İskender Kebap — Turkish Döner over Pita
Bursa's most famous plate and a Turkish restaurant icon: slices of döner-style spiced lamb laid over cubes of buttery toasted pide bread, blanketed in a rich tomato sauce, finished with a pour of sizzling browned butter and a cooling dollop of yogurt. İskender kebap is a study in contrasts — crisp bread, juicy meat, tangy tomato, nutty butter, cool yogurt — and a true restaurant-at-home showpiece.
Marinate thinly sliced lamb (or beef) in yogurt, garlic and spices, then sear it hard in batches until browned at the edges. Toast cubes of pide or flatbread in butter until golden and crisp, and spread them on a platter. Lay the meat over the bread, ladle over a simple tomato sauce, then pour sizzling browned (and ideally a little paprika-tinted) butter all over. Serve with a scoop of thick yogurt and grilled tomato and pepper alongside.
- Crisp, buttery toasted pide cubes under the meat are essential — they soak up the sauce without going to mush.
- Finish with sizzling browned butter poured over at the table — it's the signature flourish.
- A spoon of cold, thick yogurt on the side balances the rich meat, butter and tomato.
Equipment
- Frying pan / skillet
- Small saucepan (for sauce & butter)
- Bowl
מצרכים
Meat
- 600 g lamb (or beef), very thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves; 1 tsp each cumin, paprika, oregano; salt, pepper
Tomato sauce
- 400 g passata or chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato paste; pinch sugar; salt
To assemble
- 2 pide or flatbreads, in cubes
- 60 g butter (some for the bread, some to pour)
- Thick yogurt; grilled tomato & green pepper
אופן ההכנה
- שלב01
Toss the thinly sliced meat with the yogurt, grated garlic, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper. Marinate at least 2 hours (or overnight).
- שלב02
Simmer the passata with the tomato paste, a pinch of sugar and salt until thickened and rich, about 10 minutes. Keep warm.
- שלב03
Cube the pide/flatbread and toss in melted butter, then toast in a pan (or oven) until golden and crisp. Spread over a warm platter.
- שלב04
Sear the marinated meat in a very hot pan in batches until browned and just cooked, with crisp edges. Don't crowd the pan.
- שלב05
Lay the meat over the toasted bread. Ladle the hot tomato sauce over the top. Brown the remaining butter (with a little paprika if you like) until nutty and sizzling, and pour it over everything. Serve with cold yogurt and grilled tomato and pepper.
Make ahead
Marinate the meat overnight and make the tomato sauce ahead — both improve. Toast the bread, sear the meat and pour the butter fresh at serving time so the textures stay right. The yogurt and grilled vegetables can be prepped ahead.
Storage
Best assembled and eaten fresh, while the bread is crisp and the butter sizzling. The components keep separately: cooked meat and tomato sauce 3 days refrigerated. Re-toast the bread fresh and reheat the meat and sauce, then assemble — don't store it assembled or the bread turns soggy.
Variations
Beef İskender
Use thinly sliced beef instead of lamb — common and equally good.
Chicken
A lighter version with marinated chicken döner-style slices.
Home döner
If you can't get döner meat, thinly sliced marinated lamb seared hard is the easy home stand-in.
Serve with
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition values are estimates based on the metric measurements. Adjust as needed.
שאלות נפוצות
What is İskender kebap?
A famous Turkish dish from Bursa: döner meat (spiced lamb or beef) served over cubes of buttered, toasted pide bread, topped with tomato sauce and a pour of sizzling browned butter, with yogurt on the side. It's named after İskender Efendi, credited with creating it in the 19th century. It's a restaurant classic across Turkey.
Can I make it without a döner spit?
Yes — at home, marinated very thinly sliced lamb or beef seared hard in a hot pan is the standard stand-in for döner meat. You get the same spiced, browned, juicy slices to lay over the bread. The spit gives the authentic texture, but a hot skillet and thin slicing get you most of the way there.
What bread should I use?
Pide (Turkish flatbread) is traditional, cut into cubes and toasted in butter until crisp and golden. Any sturdy flatbread or even pita works. The toasted, buttery bread base is essential — it soaks up the tomato sauce and butter while keeping some bite, rather than dissolving.
Why pour butter over at the end?
The pour of hot, nutty browned butter (often tinted with a little paprika) over the assembled plate is İskender's signature finish. It adds richness and aroma and ties the meat, bread and sauce together. Pouring it sizzling at the table is part of the theatre — and the flavour.
What do you serve with İskender?
A scoop of cold, thick yogurt is essential — it cuts the richness of the buttery meat and tomato. Grilled tomato and green chilli (peppers) are the classic garnish, and a glass of ayran (salty yogurt drink) or şalgam (fermented turnip juice) is the traditional accompaniment. A shepherd's salad rounds it out.
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