Testi Kebab — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A dramatic Cappadocian dish where lamb, vegetables, and butter are sealed inside a clay jug and slow-cooked in a wood-fired oven. The jug is ceremoniously cracked open at the table to release fragrant steam.

Ingredients

600g lamb shoulder, cubed
3 medium tomatoes, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
2 onions, quartered
4 cloves garlic, whole
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 cup hot water
1 large potato, peeled and sliced to seal the jug

Instructions

1 Cut the lamb into two-inch cubes and season generously with salt, pepper, cumin, and allspice, then toss with the tomato paste until evenly coated.
2 Layer the seasoned lamb, diced tomatoes, green peppers, quartered onions, and whole garlic cloves inside a clean clay jug or testi pot, adding butter on top.
3 Pour the hot water into the jug to create steam during cooking, then seal the opening tightly with a thick slice of potato and cover with aluminum foil.
4 Place the sealed jug in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius and cook for ninety minutes until the meat inside is fork-tender and the vegetables have melted into a rich sauce.
5 Bring the jug to the table and use a small hammer to crack it open at the neck, releasing an aromatic cloud of steam, then pour the contents over fluffy rice or flatbread.

Did You Know?

The tradition of cooking in clay jugs in Cappadocia goes back centuries, and restaurants in Goreme still break hundreds of testi pots every day for the dramatic tableside presentation.