
Çılbır: Turkish Poached Eggs
Craving a taste of Türkiye?
Try making çılbır at home and bring the rich flavours to your table!
Recipe by Etienne van Wyk
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- 250g thick Turkish or Greek yoghurt
- Handful of fresh dill (finely chopped)
- Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley (finely chopped)
- ½ clove of garlic grated
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 60g butter
1 teaspoon chili flakes
½ teaspoon paprika Pepper Salt
How To Make Çılbır: Turkish Eggs
- Add the yoghurt, dill, parsley and garlic to a bowl and mix together.
Season with salt and pepper then set aside. - Fill a deep pot with water, bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low.
- Add white vinegar to the water and mix well.
- Add the butter to a small pot and bring to a medium heat.
Once the butter has melted, add the chili flakes, paprika, a pinch of salt then stir to combine. - Cook the spices in the butter for about 2-3 minutes. Chili butter is now ready to serve.
- Crack each egg into a small ramekin then carefully drop the eggs from the ramekin into the water.
- Cook for about 3-4 minutes to get the perfect egg with a runny yolk. Cook longer if you prefer a firmer yolk.
- Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon, add to a bowl and dry with paper towel.
- Add the garlicky herbed yogurt to small bowl and spread into a thick round base.
- Add the poached eggs to the yogurt base and drizzle a generous amount of the chilli butter all over the eggs and yoghurt.
- Garnish with extra dill, parsley and a crack of black pepper.
To serve:
- For traditional Turkish Eggs, use Aleppo chilli flakes instead of normal chili flakes.
- Sprinkle dukkah over your Turkish Eggs for extra flavour and crunch.
Ingredients:
- 70g hazelnuts
- 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 3 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 1½ tablespoon sesame seeds
- Salt
How To Make Dukkah
- Bring a small pan to a medium heat and add the hazelnuts.
Toast for about 2 minutes until golden brown. - Add the rest of the seed ingredients to the pan and toast with the hazelnuts for about 1 minute, until the seeds are golden brown.
Stir often, or it will burn! - Add the toasted seeds, nuts and a pinch of salt to a pestle and mortar and crush until coarsely ground.
- The dukkah must not be ground fine. It must still have texture and be a bit chunky. You can use a blend of nuts as well such as pistachio and pine. Store dukkah in an airtight container for about a month.