Keme — the desert truffle known to botanists as Terfezia — was regarded in the old nomadic cultures as a gift of spring, and today it plays the leading role in keme kebab, one of the most distinctive flavours of Turkish cuisine. This precious fungus grows beneath the soil: it appears neither on a tree nor on dead wood, but in steppe earth fed by the generous rains of early spring.
A belief widespread among the people holds that the energy the spring lightning leaves in the soil, and the minerals it stirs into motion, help the keme to form. For this reason keme is found in greater abundance after years that pass with much rain and lightning.
The craft of Birecik
This singular flavour is handled with real mastery in the Birecik district of Şanlıurfa. Finely chopped, or blended with meat minced on the zırh — the traditional crescent-shaped blade — the keme yields an unforgettable kebab with an aroma all its own. Rich in protein, minerals and vitamins, keme kebab is one of the most valuable gastronomic inheritances to travel from the soil of Anatolia to the table.
An Adana house in the Sarıçam forest
As Chef Biral, I prepare keme kebab with my own hands in an old Adana house set among the Sarıçam forests, and serve it to my special guests. Because the motto of Fellah Kebap is plain: to cook with fats that are good for your heart, with produce that is good for your heart.
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