"Meze" Dishes to Accompany the Spirits In Turkey, despite the Islamic prohibition against wine and anything alcoholic, there is a rich tradition associated with liquor.Drinking alcoholic beverages in the company of family and friends, both at home as well as in taverns and restaurants, is a part of special occasions. Similar to the Spanish tapas,"meze" is the general category of dishes that are brought in small quantities to start the meal off.These are eaten , along with wine or more likely with "raki", the anise -flavoured national drink of Turks sometimes referred to as "lion's milk" , until the main course is served . The bare minimum meze for raki are slices of honeydew melon and creamy feta cheese with freshly baked bread . Beyond this , a typical meze menu inludes dried and marinated mackerel , fresh salad greens in thick yogurt sauce and garlic , plates of cold vegetable dishes cooked or fried in olive oil , fried crispy savoury pastry , deep-fried mussels and calamari served in a sauce , tomato and cucumber salad , and fish eggs in a sauce. The main course that fallows such a meze spread will be fish or grilled meat . When the main course is kebap , then the meze spread is different . In this case , several plates of different types of minced salad salad greens and tomatoes in spicy olive oil , mixed with yogurt or cheese , "humus"(chick peas mashed in tahini) , bulgur and red lentil balls , "raw kofte ," marinated stuffed eggplant , peppers with spices and nuts , and pickles are likely to be served .