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The name means “wedding soup” — in Turkey it is served at weddings and celebrations, cooked in huge cauldrons. It is a bone-in lamb broth thickened with a liaison of yoghurt, egg yolks, flour and lemon juice, with shredded meat, finished with butter sizzled with pepper flakes and dried mint. It is gentle, creamy and slightly tangy. The most important part is the liaison tempered with hot broth: poured straight into boiling soup, it curdles into lumps.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Simmering the lamb 100 min
- Shredding the meat 10 min
- Liaison 10 min
- Thickening 10 min
- Mint butter 5 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSimmer the lamb
Put the lamb in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to the boil, skimming off the scum. Add the peeled onion, carrot, peppercorns and salt and simmer with the lid ajar 1.5 hours, until the meat starts to come off the bone.
Ingredients: 700 g lamb on the bone (shoulder or neck) · 2000 ml water · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs carrot · 6 pcs black peppercorns · 2 tsp salt
Skim the scum — the broth stays clear.Shred the meat
Lift out the meat and strain the broth. You should have about 1.5 litres — top up with water if less. Shred the meat with two forks into fine strands, discarding bones, fat and gristle. Return it to the broth.
Ingredients: 700 g lamb on the bone (shoulder or neck) · 2000 ml water · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs carrot · 6 pcs black peppercorns · 2 tsp salt
Make the liaison
In a bowl whisk the yoghurt, yolks, flour and lemon juice into a smooth, lump-free mixture. The flour stabilises the yoghurt and protects it from curdling.
Ingredients: 200 g thick plain yoghurt · 2 pcs egg yolks · 2 tbsp plain flour · 1 pcs lemon, juice
Temper the liaison with broth
Pour hot broth into the liaison a ladle at a time, stirring constantly — 4–5 ladles. The liaison warms gradually and does not set. Poured straight into boiling soup, it would turn into lumps.
Ingredients: 200 g thick plain yoghurt · 2 pcs egg yolks · 2 tbsp plain flour · 1 pcs lemon, juice
A ladle at a time — hot into the liaison, not the reverse.Pour the liaison into the soup
Turn the heat under the pot to the minimum and pour in the liaison in a thin stream, stirring all the time.
Ingredients: 200 g thick plain yoghurt · 2 pcs egg yolks · 2 tbsp plain flour · 1 pcs lemon, juice
Heat without boiling
Heat the soup gently 8–10 minutes, stirring, until it thickens and loses the raw-flour taste. Do not let it boil — the yoghurt and yolks would curdle. Season with salt.
Ingredients: 200 g thick plain yoghurt · 2 pcs egg yolks · 2 tbsp plain flour · 1 pcs lemon, juice
Sizzle butter with pepper and mint
Melt the butter in a small pan and, as it foams, add the pepper flakes and mint. Take off the heat after a few seconds — the butter turns red. Mint and pepper burn very quickly.
Ingredients: 30 g butter · 1 tsp pul biber pepper flakes · 1 tsp dried mint
A few seconds — red butter, herbs unburnt.Drizzle with butter and serve
Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle each with the red mint butter. Serve at once, while the butter is hot.
Ingredients: 30 g butter · 1 tsp pul biber pepper flakes · 1 tsp dried mint
Before you start
Chicken version
Bone-in chicken thighs can replace the lamb — simmer them 45 minutes. The soup is lighter but still creamy thanks to the liaison.
Room-temperature yoghurt
Take the yoghurt out of the fridge half an hour ahead. Cold yoghurt curdles more easily when it meets hot broth.
Reheating
The soup keeps 2 days in the fridge. Reheat it slowly over low heat, stirring and without boiling. Make the mint butter fresh when serving.
