Çilbir Image Used Under Creative Commons License From Pinterest.com
Citizens, you may not be aware that one of the all-time finest breakfast meals – a variant of poached eggs – hails from the proud and ancient country of Turkey!
Çılbır (pronounced “chilber”) is one of my favorite comfort dishes. The perfect harmony of eggs, yogurt,herbs and spices is simply delicious!
As documented in Marianna Yerasimos’ “500 Hundred Years of Ottoman Cuisine”, çılbır was a staple recipe in the palace kitchen of the Ottoman Sultans, so there’s no need for discussion over how fantastic it is!
The Ottoman Sultans dined in the most elaborate of fashions, sparing no expense to enjoy the most rarefied and delicious of recipes! Many of these dishes are still made today but some will never be sampled again due to unavailability of ingredients no longer found or simply due to the tremendous expense!
The influence of Ottoman cuisine remains felt across much of Europe, especially southeastern Europe and other countries where the Ottomans held a firm political grip over more than five centuries!
For you though, ! 🙂
Battle on – The Generalissimo
PrintThe Hirshon Turkish Poached Eggs – Çilbir
- Total Time: 0 hours
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 3 tbsp vinegar (to add to boiling water)
- 2 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes (preferred) or sweet paprika (if you prefer a less spicy dish)
- 1 tbsp butter
- Dried mint flakes or minced fresh spearmint
- salt
- pepper
- 1 cup plain full-fat yogurt, preferably from Jersey cows
- 1 tbsp. finely chopped dill
- 2 cloves garlic, mashed into a paste
Instructions
- Boil 3 cm/1.5 inches of water in a medium size pan or skillet (preferably not a deep pot as it is then easier to work with the eggs as they cook).
- Make sure the water is boiling and not just warm but once it boils, lower the heat and let it cool down to below boiling temperature before you place the eggs into the water.
- Add vinegar to water. Then, break the eggs, and put each one slowly into a small cup, like a ramekin.
- Bring the ramekins close to the boiling water, gently and slowly pour each egg into the hot water, trying to pour in the same spot.
- As soon as you pour each egg, scoop all runny streams of egg towards its yolk with a tablespoon.
- Cook them for 3-4 minutes for a medium-soft yolk. For a hard yolk, you need to cook them at least for 5 minutes.
- Combine garlic, dill and yogurt and pour onto a plate. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon onto the plate on top of the yogurt.
- In a skillet, heat the butter. When it sizzles add aleppo pepper or paprika. Stir for half a minute or less (just don’t let it burn) and pour it on top of eggs and yogurt.
- Lastly sprinkle salt, pepper and mint on top and serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
- Category: Recipes
Nutrition
- Calories: 132.77 kcal
- Sugar: 3.16 g
- Sodium: 284.01 mg
- Fat: 9.13 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.48 g
- Trans Fat: 0.13 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.53 g
- Fiber: 0.53 g
- Protein: 7.86 g
- Cholesterol: 175.56 mg
