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Tantuni Recipe with Yoghurt Sauce

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Loving Turkish food as much as I do, I simply had to share this tantuni recipe with you all!

Who doesn’t love a good Turkish takeaway? This tantuni may not be the most famous Turkish dish but it’s most definitely one of my favourites.

In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to make the best tantuni on the planet. You will see it made just like this at Turkish takeaways and in Turkey though their pans are usually more impressive. 

Drizzling the spiced oil over the yoghurt tantuni at the table.

What is tantuni?

Tantuni is a traditional Turkish street food originating from the Mersin region in southern Turkey.

It is a type of dürüm, which is a wrap, typically made with thinly sliced beef or lamb. Tantuni is a bit different in that the meat is first braised and then stir fried with spices such as sunac and paprika. 

Lavash bread is then dipped into the sauce and meat and rolled up with the meat onion salad and diced tomatoes. This is a slightly fancier version that includes a simple yoghurt sauce that is then topped with a mildly spiced butter sauce.

Key characteristics of tantuni include:

1. Meat: Thinly sliced beef or lamb, often cut into very small pieces.
2. Cooking Method: The meat is sautéed in a wide, shallow pan with spices like paprika, sumac, and salt.
3. Serving: The cooked meat is wrapped in a thin flatbread, often lavash but you could use tortillas. It is typically garnished with fresh vegetables like tomatoes, onions, parsley, and sometimes pickles or a squeeze of lemon juice.
4. Flavor: The dish has a distinctive savoury and slightly spicy flavour, with a blend of tender meat and fresh vegetables.

Tantuni is often enjoyed as a quick and flavorful meal or snack and is popular both as street food and in more formal dining settings across Turkey.

Do you have to use lavesh breads for this recipe?

Lavash bread is perfect for preparing tantuni. It’s really easy to prepare and I have a recipe for it here.

You could, however use another type of flatbread if you don’t want to make your own or you don’t have a Turkish grocer nearby. Try making this tantuni recipe with tortillas and it will be almost as good.

How long can you keep leftovers in the fridge?

Tantuni is meant to be a fast food and it is best eaten right after you prepare it. That said, if you do have some leftovers, you can store them, wrapped tightly in the fridge for about 3 days.

I recommend storing the meat, salads and lavash separately and then heat up the meat again and rolling it all up with the fresh salad vegetables.

Step by step photographs.

Ingredients for the recipe.

Get all of your ingredients prepared and at the ready before you start cooking.

Mixing the yoghurt sauce ingredients together.

Whisk the yoghurt sauce ingredients together until smooth and set aside.

Mixing the salad ingredients. Sliced onions, sumac, salt, parsley and olive oil.

Mix the sliced onions, salt, sumac, chopped parsley and olive oil, if using together. Set aside.

Slicing the beef into thin ribbons.

Slice the beef into thin ribbons against the grain.

Frying the beef in a high sided pan.

Place all of the beef in a pan over a medium-high heat. As you cook, the beef will release moisture.

Pouring spiced water over the cooking meat.

Mix 70ml (1/4 cup) water with the paprika and sumac and pour it over the meat.

Simmering the meat in the pan.

Simmer the meat for about 10 to 15 minutes or until tender.

Transferring the braised beef to a plate and retaining the cooking liquid.

Transfer the braised beef to a plate and retain the cooking liquid.

Frying the braised beef in oil in a wok.

Heat a wok or pan over a medium-high heat. Add about 3 tbsp oil and fry until the meat is crispy and caramelised.

Adding paprika, dried chilli flakes, salt and some of the braising liquid to the meat as it fries.

Stir in some of the retained braising liquid, the paprika and some chilli flakes if you like. Season with salt to taste. Stir well to combine.

Pressing a lavesh bread into the meat and sauce to soak up some of the sauce and oil.

Press a lavash bread over the meat and juices to soak up some of the oil and broth.

Topping a lavesh bread with the onion salad, diced tomatoes and fried beef.

Place one of the lavash breads on a clean work surface and top generously with the onion salad, diced tomatoes and meat.

Rolling the tantuni and slicing into bite sized pieces.

Roll it all up and then slice into bite sized pieces.

Heating the butter sauce with spices in a pan.

Heat the butter and oil in a pan and then add the paprika, chilli flakes and salt to taste.

Bringing the butter sauce to a simmer.

Bring it all to a bubbling simmer.

Covering the tantuni with yoghurt sauce.

Top the tantuni with the yoghurt sauce. You can make these in twos or just keep everything hot and make them all at once.

Serving the tantuni at the table.

Serve hot and drizzle with the spiced butter sauce at the table.

Tantuni with yogurt sauce and spiced butter sauce divided into bite sized pieces.

Pick up a piece of tantuni and enjoy. You’ll be back for more!

Hand holding a piece of tantuni.

Dig in!

If you like this beef tantuni recipe, you might like to try some of these hugely popular beef dishes too.

  1. Korean Braised Beef Stew
  2. Beef Haleem
  3. Shaking Beef
  4. Ethiopian Beef Tibs
  5. Thai Beef Green Curry
  6. Moroccan Beef Stew
  7. Beef Madras Curry
  8. Chinese Crispy Beef
  9. Beef Kofta Curry with Chickpeas

These Turkish recipes are always good with tantuni!

  1. Turkish Style Mediterranean Grilled Fish
  2. Turkish Chicken Kebabs
  3. Beef Shish Kabobs
  4. Slow Cooked Lamb
  5. Lahmacun
  6. Muhammara – A traditional Pepper meze
  7. Turkish Onion Salad
  8. Baba Ganoush – Eggplant (Aubergine) meze
  9. Easy Hummus – Really smooth and delicious
  10. Turkish Ezme Salad
  11. Lavash Flatbread
  12. Homemade Pitas
  13. Homemade Tahini
  14. Tahini Sauce

Have you tried this recipe for Turkish chicken kebabs?  

If so, please give it a star rating in the comments below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I’m sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.

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Yield: 4

Tantuni Recipe with Yoghurt Sauce

Drizzling the spiced oil over the yoghurt tantuni at the table.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 to 6 lavash breads
  • 900g Beef rump, sirloin or ribeye
  • 1 tsp sumac
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 70ml (1/4 cup) water
  • 250g full fat Greek yoghurt
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Juice of one lime
  • FOR THE SALAD
  • 2 medium red onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 small bunch flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp sumac
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional)
  • 3 bright red vine tomatoes, diced
  • TO FINISH
  • Rapeseed (canola) oil for frying
  • 4 tbsp paprika, sweet or picante
  • Salt to taste
  • 12 tbsp water
  • FOR THE RED SAUCE
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
  • 2 tsp pul biber
  • 2 tsp papika
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Start by whisking the yoghurt with the salt, minced garlic and lime juice until smooth. Set aside.
    To prepare the salad, mix the sliced onions and chopped parsley with the sumac, salt and olive oil if using. Set aside.
  2. Now prepare the beef by cutting it thinly against the grain and then again, lengthwise so that you have thin beef strips. Place the sliced beef in a high sided pan and place over a medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often and the beef will begin to release moisture.
  3. Mix 70ml (1/4 cup) water with one teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sumac and pour it over the beef. Cover and let it all simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the beef is cooked through and tender. Transfer the cooked beef to a plate and retain any cooking liquid that is leftover in the pan. Set aside.
  4. To prepare the red sauce, place the butter and oil in a small pan and bring to a simmer, stir in the pul biber or another dry chilli flake and paprika. When bubbling hot, stir in salt to taste and set aside to reheat later.
  5. To finish, heat a pan or wok over a high heat and add a half of the cooked meat. Stir well and cook until the meat is beginning to crisp and caramelise. Then stir in about 70ml (1/4 cup) of the retained cooking juices and 2 tablespoons of the paprika. If you like a spicier flavour, you could also add a little pul biber to taste but that’s optional.
  6. Place a lavesh bread over the sizzling meat to coat it with the sauce and then do the same with another lavesh bread. Place the breads on a clean work surface, transfer the cooked meat to a bowl and repeat with the rest of the meat and lavesh bread.
  7. If not serving immediately, you should keep everything warm or just heat it all up again before rolling your tantuni.
  8. To roll the tantuni, place the lavesh with the sauce facing upward. Add generous amounts of the onion salad and tomatoes and then cover equally with the cooked meat.
  9. Roll them up like you would a burrito but leaving the ends open. Slice the rolls into bite sized pieces and cover with the yoghurt mixture. Heat the butter mixture and drizzle it over the tops of the tantuni just before serving or at the table. Serve hot.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 921Total Fat: 57gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 252mgSodium: 1696mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 5gSugar: 14gProtein: 76g

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