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    Cooking Gorgeous » Turkish Recipes

    Tantuni

    Published: Jun 18, 2022 · Modified: Jul 15, 2022 by Ayla Clulee · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe

    Tantuni is an iconic Turkish street food made with lightly seasoned small cubes of beef stir-fried on a special pan. This traditional dish is typically served wrapped with lavash bread together with chopped onions, tomatoes, sumac, and parsley. Originating from Mersin city of Turkey, this delicious Tantuni kebab wrap is full of Mediterranean flavors you will love!

    tantuni wrap cut in half and served on a plate with side of chopped tomatoes and onion salad
    Jump to:
    • Why This Recipe Works?
    • Ingredients and Substitutes
    • How to Make Tantuni?
    • Top Tip From The Chef
    • Recipe FAQs
    • Related Recipes
    • Tantuni

    Traditionally, Tantuni is made on a special tantuni pan with a big hollow at the center of it, where the beef is cooked. The sides of the pan are used to present the pre-cooked meat to the customer. But don't worry if you don't own one of these pans! You can use a wok or a large skillet to make this scrumptious street food at home.

    Why This Recipe Works?

    • Same as Cig Borek - Chebureki and Kumpir - Turkish Baked Potato, this recipe show you how to make famous street food at home.
    • You only need a few simple ingredients to make this extremely delicious Tantuni kebab.
    • There is a minimum preparation involved to make this famous dish, all you need to do is to slice some onions and chop some beef and tomatoes!
    • Although this recipe recalls only paprika, black pepper, and salt as spices, you can add any flavors you like such as cumin, dry thyme, or chilies.

    Ingredients and Substitutes

    Ingredients you need for making tantuni
    • Beef - I use stir-frying steak or fillet steak for tantuni. Make sure to clean all the fat and silver skin or hard parts to achieve the best flavor and texture.
    • Fat - Traditionally, tantuni is stir-fried with cotton oil. However, it is not very easy or cheap to find it. You can substitute it with butter, olive oil, or lamb fat.
    • Wraps - You can buy them from supermarkets or make your own flatbread using Greek Pita Bread, Middle Eastern Lavash Bread, or Homemade Wheat Tortilla Bread recipes.
    • Red onions - I prefer using red onions for their color and strong flavor. You can use white or brown onions if you prefer. Slice them thinly to add a bit of crunch to the salad. 
    • Parsley - It is one of my favorite herbs that adds flavor and brightness to salads. It is very popular to use this aromatic herb in many Turkish salad recipes such as Piyaz (Turkish Bean Salad) or Turkish Shepherd Salad (Coban Salatasi).
    • Tomatoes - Use the tastiest tomatoes you can find to get the best result. I prefer beefsteak or Roma tomatoes but any type would work fine as long as they are tasty and juicy.
    • Flavorings - Simple Mediterranean flavors such as paprika, salt, sumac, and black pepper. Adjust the amount to your taste.

    How to Make Tantuni?

    This delicious Tantuni recipe is extremely easy to make with very little preparation. However, you need to follow a few simple steps to achieve the best results: 

    Do Your Mis-en-place

    Trim the steak and cut them into small cubes, the size of ½ cm (⅕ "). Set them aside. You can cut the steak larger but the cooking time would be longer. Finely chop the lamb fat and set it aside (if using).

    Prepare the onion salad: finely slice the onions and mix with chopped parsley salt and sumac in a medium-sized bowl. You can also add pul biber (flaked chili). Set it aside until you are ready to build the wraps.

    onion, parsley and sumac salad in a bowl

    Slice or dice the tomatoes, and set them aside along with the onion salad.

    Cook The Beef

    Place your wok or large skillet on medium heat and then add the lamb fat (if using) to render it. If not using lamb fat, add olive oil or butter to the wok and heat it before adding the beef.

    Lamb fat being rendered in a wok

    Cook the beef until it releases its water and absorbs it back, for about 10 minutes. Add the salt, black pepper, and paprika, and sauté the beef for another minute.

    finely chopped beef added to the rendered fat

    Pour in the water and cook for another 10 minutes until half of the liquid evaporates.

    water added to the pan to cook the beef

    To build your wraps, place a piece of lavash or wheat tortilla wrap on top of the meat to absorb the gravy. Leave the lavash for 20 seconds until it is soaked with gravy and place it on a plate, the clean side is down. 

    A piece of wrap placed on tantuni to soak the juices from the meat

    Top the lavash with chopped tomato, onion salad, and two tablespoons of beef.

    meat, tomatoes and onion salad is placed on one side of lavas

    Tightly wrap it, securing both sides to keep the filling in.

    Lavash is tightly wrapped to form the tantuni wrap

    Repeat the same with the remaining wraps and meat. Cut them in halves and then serve immediately with extra onion salad, chopped tomatoes, and pickled baby chilies on the side.

    Tantuni is served with chopped tomatoes, onion salad and pickled chillies

    Top Tip From The Chef

    The beef you use should be nicely cleaned of any silverskin, sinews, and fat to achieve a tender cooked tantuni.

    Recipe FAQs

    How to serve Tantuni?

    Traditionally, this dish is served rolled in a durum wheat wrap, with ground sumac, parsley, and onion salad, sliced or chopped tomatoes, and some pickled chilies on the side. Some people prefer adding a squeeze of lemon to balance the fatty meat but sumac gives enough freshness and acidity in my opinion.

    What meat is Tantuni made with?

    Tantuni is traditionally made with lean beef but some recipes call for lamb meat, minced meat, or even chicken.

    How many calories does a tantuni wrap have?

    One wrap made with onion salad, tomatoes and beef contains only 395 kcal.

    Related Recipes

    For more delicious Turkish Recipes why not try:

    • Çerkez Tavuğu - Circassian Chicken
    • Çiğ Börek - Chebureki
    • Kazandibi
    • Kumpir - Turkish Baked Potato

    Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

    I hope you enjoy the process of making this scrumptious street food Tantuni kebab as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂 

    Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!

    This recipe features in Twinkl’s Mother’s and Other’s Day: Including Others this Mother’s Day blog. 

    tantuni wrap served with onions, pickled chillies and tomatoes

    Tantuni

    Ayla Clulee
    Tantuni is an iconic Turkish street food made with lightly seasoned small cubes of beef stir-fried on a special pan.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Total Time 35 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Mediterranean, Turkish
    Servings 6 wraps
    Calories 395 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 kitchen scale
    • 1 measuring spoons
    • 1 Sharp knife
    • 1 wok with lid
    • 1 Rubber spatula

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 500 g steak (small diced)
    • 60 g butter or finely chopped lamb fat
    • 1 teaspoon salt (for the beef)
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • ½ cup water
    • 6 lavash or wheat tortilla wraps (60 grams each)
    • 2 medium tomatoes (sliced or diced)
    • 1 small red onion (finely sliced)
    • ⅓ cup chopped parsley
    • 1 teaspoon sumac
    • ¼ teaspoon salt (for the salad)
    • ½ teaspoon flaked chilli (pul biber) (optional)
    • pickled small chillies to serve with

    Instructions
     

    • Trim the steak and cut them into small cubes, the size of ½ cm (⅕ "). Set them aside. You can cut the steak larger but the cooking time would be longer.
    • Chop the lamb fat finely and set it aside (if using).
    • Prepare the onion salad: finely slice the onions and mix with chopped parsley salt and sumac in a medium-sized bowl. You can also add pul biber (flaked chili). Set it aside until you are ready to build the wraps.
    • Slice or dice the tomatoes, and set them aside along with the onion salad.
    • Place your wok or large skillet on medium heat and then add the lamb fat (if using)to render it. Or add olive oil or butter to the wok and heat the pan before adding the beef.
    • Cook the beef until it releases its water and absorbs it back, for about 10 minutes.
    • Add the salt, black pepper, and paprika, and sauté the beef for another minute.
    • Pour in the water and cook for another 10 minutes until half of the liquid evaporates.
    • To build your wraps, place a piece of lavash or wheat tortilla wrap on top of the meat to absorb the gravy.
    • Leave the lavash for 20 seconds until it is soaked with gravy and place it on a plate, the clean side is down.
    • Top the lavash with chopped tomato, onion salad, and two tablespoons of beef. Tightly wrap it, securing both sides to keep the filling in.
    • Repeat the same with the remaining wraps and meat.
    • Cut them in halves and serve immediately with extra salad, tomatoes, and pickled chilies on the side.

    Notes

    • Although this recipe recalls only paprika, black pepper, and salt as spices, you can add any flavors you like such as cumin, dry thyme, or chilies.
    • If you cut the steak into larger pieces, the cooking time will be longer.
    • This recipe will make 6 wraps, and one wrap made with onion salad, tomatoes and beef contain only 395 kcal.
    • Tantuni is traditionally made with lean beef but some recipes call for lamb meat, minced meat, or even chicken.
    • The beef you use should be nicely cleaned of any silverskin, sinews, and fat to achieve a tender cooked tantuni.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 395kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 22gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 790mgPotassium: 375mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 961IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 105mgIron: 3mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @cookingorgeous or tag #cookingorgeous!

    This post use affiliate links. This means that if you click on them and then buy something, we get a small amount of commission to keep the site running, but it doesn’t cost you anything more.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Verona

      July 01, 2022 at 5:05 am

      5 stars
      This is really fantastic!! My family just hoovered it up. Excellent! Will definitely make again. Thanks!

      Reply

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    Welcome to Cooking Gorgeous, where delicious recipes and culinary inspiration await you! I'm Ayla, a passionate and professional chef based in the UK, and I'm thrilled to have you here. The kitchen is my happy place and cooking is my therapy. To me, food is more than ingredients and nutrition; it is a language of love, a way of expressing compassion.

    More about me →

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