It is widely believed that Urfa is the birthplace of many dishes, including Raw Kibbé (Çiğ Köfte), that according to the legend, was crafted by the Prophet Abraham from ingredients he had at hand.The walnut-stuffed Turkish dessert crepe (called şıllık) is a regional specialty.

Many vegetables are used in the Urfa cuisine, such as the “‘Ecır,” the “Kenger,” and the “İsot”, the legendary local red capsicum that is a smaller and darker cultivar of the Aleppo pepper that takes a purplish black hue when dried and cured.

Unlike most of the Turkish cities that use different versions of regular butter in their regional cuisine, Urfa is, together with Antep, Mardin and Siirt a big user of clarified butter, made exclusively from sheep’s milk, called locally “Urfayağı” (“Urfabutter”).