Çılbır
A Turkish breakfast said to have been known already in the palace kitchens of the Ottoman sultans. It is poached eggs served on cool garlic yoghurt and drizzled with hot butter with pepper flakes. The contrast of temperatures and flavours — cold, tangy yoghurt, hot egg, spicy buttery pul biber — is the whole point. Two things matter: yoghurt at room temperature, so it does not chill the eggs, and very fresh eggs, because they set most neatly in the water.
Your own work in that: 4 min.
- Garlic yoghurt 5 min
- Poached eggs 8 min
- Chilli butter 3 min
- Serving 4 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMake the garlic yoghurt
Take the yoghurt out of the fridge half an hour ahead (or stand the bowl of yoghurt in warm water for a few minutes). Grate the garlic finely and stir it into the yoghurt with a pinch of salt. Spread the yoghurt in two shallow bowls.
Ingredients: 300 g thick Greek or Turkish yoghurt · 1 clove garlic · 1 pinch salt
Room-temperature yoghurt — it will not chill the eggs.Bring water and vinegar to the boil
In a wide pan bring water with the vinegar to the boil, then lower the heat until the water only just trembles. The vinegar helps the white set quickly.
Ingredients: 4 pcs eggs, very fresh · 1 tbsp vinegar
Crack the eggs into cups
Crack each egg into its own cup, or through a coarse sieve — the thin part of the white drains away, which would otherwise form ragged strands in the water.
Ingredients: 4 pcs eggs, very fresh · 1 tbsp vinegar
Poach the eggs
Stir the water into a gentle whirlpool and slip an egg into the centre. Poach two at a time 3–4 minutes, until the white sets and the yolk stays soft — two batches, about 8 minutes in all. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
Ingredients: 4 pcs eggs, very fresh · 1 tbsp vinegar
Into the centre of the swirl, the water just trembling.Set the eggs on the yoghurt
Place two eggs on the yoghurt in each bowl.
Ingredients: 4 pcs eggs, very fresh · 1 tbsp vinegar
Sizzle the butter with pepper
Melt the butter in a small pan and, when it foams, add the pul biber and take off the heat after 10–20 seconds. The butter turns red; overheated, it scorches the pepper and turns bitter.
Ingredients: 30 g butter · 1 tsp pul biber pepper flakes · 2 tbsp dill · 2 pcs bread
10–20 seconds — red butter, pepper unburnt.Drizzle with butter
Drizzle the hot chilli butter over the eggs and yoghurt and scatter with dill.
Ingredients: 30 g butter · 1 tsp pul biber pepper flakes · 2 tbsp dill · 2 pcs bread
Serve with bread
Serve at once, with crusty bread for dipping into the yolk, yoghurt and butter.
Ingredients: 30 g butter · 1 tsp pul biber pepper flakes · 2 tbsp dill · 2 pcs bread
Before you start
Pul biber
Pul biber (Aleppo pepper) is mildly hot, fruity and slightly salty. If you do not have it, mix a teaspoon of sweet paprika with a pinch of chilli flakes.
Eggs ahead
You can poach the eggs ahead, drop them into cold water and keep them in the fridge for a day. Warm them for a minute in hot water before serving.
Safety
An egg with a soft yolk is not fully cooked. For children, pregnant women and older people poach the eggs 7–8 minutes, until the yolk firms.
