At the beginning of the year, my colleague Helene Flachsenberg graciously held the fort here during my vacation and presented you with six recipes for the lazy. And what can I say: There was so much positive feedback that I would like to show you more quick and easy recipes like this in the future. I understand that, time is a precious commodity. At least if you cook yourself.
Today's dish not only saves time, it also tastes pretty decadent and looks fantastic. Apparently the Ottoman sultans in the magnificent Topkapi Palace welcomed the new day with this delicacy.
We're talking about Çılbır (pronounced: Chill-brr), sometimes also called "Turkish eggs". Today this means a mix of creamy yoghurt, soft poached egg and spicy butter, with crispy bread added as an added bonus. The combination works at any time of day and for me it makes the perfect holiday or Sunday breakfast. You don't need an army of servants to prepare the food for you -
you can do it yourself in
15 minutes
. Himself is the Sultan!
Before I get started, I will express one controversial opinion: Poached eggs are
usually
overrated. These are of course extremely tasty - but the difference to six-minute eggs is not that big. The latter also saves you the stress (and possibly waste) of poaching, where a lot can go wrong.
However, the traditional Turkish recipe calls for poached eggs. If you want to stick to it, you can use a trick that takes some of the frustration out of the demanding process. The eggs are not broken directly into the pot, but first into a shallow bowl full of water and white wine vinegar, in a 1:1 ratio and enough in total to cover the eggs. They stay there for ten minutes. The acid causes the outer protein to contract slightly and become firmer. If you then place the eggs (carefully with a ladle) in a pot full of simmering water, they won't fray as much. You won't be able to taste any of the vinegar later. And during the ten-minute vinegar bath you can implement all the other steps.
By the way: It's best to use Turkish or Greek yogurt for this recipe. Why? Because these varieties are a little firmer and contain more fat. If you are looking for a slim figure, you can also use regular natural yogurt. The cool yogurt seasoned with garlic, herbs and chili butter also tastes great with dumplings such as mantı (sometimes called “Turkish tortellini”) or with other pasta. You can conjure up several dishes using the same ingredients from one purchase.
This is what you need for two portions of Çılbır
4 organic eggs
200 g unsweetened yogurt, ideally Turkish or Greek
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp butter
1/2 teaspoon each chili flakes and paprika powder
Herbs like dill or parsley
A bit of salt
Some bread, such as flatbread, ciabatta or toast
Optional: 200 ml vinegar for easier poaching
What does this cost?
About 1.80 euros per person
How long does it take?
15 minutes
It's that easy to make Çılbır
Bring the eggs
to room temperature, then cook them in boiling water for exactly six minutes and then rinse them in cold water. Or: Place eggs in the prepared
vinegar bath
as described above .
Grate
the
garlic
into the
yoghurt , stir and season with a little
salt
.
Melt the
butter
in the pan and
add the
red spices
. Turn off the heat as soon as it bubbles.
Wash the
herbs
briefly. Pluck
the parsley
from the stem and chop and pick off
the dill
.
Spread the seasoned
yogurt
on a deep plate.
Peel the boiled
eggs
and place them on top of the yogurt. Or: Carefully remove the prepared eggs from the vinegar bath with a ladle and poach them in a pot of simmering (just before boiling) water for exactly three minutes. Remove, drain and then place on top of the yoghurt.
Decorate everything with the herbs and red spiced butter, add a pinch of
salt
to the eggs and serve while still warm. This goes well with crispy toast or any other bread.
If you cook the dish more often, you can vary it and stir white cheese crumbles into the yoghurt, add cumin to the butter or replace the parsley with mint. The recipe is still simple – and delicious.
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