BULGUR PILAF WITH MEAT

(Recipe in English is below. Etli bulgur pilavi tarifi için burayi tiklayin)

Bulgur pilaf is one of the basic dishes of Turkish kitchen. In Europe people serve potatoes that are prepared based on recipes of all kind next to any kind of dish, and in Turkey bulgur pilaf is one of the most popular side dishes. It is a side dish for vegetable dishes, for meat dishes…

I added a few other things to the traditional recipe and I think I made it more aromatic and egzotic this way. But I am really proud of the result as it is something really delicious, again!!! :)

Ingredients (serves 4 – 5)

1 glass of bulgur

150 – 200 gr meat, cubed (if you are going to use calf meat, then I suggest you boil the meat to make it softer and use the broth in your pilaf)

1 – 2 medium sized tomatoes, peeled and cubed

1 medium sized onion, cubed

2 – 3 cloves of garlic, each cut into 2- 3 pieces

1 green pepper (not paprika; you can find the Turkish style green pepper in the Turkish grocery in your neighbourhood)

2 – 3 dried red pepper (optional if you cannot find it. You have to soak it in hot water before using it. After that, you can cut the peppers roughly into two or three pieces)

2 – 3 kaffir lime leaves

2 – 3 spoons of olive oil

Hot water (just enough to cover the pilaf)

Method:

1. Sauté the onion in olive oil in a deep and large saucepan for a minute or two.
2. Add the meat and cook it until it soaks the water it released.
3. Add the green pepper and continue sautéing for one or two minutes more.
4. Add the bulgur and stir with the rest of the ingredients. You’ll see that the bulgur will become transparent; that’s where you have to stop.
5. Add the tomatoes, the dried red pepper and kaffir lime leaves to the saucepan.
6. Pour the hot water immediately and mix it into the ingredients and close the lid. Cook on low fire till the bulgur is soft. If the bulgur soaked all the water and it is still not soft, you can add just a little bit of (like 1/3 of a glass) hot water again and continue cooking with the lid. Do not add too much water otherwise you’ll have soup. 

Bulgur pilaf with meat

 

SAMPHIRE (GLASSWORT) SALAD

(Recipe in English is below. Deniz börülcesi salatasi tarifi için burayi tiklayin)

This is one of the popular meze’s in Turkey; served before the grilled fish.

It doesn’t include many ingredients however samphire is a bit tricky: do not use salt in the water you boil it as it is already quite salty! Aaand, there’s awn that needs to be cleaned (see the method section)

Ingredients:

A bundle of samphire; washed

Water

2 – 3 spoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 – 2 garlic cloves, crushed

The juice of ½ or 1 lemon or 2 - 3 spoons of apple vinegar

Method:

1. Start with the salad dressing: Mix the olive oil, garlic and the lemon juice very well.
2. Boil water in a deep pot and throw the samphire in it in order to boil them soft.
3. Samphire has awn that has to be cleaned; so when they are a bit cool, clean them: hold them from the thicker stem and pull the skin out of the awn.
4. Mix it with the dressing and ready to serve!

turkish samphire (glasswort) salad

SPINACH SALAD

(Recipe in English is below. Yogurtlu ispanak salatasi tarifi için burayi tiklayin)

This one is something I serve as a starter, as meze, next to the other things. It is delicious and yet so simple to make. Give it a try!

Ingredients (Serves 3 – 4)

Half a kilo spinach leaves, washed and drained, chopped fine  

spinach leaves chopped fine

3 spoons of flour

3 spoons of olive oil

5 – 6 spoons of strained yoghurt

1 – 2 garlic cloves, crushed with salt to your taste

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the flour and over a medium heat and using a small pointed wooden spoon, stir quite vigorously to make a smooth, glossy paste.
2. Add small bits of the spinach you chopped at a time and continue stirring. You will see that the spinach will become creamy as it gets mixed with the flour.
3. When all the spinach is finished, turn the fire off and let it cool down.
4. In the meantime prepare the sauce: add the garlic cloves you crushed into the yoghurt and mix well.
5. When the spinach is cool enough, add the yoghurt sauce and mix well. Ready to serve!

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 5

Spinach salad

BORANI

(Recipe in English is below. Borani tarifi için burayi tiklayin)

Borani is a popular dish with spinach beet or spinach in the Middle East, not only in Turkey. In Turkey, I know that people prepare Borani either with spinach or with spinach beet. Furthermore, there two different preparations that I know of. One of the preperation is quite simple: saute the onion that you chopped fine in the butter, chop the spinach beet (or the spinach), saute it with the onion, break an egg or two on it and serve it with yoghurt and garlic sauce on top. The other recipe is richer in ingredients however only uses the stem of the spinach beet and a bit more difficult to make. The recipe I am posting below is inspired by the more difficult one; but not entirely same with the authentic recipe. I believe that I made it a bit easier to prepare and healthier by skipping the frying part. I also added walnuts. 

Anyway, here’s the recipe. I hope you will like it!

Ingredients (serves 5 – 6)

1 bundle of spinach beet (or spinach); seperate the stem and the leaves, chop them fine

spinach beet

spinach beet, chopped

spinach beet stems

spinach beet stems, chopped

200 gr minced meat

1 medium to big onion, grated

onion, grated

2 spoons of bulgur

A handful of walnuts, ground (not as thin as powder though, you must have small bits still)

Water, just enough to fill a medium size pot (not entirely full: leaving enough space to boil and add the ingredients of course)

1 spoon of butter and a few drops of olive oil

100 gr chickpeas, boiled*

100 gr boiled chickpeas

100 gr black eye beans, boiled*

100 gr boiled black eyed beans

Salt and pepper to your liking

For sauce (totally optional): mix 5 – 6 spoons of strained yoghurt with a teeth of garlic that you crushed. Add salt to your liking. Spread it over your plate. Additionally, you can also melt butter and roast some ground red pepper in it (be careful not to burn it) and spread it over the yoghurt and garlic mixture on your plate. 

Method:

1. Place the bulgur, onion, minced meat, the salt and pepper in a bowl and knead well. Make small balls (the ideal size would be as big as grape) of the mixture; if you wetten your hand before you roll the mixture in your hand, it goes smoother without much sticking to your palms.
2. Take the water in a medium size pot and boil it. Add the bulgur balls to the boiling water and let it boil for about 10 minutes (first on high fire than on low). Skim off the scam.
3. Saute the stems of the spinach beet in butter and olive oil. They have to be soft.
4. Add the stems, the chickpeas, the black eyed beans to the bulgur balls and let it boil for 5 – 10 minutes.
5. Add the leaves that you chopped fine. Let it boil for 3 – 4 minutes if you want the leaves still a bit fresh. If not, then boil longer.
6. You can serve it with yoghurt with garlic sauce that you spread over your dish. 

Step 1 - make small meatballs

Step 3 - saute the stems of the spinach beet

Borani

* Soak the chickpeas and black eyed beans in water overnight. Boil them soft the day after.

BÖREK WITH FETA CHEESE AND PARSLEY FILLING

(English recipe is below. Peynirli ve maydanozlu börek tarifi için burayi tiklayin)

Börek is a very popular kind of pastry in Turkey. It is eaten at the breakfast, at lunch or at evening tea’s –simply at any time of the day!. The most common one is made with feta (or “beyaz peynir” as we call it in Turkey – translated as white cheese) and parsley. It is nice to have it with some tomato, cucumber and tea! 

Ingredients (9 – 10 slices)

3 thin flaky dough (known as yufka or phyllo)

2 eggs

50 – 100 gr of butter, molten (you should have just enough to fill one small Turkish tea glass)

1 Turkish tea cup of milk

2 – 3 desert spoons of baking powder

350 gr feta, grated

Half a bundle of parsley, chopped fine

A handful of black cumin or sesame seeds

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
2. For the sauce to make the börek wet: whisk the eggs, the molten butter, milk and the baking powder.
3. Mix the feta and the parsley; this is going to be your filling.
4. Take a medium size square pyrex (or baking tin) and lay one layer of yufka by having the edges hanging out of the pyrex.  Pour 2 – 3 spoons of the sauce.
5. Take the second yufka and split it into two pieces. Lay one half on the first layer and make the yufka wet by pouring 2 – 3 spoons of the sauce again.
6. Spread the half of the feta mixture over the yufka in the pyrex.
7. Split the remaining layer of yufka into two and apply the same procedure by putting one layer on the feta mixture and then pouring 2 – 3 spoons of the sauce.
8. Close the edges of the first layer of yufka at the bottom of the pyrex over the filling and the layers of yufka. Cut the börek into square pieces.
9. Pour the remaining sauce and sprinkle black cumin (or the sesame seeds) over the börek now.
10. Bake the börek in the oven till the top turns to a nice brown colour.

Step 2 - the sauce to make the börek wet

Step 3 - mix the feta and the parsley

Step 4

Step 6

Step 8

Step 8

Step 9

börek with feta and parsley filling

GREEN MANGO SALAD

(Recipe in English is below. Yesil mango salatasi tarifi için burayi tiklayin)

Green mango salad is something we discovered in Thailand at a time where we ordered something next to our all time favourite papaya salad. And you know what, it’s a love story! It is so delicious. Again, you can taste sour, sweet and salty in such a nice blend! 

We have ordered green mango salad in different places during our travel in Thailand and Cambodia. In Cambodia, they add meat (chicken, beef, pork or sea fruit) to the salad. To be really honest, we didn’t find this necessary. But I imagine it has to do with eating habits; if this dish is seen as a one plate dish that one is going to order some proteins would bring a balance to what you eat! I don’t know, I am just assuming. Anyway, in Cambodia they add asian basil as well which is great!

I am not sure if I can find unripe green mango in Turkey, so I brought two of them with me on the way back home. Because I wanted to share this great taste!

Ingredients (Serves 2 – 3 people)

1 green mango, see method section.

1 – 2 tablespoons of fish sauce

Juice of 1 – 2 lime(s)

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 desertspoon sugar

1 garlic, chopped fine

1 small carrot, grated

A handful of peanuts, roasted

A handful of bean sprouts (optional)

Thai basil to your taste, chopped roughly (you can replace it with purple basil or basil that you know if you cannot find the Thai basil)

Chili pepper, chopped fine (the amount you decide!)

1 cherry tomato, to decorate

1 cucumber, to decorate

2 – 3 leaves of lettuce, washed and drained

ingredients

Method:

1. Start with the dressing: mix the lime juice, the sugar, the fish sauce, the garlic, the chili pepper and the onion. And pound the onions and the garlic with the help of your spoon. (I saw that the street food sellers use mortar and pestle for this but I don’t have such equipment in my kitchen)
2. Sliver the mango by first chopping along the length of the mango many many times so that the blade goes just a little below the surface and then cut the thin pieces away
3. Mix the dressing with mango, bean sprouts, basil and peanuts.
4. To decorate: you can serve the salad on a bed of lettuce and add slices of cucumber around the salad mix. You can also decorate it with a cherry tomato.

step 1

grated mango

green mango salad

green mango salad