Turkish Baggels with Mahaleb (Açma)

For 8 baggels

500 g flour * 20 g fresh yeast * 1/2 cup milk * 1/2 cup water * 1/4 cup oil * 1 tbsp sugar * 1 tsp salt * 2 egg whites * 2 tsp mahaleb

To garnish:

2 egg yolks * sesame seeds * nigella seeds

Mix the yeast with the milk and the sugar and stir well to dissolve the yeast. Place the flour in a bowl and open a hole in the center. Put all the ingredients inside and knead very well. Cover with a cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into four pieces and open each one with a roller pin. After opening, divide it again in two equal parts. Make a roll with each and then make rings. Arrange them on a greased oven tray and brush each one with the beaten egg yolks. Sprinkle with the seeds. Let it rest for 30 minutes before placing in the oven. Cook on a 180° pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes.

Potato Börek (Patatesli Börek)

5 phyllo pastry sheets (yufka) * 6 potatoes * 2 medium onions * 1/2 tsp red pepper * black pepper * 50 ml olive oil * salt * 2 eggs

Peel the potatoes and boil them. Mash the potatoes with a fork. Mince the onions. Sauté the onions in olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the potatoes and seasonings and mix well. Cook for about five minutes and remove from fire. Let it cool down. Grease an oven tray with olive oil.


Open a phyllo pastry sheet and place the filling in one of the extremities. Make a roll.


Place the roll on the oven tray giving a spiral shape.


Proceed in the same way with the remaining phyllo sheets. If the filling is only enough for four phyllo sheets, use only that amount. Place each roll around the previous one. Finally, cover with two beaten eggs.


Cook on a 170° pre-heated oven for about 35 minutes. Let it cool down a little and cut into slices.



Find more börek recipes here.

Chicken Phyllo Rolls (Tavuklu Börek)

For around 15 rolls

1 onion * 2 tablespoons olive oil * 1 cooked and shredded chicken breast * black pepper * salt * red pepper * dried thyme * 3 sheets of filo pastry (yufka) * 1 egg * 3 tablespoons yogurt * 125 g melted margarine

Garrison:

1 yolk

Heat the chopped onion with the oil. Add the chicken and seasonings and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Mix the yogurt with an egg and melted margarine. Lay the filo sheets on top of each other, brushing the surface of each one with the liquid mix. Cut equal squares and top each one with the chicken. Roll each one up, tucking the ends inwards. Place on a tray greased with oil. Bake in a preheated oven at around 200º until golden and crispy.

Pasta and Feta Cheese Börek (Yalancı Su Boreği)

Makes 5-6 servings

3 phyllo pastry sheets (yufka) * 250 g pasta (like this one or similar) * 4 eggs * 125 g margarine * 2 cups milk * 70 cl oil * 500 g feta cheese * 100 g parsley * 50 g dill

Cook the pasta, filter and place it on a bowl. Add the crumbled cheese, the margarine (at room temperature), the minced parsley and dill and mix everything very well. In another bowl beat 3 eggs. Add the oil and the milk and mix. Grease an oven tray or a big round oven pan. Cover it with one phyllo pastry sheet. Make the phyllo pastry humid with part of the oil mixture. Then, cover with half of the cheese mixture. Close with the extremities of the phyllo pastry that were out of the pan or tray. With the oil mixture, make that part of the phyllo pastry humid. Cover with another phyllo pastry sheet. This sheet must be totally inside the pan or tray. Make it humid with the oil mixture. Cover with the rest of the filling and then cover with the third phyllo pastry sheet. Beat one egg and brush the surface of the last phyllo pastry sheet. Bake on a 200º preheated oven until the surface of the börek gets brown.

Eggplant Börek (Patlıcanlı Börek)

2 tbsp olive oil * 3 eggplants * 1 onion * 2 green peppers * 2 tomatoes * salt * black pepper * 4 phyllo pastry sheets (yufka) * 2 cups milk * 1/2 cup olive oil * 2 egg whites * 1 egg yolk

To garnish:


1 egg yolk

Peel the eggplants and cut them in small cubes. Place them on a bowl with water and salt for 10 minutes. In the meantime, sauté the minced onion and peppers in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the eggplant. Peel the tomatoes, cut in cubes and add them to the other vegetables. Let it cook until all the juice evaporates. Let it cool down and reserve. Prepare a liquid mixture with the olive oil, the milk and the eggs. Place two phylo pastry sheets on a greased oven tray. Make the phylo pastry wet by pouring half of the liquid mixture over it. Cover with the eggplant filling. Then, cover the filling with two phylo pastry sheets and pour on the rest of the liquid. Brush with the egg yolk. Bake on a 200º preheated oven until the surface is brown and crusty. Let it cool down and then cut into squares. You can put on the fridge and heat before serving.

Because today is Kandil: Kandil Rings (Kandil Simidi)

Today is celebrated in Turkey one of the five holy nights, according to the Muslim calendar: the Berat Kandili.
In the kandil days you can find kandil simidi in all the patisseries and bakeries in Turkey.

Makes 10 servings

250 g margarine * 2 coffee cups yogurt * 2 tbsp sugar * 2 tbsp salt * 1 egg yolk * 4 1/2 cups flour * 1 tsp baking powder * 2 tsp mahleb

To garnish:

1 cup sesame seeds * 1 tbsp nigella seeds * 1 egg white

Sift the flour and place in the center the margarine, at room temperature, the sugar, the salt, the egg yolk, the yogurt, the baking powder and the mahleb and knead well. Let it ferment for 30 minutes. Separate portions of dough in the amount of walnuts and make rings. Place them on a greased oven tray. Brush each one with egg white and sprinkle with sesame and black cumin. Bake on a 170º preheated oven until they become brown.

It is also tradition to make helva in the kandil days.

Chocolate and Hazelnut Rolls (Çikolatalı Fındıklı Lokum)

For the dough:

500 g flour * 1 cup warm milk * 3 tbsp butter * 4-5 tbsp sugar * 1 tsp salt * 40 g powder yeast

For the filling:

5 tbsp raspberry jam * 50 g sugar * 50 g crumbled hazelnuts * 1 cup corn flakes * 160 g dark chocolate flakes

To garnish:

1 tbsp butter * 1 tbsp powdered sugar

Beat the sugar with the butter until it becomes creamy. Add the yeast, the milk, the flour and the salt and mix well. Let it wait for 20 minutes with the bowl covered. Open the dough on a surface sprinkled with flour. Cover the dough with the raspberry jam, then the sugar, the crumbled hazelnuts, the corn flakes and the chocolate flakes. Divide the dough in 3-4 parts, make rolls and place them on a greased round cake mold. Put a little butter on each roll. Bake on a 190º pre-heated oven for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with powder sugar and serve.

Cheese and Sesame Rings (Susamli Çörek)

For 32 sesame rings

250 g margarine * 250 g lor cheese (or ricotta) without salt * 2 egg yolks * 4 1/2 cups flour * 1 tbsp baking powder

To garnish:

3 tbsp sesame seeds * 2 egg whites

Mix the margarine, the egg yolks, the crumbled cheese and the baking powder. Add the flour slowly and knead well. Separate the dough in four portions, cover with a cloth and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. Then open the dough, using a rolling pin, until you get the size of a normal meal plate. After opening, divide each portion into two. Open again each one but now divide each portion of dough in four. Roll each portion with your hands and connect the extremities giving the shape of rings. Brush each ring with egg whites and then sprinkle with sesame. Bake on a 175º preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until they become light brown.

Börek with Ground Meat (Domates Sulu Kıymalı Börek)

50 ml olive oil * 200 g ground meat * 1 onion * 100 g parsley * 2 cups tomato juice * 50 ml water * 3 sheets philo pastry * salt * black pepper

Sauté the minced onion with the ground meat. Add the minced parsley, the salt and the black pepper and mix. Let it cool down and put aside. Mix the tomato juice with the water and the olive oil. Place one of the philo pastries in a greased oven tray. As the philo pastry is bigger than the oven tray, the sides will be out of the oven tray. Cover it with the tomato mixture. Cut the second philo pastry in two pieces with the same size and use one of the pieces to cover the first philo pastry. Place the ground meat on it and then cover with the other half. Again, make it wet with the tomato mixture. Cover with the third philo pastry. You must make it fit totally inside the oven tray by making small hills. Close the börek with the sides of the first philo pastry. Put the rest of the tomato sauce on the top and bake on a 180º preheated oven until it becomes a little crusty.

Braided Sweet Yeast Bread (Paskalya Çöreği)

Paskalya means Easter in English and the literal translation of this sweet, so common in Turkey, is something like Easter Cake.

½ cup milk * 20 g yeast * 8 ½ cups flour * 2 cups sugar * 4 eggs * 250 g de margarine * 1 tbsp mahaleb * 15 cardamom seeds

For the covering:

1 egg yolk * 25 g crumbled hazelnuts

In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk, add 2 cups of flour and mix. Let it rest for 10 minutes in a warm ambience with the bowl covered. Meanwhile, mix the sugar with the eggs. Melt the margarine and let it cool down. Place the rest of the flour in a bowl. Add the mixture of the yeast with the milk, the mixture of the eggs and sugar, the melted margarine, the mahaleb and the grinded cardamom seeds. Knead the dough very well with your hands and let it rest in a warm place. Separate 3 portions of dough, make three three rolls with your hands and give it the shape of a braid. Place in an oven tray, brush with an egg yolk and sprinkle with the crumbled hazelnuts. Bake on a 180º preheated oven.

Spinach Cake with White Cream (Ispanaklı Pasta)

300 g spinach (only the leaves) * 4 eggs * 200 g flour * 200 g sugar * 1 tbsp baking powder * 1 tbsp vanilla extract * 50 ml orange juice

For the covering:

4 ½ cups milk * 5 tbsp corn starch * 1 ½ cup sugar * 2 drops mastic * 2 kiwis

Place the spinach leaves in the mixer to obtain spinach juice. Put the flour in a bowl and open a hole in the center. Place inside the eggs, the sugar, the spinach juice, the vanilla and the baking powder and mix well. Put the mixture in a greased round cake pan and bake on a 180º preheated oven for 30 minutes. Let it cool down. Then, divide the cake in two parts and pour on the orange juice. Prepare the covering. Take to low heat the milk mixed with the corn starch and the sugar. Stir continuously with a wood spoon until you get a consistent cream. Take from the fire and add the mastic. Cover one half of the cake with the cream and then place the other half of the cake over it. Cover the cake with the rest of the cream and garnish with the kiwis.

Pistachio Biscuits (Antepfıstıklı Kurabiye)

1 cup flour * ½ cup semolina * ½ cup sugar * 1 cup crumbled pistachios * 125 g margarine * powder sugar to sprinkle

Place to flour in a bowl. Add the semolina, the sugar, the crumbled pistachios and the margarine at room temperature. Knead well, cover with a cloth and put in the refrigerator for half an hour. Then, separate portions of dough in the amount of a hazelnut and give them a round shape with your hands. Put in an oven tray and bake on a 170º preheated oven for 20 minutes. Let it cool down and sprinkle with powder sugar.

Turkish Ravioli (Kayseri Mantısı)

Kayseri is a Turkish city located in central Anatolia. Kayseri Mantısı is one of Kayseri's most famous and typical dishes.

Makes 6 servings

For the dough:

4 cups flour * 1 egg * 100 ml water * salt

For the filling:

1 onion * 250 g ground beef * salt

For the sauce:

2 tomatoes * 3 chili peppers * 1 tbsp olive oil * 2 tsp butter * 2 tsp pepper paste * 50 ml water * red pepper * dry sweet basil

To garnish:

Sumac * Yogurt Sauce with Garlic (Sarımsaklı Yoğurt) - 4 tbsp yogurt * 2 tbsp water * salt * 2 garlic cloves

Prepare the dough. Mix the flour, the egg, the salt and the water and knead well. Cover the dough with a wet cloth and let it rest for 15 minutes. Separate small amounts of dough. Open each amount of dough with a wood pin on a floured surface. Cut little squares with 1 cm x 1 cm. Prepare the filling. Mix the chopped onion with the ground beef and the salt. Place this mixture in the center of each square. Close all the sides very well. After filling all the squares, place them on a large pot and cook them with water and salt. Drain and pour over a cup of cold water. Place the mantı on a deep serving plate. Prepare the sauce. Mince the tomatoes and the peppers and sauté with olive oil. Add the butter, the red pepper, the sweet basil, the water and the pepper paste. Pour the sauce on the mantı. Garnish with the yogurt sauce and sprinkle with sumac.

To make the yogurt sauce, mix very well the yogurt, with the water, the garlic and a little salt. If the yogurt is very thick, add a little more water.

You can learn more about mantı here.

Vegetable Cake with Cheese (Sebzeli Kaşarlı Kek)

3 eggs * 1 cup yogurt * 1 cup oil * 1/2 cup boiled peas * 1 carrot * 1 potato * 1/2 cup crumbled kaşar (or cheddar) cheese * 3 cups flour * 1 tbsp baking powder * 5-6 green olives * salt

Boil the carrot and the potato, cut them in cubes and put aside. Beat the eggs. Add the oil and the yogurt and continue beating. Add the peas, the carrot, the potato, the cheese, the salt, the flour and the baking powder and mix well. Place the mixture in a greased loaf pan. Garnish with the olives cut into slices. Bake on a 180º preheated oven. Serve warm or cold.

Sesame Halva (Tuzlu Helva)

Makes 4 servings

200 g butter * 2 1/2 cups flour * 1 cup water * 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Place the margarine in a pan and mix it with the flour over low heat. Add slowly the water and cook for 5 minutes more. Place the mixture in a greased oven tray and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake on a 200º preheated oven for 20 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.

Zucchini Cake (Kabaklı Börek)

2 eggs * 2 zucchinis * 1 cup yogurt * 1/2 cup olive oil * 1/2 cup flour * 50 g parsley * 50 g fresh dill * 1 cup crumbled feta cheese * 1 tbsp baking powder * 2 tsp black cumin seeds (Nigella Sativa).

Cut the zucchinis in small pieces. Mince the dill and the parsley. Place the flour in a bowl and open an hole in the center. Pour inside the zucchinis, the dill, the parsley, the baking powder, the yogurt and the olive oil and mix all the ingredients very well. Place the mixture on a greased oven tray with 25 centimeters length. Pour on the black cumin seeds (Nigella sativa). Bake on a 180º preheated oven for 20 minutes. Cut in small squares and serve.