My Turkish Kitchen

TARÇINLI ÇÖREK

2012-01-25T02:30:00.000-05:00

CINNAMON ROLLS

Ingredients:

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of warm like whole milk
1/2 cup of sunflower oil
1 egg
1 tsp of yeast
2 tsp of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt

Filling:

1 cup of sugar
4 tbsp of ground cinnamon
2 tbsp of salted butter

Glaze:

6 tbsp of powdered sugar
2 tbsp of water

In a large mixing bowl; mix flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add milk and vegetable oil and knead. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise for one hour.

Take the dough and knead it until it is bubble free. Roll the it to make 10"x14"rectangle.

Brush melted butter evenly. Spread the filling onto the dough and roll it tightly.

Cut the rolls into 1 1/2-inch parts and place them on a 12" round baking dish.

Let it rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake it for 4o minutes or it is just golden brown.
Mix 6 tbsp of powdered sugar with 2 tbsp of water in a bowl. Sprinkle this glaze with a fork on top of rolls.

DOMATES SOSLU SUCUK

2012-01-18T02:00:00.000-05:00

SAUSAGE WITH TOMATO SAUCE
Ingredients:

1/2 of medium onion
1 green chili pepper
1/3 lb of sausage
2 large tomato
1/2 tsp of tomato paste
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
salt

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat, add vegetable oil in it. Cut the sausage lenghtwise and cut them into half moons. Chop onion and pepper and add them into the skillet with sausage. Cook them until onion is just golden. Peel and chop tomatoes and add them to the skillet, stirring occasionally, cook it until the juice of tomatoes comes up, approx. 10 minutes over medium heat. Add salt.

ISPANAKLI VE SUCUKLU BÖREK

2012-01-11T02:06:00.001-05:00

SPINACH AND SAUSAGE BOREK

Makes 21 boreks.

Ingredients:
•3 Turkish pastry sheets

Filling:
•1 small size of onion(chopped)
•2 lb of spinach
•1/2 lb of sausage
•3 tbsp of olive oil
•1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
•salt

Sauce:
•1 egg+1 egg white
•1/2 cup of milk
•1/2 cup of vegetable oil

Glaze:
•1 egg yolk
•sesame seeds

Soak spinach in cold water and add 2 tbsp of vinegar. Leave spinach in the water for 20 minutes. Wash and drain it one more time.
In a large pot, take vegetable oil add chopped onion. Stir and cook until onion is tender. Add chopped sausage stir for 2-3 minutes.
Chop spinach and add it to the pot. Stir until it loses its volume. Add ground black pepper and salt. Turn the heat off when the spinach absorbs all of its juice and let it cool.
For the sauce; take eggs, milk and vegetable oil in large mixing bowl and whisk.

Take one of the fillo sheets and fold the top in. Spoon 1/3 of the sauce over entire surface.

Place 1/3 of filling on top, fold the edges and roll.

Cut this roll into 7 pieces. Place all the rolls in a baking dish. Repeat this step for the other two fillo sheets.

Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Preheat the oven 35OF. Bake for 30 minutes or boreks are just golden brown.

KURU İNCİR & KURU ÜZÜM VE CEVİZLİ KEK

2012-01-06T01:49:00.008-05:00

DRIED FIGS & RAISINS &WALNUT CAKE

After a long vacation and some health issues, I am back...

Ingredients:
•2 eggs
•1 cup of chopped walnut
•15-20 dried figs

•1 large size apple ( grated )

•1/2 cup of plain yogurt
•1/2 cup of sunflower oil
•1 tbsp of ground cinnamon
•1+1/2 cups all purpose flour
•1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
•1 cup of brown sugar
•1 tsp of baking powder
•1/2 cup of raisins (chopped )

Soak figs in a medium bowl with warm water for 30 minutes. Drain and cut them into cubes.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Sift flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl.

Whisk eggs, granulated sugar in another large mixing bowl until it gets creamy. Gradually add yogurt, sunflower oil whisking consistently.

Add sifted flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda to the bowl and whisk thoroughly. Add figs, walnut, raisins and apple to the bowl and stir.

Pour this mixture to a 8" non-stick round cake pan and bake approximately 60 minutes. Check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. The toothpick will come out clean when the cake is done.

KOLAY SU BÖREĞİ

2011-08-29T02:15:00.006-04:00

EASY WATER BOREK

Water borek is so delicious but it is not so easy to make . I don't have the original recipe for Water Borek on my blog. I guess I am not that brave to try it yet :) In order to make the original one; you should make your own dough, roll up the fillos and boil them. It is not that easy, isn't it?

After tasting this "Easy Water Borek" at my friend Esra's house, I got the recipe and tried it. I am so glad that I have the recipe now. I don't need to do all the hard work to bake this wonderful borek.

Thanks Esra...

6 Turkish fillo pastry
4 eggs
2 cups of milk
2 cups of water
1 cup of sunflower oil

Filling:

1 chicken breasts
1 carrots ( shredded )
1 onion ( chopped )
2 tbsp of sunflower oil
1/3 tsp of black pepper
salt

In a large pot, take sunflower oil add chopped onion and carrot. Stir and cook until onion is tender. Add chicken and stir. Add black pepper and salt. Turn the heat off.

For the sauce; take eggs, milk, water and sunflower oil in large mixing bowl and whisk.

Brush bottom and sides of a 13 by 17-inch baking tray with sunflower oil. Layer the first sheet. Cut the edges of this first sheet if it is hanging over the tray and use them for the next step. Roll the second and third sheet and cut them into 3 inch pieces. Dip these pieces into sauce and lay them side by side until they cover all over the surface. Spoon 1/2 of the sauce over entire surface. Spread the filling all over covering the whole surface.Rool the forth and fifth sheets and do the same thing as the second and third sheets. Cover it with the last sheet. Make some holes on this last sheet and spoon the remaining sauce all over.
Preheat the oven 350F and bake it until golden brown.

HİNDİSTAN CEVİZİ TATLISI

2011-08-15T02:17:00.005-04:00

COCONUT DESSERT
This dessert is for coconut lovers. Before taking a bite from it, you can get the smell of coconut first:)

Ingredients:
•2 eggs
•1 cup of granulated sugar
•1/2 cup of vegetable oil
•1 cup of thick plain yogurt
•1+1/2 cups of extra shredded coconut
•1 cups of all purpose flour
•zest of 1 lemon
•1/2 tsp of vanilla sugar
•1/2 tsp of baking powder

Syrup:
•2+1/2 cups of granulated sugar
•3 cups of water
•juice of 1/2 lemon

For the syrup; take 2 + 1/2cups of sugar, and 3 cups of water in a medium pot. Bring it to the boil over medium heat. Boil for ten minutes. Add juice of 1/2 lemon into the pot and boil for another 3 minutes. Turn the heat off. Set a side.
Preheat the oven 350 F.
Sift flour, vanilla sugar, and baking soda together in a bowl.
Whisk eggs and sugar in another large mixing bowl until it gets creamy. Gradually add yogurt, vegetable oil,and lemon zest, coconut whisking consistently.
Add sifted flour, vanilla sugar, and baking soda to the bowl and mix thoroughly.
Pour into 13 17-inch rectangular pyrex and bake until it is golden brown, approximately 50 minutes.
Take the cake from oven. Let it cool for 5 minutes and spoon cold syrup over the cake.
Decorate it with coconut. Serve it when it is cool.

PORSİYONLUK EKMEKLER

2011-08-08T06:47:00.005-04:00

SMALL BREADS

Ingredients:

•4 cups of all purpose flour
•1/2 cups of warm like water
•1 cup of warm like whole milk
•1tbsp of granulate sugar
•1 tbsp of salt
•1 tsp of yeast

Take water and milk in the pan of bread machine. Add all purpose flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Set the machine on dough cycle. Take the dough out of the machine. Knead it until it is bubble free. Cut it into 20 pieces. Round them out. Place it on a baking tray leaving some rooms between them. Cut the tops cross and sprinkle some flour on them. Let them rise. Preheat the oven 400F and bake until breads are golden brown.

SOSLU PATATES KIZARTMASI

2011-07-18T04:00:00.015-04:00

FRENCH FRIES WITH GARLIC SAUCE

My mom used to prepare french fries this way for our breakfasts. I personally prefer this one over regular french fries.

Ingredients:

2 medium size of potatoes
1 tsp of red pepper paste
1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1 clove of garlic (mushed )
salt
sunflower oil ( for frying )

Wash and peel potatoes. Cut them into bite size cubes. Take sunflower oil in a frying pan over high heat. Add potato cubes and fry, stirring occasionally. Take them in a mixing bowl.

Take 3 tbsp of sun flower oil from frying pan and add garlic, cumin, pepper paste, salt. Mix it well. Add this mixture into the french fries and stir. Take it in a serving dish.

PİYAZ

2011-07-11T01:00:00.002-04:00

WHITE BEAN SALAD

Very simple and healthy dish. I have just had it for lunch. It was very yummy:)

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked white beans
1/2 medium size of red onion ( sliced )
1/2 bunch of parsley ( chopped )
1 tsp of sumac
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
juice of half lemon
1 tbsp of vinegar
3 tbsp of olive oil
salt
1 boiled egg ( sliced )
1 tomato ( sliced )
6-8 black olives

In a large mixing bowl, take bean, parsley, onion and stir. Add sumac ,red pepper flakes, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil and salt. Stir and take it in a serving dish. Decorate it with olives, tomato and egg slices.

GÖZLEME

2011-07-04T04:21:00.005-04:00

GOZLEME

Makes 2.

Ingredients:

1 Turkish pastry sheet
4 tbsp of feta cheese
2 tbsp of chopped parsley
2 tbsp of melted butter

Mix cheese and chopped parsley with a fork.Cut the pastry sheet into 2 equal parts.Take the first half. Fold 1/4 of it in. Place the 1/2 of filling on this folded part.Fold the long sides in. At last, fold the bottom part and give it a square shape.

MAHLEPLİ EKMEK

2011-06-27T03:53:00.004-04:00

MAHALAB BREAD

This bread might look like an ordinary bread. However 1 tbsp of mahalab changed everything. My son's comment for the bread is " It smells like honey!" He loves honey so much :)

Ingredients:

1cup of whole wheat flour
3 cups of all purpose flour
1+1/2 cups of warmlike water
1/2 cup of warmlike whole milk
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1tbsp of granulate sugar
1 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of mahalab
1 tsp of yeast

Take water, milk and olive oil in the pan of bread machine. Add whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Run the machine.

ANTEP FISTIKLI KURABİYE

2011-06-20T03:45:00.008-04:00

PISTACHIO COOKIES

Makes 19 cookies.

Ingredients:

3/4 stick of butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of all purpose of flour
1/3 cup of chopped pistachio
1 tbsp of plain yogurt
1/2 tsp of baking powder

Melt butter. Stir in brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add yogurt and stir. Add sifted flour and baking powder. Mix it with a spatula.Take one tablespoon of cookie dough and place it on a greased baking tray. Leave some room between the cookies. Preheat the oven 350 F. Bake the cookies for 10 to 15 minutes.

DEREOTLU PANCAR SALATASI

2011-06-13T04:30:00.047-04:00

BEET ROOT SALAD WITH DILL

My mom used to boil beet roots during the winters when I was a child. Each time I refused to eat it when my parents insisted and explained how healthy it is. I had a very good reason for that attitude; it was plain, just boiled and sliced beet roots! I chanced my mind after I tasted this salad at Nigar's house. Now I can say that I like it. Thank you Nigar.

Ingredients:

3 beet roots
1/2 bunch of fresh dill
1/3 bunch of Italian parsley
1/2 cup of chopped walnut
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
1 tsp of vinegar
salt

Boil the roots until soft. Set aside until cold. Peel and cut into cubes. Take beet in a large mixing bowl. Add chopped parsley, chopped dill walnut, vinegar, lemon juice, vinegar and salt. Stir and serve.

NOHUTLU BÖREK

2011-06-06T03:28:00.057-04:00

CHICKPEAS BOREK

Makes 28 boreks.

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked chickpeas
Turkish triangular fillo
1 medium size of chopped onion
1/2 bunch of chopped parsley
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
3 tbsp of sunflower oil
salt

Topping:

3/4 cup of milk
3/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of sunflower oil
1 egg+1 egg white
1/2 tsp of salt

Glaze:

1 egg yolk
sesame seeds

Take cooked chickpeas in a bowl of food processor and process it well.Saute chopped onion with 3 tbsp of sunflower oil over medium heat. Add tomato paste and stir for 5 minutes. Add chickpeas, black pepper, and salt and stir. Turn the heat down off. Add chopped parsley and stir.
Take one of the triangular fillo sheets place two tbsp of filling on top, fold the edges and roll.Place all the rolls in a baking dish side by side ( no place between them ).
Take eggs, 3/4 cup of milk, 3/4 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sun flower oil and whisk it well.Pour this liquid on top rolls and let it rest in the refrigerator until rolls absorb the liquid completely.
Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Take the rolls out and place them on the baking sheet. Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Preheat the oven 35OF. Bake for 30 minutes or boreks are just golden brown.

DEREOTLU TAZE BAKLA

2011-05-30T01:53:00.001-04:00

FRESH FAVA WITH DILL

Ingredients:

2 lb of fava
1 medium size of chopped onion
1/2 bunch of chopped fresh dill ( chopped )
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1/2 cup of boiling water
salt

Wash favas and cut the ends off. Cut them into 2-inch sizes. Take olive oil, chopped onion in a large pot. Saute onion over medium heat until tender. Add boiling water, tomato paste, favas into the pot and stir. Bring it to the boil and turn the heat down to low. Stir occasionally and add more boiling water if it is necessary. Simmer 30 minutes or until favas are tender. Turn the heat off . Add chopped dill and salt.
Serve it with yogurt on top.

DAMLA SAKIZLI & KADAYIFLI MUHALLEBİ

2011-05-23T03:28:00.070-04:00

MASTIC GUM & KATAIFI PUDDING

This is my latest favorite. Mustic gum adds to the pudding a very special flavor.

Ingredients:

5 cups of whole milk
3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
1+1/2 cups of flour
1+1/4 cups of granulated sugar
3 large piece of mastic gum

Kataifi layers:

1/2 lb of kataifi
1 cup of coarsely chopped walnut
3 tbsp of granulated sugar
3 tbsp of salted butter

In a large sauce pan, take flour, sugar, milk and mastic gum for the pudding and whisk. Add 5 cups of milk and turn the heat on high. Stir constantly until it starts to bubble. Turn the heat off and set aside until it is in room temperature.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large pot over high heat. Stir constantly until it starts to change its color to the pink. Add walnut and continue to stir until it is light brown. Add sugar and stir until it is brown.Turn the heat off and take the kataifi in a cookie sheet and cool it down.

Add heavy whipping cream into pudding and mix it with a mixer for 5 minutes.

In a rectangular pyrex, layer the first half of kataifi covering the bottom all over. Spoon the pudding over.Layer the second half of kataifi covering the pudding all over.Cover with plastic wrap and take it in the refrigerator until it is cold.

İÇ KATMASI

2011-05-17T03:19:00.013-04:00

BULGUR DIP

Ingredients:

1+1/2 cups of fine bulgur
1 cup of boiling water
1 onion ( chopped )
1/3 cup of olive oil
2 tbsp of tomato paste
2 tbsp of red pepper paste
juice of 2 lemons
1 tbsp of pomegranate molasses
1 cup of cold water
salt

Topping:

2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of chili pepper

In a large mixing bowl take bulgur. Add boiling water on it. Mix it and cover. Let bulgur absorb water for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, take olive oil and chopped onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir onion occasionally until it gets tender. Add tomato paste and red pepper paste. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the heat off. Add this sauce on top of bulgur and stir. Let it cool for 5 minutes. Take this mixture in a bowl of food processor. Process it for 10 minutes. Take it into the mixing bowl again. Add lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, salt and stir. Add cold water gradually and stir. Apportion it into 4 bowls.

In a small skillet take 2 tbsp of olive oil and chili pepper over medium heat. Stir for 2 minutes and drizzle it on top of each bowl.

TAVUKLU BÖREK

2011-05-09T03:00:00.020-04:00

FILLO BOREK WITH CHICKEN FILLING

Ingredients:

•1 lb fillo dough

Filling:

•1 large medium size of onion( chopped )
•1/2 chicken breast
•1 medium size sweet red pepper
•1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
•3 tbsp of olive oil
•salt

Sauce:

•2 eggs white
•1 cup of milk
•1/2 cup of vegetable oil

sesame seeds

Wash and drain chicken breast. Take it in a pressure cooker and add 3 cups of cold water. Bring it to the boil. You will see some foam on the surface when it starts to boil. Take them all with a spoon and discard. Close the lid of pressure cooker and turn the heat down to low. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes at low heat. Take the pressure cooker and let it cool. Open the lid when it is cool enough and take the chicken out. ( You could use the broth for soup or rice) Cut them into small pieces.

In a large pot, take vegetable oil add chopped onion and chopped sweet red pepper. Stir and cook until onion is tender. Add chichen and stir. Add black pepper and salt. Turn the heat off.
For the sauce; take eggs, milk and vegetable oil in large mixing bowl and whisk.

Brush bottom and sides of a 13 by 17-inch baking tray with vegetable oil. Layer the first half of fillo. Place the filling all over covering the whole surface.

Layer the second half of fillo on top of the filling and cut the whole thing into squares.

Pour the sauce evenly. Sprinkle sesame seeds. Take the tray in the refrigeretar for two hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for about 45 minutes or until nicely brown.

DAMLA ÇİKOLATALI & FINDIKLI KEK

2011-05-02T03:07:00.002-04:00

CHOCOLATE CHIPS & HAZELNUT CAKE

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 cup of chopped hazelnut
1 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
zest of 1 orange
1+1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp of baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Sift flour, baking powder together in a bowl.
Whisk eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar in another large mixing bowl until it gets creamy. Gradually add yogurt, vegetable oil whisking consistently.
Add sifted flour,baking powder to the bowl and whisk thoroughly. Add hazelnut, orange zest and chocolate chips to the bowl and stir.

Pour this mixture to a bundt cake pan and bake approximately 60 minutes. Check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. The toothpick will come out clean when the cake is done.

BUĞDAY SALATASI

2011-04-25T03:06:00.017-04:00

WHOLE WHEAT SALAD

If you visit this blog regularly, you have already noticed that I had several "Portakal Agaci" recipes. This one is one of them. I love how healthy this salad is.

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked wheat
1 cup of frozen corn kernel
3 small size of tomatoes ( diced )
1 large sweet red pepper ( diced )
1 small size of eggplant ( I used potato instead )
1/2 bunch of chopped parsley
1/2 bunch of chopped fresh dill
4 green onions ( chopped )
juice of a lemon
salt

Wash and peel potato. Cut them into small cubes and fry. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, take wheat, corn tomato, red pepper,parsley, dill, green onion. Add lemon juice and salt. Stir all the ingredients well. Add fried potato cubes and stir.

ISPANAKLI BAYAT EKMEK BÖREĞİ

2011-04-18T04:11:00.002-04:00

SPINACH BOREK WITH BREAD

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 large size of onion(chopped)
1 lb of spinach
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tbsp of red pepper paste
1/3 lb of ground beef
3 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
salt

Sauce:

12 slice of bread
1 cup of plain yogurt
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 eggs

Soak spinach in cold water and add 2 tbsp of vinegar. Leave spinach in the water for 20 minutes. Wash and drain it one more time.
In a large pot, take vegetable oil add beef . Stir and cook until it is cooked. Add chopped onion. Stir and cook until onion is tender. Add tomato paste and red pepper paste stir for 2-3 minutes.
Chop spinach and add it to the pot. Stir until it loses its volume. Add ground black pepper and salt. Turn the heat off when the spinach absorbs all of its juice and let it cool.
For the sauce; take bread in a bowl of food processor and process it until nicely chopped. Take bread in a bowl. Put 2 eggs, 1 cup of yogurt and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in the bowl of food processor and process it until finely mix.

Stir this liquid in chopped bread.
Brush bottom and sides of a 13 by 17-inch baking tray with vegetable oil. Pour the first half of sauce into baking tray.Spread the filling on top and cover the filling with the second half of sauce
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for about 45 minutes or until nicely brown.
When it completely cools down, cut the borek into squares.

DEREOTLU & ÇEDARLI TUZLU KURABİYE

2011-04-11T03:02:00.021-04:00

SAVORY DILL & CHEDDAR CHEESE COOKIES

Ingredients:

3/4 stick melted butter
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tbsp of vinegar
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of dried dill
2 tbsp of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1 egg white

Glaze:

1 egg yolk

nigella & sesame seeds

Take butter, yogurt, egg yolk, vinegar, cheddar cheese and dill in a large mixing bowl and whisk it well. Add baking powder, salt. Add flour slowly (to make very soft dough ) and start to knead.
Stop adding flour when you reach soft consistency.Make the dough one big ball, cover with plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator and let it rest for two hours.
Take some all purpose flour in a bowl and dip the dough ball into the flour. Dust a large, flat surface with the flour (dusting will keep the dough from sticking). Place the dough onto flat surface and roll the dough until it reaches 1/5" thickness with a roller pin. Keep dusting the dough with flour while you are rolling.
Preheat the oven 350F. Place a parchment paper on a baking sheet. Cut off the dough with a round cookie cutter.
Take the egg yolk and nigella-sesame seeds in a separate bowls.
Brush them first with egg yolk and then sprinkle sesame and nigella seeds on top.
Place them on the baking sheet.
Bake them golden brown.

YEŞİL MERCİMEK ÇORBASI

2011-04-04T03:46:00.008-04:00

GREEN LENTIL SOUP
This is one of my son's favorite soups. I must tell you that he is a very picky eater. I am happy when he eats the whole bowl of it so I can make sure that he gets something very nutritional.
Ingredients:

1/2 lb of ground beef
1/3 cup of uncooked orzo pasta
2 cups of cooked green lentil
1 small size of onion
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
5 cups of boiling water
salt

Take vegetable oil and beef in a medium pot and turn the heat on medium. Cook it until the beef absorbs all of its juice, stirring occasionally. Add chopped onion. Stir and cook for 10 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add boiling water and orzo in to the pot and bring it to the boil. Turn the heat down to low. Cover the lid and simmer it for 15 minutes. Add green lentil. Stir and cover the lid. Let it cook 10 more minutes.Turn the heat down.

BAHARATLI PİKAN

2011-03-28T03:17:00.021-04:00

SPICED PECANS

This is another Sophie's recipe. I have been baking these very often after I tasted them in Sophie's house.
Thanks again Sophie...

Ingredients:

1 lb pecan halves
1tsp of ground cinnamon
1 tsp of granulated sugar
1 tsp of salt
a pinch of ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Soak pecan halves in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and take them in a mixing bowl. Mix it with the spices. Take them in a cookie tray. Bake for 15 minutes.

EV YAPIMI MİLFÖY & KATMER POĞAÇA

2011-03-21T04:21:00.011-04:00

HOMEMADE PUFFED PASTRY & PUFFED PASTRY POGACA
Makes 20 pogacas.

Ingredients:

3+1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of sunflower oil
1 egg white
2 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp of salt
1 tsp of yeast
1/2 stick melted butter

Filling:

feta cheese

Glaze:

egg yolk

In a large mixing bowl; mix flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add milk and vegetable oil and knead. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise for one hour.

Take the dough and knead it until it is bubble free. Divide the dough into 10 equal parts and give them the shape of small ball. Take some all purpose flour in a bowl and dip one of the dough balls into the flour. Dust a large, flat surface with the flour (dusting will keep the dough from sticking). Place the dough onto flat surface and roll the dough as large as a plate with a long roller pin. Brush it with a generous amount of butter. Set this aside. Roll the second ball as large as the first one and and place it on top of the first one. Brush this one with melted butter too.Follow these steps for the remaining balls.

Dust the surface with flour again. This time take the 10 of them together and gently roll. Start to roll from center to the edges. Continue rolling until you rich 1/3" thickness. Cut this round pastry sheet into 20 equal triangles.
Take one of the triangular and place one tsp of feta cheese on top, fold the edges and roll.

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Put them on the baking sheet leaving enough room to rise. Brush with egg yolk and let them rise for 30 minutes.Heat the oven 35OF. Bake for 30 minutes or pogacas are golden brown.

ISPANAK SALATASI

2011-03-12T19:17:00.001-05:00

BABY SPINACH SALAD

It is a very simple and satisfying dish that can be served as salad or dip.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of baby spinach
3 tbsp condensed yogurt
1 clove of garlic
2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp of Turkish red pepper flake
salt

Take baby spinach and olive oil in pot over low heat.Stir occasionally until spinach absorb its own juice. Turn the heat off and let it cool.Take spinach, yogurt,garlic,red pepper flakes and salt in a mixing bowl and stir. Take it in a serving dish.

TAVUK KÖFTESİ

2011-03-07T03:57:00.002-05:00

CHICKEN PATTIES

Ingredients:

1lb ground chicken breast
2 tbsp of bread crumbs
1 tsp of ground Turkish red pepper
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
1 tsp of onion powder
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1/3 tsp of ground cumin
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1/2 tsp of baking soda
salt

Preheat the oven 400F.
Take all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Knead until well combined. Let it sit in the refrigerator for two hours.At the end of resting time, take the mixture out and knead it one more time. Divide the mixture into 18 equal parts and make small balls and flat them with your palms.
Take them on baking tray and bake until golden brown.

PATATESLİ KÖFTE

2011-02-28T04:08:00.014-05:00

POTATO & BULGUR BALLS

Ingredients:

3 potatoes
1 cup of extra fine bulgur
1 small size of onion (finely chopped )
3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped )
1/3 bunch of parsley (finely chopped )
10 green onion (finely chopped )
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 tsp of black pepper
2 tbsp of hot red pepper paste
2 tbsp of tomato paste
3 tbsp of ground red pepper
salt

Wash potatoes. Take them in a medium pot and cover them with just enough cool water to cook. Turn the heat on high and bring it to the boil then turn the heat down to low. Turn the heat off when potatoes are soft. Peel potatoes while they are still hot. Take them in a large mixing bowl and mush them. Add bulgur to the same mixing bowl and stir. Cover the lid and let it sit for 20 minutes.

Take the potato-bulgur mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add chopped onion, chopped garlic, tomato paste, red pepper paste, black pepper, ground red pepper and salt to the bowl and knead it until well combined ( about 15 minutes). Add olive oil and knead again.Then add chopped green onion, chopped parsley, and knead again.
Place some lettuce leaves on a serving dish. Take a small piece of mixture ( about the size of a walnut ) and give it a shape of football with your palm and put it on the lettuce leaves.
Serve it with ayran and pickles.

BALLI KURABİYE

2011-02-21T04:13:00.009-05:00

HONEY COOKIES

Makes 26 cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup of honey
1 stick of butter ( melted )
1 cup of finely chopped walnut
3 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp of vanilla sugar
1/2 tsp of baking soda

Take melted butter in a large mixing bowl. Add honey and stir. Add walnut, baking soda and vanilla sugar and stir. Start to knead by adding flour slowly and stop adding flour until the dough reaches a soft consistency. Take small parts ( about the size of whole walnut ) from the dough and give them the shape of small balls. Place them on a greased baking tray. Preheat the oven 350 F. Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes.

TAM BUĞDAY UNLU POĞAÇA

2011-02-14T04:50:00.015-05:00

WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR POGACA

Makes 21 pogacas.

Ingredients:

1+1/3 cups of whole wheat flour
1 egg white
2 tbsp of butter (softened )
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of vinegar
1 tsp of baking powder

Filling:

cream cheese

Glaze:

1 egg yolk
sesame seeds

In a big mixing bowl, take egg white and whisk. Add olive oil ,butter, yogurt, baking powder, vinegar,salt, and mix. Add flour slowly and knead. Continue adding flour until the dough reaches soft consistency.
Take a small piece of dough ( about the size of whole walnut ) and make it flat with your palms. Place 1 black olive in the middle of the dough and close and round it up. Place a parchment paper on a baking tray an put the pogacas on the tray. Brush all of the pogacas with egg yolk and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Preheat the oven 350F and bake until pogacas are light brown.

ÇİLEK MARMELATI

2011-02-08T04:10:00.003-05:00

STRAWBERRY MARMALADE

Ingredients:

1 pound frozen strawberry
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 tbsp of lemon juice

Thaw the strawberries out of the freezer. Take them in a bowl of food processor and process it until it is smooth. Transfer it in a large pot and add sugar on top and stir. Turn the heat on to high and bring it to the boil. Turn the heat down to medium. Stirring occasionally, cook it for 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and stir. Boil for another 5 minutes over medium heat. Turn the heat off and let it cool for ten minutes. Keep it in the refrigerator.

ZEYTİNLİ KEK

2011-01-31T04:14:00.016-05:00

BLACK OLIVE AND HERB BREAD

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1+1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup of pitted Turkish black olive
1/3 cup of sesame seeds
1/2 bunch of parsley ( chopped )
1 tbsp of fresh thyme
1 tsp of chili pepper
1 tsp of mahalab
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of baking powder

Topping

sesame seeds and nigella seeds

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Sift flour, salt, mahalab, chili pepper, and baking powder together in a bowl.
Whisk eggs and yogurt in another large mixing bowl until it gets creamy. Gradually add milk and olive oil whisking consistently.
Add sifted flour, salt, mahalab, chili pepper, and baking powder to the bowl and mix thoroughly. Add parsley, black olive, sesame seeds and thyme and stir.
Pour into 12 41/2 by 3-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds and nigella seeds on top. Bake approximately 50 minutes . Check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. The toothpick will come out clean when the cake is done.

BULGURLU ISPANAK

2011-01-24T04:10:00.003-05:00

SPINACH WITH BULGUR

Ingredients:

2 lb of spinach
1/3 cup of uncooked course bulgur
1 medium size of onion ( chopped )
10 cloves of garlic ( chopped )
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tbsp of red pepper paste
2 tbsp of olive oil
3/4 cup of boiling water
a pinch of black pepper
salt

Soak spinach in cold water and add 2 tbsp of vinegar. Leave spinach in the water for 20 minutes. Wash and drain it.
In a large pot, take olive oli, chopped onion, and chopped garlic. Stir and cook until onion is tender. Add tomato paste and red pepper paste, stir for 2-3 minutes.
Chop spinach and add it to the pot. Stir until it loses its volume. Add 3/4 cup of boiling water, bulgur and black pepper to the pot and stir. Turn the heat down to low. Cover the lid. Simmer until the bulgur is cooked. Add salt.
Serve it warm with plain yogurt.

HAVUÇ SALATASI

2011-01-17T04:18:00.000-05:00

CARROT SALAD

Ingredients:

8 carrots
3 tbsp of olive oil
1+1/2 cup of thick plain yogurt
3 large cloves of garlic
salt

Wash and peel the carrots. Grate and take them in a medium pot with olive oil over medium heat. Cook them until it absorbs its own juice, stirring occasionally. Set a side until it is completely cool.
Peel and mince the garlic cloves and take them in a large mixing bowl. Add yogurt and salt to the bowl and whisk until smooth.Add carrot the the bowl. Stir and take it in a salad bowl.

ÇİKOLATA DOLGULU KURABİYE

2011-01-10T04:24:00.003-05:00

CHOCOLATE FILLED COOKIES

Makes 35 cookies.

Ingredients:

2 stick of butter
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp of vanilla sugar
1 tsp of baking powder

Filling:

1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips
3 tbsp of milk

Take melted butter and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl an stir. Gradually add flour, vanilla sugar and baking powder. Knead it until the dough reaches a soft consistency. Take small parts ( about the size of whole pecan ) from the dough and give them the shape of small balls. Press an indentation into each ball with your finger. Place them on a greased baking tray. Preheat the oven 350 F. Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, take chocolate chips and milk in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir until it is smooth.
When the cookies are done, fill the indentations with chocolate sauce.

TAVUKLU FİRİK PİLAVI

2011-01-03T04:14:00.004-05:00

FIRIK(GRILLED WHEAT) & CHICKEN PILAF

Firik is grilled wheat. We use it just like bulgur to make this special pilaf in my hometown. Wheat is harvested and burnt just before it is completely mature so it leaves a smoky flavor. You can easily get it from Middle Eastern store.

Ingredients:

3 pieceses of chicken leg quarter
4 cups of water
1 cup of coarse bulgur
1 cup of firik
1/2 cup of uncooked chickpeas
1/3 tsp of ground black pepper
salt

Soak chickpeas with two cups of water overnight. Next day,wash and drain chicken and chickpeas. Take it in a pressure cooker and add 4 cups of cold water. Bring it to the boil. You will see some foam on the surface when it starts to boil. Take them all with a spoon and discard.Add black pepper. Close the lid of pressure cooker and turn the heat down to low. Cook the chicken for 15 minutes at low heat. Take the pressure cooker and let it cool. Open the lid when it is cool enough and take the chicken and chickpeas out in a plate leaving meat broth in the pressure cooker. Take the bones of chicken and cut them into coarse pieces.
Take chicken broth in a large pot and bring it to the boil. Add firik, bulgur, chicken pieces, chickpeas and salt in it and stir. Turn the heat down th low. Cover the lid. Simmer for 30 minutes. Turn the heat off. Let it rest for 30 minute before serve.

ISPANAKLI BÖREK

2010-12-27T04:30:00.012-05:00

SPINACH BOREK

Ingredients:

4 Turkish pastry sheets

Filling:

1 large size of onion(chopped)
2 lb of spinach
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tbsp of red pepper paste
1/2 cup of feta cheese
3 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
salt

Sauce:

1 egg+1 egg white
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of vegetable oil

Glaze:

1 egg yolk
sesame seeds and nigella seeds

Soak spinach in cold water and add 2 tbsp of vinegar. Leave spinach in the water for 20 minutes. Wash and drain it one more time.
In a large pot, take vegetable oil add chopped onion. Stir and cook until onion is tender. Add tomato paste and red pepper paste stir for 2-3 minutes.
Chop spinach and add it to the pot. Stir until it loses its volume. Add ground black pepper and salt. Turn the heat off when the spinach absorbs all of its juice and let it cool.
For the sauce; take eggs, milk and vegetable oil in large mixing bowl and whisk.
Brush bottom and sides of a 13 by 17-inch baking tray with vegetable oil. Layer the first sheet, spoon 1/3 of the sauce over entire surface. Layer the second sheet and spoon 1/3 of sauce over and spread the filling all over covering the whole surface. Layer the third sheet on top of the filling and spoon the remaining sauce all over and layer the last sheet.
Whisk egg yolk for the glaze and brush the last sheet with egg yolk. Sprinkle some sesame and nigella seeds.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for about 45 minutes or until nicely brown.
When it completely cools down, cut the borek into squares.

FINDIKLI VİŞNE SOSLU KEK

2010-12-20T04:05:00.006-05:00

HAZELNUT CAKE WITH SOUR CHERRY SAUCE

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1+1/4 cups of milk
3/4 cup of vegetable oil
1+1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of finely chopped hazelnut
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 tsp of vanilla sugar
1 tsp of baking powder
1 cup of sour cherry juice ( or 1 cup of cranberry juice )

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Sift flour, cocoa powder, vanilla sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl.
Whisk eggs and sugar in another large mixing bowl until it gets creamy. Gradually add milk, vegetable oil whisking consistently.
Add sifted flour, cocoa powder,vanilla sugar, and baking powder to the bowl and whisk thoroughly. Add hazelnut to the bowl and stir.
Pour this mixture to a 10" non-stick round cake pan and bake it for 45 minutes. Check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. The toothpick will come out clean when the cake is done. Remove the pan from oven and pour the sour cherry juice all over. Let it cool on the counter top and keep it in the refrigerator. Decorate it with chocolate sauce when you serve.

FIRINDA TILAPİA BALIĞI

2010-12-13T04:33:00.010-05:00

OVEN BAKED SPICY TILAPIA

Ingredients:

6 tilapia fillets
1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1/2 tsp of chili pepper
4 tbsp of olive oil
salt

Preheat the oven 400F. Drizzle 2 tbs of olive oil on the bottom of baking dish and place the tilapia fillets side by side. Sprinkle all the spices evenly on top of the fillets. Drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil on top. Bake it until nicely brown.

BULGURLU YEŞİL MERCİMEK SALATASI

2010-12-06T03:51:00.008-05:00

GREEN LENTIL & BULGUR SALAD

Ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked green lentil
1/2 cup of uncooked course bulgur
1 large size of onion
1 bunch of green onion ( chopped )
1 carrot ( grated )
1/4 bunch of parsley ( chopped )
3-4 tbsp of chopped fresh mint ( optional )
1/2 tbsp of sumac
4 tbsp of olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp of black pepper
salt

Take green lentil in a medium pot and add enough cool water to cover. Cook over medium heat.
Drain excess water and set aside.
Take bulgur in a mixing bowl and add 1/2 cup of boiling water on it. Mix and cover the lid. Let the bulgur soak the water for 15 minutes. Take green lentil and bulgur into the mixing bowl and mix.
Meanwhile, cut onion into halves and slice them thinly. Take olive oil and sliced onion into a medium size of skillet and saute it for 10 minutes over medium heat. Then add grated carrot to the skillet and saute it for another 10 minutes. Take sauteed onion and carrot to the mixing bowl.
Add chopped green onion, chopped parsley, chopped mint, sumac, lemon juice, black pepper and salt to the mixing bowl and mix.

KURU İNCİR REÇELİ

2010-11-29T04:18:00.003-05:00

DRIED FIG JAM

Ingredients:

12 dried figs
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
3 cups of water
1 tbsp of lemon juice

Wash the figs. Soak them in cold water over night.Take them with the juice in a large pot and add sugar on top and stir. Turn the heat on to high and bring it to the boil. Turn the heat down to medium. Stirring occasionally, cook it for 25 minutes. Add lemon juice and stir. Boil for another 5 minutes over medium heat. Turn the heat off and let it cool for ten minutes. Keep it in the refrigerator.

PATATESLİ & ZEYTİNLİ BÖREK

2010-11-22T04:36:00.006-05:00

BOREK WITH POTATO & BLACK OLIVE FILLING

Ingredients:

4 Turkish pastry sheets
1 small size onion (chopped )
2 tbsp of tomato paste
3 large size of potatoes
1 cup of pitted black olive
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
salt

Sauce:

1 egg+1 egg white
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of vegetable oil

Topping:

1 egg yolk
sesame and baraka seeds

Take washed potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Boil it until soft over medium heat. Peel and mash potatoes. Saute chopped onion with 3 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add tomato paste and stir for 5 minutes. Add mashed potatoes, black pepper, and salt and stir. Turn the heat down to low and continue to cook for ten minutes. Turn the heat off and add black olive. Let it cool.

For the sauce; take eggs, milk and vegetable oil in large mixing bowl and whisk.

Brush bottom and sides of a 13 by 17-inch baking tray with vegetable oil. Layer the first sheet, spoon 1/3 of the sauce over entire surface. Layer the second sheet and spoon 1/3 of sauce over and spread the filling all over covering the whole surface. Layer the third sheet on top of the filling and spoon the remaining sauce all over and layer the last sheet.
Whisk egg yolk for the glaze and brush the last sheet with egg yolk. Sprinkle some sesame and baraka seeds.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for about 45 minutes or until nicely brown.
When it completely cools down, cut the borek into squares.

EKŞİLİ YAHNİ

2010-11-15T04:08:00.005-05:00

MEAT STEW WITH BULGUR BALLS

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of uncooked chickpeas
1 lb of lamb cubes ( or beef cubes )
1/2 cup of uncooked rice
1 large onion
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tsp of red pepper paste
juice of 2 lemons
3 cups of water
2 tbsp of dried ground mint
salt

For the bulgur balls:

1 cup of extra fine bulgur
3/4 cup of boiling water
1/2 lb of ground lamb (or ground beef )
1 tbsp of semolina flour
1 chopped onion
1 tsp of ground chili pepper
salt

Take bulgur in a large mixing bowl and pour 3/4 cup of boiling water on it and mix. Cover the lid and let it rest for 15 minutes. Take bulgur, semolina flour, ground lamb, chopped onion, chili pepper, and salt in a bowl of food processor and process it for 15 minutes or until it is well combined.

Take small parts ( about the size of a hazelnut ) of mixing and give them the shape of small balls. Take a large pot and fill it half way with water and bring it to the boil over high heat. Turn the heat down the medium. Take the bulgur balls in a metal colander and place it on the rim of pot and cover the lid. Let the steam of boiling water cook the bulgur balls for 20 minutes.Take them in a tray and let it cool.

Soak chickpeas with 2 cups of cold water overnight.

Next day, wash lamb cubes. Take it in a pressure cooker and add 3 cups of cold water. Bring it to the boil. You will see some foam on the surface when it starts to boil. Take them all with a spoon and discard. Drain the chickpeas and add them into the pressure cooker. Close the lid of pressure cooker and turn the heat down to low. Cook the meat and the chickpeas for 15 minutes at low heat. Take the pressure cooker and let it cool. Open the lid when it is cool enough and take the lamp cubes and chickpeas out in a plate leaving meat broth in the pressure cooker.Cut the onion into two halves and slice the both halves thinly. Add onion slices into the broth and turn the heat up to high. Add tomato paste and pepper paste and stir. When the onion is cooked add rice into the pressure cooker and turn the heat down to low. Add cooked lamb cubes and chickpeas in it when rice is done. Stir gently. Add lemon juice and dried mint and stir.Cook it for another 5 minutes over medium heat and turn the heat off.When you are ready to eat first place some bulgur balls in a serving plate then add stew on top.
Enjoy...

SÜTLAÇ

2010-11-08T04:06:00.012-05:00

RICE PUDDING

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

2+1/2 cup of milk
1/3 cup of uncooked rice
1+1/2 cup of boiling water
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 tbsp of rice flour
1 tsp of corn starch
1/2 tsp of vanilla sugar

Take boiling water in a medium pot and add the rice. Stir and cover the lid. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until the rice is mushy. When the rice is done add milk to the pot and turn the heat up to the medium. Stir occasionally until it is boiling. Add sugar and stir. Take rice flour and corn starch in a bowl and add 1/3 cup of cold water and whisk it until smooth. Add this to the pot slowly while whisking the pudding constantly. Cook it for another 5 minutes and turn the heat off. Add vanilla sugar and stir. Apportion the pudding into bowls and let them sit on the counter top until they are cool enough. Sprinkle ground cinnamon and chopped walnut on top. Chill them in the refrigerator.

TAVUKLU PİLAV

2010-11-01T04:27:00.002-04:00

RICE WITH CHICKEN

Ingredients:

3 pieces of chicken leg quarter
4 cups of water
2 cups of jasmine rice
1/2 cup of uncooked chickpeas
1/3 tsp of ground black pepper
salt

Soak chickpeas with two cups of water overnight. Next day,wash and drain chicken and chickpeas. Take it in a pressure cooker and add 6 cups of cold water. Bring it to the boil. You will see some foam on the surface when it starts to boil. Take them all with a spoon and discard.Add black pepper. Close the lid of pressure cooker and turn the heat down to low. Cook the chicken for 15 minutes at low heat. Take the pressure cooker and let it cool. Open the lid when it is cool enough and take the chicken and chickpeas out in a plate leaving meat broth in the pressure cooker. Take the bones of chicken and cut them into coarse pieces.
Take chicken broth in a large pot and bring it to the boil. Add rice, chicken pieces, chickpeas and salt in it and stir. Turn the heat down the low. Cover the lid. Simmer for 30 minutes. Turn the heat off. Let it rest for 30 minute before serve.

KURU KAYISI REÇELİ

2010-10-25T03:48:00.016-04:00

DRIED APRICOT JAM

Ingredients:

30 dried apricots
1+1/2 cup of sugar
1 stick of cinnamon
3 cloves
1 tbs of fresh lemon juice
3 cups of cold water

Wash the apricots. Soak them in a large pot over night. Next day move the pot over high heat and add sugar, cinnamon and cloves on top and stir. Bring it to the boil. Turn the heat down to medium. Stirring occasionally, cook it for 25 minutes. Add lemon juice and stir. Boil for another 5 minutes over medium heat. Turn the heat off and let it cool for ten minutes.

TAVUKLU ŞEHRİYE ÇORBASI

2010-10-18T04:20:00.006-04:00

CHICKEN & VERMICELLI SOUP

Ingredients:

1 chicken leg quarter
4 cups of water
1/2 cup of vermicelli pasta
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1/2 tbsp of red pepper paste
1/3 tsp of ground black pepper
salt

Wash chicken. Take it in a pressure cooker and add 4 cups of cold water. Bring it to the boil. You will see some foam on the surface when it starts to boil. Take them all with a spoon and discard. Add black pepper. Close the lid of pressure cooker and turn the heat down to low. Cook the chicken for 15 minutes at low heat. Take the pressure cooker and let it cool. Open the lid when it is cool enough and take the chicken out in a plate leaving meat broth in the pressure cooker. Take the bones of chicken and cut them into small pieces.
Add tomato and pepper paste into the pressure cooker. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add vermicelli and chicken in to the pot and bring it to the boil. Turn the heat down to low. Cover the lid and simmer it for 25 minutes and turn the heat off. Add salt. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Serve it with lemon juice.

YUMUŞAK POĞAÇA

2010-10-11T04:43:00.004-04:00

SOFT POGOCAS

Makes 16 pogacas.

Ingredients:

2+3/4 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of warm milk
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1 egg white
3 tbsp of granulated sugar
1 tbsp of salt
1 tsp of yeast

Filling:

1/2 cup of feta cheese

Topping:

1 egg yolk
nigella and sesame seeds

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add milk, vegetable oil and egg white. Knead them all together with your hands until becoming dough. The dough should be sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest until the dough rises to double its size. It takes one to two hours.

In a small bowl, put some vegetable oil. Damp your hands with this vegetable oil before touching the dough. That way, the dough will not stick to your hands. It also give them a nice taste too.
Take the bowl and knead the dough again until it is bubble free. Take a small piece of dough ( about the size of an egg) and make it flat with your hands.Place 1 tbs of feta cheese in the middle of the dough and close it up. Place them on a baking tray and let them rise for half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Brush all of the pogacas with egg yolk and sprinkle nigella and sesame seeds on top. Bake them until the color of egg yolk turns to brown.

ETLİ SARI KABAK DOLMASI

2010-10-04T04:39:00.007-04:00

STUFFED YELLOW SQUASH

Ingredients:

20 yellow squash
20 slices of tomatoes

Filling:

20 tbsp of uncooked rice
1/2 lb of ground beef
2 large size of tomato
1 large size of onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 green pepper
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of black pepper
1 tbsp pomegranate paste
juice of 2 lemon
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tbsp of red pepper paste
salt

Take onion, green pepper,tomatoes and garlic into the bowl of food processor and process it until finely chopped. Take them in a large mixing bowl. Add the other ingredients ( rice, beef, tomato paste, red pepper paste, lemon juice, black pepper,pomegranate paste and salt) into the mixing bowl and mix it until well combined.
Wash and cut off the squash's tops. Scoop out inside of the squash with a spoon or vegetable peeler.
Fill them halfway with the fillings. Close each squash with a slice of tomato. Place them horizontally in a large pot, leaving no space between them. Fill the pot halfway with boiling water. Take the pot over medium heat and wait until it starts to boil. Turn the heat down to low as soon as it starts bubbling. Simmer for one our or until squashes are tender.

ÇİKOLATALI MUHALLEBİ

2010-09-27T03:48:00.017-04:00

CHOCOLATE PUDDING

Serves 5.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp of all rice flour
1 tbsp of corn starch
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
4 tbsp of granulated sugar
2 cups of milk
2 tbsp of cocoa
1/3 tsp of vanilla sugar

In a medium pot; take milk, rice flour, corn starch, cocoa, and chocolate chips over high heat. Whisk it consistently until it is smooth. Keep mixing until it starts to bubble and becomes ticker. Add vanilla sugar and granulated sugar. Stir and turn the heat off. Apportion the pudding into five bowls. Let it cool on the counter top first then take them in the refrigerator to chill.

ETLİ BAMYA

2010-09-20T04:12:00.004-04:00

OKRA WITH BEEF CUBES

Ingredients:

2 lbs of fresh okra
1 lb of beef cubes
1 medium size onion ( chopped )
1 fresh green pepper ( chopped )
3 large tomatoes
2 cups of boiling water
1 tbsp of tomato paste
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1/2 tsp of citric acid
1/2 tsp of black pepper
salt

Cut off the okra's ends, wash and drain them. Take beef cubes, black pepper and vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook it until the beef absorb all of its juice, stirring occasionally . Add chopped onion, chopped pepper into the pot. Saute them over medium heat for 10 minutes then add tomato paste and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Take okra and citric acid into the pot. Add salt. Stir them all together. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into cubes. Place tomatoes on top of everything. Turn the heat down to low. Put the lid on and simmer it until okras are soft.

KİMYONLU & SARIMSAKLI TAZE FASULYE

2010-09-13T03:52:00.002-04:00

GREEN BEANS WITH GARLIC & CUMIN

Ingredients:

3 lb. of green beans
1 large size of onions
1 fresh green pepper
1 tbsp of tomato paste
3 large size of tomatoes
3 tbsp of olive oil
5 cloves of garlic ( minced )
1/3 tsp of ground cumin
salt

Chop onion and green pepper. Wash, drain and, trim the beans and cut them diagonally into 2-inch pieces.
Take olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion, chopped pepper into the pot. Saute them o for 10 minutes. Take green beans into the pot. Stir them all together. Simmer it until green beans are soft. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into cubes.Add tomato paste, garlic, cumin and salt into the pot and stir. Place tomatoes on top of beans. Cover the lid on and cook for 20 minutes.

İZMİR KÖFTE

2010-09-06T04:34:00.002-04:00

IZMIR MEATBALLS

Izmir is one of the largest cities in Turkey. They name this meatballs after the name of the city. It is a very easy and delicious dish.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1/3 cup of bread crumbs
1 large onion ( finely chopped )
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
1/3 tsp of baking soda
salt
5 medium size potatoes
2 tbsp of vegetable oil

Sauce:

3 tbsp of vegetable oil
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1 cup boiling water

Take ground lamb, chopped onion, black pepper, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl and knead it until well combined. Cover with stretch film and let it rest for 4-5 hours in the refrigerator. At the end of resting time, take the mixture out and knead it one more time. Take small parts (about 2 tbsp ) make small meatballs. Turn the broiler on high and lightly broil the meatballs.
Wash and peel potatoes. Cut them into large slices ( like apple slices ) . Take potatoes in a big mixing bowl. Add salt and vegetable oil mix. Preheat broiler to medium heat. Take potatoes in a baking tray. Broil potatoes for 10 minutes.
Take vegetable oil and tomato paste in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir and saute it for 5 minutes. Add boiling water and stir. Cover the lid and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat. Add meatballs and potatoes into the skillet and gently stir. Cover lid and simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve with rice.

LOR TATLISI

2010-08-30T04:44:00.001-04:00

RICOTTA CHEESE DESSERT

Makes 26 cookies.

Ingredients:

1 lb ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 cup semolina flour
1 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp of vanilla sugar
1/3 tsp of baking powder

Syrup:

3 cup of sugar
2+1/2 cup of water
1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

Take the ricotta cheese in a strainer and cover it with plastic wrap over night. Place a deep cup under the strainer to let the liquid out and let it sit in the refrigerator.

Next day, mix all of the syrup ingredients in a medium pot and boil them for 15 minutes on a medium heat. Let the syrup cool completely.

Take ricotta cheese from the refrigerator and place it in a large bowl. Add the eggs, semolina flour, powdered sugar, flour, baking soda and vanilla sugar in the same bowl and knead until well combined.

Take small parts ( about the size of walnut ) from the dough and give them the shape of small balls. Place them on a greased baking tray. Decorate with whole hazelnut. Preheat the oven 350 F. Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes.

Take the tray out of the oven and pour the syrup slowly on top of cookies and let the cookies absorb the syrup for 6-7 hours.

ZEYTİNLİ MİLFÖY BÖREK

2010-08-24T04:08:00.001-04:00

PUFFED PASTRY BOREK WITH BLACK OLIVE FILLING

Ingredients:

2 sheets of puffed pastry
1 cup of pitted black olive

Topping:

1 egg yolk
nigella ans sesame seeds

Preheat the oven 400F.
Cut each pastry sheet into 9 squares. Put 1 tsp of pitted black olive on the center of the square and close it up. Press gently to seal.Repeat this step for all the squares. Take them on a cookie sheet. Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle some nigella and sesame seeds on top. Bake it for 15 minutes or the egg yolk turns golden brown in color.

İRMİKLİ MUHALLEBİ

2010-08-16T04:26:00.009-04:00

SEMOLINA PUDDING

Ingredients:

4 cups of milk
1 cup of sugar
30 square of chocolate crackers
3/4 cup of semolina flour
1/3 cup finely shredded coconut
2 tbsp of salted butter
1/2 tsp of vanilla sugar
finely chopped walnut to decorate

Take milk in a large pot and bring it to the boil over high heat. Add sugar and stir. Turn the heat down to medium. Then add semolina and stir constantly until it gets thicker, for about 8-10 minutes. Turn the heat off. Add butter, coconut and vanilla sugar. Stir until the butter melts completely.

In a rectangular pyrex, layer 15 chocolate crackers side by side covering the bottom all over. Spoon the first half of pudding over. Repeat these for the other half of crackers and the pudding.Sprinkle walnut all over. Let it cool on the counter top then take it into the refrigerator.

YOĞURTLU KÖFTE

2010-08-12T04:24:00.039-04:00

MEAT & YOGURT STEW WITH BULGUR BALLS

This dish is a feast itself that you don't need anything else to go with it.
It has many healthy ingredients and it is very tasty too which will make you ask for the second serving:)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of chickpeas
1 lb of lamb cubes ( or beef cubes )
2 cups of thick plain yogurt
1/2 cup of uncooked rice
1 egg
1 tbsp of all purpose flour
3 cups of water
salt

For the bulgur balls:

1 cup of extra fine bulgur
3/4 cup of boiling water
1/2 lb of ground lamb (or ground beef )
1 tbsp of semolina flour
1 chopped onion
1 tsp of ground chili pepper
salt

Sause:

2 tbsp of vegetable oil
2 tbsp of dried ground mint

Soak chickpeas with 2 cups of cold water overnight.

Wash and drain rice. Take it into the broth. Bring it to the boil over medium heat. Cook the rice until it is soft. Turn the heat off and set a side until it is completely cool. Then add yogurt, egg, and flour. Stir well. Turn the heat on high and stir consistently until it starts to boil. Add cooked lamb cubes and chickpeas in it. Turn the heat down to low and continue to stir for 5 minutes then turn the heat off. Add salt.
Take vegetable oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add dried mint to the pan. Stir until mint gives its color to the oil ( around 30 seconds). Add the sauce to the stew.
Enjoy.

ŞEFTALİ MARMELATI

2010-08-09T04:14:00.001-04:00

PEACH MARMALADE

It is a perfect season to make jam, jelly or marmalade out of peaches. The smell and color of marmalade was just perfect.

Ingredients:

8 peaches
1+1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1 tbsp of lemon juice

Wash and peel the peaches. Take them in a bowl of food processor and process it until it is smooth. Transfer it in a large pot and add sugar on top and stir. Turn the heat on to high and bring it to the boil. Turn the heat down to medium. Stirring occasionally, cook it for 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and stir. Boil for another 5 minutes over medium heat. Turn the heat off and let it cool for ten minutes. Keep it in the refrigerator.

NOHUT SALATASI

2010-08-02T04:04:00.006-04:00

CHICKPEAS SALAD

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked chickpeas
1/3 cup of corn
2 tbsp of chopped black olives
1/2 red bell pepper
1/4 bunch of parsley
2 green onions
1/3 tsp of chilli pepper
juice of a half lemon
2 tbsp of olive oil
salt

Wash and chop green onion, red bell pepper and parsley. Take them in a large mixing bowl. Add chickpeas, corns, black olives and mix .Add lemon juice, olive oil, chilli pepper and salt. Mix it and take it in a serving bowl.

TATLI PATATES TATLISI

2010-07-28T04:03:00.001-04:00

SWEET POTATO DESSERT

Ingredients:

4 sweet potatoes
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
3/4 cup of water

Topping:

walnut and tahini

Wash, and peel the potatoes. Cut them into 1 inch slices. Place them into a large skillet. Add sugar and water over and bring it to the boil. Turn the heat down to low and and cook it until potatoes are soft and syrup gets thicker. Remove it from the heat and let it cool for 20 minutes. Take 2 pieces ta a plate and add 2 tbsp of syrup on top. Decorate it with tahini and walnut or whatever topping you like.

FIRIN YAPMASI

2010-07-19T05:02:00.008-04:00

SPICY BULGUR & MEAT PATTIES

Makes 12 patties.

Ingredients:

1 cup of extra fine bulgur
3/4 cup of boiling water
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 small size of onion
2 tbsp of pepper paste
1 tbsp of tomato paste
2 tsp of ground dried mint
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of ground chili pepper
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
1 tbsp of salt

Take bulgur in a large mixing bowl and pour the boiling water on it and mix. Cover the lid and let it rest for 15 minutes. Take bulgur and the other ingredients in a bowl of food processor and process it for 15 minutes or until it is well combined.
Take small part ( about the size of a lemon ) of mixing and give them a shape of small ball and make it flat with your palms.Place a baking paper on a baking sheet. Place all the patties on the baking paper. Preheat the oven 450F. Bake them for 25 minutes or until they are golden brown.
It can be served warm or cold. I prefer to eat mine cold with a cup of Turkish tea.

TAHİNLİ & SUSAMLI EKMEK

2010-07-16T05:20:00.026-04:00

TAHINI & SESAME SEEDS BREAD

This bread is one of my made up recipes but it turned out pretty well. It started with the idea of making my bread more nutritious. It is also good if your little ones don't like drinking milk. Sesame seeds ( as well as tahini ) is a good source of calcium. I suggest you to eat this bread when it is fresh; it smells heavenly...

Ingredients:

4 cups of flour
1+1/2 cups of warm water
5 tbsp of tahini
1/2 cup of sesame seeds
1 tbsp of granulated sugar
1 tbsp of salt
1 tsp of yeast

In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients. Add tahini and warm water into this mixture and knead. The dough should be soft. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and keep it in a warm place for rising. Let the dough rises to double its size. Take the bowl and knead the dough again until it is bubble free. Place a parchment paper on a baking tray. Give the dough a round shape. Then take a sharp knife and give the dough the shapes you desire. Sprinkle some flour on top. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
Let rise the dough for half an hour. Bake it for 30 minutes or the color of bread turns brown. Take the bread out of the oven let it cool for 20 minutes and fold it with a clean kitchen towel to keep it soft.

YABAN MERSİNLİ & SEFTALİLİ KEK

2010-07-12T05:00:00.001-04:00

BLUEBERRY & PEACH MUFFINS

Makes 14 muffins.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 cups of blueberries (washed and drained )
2 peaces (peeled and mushed )
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp of vanilla sugar
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 tsp of baking powder
2 cups of all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Sift flour, vanilla sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl.
Whisk eggs and sugar in another large mixing bowl until it gets creamy. Gradually add vegetable oil, lemon zest, and peaches whisking consistently.
Add sifted flour, vanilla sugar, and baking powder to the bowl and mix thoroughly.
Add blueberries the bowl and stir.
Pour 2 tbsp of mixture into muffin cups and bake approximately 30 minutes. Check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. The toothpick will come out clean when the cake is done.

SUCUKLU PİZZA

2010-07-10T04:07:00.000-04:00

SAUSAGE PIZZA

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1 cup of all purpose flour ( approx )
1/4 cup of warm water
2 tbsp of milk
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of yeast

For the topping:

1/2 lb of sausage ( thinly sliced )
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

For the sauce:

1/2 cup of water
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tsp of ground basil
1/3 tsp of ground thyme
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
a pinch of black pepper
salt

In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients for the dough. Add olive oil, milk and warm water into this mixture and knead. The dough should be soft. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and keep it in a warm place for rising. Let the dough rises to double its size. Take the bowl and knead the dough again until it is bubble free. Give the dough a shape of ball. Take some all purpose flour in a bowl and dip the dough ball into the flour. Dust a large, flat surface with the flour (dusting will keep the dough from sticking). Place the dough onto dusted surface and roll the dough as thin as you want it to be with a roller pin. Keep dusting the dough with flour while you are rolling. Place a parchment paper on a baking sheet and put the pizza base on the baking sheet. Pierce the dough with a fork. Let it rise for half an hour.
Take all the ingredients for the sauce in a large bowl and whisk it well.
Preheat the oven 400F and place the dough in the oven and bake it for ten minutes and take it out.
First spread the sauce on the pizza base then place the sausage slices all over the sauce. Last, spread the cheese on top. Bake it until the cheese takes golden brown color.

TAM BUĞDAY UNLU & LORLU PİZZA

2010-07-05T05:22:00.015-04:00

WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA WITH HERB &RICOTTA CHEESE

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 cup of whole wheat flour
1/3 cup of warm water
1/3 tbsp of salt
1/3 tbsp of granulated sugar
1/3 tsp of yeast

Topping:

3/4 cup of ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 bunch of parsley ( chopped )
1/3 cup of chopped fresh mint
10 green onions ( chopped )
1 small size of onion ( chopped )
1/3 cup of olive oil
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
salt

In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients. Add olive oil and warm water into this mixture and knead. The dough should be soft. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and keep it in a warm place for rising. Let the dough rises to double its size. Take the bowl and knead the dough again until it is bubble free. Give the dough a shape of ball. Take some all purpose flour in a bowl and dip the dough ball into the flour. Dust a large, flat surface with the flour (dusting will keep the dough from sticking). Place the dough onto dusted surface and roll the dough as thin as you want it to be with a roller pin. Keep dusting the dough with flour while you are rolling. Place a parchment paper on a baking sheet and put the pizza base on the baking sheet. Pierce the dough with a fork. Let it rise for half an hour.
Place a large skillet on the stove top. Take olive oil and chopped onion into the skillet. Turn the heat on medium and cover the lid. Saute it for 5 minutes. Add green onion to the skillet and stir it. Turn the heat off after 5 minutes. Add ricotta cheese, parsley,mint, red pepper flakes, and salt and stir it until well combined. Set a side.
Preheat the oven 350F and place the dough in the oven and bake it for ten minutes and take it out.
When the topping cools completly, crack two eggs in it and stir.
Spread the topping on the pizza base. Bake it until the it takes golden brown color.

CEVİZLİ & HAVUÇLU KEK

2010-06-29T05:15:00.007-04:00

CARROT & WALNUT CAKE

Ingredients:

2 cups of flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1+1/2 cups of granulated sugar
1+1/2 cups of finely chopped walnut
2 cups of shredded carrot
1 tbsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a large mixing bowl, take the eggs and sugar and mix it for 5 minutes with a mixer. Add milk and vegetable oil gradually and whisk. Add flour and cinnamon to this mixture and mix them for another 5 minutes. Add carrot and walnut to the bowl and stir them with a spoon until they are well combined. Pour this mixture to a 10" non-stick round cake pan and bake it for 45 minutes. Check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. The toothpick will come out clean when the cake is done. Remove the pan from oven and allow the cake cool completely.

TAM BUĞDAY UNLU EKMEK

2010-06-26T05:11:00.001-04:00

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Ingredients:

4 cups of whole wheat flour
1+1/2 cup of warm water
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of granulated sugar
1 tsp of yeast

BABAGANUŞ

2010-06-23T05:05:00.002-04:00

BABAGANOUSH

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant
4-5 tbsp of tahini
1 large clove of garlic (mushed)
juice of a half lemon
salt
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
some pepper flakes

Pierce the eggplant with a fork . Grill the eggplant until they are soft. Take it out from the oven and let it cool. Peal the crust of eggplant and take the eggplant in a strainer and wait for 20 minutes to let the liquid out.
Chop both eggplant finely and take it in a large bowl. Add garlic, lemon juice, tahini, and salt into the bowl and stir it until well combined. Take it in a serving dish. Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some pepper flakes on top and decorate it with parsley.
It is a very good side dish with meat or it might be a nice dip with a pita bread.
Enjoy.

HİNDİSTAN CEVİZLİ KURABİYE

2010-06-14T05:43:00.008-04:00

COCONUT COOKIES

Makes 20-25 cookies.

Ingredients:

1+1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 stick ( 125gr ) melted butter
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1/2 cup of finely shredded coconut
1 egg yolk
1/3 tsp of vanilla sugar
1/4 tsp of baking soda
a pinch of salt

Topping:

1 egg white
1/3 cup of finely shredded coconut

Whisk butter, powdered sugar, egg yolk, in a large mixing bowl. Add flour,vanilla sugar, baking soda and coconut and knead. Cover with plastic wrap and rest the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Take it out and knead again. Take small parts ( about the size of an walnut ) from the dough and give them the shape of small balls. Dip them ( just one side of the cookies ) first into egg white and then coat them with coconut . Preheat the oven 350 F. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes at this tempature and decrease the heat to 300F. Bake it another 10 minutes or until golden brown.

TAVA BÖREĞİ

2010-06-03T05:23:00.001-04:00

SKILLET BOREK (EASY BOREK)

This borek is easy to make and almost as delicious as the oven baked one. I usually cook it for weekend breakfasts.

Ingredients:

1+1/2 Turkish pastry leaves
1/2 cup of milk
1/3 of vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 lb. (250 gr) feta cheese

Mix milk, vegetable oil and egg in a large bowl and set this mixture aside.

Take an 9-inch skillet and and drizzle some vegetable oil in the skillet. Place the first half of pastry leaf over the skillet and don't fold the edges. Spoon the 1/3 of mixture over the pastry. Place the second half of pastry over the mixture and add the second 1/3 of mixture on it. Place the feta cheese and cover the cheese with the third half of pastry sheet. Add the rest of the mixture on top of the pastry and cover it with the hanging part of first half of pastry. Take it over medium heat and cover the lid. Cook it for 10 minutes and check it . If it is finely brown turn it over and cook it for another 10 minutes. Serve it warm.

SÖĞÜRME

2010-05-24T05:55:00.003-04:00

COOKED EGGPLANT SALAD

This dish can be served cold or warm. It could be lunch by itself or a side dish with meat.

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants
1 large onion ( chopped )
1 fresh green pepper ( chopped )
4 tomatoes (peeled and diced )
1/2 tbsp of tomato paste
4 tbsp of olive oil
salt

Pierce the eggplants with a fork . Grill the eggplants until they are soft. Take them out from the oven and let it cool. Peal the crust of eggplants and take the eggplants in a strainer and wait for 20 minutes to let the liquid out.Chop eggplants finely.
In a large skillet, olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and chopped pepper into the skillet and cook them together for 10 minutes. Add tomato cubes, tomato paste into the skillet and cook for another 10 minutes. Add chopped eggplant and stir. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off add salt and stir.

SERİMSEK

2010-05-17T06:18:00.005-04:00

FRIED BOREK WITH GROUND BEEF & RICE FILLING

This is the first borek I have ever eaten and I must admit that it is the most tastiest one for me. They make it for a special occasion in large quantities in my hometown. After one of the close relatives passes away they prepare it and share it with neighbors and relatives. That way, people remember and pray for that person.

The smell of mahalab makes this borek special. Also it is tastier because it is fried:)

Ingredients:

Dough:

2 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of warm water
1 tsp of mahalab
1 tsp of yeast
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of granulated sugar

Filling:

1/2 cup of rice
3/4 cup of boiling water
1/2 lb of ground beef
1 large onion ( chopped )
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
salt
1 cup of olive oil to fry

Cook the rice with the boiling water over low heat. In a medium skillet, cook ground beef with 2 tbs of vegetable oil on a medium heat. When the beef is done add chopped onion into the skillet and cook them together for 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and add black pepper and salt. Stir and mix it with the rice.

Mix all of the dry ingredients for the dough in a large mixing bowl. Add water, knead them all together with your hands until becoming dough. The dough should be soft. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest until the dough rises to double of its size. It takes one to two hours.

Take the bowl and knead the dough again until it is bubble free. Divide the dough into four equal pieces.Take some all purpose flour in a small bowl and dip one of the dough balls into the flour. Dust a large, flat surface with the flour (dusting will keep the dough from sticking). Place the dough onto flat surface and roll the dough as thin as you can with a long roller pin. Keep dusting the dough with flour while you are rolling. Continue rolling it until the dough is about 16 inch diameter.

Apportion 1/2 of the filling as shown in the picture.Dip the second ball into the flour. Dust a large, flat surface with the flour. Place the the second ball onto flat surface and roll the dough as thin as you can with a long roller pin just like the first one.

Cover the first sheet with the second one and cut the dough with a knife or pastry cutter from the edges of the filling. Repeat these steps for the third and the forth balls. Take 1 cup of olive oil in a pot over high heat. Fry the pastries turning occasionally. Place a paper towel on a large serving dish and take boreks onto the paper towel. This way paper towel absorbs excessive oil.

MUZLU KEK

2010-05-12T06:22:00.003-04:00

BANANA BREAD

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas
1 cup of finely chopped walnut
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of baking soda
2+1/2 cups of all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Sift flour, cinnamon, and baking soda together in a bowl.
Whisk eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar in another large mixing bowl until it gets creamy. Gradually add milk, vegetable oil whisking consistently.
Add sifted flour, cinnamon, and baking soda to the bowl and whisk thoroughly. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or process it in the food processor . Add banana, walnut and raisins to the bowl and stir.
Pour into 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and bake approximately 60 minutes. Check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. The toothpick will come out clean when the cake is done.

*The cake is more delicious for the next day and if you like your cake sweet, you could add a half cup of more granulated sugar.

ÇİLEK SOSLU MUHALLEBİ

2010-03-29T04:24:00.009-04:00

PUDDING WITH STRAWBERRY TOPPING

Ingredients:

2 tbsp of salted butter
2 tbsp of all purpose flour
4 tbsp of granulated sugar
2 cups of milk
1/3 tsp of vanilla sugar

Strawberry topping:

20 strawberries
3 tsp of powdered sugar

In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir until the flour gives its raw smell. Take the pot away from the heat. Add first cup of milk and whisk it consistently until smooth. Move the pot over the heat again and add the second cup of milk and the sugar. Mix it with a whisk and turn the heat up to high. Keep mixing until it starts to bubble and becomes ticker.Turn the heat off. Add vanilla sugar and stir. Apportion the pudding into four bowls filling just 3/4 of them.
Wash the strawberries and cut the tops. Take them in the food prosser add 3 tsp of powdered sugar. prosses it until smooth. Apportion it on top of puddings when pudding gets to the room tempurature.

KIYMALI PAZI

2010-03-22T04:04:00.002-04:00

SWISS CHARD WITH GROUND BEEF

Serves 3-4.

Ingredients:

2 bunch of swiss chard
1/3 lb of ground beef
1 onion
5 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
a pinch of black pepper
1 tsp of red pepper paste
salt

Soak swiss chard in cold water and add 2 tbsp of vinegar. Leave it in the water for 20 minutes. Wash and drain it.
In a large pot, take vegetable oil and beef. Stir and cook until it absorbs its own juice over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic. Stir and cook until onion is tender. Add pepper paste, stir for 2-3 minutes.
Chop swiss chard and add it to the pot. Stir until it loses its volume. Add black pepper to the pot and stir. Turn the heat down to low. Cover the lid. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt.

MANTARLI PİLAV

2010-03-15T04:08:00.001-04:00

RICE WITH MUSHROOMS

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 cup of jasmine rice
1 lb of mushrooms
1/2 large size of onion
1/3 tsp of black pepper
3 tbs of olive oil
salt
1+1/2 cup of boiling water

Chop onion and take it in a large pan over medium heat. Saute it with 3 tbsp of olive oil for 5 minutes. Wash, drain and cut mushrooms into small cubes. Place mushrooms into the pan and stir. Cover lid and cook until it absorbs all of its juice, stirring occasionally. Add boiling water into the pan. Add black pepper, rice, and salt to the pan, stir. Turn the heat down to low and cover the lid. Simmer until the rice absorbs all of the water.

KEŞKEK

2010-03-08T04:08:00.004-05:00

WHEAT PILAF WITH LAMB CUBES

Don't let the appearance of this pilaf you down. It tastes incredibly delicious with a bowl of colorful salad.

Serves: 4-6.

Ingredients:

1 cup of wheat
1/3 cup of chickpeas
1 lb of lamb cubes ( or beef cubes )
1 large onion
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of red pepper paste
1 tsp of tomato paste
1+1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1/3 tsp of black pepper
salt

Soak the wheat with 6 cups of cold water and the chickpeas with 2 cups of cold water overnight.

Next day, wash lamb cubes. Take them in a pressure cooker and add 3 cups of cold water. Bring it to the boil. You will see some foam on the surface when it starts to boil. Take them all with a spoon and discard. Drain the chickpeas and add them into the pressure cooker. Close the lid of pressure cooker and turn the heat down to low. Cook the meat for 15 minutes at low heat. Take the pressure cooker and let it cool. Open the lid when it is cool enough and take the lamp cubes and chickpeas out in a plate leaving meat broth in the pressure cooker.
Drain wheat and add them into the meat broth. Cut the onion into halves and slice them both thinly. Add it into the pressure cooker with tomato paste, red pepper paste, black pepper . Stir and bring it to the boil. Close the lid and turn the heat down to low. Cook it for 45 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the pressure cooker cool down and open the lid. Wheat will absorb most of of the meat broth and should look mushy.

Take boiled meat and 3 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and fry it for 5 minute over medium heat . Turn the heat off . Add lightly fried lamb and chickpeas into keskek with ground cumin and salt. Stir and close the lid and let it rest at least for 30 minutes before serving. This way wheat continue to absorb the liquid.

FINDIKLI BROVNİ

2010-03-01T04:38:00.001-05:00

HAZELNUT BROWNIE

Makes 9 squares.

Ingredients:

1 cup of milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup of whole raw hazelnuts
1/2 stick of salted butter
2 large eggs
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of cake flour
2 tbsp of cocoa powder
1/4 tsp of baking soda
a pinch of salt

Preheat the oven 350 F. Sift flour,salt, and baking soda together in a bowl. Place two layer of parchment paper in a 8 by 8-inch baking dish, covering the all four edges.

Take chocolate chips and butter in a large mixing bowl and melt them over boiling water. Take it on the counter top and whisk it. Wait until it gets cooler. Add sugar and whisk. Add first egg and then the second one while whisking constantly. Add sifted mixture to the bowl gradually and whisk thoroughly.Add hazelnuts and stir

Pour into the baking dish and bake approximately 50 minutes. Check the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. Do not open the oven for the first half an hour. The toothpick will come out clean when the cake is done.

ETLİ KARA LAHANA SARMASI

2010-02-22T08:11:00.000-05:00

STUFFED COLLARD GREENS WITH GROUND BEEF

As I mentioned in the previous post, I tried stuffed collard greens for the first time. I really liked it so did my family.
This dish is very popular in the north part of Turkey so it is very traditional too.

Ingredients:

Large leaves of 3 bunch collard greens ( 29 leaves)
1/2 lb of ground beef
1 cup of rice
2 tbsp of extra fine bulgur
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tbsp of red pepper paste
1 medium size of onion
1 fresh green pepper
6 cloves of garlic
juice of 2 lemon
1 tsp of black pepper
salt

Wash the leaves several times to remove grit. Remove the center stalks from the leaves. Cut the large leaves into three triangular parts. Cut the smaller leaves into two equal parts.
Fill a large pot halfway with water. Turn the heat on high, bring it to the boil. Place the first half of leaves' pieces in the pot, wait for 1 minutes and take them out. Repeat this step for the second half of it. Place all of them on a large plate and set a side.
Meanwhile, take onion, green pepper, and garlic into the bowl of food processor and process it until finely chopped. Take them in a large mixing bowl. Add the other ingredients ( rice, bulgur, beef, tomato paste, red pepper paste, lemon juice, black pepper, and salt) into the mixing bowl and mix it until well combined.

Take one piece of leaves. Place one tbsp of filling on the larger side of it and fold the sides inside and roll it. Repeat this step for all off the pieces.
Place all the rolls horizontally, side-by-side in a large pot. Add boiling water into the pot slowly, just to cover the rolls. Take the pot over medium heat and bring it to the boil. Turn the heat down to low as soon as it starts to bubble. Cover the lid and simmer for one hour or until the rolls are tender. Serve it warm with salad, plain yogurt or cacik.

KIYMALI KARA LAHANA

2010-02-18T04:56:00.004-05:00

COLLARD GREENS WITH GROUND BEEF

I bought three bunches of collard greens to make stuffed collard greens. However the inner leaves looked too small to roll. Then I decided to use those younger leaves for another recipe. I tried this recipe with a whole bunch of collard greens before but this one tastes totally different and delicious.

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

young leaves of 3 bunch of collard greens
1/3 lb of ground beef
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1/2 of large onion ( chopped )
4 garlic cloves ( chopped )
1/2 tbsp of red pepper paste
a pinch of black pepper
salt

Strip leaves from stems. Wash them several times to remove grit. Drain and chop them.

Meanwhile, cook beef with 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic to the pot and stir. Cover lid and let them cook for 5 minutes. Add pepper paste and black pepper to the pot and turn the heat down to low. Add chopped collard greens to the pot and stir. Cover the lid and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and add salt.

ZEYTİNYAĞLI YAPRAK SARMASI

2010-02-11T05:15:00.007-05:00

STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES WITH OLIVE OIL

My family has their own vineyard. We were collecting our own grape leaves and boil them first in order to make this recipe when I was living in Turkey.

For me, this is the best vegetarian/vegan dish ever. I can have this dish for every single meal, even as a snack with my afternoon tea.

It took me almost one hour to roll all the leaves. It is better to have someone with you to reduce the time you spent rolling them.

Ingredients:

a jar of canned grape leaves ( 2 lb )
2 cups of uncooked rice
1/2 bunch of green onion ( chopped )
1 large size of onion ( chopped )
10 cloves of garlic ( chopped )
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 tsp of black pepper
1 tbsp pomegranate paste
2 lemon's juice
1 tbsp of salt
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tbsp of red pepper paste
1 cup of boiling water

Take olive oil, chopped onion, garlic and green onion in a large pot over medium heat. Stir and saute it for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and red pepper paste in it and stir for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of boiling water into the pot and stir. Bring it to the boil and add rice in it. Cover the lid and turn the heat down to low. Simmer until rice absorb all of the water. ( Rice will cook halfway. ) Turn the heat off and add pomegranate paste, salt, black pepper, lemon juice in it and stir. Set a side.
Take the jar of grape leaves and drain its juice. Wash the leaves and drain the excess water.

Take one of leaves on a flat surface. Place one tbsp of filling on the upper side of it and fold the sides inside and roll it. Repeat this step for all off the leaves.
Place all the rolls horizontally, side-by-side in a large pot. Add boiling water into the pot slowly, just to cover the rolls. Take the pot over medium heat and bring it to the boil. Turn the heat down to low as soon as it starts to bubble. Cover the lid and simmer for one hour or until the rolls are tender. Serve it warm or cold.
We had it as a dinner with cacik.
Enjoy...

MAHLEPLİ POĞAÇA

2010-02-08T05:08:00.004-05:00

POGACAS WITH MAHALEB

Mahaleb smells heavenly. I used mahaleb in this recipe before and there are a few other recipes with this spice which I will post them soon. You can find mahaleb either in Mediterranean stores or from online Turkish stores.

Makes 24 pogacas.

Ingredients:

white of 1 egg
3/4 up of vegetable oil
1 cup of plain yogurt
1/3 tsp of baking soda
1 tbsp of ground mahaleb
1 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of granulated sugar
1 tbsp of vinegar
3 cups of all purpose flour (approx )

Filling:

cream cheese

Glaze:

yolk of 1 egg

In a big mixing bowl, take egg white and whisk. Add vegetable oil, yogurt, baking soda, ground mahaleb, vinegar, sugar, salt and mix. Add flour slowly and knead. Continue adding flour until the dough reaches soft consistency.
Take a small piece of dough ( about the size of a walnut ) and make it flat with your palms. Place 1 tsp of cream cheese in the middle of the dough and close it up. Place a parchment paper on a baking tray an put the pogacas on the tray. Brush all of the pogacas with egg yolk.
Preheat the oven 350F and bake until pogacas are golden brown.

FISTIKLI & PEYNİRLİ KÜNEFE

2010-02-02T05:04:00.006-05:00

KUNEFE WITH CHEESE & PISTACHIO

Ingredients:

1 pound shredded fillo dough
1 stick of butter ( melted)
3 tbsp of whole pistachios

Filling:

1 cup finely chopped pistachio
mixture of 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese+1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese ( or 1 cup of Turkish sweet cheese )

Syrup:

3 cups of granulated sugar
2 cups of water
juice of 1/4 lemon

For the syrup; take 3 cups of sugar, and 2 cups of water in a medium pot. Bring it to the boil over medium heat. Boil for 7-8 minutes. Add juice of 1/4 lemon into the pot and boil for another 5 minutes. Turn the heat off. Set a side.

Take kataifi from the freezer and break it into small pieces in a mixing bowl immediately. Let it thaw for ten minutes. Then add melted butter and whole pistachios in it and mix it evenly. In a 13-inch round tray, take the first half of kataifi and press and spread the cheese mixture and on top of cheese, spread chopped pistachio all over the first half of kataifi,then spread the second half of kataifi all over the filling and gently press.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for about 50 minutes or until nicely brown. Take the kunefe out of the oven and spoon cold syrup over it immediately .

Cut kunefe into square shapes. Serve warm.

KIYMALI & BEZELYELİ GÜL BÖREĞİ

2010-01-28T05:12:00.007-05:00

SWIRLED BOREK WITH GROUND BEEF & PEAS

This borek is the second one I tried with peas. I couldn't take the picture of first one but I was very pleased with the additional flavor of peas. The swirled shape is another presentation of Turkish borek.

Makes 24 boreks.

Ingredients:

3 round Turkish pastry sheets
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of milk

Filling:

1/2 lb of ground beef
1/2 cup of frozen peas
1 large onion (chopped )
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
salt

Topping:

1 egg yolk
sesame seeds

In a medium skillet, cook ground beef with 2 tbs of vegetable oil on a medium heat. When the beef is done add chopped onion into the skillet and cook them together for 5 minutes. Turn of the heat off and add peas, black pepper and salt. Stir and set a side.

Mix yogurt and vegetable oil in a bowl.

Divide each sheet into 8 equal triangles.Take one of the triangular, brush with 1-2 tbsp of yogurt-vegetable oil mixture over the surface of triangle. Place two tbsp of filling on one of the wide side of each triangle and roll it up.Swirl this roll around itself. Place all the rolls in a baking dish side by side ( no place between them ). Pour 1/2 cup of milk on top and let it rest in the refrigerator until rolls absorb the milk completly.
Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Take the rolls out and place them on the baking sheet. Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for about 45 minutes or until nicely brown.

ELMALI REVANİ

2010-01-25T05:56:00.002-05:00

REVANI (SEMOLINA CAKE WITH SYRUP) WITH APPLE

This recipe is from Yesilkivi. I visit Secil's blog very often lately. Her pictures are so tempting and recipes are wonderful. Thanks again.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of semolina flour
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of finely chopped walnut
2 apples ( grated )
1/2 stick salted butter
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of vanilla sugar

Syrup:

3 cups of granulated sugar
3 cups of water
juice and zest of 1/4 lemon

For the syrup; take 3 cups of sugar, and 3 cups of water in a medium pot. Bring it to the boil over medium heat. Boil for 7-8 minutes. Add juice and zest of 1/4 lemon into the pot and boil for another 5 minutes. Turn the heat off. Set a side.
Preheat the oven 350 F.
Sift flour, semolina flour, vanilla sugar, and baking soda together in a bowl.
Whisk eggs and sugar in another large mixing bowl until it gets creamy. Gradually add butter, sifted flour, semolina flour, vanilla sugar, and baking soda to the bowl, whisking consistently.
Add grated apple, walnut and cinnamon to the bowl and and mix thoroughly.
Pour into 13 17-inch rectangular pyrex and bake until it is golden brown, approximately 50 minutes.
Take the cake from the oven. Let it cool for 15 minutes and spoon syrup over the cake.
Serve it when it is cool. It is more delicious for the next day.

ETLİ NOHUT

2010-01-22T09:16:00.001-05:00

CHICK PEAS WITH BEEF CUBES

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

1 lb dried chick peas ( soaked over night )
1 lb beef cubes
1 large onion (chopped)
20 baby chilli peppers
2 tbs of vegetable oil
2 tbs of tomato paste
1/2 tbs of red pepper paste
2 cups of boiling water
1 tsp of black pepper
salt

In a large pot, take vegetable oil and beef cubes and cover the lid. Cook them over medium heat until it absorbs its own juice. Add chopped onion and stir.Wash and cut the tops of baby chili peppers. Add them to the pot and cook them for five minutes. Add tomato and red pepper paste. Stirring occasionally, cook for another five minutes. Add boiling water ,stir.Drain chick peas and add them to the pot. Add black pepper, and salt. Give them a quick stir.Turn the heat down to low and cook for one hour or until chick peas are soft.
Serve it warm with rice and salad.

ZEYTİNLİ & KEKİKLİ & BİBERLİ POĞAÇA

2010-01-18T05:56:00.004-05:00

THYME & PEPPER POGACAS WITH BLACK OLIVE FILLING

Makes 20 pogacas.

Ingredients:

1+1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 egg white
2 tbsp of butter (softened )
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1/4 cup of plain yogurt
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tsp of thyme
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of vinegar
1/2 tsp of baking soda

Filling:

20 pitted black olives

Glaze:

1 egg yolk

In a big mixing bowl, take egg white and whisk. Add vegetable oil,butter, yogurt, baking soda, thyme, pepper flakes, vinegar,salt, and mix. Add flour slowly and knead. Continue adding flour until the dough reaches soft consistency.
Take a small piece of dough ( about the half size of an egg ) and make it flat with your palms. Place 1 black olive in the middle of the dough and close it up. Place a parchment paper on a baking tray an put the pogacas on the tray. Brush all of the pogacas with egg yolk.
Preheat the oven 350F and bake until pogacas are light brown.

KURU ÜZÜMLÜ & CEVİZLİ KURABİYE

2010-01-15T06:10:00.006-05:00

RAISINS & WALNUT COOKIES

My son and I made these cookies together. He loves chocolate chip cookies.
That day I was out of chocolate chips and we decided to make our cookies with raisins and walnut instead. He loved it this way too...

Makes 26 cookies.

Ingredients:

1+ 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/3 cup of light brown sugar
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of finely diced walnuts
1 egg
1/4 cup of plain yogurt
1 stick butter ( softened )
1/3 tsp of baking soda
1/3 tsp of vanilla sugar
a pinch of salt

Sift flour, baking soda, vanilla sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk egg, melted butter, yogurt, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Add sifted mixing and mix it with a spatula. Add raisins and walnut to the bowl and mix. Take one tablespoon of cookie dough and place it on a greased baking tray. Leave some room between the cookies. Preheat the oven 400 F. Bake for 5 minute at this tempature then turn it down to 350F. Bake the cookies for 10 more minutes or until light brown.

İMAMBAYILDI

2010-01-12T05:00:00.006-05:00

BABY EGGPLANTS WITH OLIVE OIL
I remembered this summer dish as soon as I saw these teeny-tiny eggplants in our local Indian store. I usually follow the seasons for buying vegetables and fruit but I just couldn't resist.

Tomatoes which were used in this recipe are from summer. When they are so fresh and much more cheaper in the summer time I buy some more for coming winter. I just chop and place them in small freezer bags and store in the freezer.

Serves for 4-6

Ingredients

20 of baby eggplants
1 large size of onions
20 baby chilli peppers
10 cloves of garlic ( chopped)
3 medium size of tomatoes
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1/3 cup of olive oil
a pinch black pepper
salt

Wash and trim eggplants. Cut them "+" shape that go almost halfway from the bottom. Take 1/3 cup of olive oil in large pot and heat over medium-high heat. Take all 20 eggplants in the pot at the same time and cover the lid. Do not open the lid just shake the pot gently every two minutes until they are nicely brown. Turn the heat off and take eggplants to a dish. Chop the onion and take them to the same pot. Saute with the remaining olive oil. Wash and trim chilli peppers and add them with garlic to the pot and stir .Peel and grate tomatoes. Add them to the pot with tomato paste and stir. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.Add salt and black pepper to the pot and stir.Place eggplants to the pot and cover the lid. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

BROKOLİ MUSAKKA

2010-01-09T03:54:00.005-05:00

BROCCOLI MOUSSAKA

Serves 6.

There is no traditional broccoli dish in Turkish cuisine, as far as I know. This is my idea to make moussaka with it and it turned out very well.

Ingredients:

1/3 lb of ground beef
2 lb of fresh broccoli
1 large onion (chopped )
10 cloves of garlic (chopped )
1 fresh green pepper ( chopped )
2 large size of tomatoes
1 tbsp of tomato paste
2 tbsp of vegetable oil

1/3 tsp of black pepper
salt

Take ground beef and vegetable oil in a large pot and cook it until the beef absorbs all of its juice, stirring occasionally . Add chopped onion, chopped pepper, and garlic into the pot. Saute them on medium heat for 10 minutes then add tomato paste and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cut broccoli florets, wash, and drain. Take them into the pot. Add black pepper and salt. Stir them all together. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into cubes. Place tomatoes on top of other vegetables and turn the heat down to low. Put the lid on and cook for 30 minutes.

ÇEDAR PEYNİRLİ MİLFÖY BÖREK

2010-01-04T10:46:00.006-05:00

PUFF PASTRY BOREK WITH CHEDDAR CHEESE

I found this easy borek recipe on one of my favorite Turkish Food Blogs, "Hayat Binbircesni".Thank you Saliha, this is a brilliant idea.

It is a well know fact that the best borek is made from scratch but it takes too much time just like this one.

However this puff pastry borek is an exception. It almost tastes like somebody just made it from scratch.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 bunch of chopped parsley

Topping:

1 egg yolk
nigella and sesame seeds

Take the puff pastry sheet out of the freezer and let it thaw. Cut the pastry three equal parts. Dust a large, flat surface with flour (dusting will keep the dough from sticking). Place one of the pastry part onto flat surface and sprinkle some more flour on top of it. Roll the pastry as thin as you can with a long roller pin. Keep dusting the dough with flour while you are rolling.
Take cheddar cheese and chopped parsley in a large bowl and mix it. Place 1/3 of filling along on the widest part of the pastry sheet and roll it up tightly to make a long cigar. Swirl this long cigar in the middle of a round tray. Repeat this step for the other two. Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle sesame and nigella seeds

TAVUKLU MANTAR

2009-12-29T07:01:00.001-05:00

MUSHROOMS WITH CHICKEN BREAST

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

1+1/2 lb of mushroom
1 chicken breast
1 large onion ( chopped )
15 baby chilli pepper
3 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of tomato paste
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
salt

Wash, drain and cut chicken breast into cubes. Take olive oil and chicken cubes in a large pot. Cook until it absorbs all of its juice over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cut off the top of chilli peppers and wash. Add chopped onion, and peppers into the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste to the pot and stir for 5 minutes. Chop mushroom into cubes. Add mushroom cubes into the pot and stir. Add black pepper, and salt to the pot, stir. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until mushrooms are soft.

AŞURE

2009-12-22T06:33:00.001-05:00

NOAH'S PUDDING

This is a very traditional Turkish dessert with a history behind it. You can check the historical part out from here and here.

Ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked whole wheat
1/2 cup of uncooked chickpeas
1/2 cup of uncooked kidney beans
1/3 cup of uncooked rice
1/2 cup of raisins
10 dried figs
15 dried apricots
zest of an orange
2 cups of granulated sugar

Soak wheat, chickpeas, and kidney beans in different cups for 10 hours over night.

Next day, drain the water of beans and take them different pots. Add 6 cups of boiling water to the wheat, 2 cups of boiling water to the chickpeas, and 2 cups of boiling water to the kidney beans. Bring the them to boil and turn the heats down to low.Cook wheat around 2 hours or until it is mushy. Add 1/3 cup of rice and 2 cups boiling water to the wheat's pot. Cook it until rice is soft. Add boiling water if necessary. Cook chickpeas and kidney beans until they are soft. Add chickpeas and kidney bean to the wheat's pot. Chop figs and apricot. Add orange zest,raisins, figs, and apricots. Stir, cook until fruits are soft around 10 minutes. Add sugar to the pot and turn the heat off.
With these ingredients, you will have a big pot full of pudding.
Apportion the pudding into small serving dishes and serve it warm or cold. Could be decorated with walnut, cinnamon, pomegranate, hazelnut, almond, pistachio, sesame seeds, etc.

ETLİ PATATES

2009-12-18T07:08:00.002-05:00

POTATO STEW WITH BEEF CUBES

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

1 lb beef cubes
8 small size of potatoes
1 large onion ( chopped )
20 baby chilli pepper
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 tbsp of red pepper paste
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 tbsp of vinegar
4 cups of boiling water
1/2 tsp of black pepper
salt

Wash, peel, and cut potatoes into cubes.Cut off the top of chilli peppers and wash.

Take vegetable oil and beef cubes in a large pot. Cook it until it absorbs all of its juice over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add chopped onion, and peppers and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and red pepper paste to the pot and stir for 5 minutes. Add 4 cups of boiling water and stir. Add potato cubes to the pot. Bring it to the boil. Add black pepper,vinegar, and salt to the pot, stir. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until potatoes are soft. Potato cubes become mushy so quickly. Don't let them overcooked.
Serve it with bulgur pilaf.

ZEYTINYAĞLI PIRASA

2009-12-14T05:20:00.001-05:00

LEEKS WITH OLIVE OIL

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

4 leeks
3 carrots
1 onion
3 tbsp of rice
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 cup of boiling water
salt

Cut top of leeks off, wash, and drain. Cut the white parts of leeks and set a side. Cut the leeks' green parts in half lengthwise and slice them thinly. Wash leek one more time after chopping. Wash, drain, and slice carrots too. Take olive oil,chopped leeks, and carrots in a pot and turn the heat on medium high. Cook it until leek absorbs all of its juice, stirring occasionally.Chop onion and add it into the pot. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of boiling water, tomato paste, and rice into the pot and stir. Bring it to the boil. Slice the white part of leeks into 1 inch pieces. Place the leeks' slices on top and cover the lid. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until white leek sileces soft. Turn the heat off. Let it cool. Serve it with pepper flakes and some lemon juice.

KAŞARLI POĞAÇA

2009-12-11T05:49:00.004-05:00

POGACA WITH MOZZARELLA CHEESE

Makes 14 pogacas.

Ingredients:

4 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup of warm milk
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1 egg+1 egg white
5 tbs of sugar
1 tbs of salt
1 tbs of instant yeast

Filling:

1/2 lb of mozzarella

Topping:

1 egg yolk
2 tbsp of milk
2 cups of sesame seeds

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add milk, vegetable oil and eggs. Knead them all together with your hands until becoming dough. The dough should be soft. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest until the dough rises to double its size. It takes one to two hours.
Cut mozzarella into 14 equal pieces.
Take the bowl and knead the dough again until it is bubble free. Place the dough onto counter top and cut it into 14 pieces.Take one piece of dough and make it flat with your hands. Place 1 piece of mozzarella in the middle of the dough and close it up. Give the dough a shape of football with your hands

Mix egg yolk with 2 tbsp of milk in a bowl. Take sesame seeds in another bowl. Dip the pogacas first into egg yolk and then dip them into sesame seeds.Place them on a grased baking tray leaving some room between them and let it rise for half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake them until the color of pogacas turn to light brown.

ET BALIĞI

2009-12-07T05:57:00.007-05:00

FISHY MEAT PATTIES

This recipe is another my hometown's classic...
You will find some interesting ingredients for meat patties; like orange zest and potatoes!
The taste is also interesting and so delicious.You might think, it tastes like fish but it is more than that.
Give it a try, if you like different flavors...

Makes 24 patties.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
2 small size of potatoes ( finely shredded )
2 tbsp of semolina
6 cloves of garlic ( finely shredded )
zest of an orange
1 tbsp of ground chilli pepper
1 tbsp of ground cumin
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
salt
1 cup of olive oil for frying

In a large mixing bowl, take ground beef, potatoes, semolina, garlic, orange zest, chilli pepper, cumin, black pepper, and salt. Knead until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Take the bowl from refrigerator and take small parts ( about the size of an egg ) of mixing and give them a shape of ball and make them flat with your palms.
Take olive oil in frying pan and turn the heat on medium high. Fry both sides of patties.

MAKARNA SALATASI

2009-12-04T05:45:00.000-05:00

PASTA SALAD

This salad has never disappointed me. I always prepare it to my friends with no doubt. Most of the time they ask for the recipe. It is also very easy to make. Here is my pasta salad recipe;

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of pasta ( any kind you like )
1/2 cup of frozen corns
1/2 cup of frozen peas
3 tbsp of mayonnaise
3 tbsp of thick plain yogurt
1 tsp of ground red pepper
1/2 cup of pickle ( chopped )
1 bunch of green onion ( chopped )
5 cloves of garlic( minced )
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp of vegetable oil
salt

Cook pasta according to package directions and let it cool for 40-50 minutes. Take pasta in a large mixing bowl. Add green onion, garlic, pickles, corns, peas, mayonnaise, yogurt, red pepper, lemon juice, vegetable oil, salt into the bowl and stir. Take it in serving bowl.

Note:
The pickle I used was a mixture of carrot, cauliflower, cabbage pickles. If I am out of this kind of pickle, I just use the regular store bought pickles.