From the time of the Seljuk sultans more written information about the food has survived. Divanu Lugat-i Turk, a dictionary compiled by Kasgarli Mahmut in 1072-1073 to teach Turkish to the Arabs, not only gives the names of certain foods, but also describes some dishes. Among those described as old Turkish dishes are tutmac (noodle soup), yufka (flattened bread), katmer (layered pastry), ekmek (bread), yoghurt, ayran, koumiss, corek (ring shaped bun), pekmez (a syrup made of boiled of grape juice and helva made with cornflour. There are also some references to cooking in a pit dug in the earth, to grills and skewers and earthware cooking pots.
The other important written work of the 11th century, by Yusuf Has Hacip entitled Kutadgu Bilig (The Book of Knowledge), deals with eating habits, feasts, and table service rather than dishes.
Another work which enlightens the same period is the Dede Korkut Hikayeleri (The Tales of Dede Korkut) compiled towards the end of the 14th century. These twelve tales are a rich source of information about the customs of the Oghuz Turks who lived in the southwestern Asia. Yahni (stew), kebabs (food on skewers), togya corbasi (a soup made from wheat flour and yoghurt), clotted cream, yoghurt, cheese, milk, ayran, koumiss, and wine were all consumed in the Tales of Dede Korkut.
The literary works of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, a philospher who lived in the 13th century, contain many references to the food culture of the time. Many dishes are categorized and described in detail in Mevlana's works: for example meat is stewed or fried; helva may be made with grape syrup or with almonds, zerde (desserts include sweetened boiled rice with saffron) and paluze (starch pudding).
Mevlana's writings show that in 13th century Anatolia the following foods and beverages were common: vegetables such as leek, aubergine, marrow, celery, garlic, cucumber; pulses such as blackeyed bean, lentil, chickpea, broad bean; fruits such as apple, pomengrate, pear, peach, fig, melon, watermelon. date; buts such as walnut, almond, hazelnut; milk products, such as yoghurt, ayran, cheese; food made with flour such as tutmac (homemade noodles cooked with meat and yoghurt), etli ekmek (flatbread), etli ekmek (flat pastry baked with ground meat), borek (pastries), corek (ring shaped buns), tirit (bread cooked in gravy); sweet foods like honey, grapes and grape syrup, helva, kadayif, zerde; drinks such as sweetened fruit juices and wine.
Mevlana's cook, Ates Baz-i Veli was a prominent personality, who died in 1285, was buried in a mausoleum of red stone. He was the first cook to have a mauseloum built in his memory in Turkey. It is revealing attention devoted to food and the culinary art and the esteem in which a cook was held during that period. There is widely held belief in Turkey today that to visit his mausoleum and take away a pinch of salt distributed there will bring a blessing to the visitor's kitchen, enhance their cooking and prove beneficial for any illness from which they might suffer.
The Seljuk archives are an invaluable source of information on the period. When the Seljuk ruler Alaaddin Keykubat I arrived for the first time as a monarch in Konya, the capital of the Seljuk Empire, there were fireworks and ceremonies the like of which had never been witnessed before, and feasts and drinking parties were organized. These feasts are described as "Various kinds of rice and stewed marrow dishes were, stewed and fried vegetables, meat stews, unpeeled vegetables cooked in hot ashes, roasts, partridges and quail, all in gold and china dishes, were arranged on a dais in keeping with the traditions of the two clans of the Oghuz Turkish tribes. Koumiss and a variety of sweetened fruit juices were drunk in accordance with the Oghuz customs."
There were organizations in Anatolia at that time which adhered strictly ro the regulations and statues governing the running of the kitchens. Foremost among them were the Wakif socities, religious charitable which provided many free benefits and services.
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