How to Make Hatay-Style Tepsi Kebabı
Hatay Tepsi Kebabı, also called lahm-ı sini, turns one broad layer of seasoned meat into a communal meal. The registered dish uses medium-fat beef or a beef-lamb combination with peppers, garlic and parsley, then bakes it in a shallow tray with tomato, pepper and onion. This home version follows those defining ratios and motions but is labelled Hatay-style because protected production belongs to its geographical and professional context.
Keep the meat cold and chop the vegetables very finely without turning them to watery purée. Their fresh aroma should enter the meat while larger tomato, pepper and onion pieces remain visible around the disk. Knead only until the coarse mince holds together. Too little mixing creates crumbly wedges; processing into a smooth sausage paste erases the texture that a zırh-style coarse chop is intended to preserve.
Brush the tray with diluted tomato paste and press the mixture to an even one-centimetre layer from centre to edge. Thick mounds cook slowly and squeeze out more liquid. Score portions before arranging the larger vegetables, then add a light tomato-paste sauce around the perimeter rather than washing it across the surface. At 220°C, the thin layer browns quickly while vegetables soften and release aroma into the juices.
Ground meat must reach 71°C in several central places. Rest ten minutes before lifting the scored wedges so the juices settle, but do not drain away the flavour meant for warm pide or lavash. Bring the tray itself to the table with sumac onion or ayran beside it. A successful tepsi kebabı is browned and juicy, thin enough to share easily and still recognisable as one coherent meat disk.
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