Şalgam in the UK: what it is, how to order it, where to find it

Name: Şalgam
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 4 purple carrots (or ordinary carrots plus a small raw beetroot for colour), cut into sticks; 1 small turnip, sliced; 2 tbsp coarse bulgur; 2 tbsp salt; 1 tbsp sourdough starter or a slice of sourdough bread; 2 litres water; chilli flakes for the spicy version

Quick answer

Şalgam is a fermented drink of purple carrot, turnip and bulgur, deep red, sour, salty and sharp, from Adana and Mersin in the south of Turkey. It is drunk with kebab and tantuni, in the spicy 'acılı' version especially, and it is one of the most surprising things to order in a Turkish restaurant. In the UK it is sold bottled in Turkish grocers and in the restaurants run by families from the south, where it belongs on the table with Adana kebab.

Calories and nutrition

Calories: 15
Protein: 1 g
Carbs: 3 g
Fat: 0 g
Salt: 1.8 g

Portion: One glass, 250 ml.

Almost calorie-free but salty; the salt is the point after a spicy kebab.

Estimates for a typical portion, based on standard UK and USDA food composition data. Actual values depend on the recipe and the restaurant.

What şalgam is

Purple carrots, turnip and a little bulgur are fermented in salted water with a sourdough starter for a week or two until the liquid is a deep red-purple, cloudy and sharply sour. It is served cold, plain or acılı with chilli, often with a stick of pickled carrot in the glass. Despite the name, which means turnip, the purple carrot does most of the work. It is drunk in the south with Adana kebab, tantuni, çiğ köfte and lahmacun, and in Adana no kebab table is complete without it. It is also considered the best thing for a hangover.

An acquired taste

It is sour, salty and a little earthy, and the first sip surprises people who expect something like a fruit juice. It is closer to the brine of a pickle. Given a second chance with a spicy kebab, most people understand it: like ayran, it cuts fat and heat, and it is refreshing in a way that a sweet drink is not. The chilli version is the one that pairs best with grilled meat.

How to judge it

It should be cold, cloudy and deep red, properly sour and salted, with the pickled carrot stick in the glass. Thin, pale or sweet şalgam is a poor bottle. Restaurants from the south make their own or buy from Adana producers; elsewhere it comes bottled from Turkish grocers and is usually fine.

Where in the UK it is done well

Restaurants run by families from Adana, Mersin and Antep, mostly in North London and Birmingham, serve it with the kebab, and Turkish grocers stock bottled brands. The ranking below counts restaurants in our directory whose name signals Adana, Mersin or the south.

How to order it

Order it 'acılı' with Adana kebab or tantuni and eat the pickled carrot from the glass. Try one glass before deciding; it makes more sense with the food than on its own. Bottled brands from a Turkish grocer are a fair substitute at home.

Where it's done well

UK councils with the most şalgam specialists, by restaurant name, in our directory.

Restaurants near you

Search by postcode or use your location to find restaurants likely to serve şalgam near you.

Make it at home

Serves 8 · 10 min

Ingredients

4 purple carrots (or ordinary carrots plus a small raw beetroot for colour), cut into sticks
1 small turnip, sliced
2 tbsp coarse bulgur
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sourdough starter or a slice of sourdough bread
2 litres water
chilli flakes for the spicy version

Method

Tie the bulgur and sourdough in a muslin bag and put it in a large jar with the carrots, turnip, salt and water.
Cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature for 7 to 14 days, tasting after a week; it is ready when it is deep red and clearly sour.
Strain, chill, and serve very cold with a stick of the pickled carrot in each glass, and chilli flakes for acılı.

Fermentation time depends on the room temperature; warmer is faster. Keep it refrigerated once it tastes right.

Related dishes

Turkish Tea and Coffee

Turkish tea, çay, is black tea brewed strong in a double teapot and served in small tulip-shaped glasses, diluted to taste and drunk all day. Turkish coffee is finely ground coffee simmered with water and sugar in a small pot, served unfiltered with the grounds settling in the cup. Both are rituals rather than drinks, and every Turkish restaurant and café in the UK serves them; how they do it tells you a lot about the place.

Adana Kebab

Adana kebab is hand-minced lamb mixed with tail fat and red pepper, pressed along a wide flat skewer and grilled over charcoal. It comes from the city of Adana in southern Turkey, where the name is legally protected and the recipe is strict: lamb, fat, pepper, salt, nothing else. The UK version is spicier and more varied than the original, and it is the dish to order when you want heat and smoke rather than a clean cut of meat.