Osmancık Yaprak İçi Yemeği (Vine-Leaf Pulse Dish)

Geographical Indicationana-yemek

Osmancık Yaprak İçi Yemeği is a pulse and bulgur dish from Osmancık, a district of Çorum province in north-central Turkey. Chickpeas, lentils, black-eyed peas, broad beans and bulgur are cooked with a tomato-paste sauce and served with vine leaves, which diners fill with the dish at the table.

Geographical indication

The dish was registered by the Osmancık District Governorship with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office on 25 June 2025 as a place-of-origin indication (registration no. 1750). The geographical area is Osmancık district, and according to the certificate all production stages must take place there.

Hıdırellez and history

According to the certificate, the dish is eaten on ordinary days and also served at weddings, religious holidays and festivals. It is specifically made in May on the second day of the Hıdırellez celebrations (a spring festival) and eaten by those attending. The same document says that, according to Evliya Çelebi’s travel book, the vine leaves of Osmancık’s vineyards were used in cooking and the dish was called “yaprak aşı” (leaf dish).

How it is made

In the six-step recipe for twenty people given in the certificate, the pulses and bulgur are cooked in one pot and the onion and paste in another. The two are combined, a sauce of butter, dried mint and red pepper is poured over, and fresh herbs and spring onion are stirred in. Vine leaves are boiled in salted water or used brined.

Sources

• Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, Geographical Indications Portal, Osmancık Yaprak İçi Yemeği, Registration No. 1750 (entry: https://ci.turkpatent.gov.tr/cografi-isaretler/detay/11302; certificate: https://ci.turkpatent.gov.tr/Files/GeographicalSigns/39925303-1f1e-4f75-9759-76a2f36f15d2.pdf)
• Çorum Haber, “Osmancık’ın 3 lezzeti daha coğrafi işaret aldı” (Osmancık’s 3 more flavours receive geographical indication), 6 July 2025. https://corumhaber.net/osmancikin-3-lezzeti-daha-cografi-isaret-aldi

🍳 How to make it

Servings: 20 servings

Ingredients

• 250 g fresh and/or brined vine leaves
• 100 g chickpeas (boiled the day before)
• 100 g green lentils
• 100 g black-eyed peas
• 100 g finely milled dried broad beans
• 50 g bulgur
• 1 litre water
• 50 g tomato and/or pepper paste
• 10 g salt
• 25 g butter
• 100 g dry and/or spring onion
• 30 ml sunflower and/or olive oil
• 10 g crushed red pepper flakes
• 10 g dried and/or fresh mint
• 10 g parsley, 10 g dill
• Optional: 100 g tomato, 30 g green pepper

Method

1. In a pot, cook the boiled chickpeas, green lentils, black-eyed peas, milled broad beans and bulgur in half a litre of water for about 15-20 minutes.
2. In a second pot, sauté one chopped dry onion with the oil and tomato or pepper paste; optionally add chopped green pepper and tomato, add half a litre of water and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Combine the two pots, add the salt and cook for about 5 more minutes.
4. Pour over a sauce made from butter, dried mint and red pepper flakes.
5. Stir in finely chopped fresh mint, dill, parsley and spring onion; the dish should be rather dry and rich in paste.
6. Serve with vine leaves boiled in salted water (or brined leaves) on the side; lay a leaf over the dish on the plate, spoon the food into it and eat by hand or with a spoon.

💡 Tips

• The dish should be fairly dry, with plenty of tomato or pepper paste.
• It is one of the communal dishes made on the second day of the Hıdırellez celebrations.

A traditional recipe; quantities and times are approximate and vary by household.

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