1. TARHANA SOUP
Ingredients
• 100 gr. yeast
• 300 gr. onions
• 1000 gr. very ripe tomatoes
• 250 gr. big red peppers (may be hot or sweet
according to taste)
• 250 gr. natural yogurt (unsweetened and
unflavored)
• 2000 gr. flour 1 glass of water
Directions
Mix yeast with water and make it into a paste. Peel and strain
tomatoes. Chop the peppers thinly. Grate the onions. Mix the yeast,
yogurt, tomatoes, peppers and onions in a bowl until they turn into a thick
liquid. Start kneading the mixture by adding flour gradually. Knead the
dough until it becomes very thick.
Flour a tray, put the thick dough on the tray and cover it with a piece of
cloth. If the dough is in a warm place it will puff up in 1 hour, if it is in a
cool place it will puff up in 5-6 hours. When the dough has puffed up,
remove it from the tray and knead well. Then put it on the tray as before
and cover it. Go on with the same procedure until the dough no longer
puffs up. Now that your tarhana is ready, you can take a piece of the
dough and see that it breaks without stretching. Form the dough into small
pieces, place pieces on a cloth and let them dry. Check the pieces as often
as possible for drying. Crumble the dried pieces. (It is necessary to check
the dough often, because if the dough dries too much, crumbling gets
more difficult.)
When crumbling is over, put the crumbles in a fine sieve and sieve
then, put tarhana in dry jars and cover with lids. Your tarhana is now
ready for cooking.

2. ÇİĞ KÖFTE (UNCOOKED MEATBALL)
(SNACKS OF RAKI)
Ingredients
• 700 grams minced meat
• salt
• 300 grams fine bulgur (cracked
wheat)
• pepper
• 1 egg 50 grams crushed walnuts
• 1 teaspoon cummin
• 20 grams pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 20 grams currants
• 1 bunch parsle
• 3 onions
• 20 grams margarine 220 grams vegetable oil
Directions
Boil bulgur in plenty of water until soft. Drain and set aside. Melt
margarine and lightly brown chopped onions and pine nuts. Add 350
grams of meat and saute until juices evaporate. Remove from heat. Add
pepper, salt, cummin, crushed walnuts, currants and choped parsley. Mix.
In a large bowl, combine the remainder of meat with the bulgur. Add
cayenne pepper and egg. Mix and knead well. Take a large walnut sized
piece of mixture and roll into a ball. With index finger, make a hole and
push the inside, making a large cavity. Stuff the cavity with the meat
mixture,press hole with fingers to close. Lightly press meatball in palm of
hand to shape like an egg. Repeat procedure, making as many meatballs
as possible. Add meatballs to salted boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.
Remove and drain on absorbent paper. Heat oil in frypan and lightly fry
meatballs until golden brown. Drain and serve.

3. ÇERKEZ TAVUĞU (ÇERKEZ CHICKEN MEAL )
Ingredients
• 4 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
• 2 cups shelled walnuts
• 5 lbs. with bones
• 3 slices French bread (enough for 1 cup
crumbs)
• 2 medium onions, quartered
• 1 clove garlic
• 1carrot, scraped, trimmed and cut into
chunks
• A pinch of cayenne or hot paprika
• 1/4 cup whole sprigs parsley
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tbsp. walnut or olive oil
• 1-1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. Pepper
Directions
Although other parts may be used, chicken breasts work best. They cook
quickly and evenly; have little fat and no veins; no meat is left clinging to the
bone; and the long grain of the white meat makes it ideal for shredding.
Put chicken breasts, vegetables and seasonings into a large pot, and cover
with 4 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15
minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Transfer the chicken and stock to a
large bowl and let it all cool gradually. Once cool, remove the chicken from the
bowl and rinse it off, strain and reserve all of the stock, reserve 1/2 cup of the
cooked onions, and discard the rest of the vegetables. By hand, shred the chicken
along the grain of the meat into thin strips, 1" to 2" long.
Clean out the pot, put the stock back into it and simmer it down to 2 cups.
Remove crusts from the bread, then use a blender or food processor to reduce it
to 1 cup of crumbs. Set aside the crumbs and put the walnuts into the blender or
food processor; grind them finely; then add the garlic, reserved onion, and bread
crumbs, and blend them all together. A little at a time, blend in up to 2 cups of
stock, until you have a smooth, thick puree. Add salt, pepper, and a pinch of
cayenne or hot paprika to taste. If the puree is too thick, add a little milk or
water; if too thin, simmer over low heat until it thickens again.
In a small pan combine oil and paprika over very low heat until the oil
begins to redden. Turn off the heat, let the oil cool, then strain, reserving the oil
and discarding the paprika.
Mix up the chicken with half of the sauce, then put it into a serving platter.
Spread the rest of the sauce over the chicken like frosting on a cake. Drizzle with
paprika oil. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

4. İÇLİ KÖFTE (SPECIAL MEATBALL)
Ingredients
• 2 glasses of dried Haricot Beans
• 4 glasses of water
• 1 dessert spoonful of salt
• Dressing: 10 cloves of garlic, 1
tablespoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful of
boiled beans, ½ glass of sesame oil, ½
glass of lemon juice, ½ glass of water
• On Top: 1 glass of chopped parsley, 2 boiled eggs
Directions
Pick over the beans, wash, boil and sprinkle some salt and boil 5
more minutes and drain. Crush the garlic, add two table spoonful of boiled
beans, one tablespoonful of lemon juice and beat them. Whip the
remaining lemon juice, sesame oil and water. Arrange the beans on a
plate, put some dressing on, decorate it with parsley and yolk. Serve it.

5. KÜNEFE DESSERT
Ingredients
• Sugar 2 1/2 cup
• Water 1 3/4 cup
• Lemon juice 2 teaspoon
• Pistachionuts (chopped) 2 3/4 cup
• Margarine 1 Spoon Kadayif (Shredded pastry) - 500 gr
Directions
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until
sugar is dissolved. Boil gently for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice; stir. Boil for
1 minute. Set aside. Combine kadayif shreds and melted butter in a pan.
Break. kadayif shreds in butter blending well with tips of finger. Divide into
half. Spread one half in a slightly greased baking pan 25x25 cm (9x9
inch). Press with finger slightly. Sprinkle with crushed or ground nuts.
Press again using a spoon. Repeat same with remaining half, pressing
firmly this time. Bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes or until golden
brown. Remove from oven. Let stand for 2 minutes. Pour warm syrup
over. Cover and let stand until syrup is absorbed. Cut into 5-6 cm (2-2 1/2
inch) squares. Arrange on a serving plate. Serve warm or cold.
AYRAN (TRADITIONAL DRINK FROM YOGURT)
• 3 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp salt
This is very straight-forward but tastes great: Put all of the above in a
blender. Mix for about 35-40 seconds. Pour into glasses. Also after
blending, at the top, you will see bubbles and that's the best part. Makes 4
portions.
Origins of the word "yogurt":
The word comes from the Turkish word "yoğurt", deriving from the verb
"yoğurtmak", which means "to blend" - a reference to how yogurt is made.