Lifes Journey

Tomorrow I will be starting the next leg of my trip to Istanbul and then onto Australia.  I havent been back for 7 years.  My husband and children will be coming with me and this will be part of our lifes journey together.

My 4 year old and 2 year old have never been there,they dont even realise that they are speaking 2 different languages.  They will be exposed to a completely different way of life, new people and even a new diet.

My blog will still continue even though I will not be in Turkey as I will still be cooking Turkish food for my husband and family.  We will be in contact with other Turks and I will be commenting on the food I find there, whether or not they have stayed true to thier roots or westernised the food to suit Aussie palates.  Readers bear with me while I make this transition and I will be contact soon with lots of photos and recipes.

Turks gave the world Yoghurt!

The Turks gave the world Yoghurt!

Yoghurt is derived from the Turkish word yogurt.  The Turks before living in Turkey were nomadic people living in Central Asia.  The tribes of the Ottomans and Selcuks were the forerunner of the modern Turks. As they rode slowly across the plains of Central Asia they needed dairy products that would last the trip.  They were the first to produce yogurt from sour milk.

Man selling Yogurt

Yogurt is a big part of the Turkish diet.  It can be anything from a plain bowl of yogurt with the evening meal to a refreshing drink called Ayran.  As you all know by now I used to live in İstanbul, Silivri in fact.  Silivri proudly presents a Yogurt Festival every year.  Silivri Yogurt is famous throughout İstanbul as it is one of the nicest, plus it is made only with sheep milk.  


I have posted a few yogurt dishes and will post more in the future as it really is a versitile food and can be used in a variety of ways.  


Meze yogurt recipes
Yogurt soup recipe


One of the main dishes that is made with yogurt is Cacık it seems to be eaten all over Turkey and comes in 2 forms.  One is thinner and eaten more like a soup that is eaten in the eastern areas and the other, thicker one featuring in İstanbul cuisine.  I will also give you the recipe for Ayran, this drink is drank everywhere but probably mainly as a Street food, served alongside Döner.




Cacık Istanbul Style
500gr of plain yogurt
4 medium cucumbers
1tbs dried mint
2 cloves garlic, or more if desired
water


Place the yogurt in a bowl and whisk well.  Put aside and grate the peeled cucumbers.(I don't peel but most people do)Add the grated cucumber in with the yogurt and stir well.  Mince the garlic and add to the yogurt mix along with the dried mint and stir well.  This depends on you, if your yogurt wasn't too thick to start with water will not be necessary.  If you used a very thick yogurt like Greek style you might want to add a very small amount of water.  You want this to be spoonable but not runny.  The recipe calls for a small amount of olive oil (2 tbs) to be added, I don't but feel free to do so yourselves.


Cacık Eastern Style
500gr yogurt
4 medium cucumbers
1tbs dried mint
2 cloves garlic, or more if desired
2 cups of water


Cut the ends off the cucumbers and finely dice them. Put aside.  Put the yogurt into a bowl and whisk well.  Add in the diced cucumbers, minced garlic and dried mint.  Stir well.  Add in the water and stir well.  


Both of these recipes are served in little bowls on the side.  The water in the second version can be increased slightly if desired, as I have been to homes where unexpected visitors have come and more water is added into the cacık to spread it around.  The amount of garlic is really up to personal taste but 2 cloves is a good starting point.  Also some people add a pinch of salt to their cacık.


Cacık is served as a side dish along with salads and pilavs.


Ayran
500gr plain yogurt
2 cups of water
pinch of salt


In a jug add everything together and using a stick blender, blend for a few seconds.  Serve cold.  


I really like Ayran, especially in summer when its too hot to eat anything except watermelon.

Old yogurt factory in Silivri

I forgot to say that the Silivri Yogurt Festival usually begins at the start of the Summer school holidays, there is a great outdoor, beachfront market that is open until late with live music.  They have several large name singers come to perform for a week and at this time there is the usual Oil Wrestling competitions you can attend.

Istanbul Sephardic Chicken Soup

Istanbul is a wonderful city, I lived there for a year and a half and loved it.  People from all over Turkey go there to find work and a better life.  The apartment I lived in had people from everywhere.  Sivas, Urfa, Bulgaria, Ankara and from various regions of the Black Sea.  A couple of ladies were from Istanbul, Kadikoy when they were younger, thier families still having the ancestral home there.  They were all a wealth of stories and recipes. Whilst the lady who gave me this recipe is not sephardic herself it was a family favorite and she passed it on to me. 


Turkey has a wealth of soup and yogurt recipes, many of which I have made myself.  This soup has yogurt in it, don't let that put you off.  I have enjoyed alot of yogurt soup dishes many of which I never thought I would have.  After moving to Antep it led me to discover a local dish made for one of the festivals, Yuvarlama.  Yuvarlama is made with meat and rice meal made into köftes then cooked in a meat and yogurt sauce.  If mixing meat and dairy is not your thing you can also make it with chicken and yogurt and which is equally delicious.  But here I'm getting away with myself, I will post that another day.

500 gr chicken thigh or legs
1tsp salt
1onion, sliced 
2 large leeks
3 Celery stalks
2 tbsp olive oil
chicken stock, 4 cups 
long grain white rice, one handful
2  egg yolks
1 ½ cups yogurt
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 ½ tsp butter
1 tbsp dried mint, 
chili powder to taste 


Put chicken thigh into a stock pot.  Cover with water just 2cm above chicken. Add salt. Bring water to boil. Skim foam from the top of water.  Cover pot and reduce heat to simmer.  Simmer for three minutes, remove from heat and allow to sit covered until cool.  Slice leeks in half and wash well.  Chop leeks and celery. Heat a second stock pot over medium heat. Add oil and vegetables (all).  Cover and cook until very tender.  Take the chicken from the pot and allow to cool on a plate. Pour water from the stock pot into the vegetables.  Add 4 cups of chicken stock.   Add rice. Stir, cover and cook for ½ hour.  Remove the skin and bones from chicken and tear into small pieces.  Add chicken back into the pot.  In another  smaller pot, heat ¼ cup water, cornflour, egg yolks and yogurt over low heat.  Stir constantly, after the mixture thickens, stir into soup.  In a small frypan melt the butter, add the mint and chili powder and fry for a minute.  Pour on top of the soup.


Do not let this boil after you have added the yogurt or it will curdle.


Listen to this great song and look at the shots they have put to the music.  Istanbul, not Constantinople!