Turkish Eggs (Çılbır)
Poached eggs on garlicky yogurt with sizzling chili butter
- Serves
- 2
- Hands-on
- Total
- Level
- Some skill
Çılbır is poached eggs set on a bed of cool garlic yogurt and drenched in hot butter spiced with Aleppo-style chili. The contrast of hot and cold, rich and tangy, makes it a breakfast worth getting up for.
Ingredients
- 250 gGreek yogurt (1 cup)full fat, at room temperature
- 1 clovegarlicfinely grated
- 2 gfine sea salt (⅓ tsp)
- 4very fresh large eggs
- 40 gunsalted butter (3 tbsp)
- 1 tspAleppo pepper (pul biber) or Urfa biberor ½ tsp sweet paprika + a pinch of chili flakes
- 1 tbspdill or mintchopped
- warm flatbread or toasted sourdoughto serve
- Diet
- Vegetarian
- Allergens
- egg, milk, gluten
- Origin
- Turkey
Method
- Mix the yogurt, garlic and salt. Spread it in two shallow bowls. It should be at room temperature, not fridge-cold.
- Poach the eggs as for Poached Eggs, 3–3½ minutes, and drain well on paper towels.
- While the eggs cook, melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat until it foams and smells nutty, about 2 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the pepper flakes; it will sizzle and turn red.
- Set two eggs on each bowl of yogurt.
- Spoon the hot chili butter over the eggs and yogurt, scatter with herbs, and serve with warm bread.
Why it works
Room-temperature yogurt avoids chilling the eggs, while still offering cool contrast to the hot butter. Browning the butter adds nutty flavor, and adding the chili off the heat releases its color and fragrance into the fat without scorching it. Garlic mellows in the yogurt as it sits, so the base tastes rounded rather than harsh.
Common mistakes
- Cold yogurt straight from the fridge: the eggs go cold. Take it out 30 minutes ahead.
- Burning the chili: add it off the heat.
Notes
Aleppo pepper and Urfa biber are mild, fruity Turkish chili flakes found in many supermarkets and Middle Eastern shops. Gluten only from the bread served with it; choose gluten-free bread to avoid it.
