sauce, all in one bowl.
It is Aegean rather than south-eastern in feel — lighter, more yoghurt-forward, and unapologetically built around potato in a way that the kebab houses of Gaziantep would find eccentric. It has spread nationally as a restaurant dish and is now a fixture on menus far from Bodrum.
The technique that defines it
The four components are cooked separately and assembled at the last possible moment, and the timing is the whole difficulty. The potatoes must be cut fine and fried crisp; they begin to soften the second they meet the yoghurt, so the dish has a short window in which it is right.
The veal is cut into thin strips, marinated briefly in milk or yoghurt with garlic, and either grilled on a skewer or seared fast in a pan. It should be barely cooked through. Assembly runs bottom to top: potatoes, garlic yoghurt, meat, then a spoon of tomato-and-butter sauce poured over the whole thing.
Choosing your ingredients
Veal is traditional — çökertme is one of the few Turkish kebabs where beef or veal rather than lamb is standard. Sirloin or a tender cut cut into thin strips against the grain is right. The potatoes should be a floury variety cut into genuine matchsticks, rinsed of starch and dried thoroughly before frying.
The yoghurt must be full-fat and thick — Turkish süzme or Greek-style — because thin yoghurt turns the potatoes to sludge instantly. Garlic goes into the yoghurt raw and generously. The tomato sauce is simple: butter, tomato paste, a little water, reduced to a pourable glaze.
Mistakes that ruin it
Assembling ahead of time
The potatoes soften within a minute or two under yoghurt. Build it as it goes to the table.
Thin, watery yoghurt
It runs off the potatoes and pools. Use thick strained yoghurt.
Thick-cut potatoes
They need to be fine matchsticks that stay crisp under the sauce. Chips are a different dish.
Overcooking the veal
Thin strips need seconds, not minutes. Past medium they turn tough and the plate loses its balance.
How it is served
It arrives as a single composed plate and is eaten immediately, ideally with a fork that goes down through all four layers at once. Bread is offered but almost unnecessary. Pickles cut the richness, and a light Aegean white or ayran works better with it than anything heavy.
Questions about Cokertme Kebab
What meat is çökertme kebab made with?
Veal or beef, cut into thin strips — unusual for a Turkish kebab, most of which are lamb.
Why do the potatoes have to be so thin?
They sit under yoghurt and sauce and must stay crisp for the few minutes it takes to eat the dish. Thick-cut potatoes go soggy immediately.
Where does çökertme kebab come from?
Çökertme, a coastal village near Bodrum on Turkey's Aegean coast.
Can it be prepared in advance?
Only the components. Assembly must happen at the last moment or the potatoes soften and the dish collapses.
