Kandil Sesame Rings (Kandil Simidi)

Kandil Simidi is a traditional Turkish pastry, which is eaten on Kandils. Kandil is one of the five Islamic holy nights when the minarets are illuminated and special prayers are made: Mevlit, Regaip, Miraç, Berat, Kadir. During the Kandils, this savory ring shaped biscuit is distributed to neighbors and other relatives for Allah’s sake.
Today is Regaip Kandil and I’d like to bake Kandil Simits and share them with you. I wish an auspicious Kandil for you all.

2 sticks butter/margarine (250 gr), melted
½ cup canola oil
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup vinegar
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp mahaleb
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
4 cups flour

Topping:
1 egg white
1 cup sesame seeds

Place the main ingredients but the flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix them all and then add flour and baking powder slowly. Knead until the dough becomes soft.
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Grab pecan size dough pieces and make 2-2 ½ inch (5-6 cm) long pencil like pieces and stick the ends to form a ring. And then, in a bowl whisk the egg white and place sesame seeds in a flat plate. First dip all the rings in the egg white and then dip into the sesame seeds.
Arrange them over a baking paper or greased oven tray. Bake until they all turn a light brown color (for about 20-25 minutes). Make sure not to leave them in the oven once they are baked. Otherwise they would become drier.
Kandil Sesame Rings are good to go with tea or coffee at brunches.

ENJOY

P.S: This recipe makes 40-45 Kandil sesame rings.
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TURKCE
Kandil Simidi Kandillerde yapilip, ikram edilen geleneksel bir Turk simididir. Kandiller Islam Dunyasi’nda butun cami minarelerinin aydinlatildigi ve ibadet edilen 5 kutsal geceden olusur: Mevlit, Regaip, Miraç, Berat, Kadir. Kandil gecelerinde, bu lezzetli minik simitler yapilir ve Allah rizasi icin komsu-akrabalara dagitilir.

Bugun Regaip Kandili oldugu icin ben de kandil simidi yapip sizinle paylasmak istedim. Hepinizin Kandili Mubarek Olsun.

250 gr margarin/tereyag, erimis
½ su bardagi sivi yag
¼ su bardagi seker
¼ su bardagi sirke
1 yemek kasigi mahlep
1 yumurta sarisi
1 tatli kasigi tuz, silme
1 paket/ 1 tatli kasigi silme kabartma tozu
4 su bardagi un

Uzerine:
1 yumurta aki
1 su bardagi susam

Genis bir kaba un ve kabartma tozu haric butun malzemeleri alin ve karistirin. Unun icinde kabartma tozunu karistirin ve unu yavas yavas yedirerek yogurun. Kulak memesi gibi yumusak bir hamur elde edin.
Hamurdan ceviz buyuklugunde parcalar koparin ve elinizle 5-6 cm uzunlugunda parcalar yapin. Uclarini birlestirerek halka seklini verin. Yaptiginiz her halkayi onceden cirptiginiz yumurta beyazina batirin. Son olarak duz bir tabaga susamlari dokun ve yumurta sarisina batirdiginiz simit halkalarini susama bulayin. Yagli kagit serilmis ya da yagladiginiz firin tepsisine aralikli olarak dizin.
Onceden 180 C (350 F) isittiginiz firinda uzerleri pembelesene dek pisirin (yaklasik 20-25 dakika). Piser pismez firindan cikarin, boylece kurumasini engellersiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN

NOT: Bu tariften 40-45 tane Kandil Simidi cikiyor.

Ana Sayfaya Don

Ezogelin Soup (Ezogelin Corbasi)

2/3 cup red lentil, washed and drained
1/3 cup rice, washed and drained
1/3 cup extra fine bulgur, washed and drained
1 onion, chopped finely
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp butter
4-5 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp dried mint
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups cold+6-7 cups warm water
1 tbsp salt to taste
Lemon wedges or lemon juice

Place red lentil, rice and bulgur in a large pot. Add 6-7 cups warm water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Then close the lid and cook over low heat, till all the grains are cooked (for about 20-30 minutes).
Meanwhile, put butter, canola oil and onions in a saucepan. Saute them over medium heat. Then add flour and sauté till it turns yellow. Stir in tomato paste, mint and red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes and add 2 cups cold water. Stir well to dissolve the flour particles inside. And then, pour this mixture inside the pot and add salt. You can add more water to adjust the thickness as you desire. Once the soup boils, close the lid halfway and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.
Laddle Ezogelin Soup to serving plates and serve with lemon juice or lemon wedges.
ENJOY

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TURKCE2/3 su bardagi kirmizi mercimek, yikanip suzulmus
1/3 su bardagi pirinc, yikanip suzulmus
1/3 su bardagi ince bulgur, yikanip suzulmus
1 sogan, ince dogranmis
3 yemek kasigi un
2 yemek kasigi domates salcasi
2 yemek kasigi tereyag
4-5 yemek kasigi sivi yag
1 yemek kasigi kuru nane
1 tatli kasigi pulbiber
2 su bardagi soguk+6-7 su bardagi ilik su
1 yemek kasigi tuz
Limon suyu ya da limon dilimleri

Genis bir tencereye 6-7 su bardagi su ile mercimek, pirinc ve bulguru alin. Yuksek ateste kaynamaya birakin ve kapagini kapatip kisik ateste hepsi pisene dek yaklasik 20-30 dakika pisirin.
Bu sirada bir tava ya da kucuk bir tencerede tereyag, sivi yag ve soganlari soteleyin. Sonra, unu ilave edip sararana dek kisik ateste cevirin. Domates salcasi, nane ve pulbiberi ilave edin. Biraz daha cevirdikten sonra 2 su bardagi soguk suyu ilave edin ve guzelce karistirin. Un karisimi suyun icinde dagildiktan sonra, tencereye ilave edin ve guzelce karistirin. Tuzu ilave edin, arzu ettiginiz kivama gore su ilavesi yapabilirsiniz. Corba kaynamaya baslayinca kapagini yari aralik birakarak kisik ateste 10 dakika kadar pisirin.
Ezogelin Corbasi’ni servis tabaklarina alin ve uzerine limon sikarak veya limon dilimleri ile servis yapin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Ana Sayfaya Don

Fried Vegetables (Karisik Kizartma)

1 lb eggplant, washed
3 potatoes, peeled
4-5 banana/green peppers, washed
2 cups canola oil for frying
Salt to taste

For the Tomato Sauce:
3 tomatoes, grated/crushed
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp salt to taste
A pinch of sugar
Garlic Yogurt Sauce

Peel the eggplants totally or in strip shapes. Then slice them lengthwise or round, 1/3 inch thick as you like (see the picture). Salt them and leave aside for 15-20 minutes.
Peel the potatoes and slice them thin just like the French fries. And then chop peppers in bite sizes (see the picture).
Place the frying oil in a frying pan or pot, turn the heat high and wait till the oil sizzles. And then, first place the eggplant slices and fry both sides. Then take them out and place over a paper towel to soak the excess oil. Fry the potatoes and the peppers the same way and place them over the paper towel. Sprinkle salt all over.
Meanwhile prepare the tomato sauce. Place the tomatoes in a pan and cook with a tbsp of oil, ¼ tsp salt and a pinch of sugar over low-medium heat. Cook till the sauce thickens for about 15 minutes.
Mix all the fried vegetables or serve them separately as you desire. Pour the tomato sauce or garlic yogurt sauce on top. Serve warm.
ENJOY

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TURKCE
½ kg patlican, yikanmis
3 patates, soyulmus
4-5 tane carliston/yesil biber, yikanmis
2 su bardagi sivi yag (tercihen kanola), kizartmak icin
Tuz

Domates Sosu icin:
3 domates, rendelenmis/ezilmis
1 yemek kasigi sivi yag
1 cay kasigi tuz
Bir tutam seker
Sarimsakli Yogurt

Patlicanlari yollu ya da tam olarak soyun. Sonra 1 cm kalinliginda yuvarlak ya da uzun olarak dilimleyin (resime bakiniz). Tuzlayin ve 15-20 dakika kadar bekletin.
Patatesleri soyun ve ince uzun dilimleyin. Sonra biberleri buyuk lokmalar halinde kesin (resime bakiniz).
Kizartma yagini tavaya ya da tencereye alin ve yuksek ateste kizdirin. Kizgin yagda patlicanlarin her tarafini kizartin. Kizarttiginiz patlicanlari kagit havlu uzerine alin. Sonra patates ve biberleri de ayni sekilde kizartin ve kagit havlu uzerine alin. Uzerlerine tuz serpin.
Bu sirada domates sosunu hazirlamak icin sos malzemelerini bir tavaya alin. Orta ateste sosun kivami koyulasana dek yaklasik 15 dakika pisirin.
Kizartmalari ayri ya da hepsini harmanlayarak servis tabaklarina alin. Uzerine domates ya da sarimsakli yogurt dokerek servis yapin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Ana Sayfaya Don

Meat Balls with White Sauce (Beyaz Soslu Kofte)

2/3 lb ground beef
1 small onion, grated/finely chopped
3-4 tbsp oil
4 tbsp flour
¼ cup rice, washed and drained
¼ +1 tsp salt to taste
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
6 cups water (1 cold+5 hot)
½ cup yogurt (for the sauce)

In a bowl mix ground beef, rice, half of the onion, ½ tsp salt and the spices. And then, grab ½ egg size pieces and round them in your palms (see the picture). Leave them aside.
In a pot, sauté the remaining onion with oil. Then stir in flour and cook over medium heat, till the mixture turns yellow (for about 2-3 minutes). Add 1 cup cold water, stir and add the remaining hot water while stirring.
Bring to a boil, add 1 tsp salt and the meat balls in. Simmer over low-heat for about 10 minutes. And then, whisk the yogurt in a small bowl and laddle some mixture from the pot and pour slowly into the yogurt bowl stirring continuously. Then, stir the mixture in the pot while stirring. Simmer over low-heat till the meat balls are cooked (about 10 minutes).

Serve warm with black pepper on top.
ENJOY

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TURKCE
300 gr kiyma
1 kucuk boy sogan, rendelenmis/ince dogranmis
3-4 yemek kasigi sivi yag
4 yemek kasigi un
¼ su bardagi pirinc, yikanip suzulmus
½ +1 cay kasigi tuz
½ cay kasigi karabiber
½ cay kasigi kimyon
½ cay kasigi pul biber
6 su bardagi su (1 soguk+5 sicak)
½ su bardagi yogurt (sos icin)

Bir kasede; kiyma, pirinc, soganin yarisini, ½ cay kasigi tuz ve baharatlari guzelce karistirin. Gerekirse elinizle yogurun. Sonra, bir yumurtanin yarisi buyuklugunde parcalar alip elinizde yuvarlayarak kofteler yapin (resime bakiniz). Yaptiginiz kofteleri bir kenara ayirin.
Geri kalan soganin yarisini bir tencerede sivi yag ile kavurun ve unu ilave edin. Orta ateste karisim sararana kadar, yaklasik 2-3 dakika kadar soteleyin. Sonra, once bir su bardagi soguk su ilave edin ve karistirarak geri kalan soguk suyu ilave edin.
Kaynamaya baslayinca, 1 cay kasigi tuz ve kofteleri ilave edin. Yaklasik 10 dakika kadar dusuk ateste pisirin. Sonra bir kasede yogurdu guzelce cirpin ve tencereden bir kepce alip yogurdun icine yavasca dokerek karistirin. Son olarak elde ettiginiz karisimi tencereye karistirarak dokun. Dusuk ateste kofteler pisene dek yaklasik 10 dakika kadar pisirin.

Uzerine karabiber serperek sicak olarak servis yapin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Ana Sayfaya Don

Shallow Fried Roasted Peppers (Kozlenmis Biber Kizartmasi)

1 lb banana/green/red pepper, washed and drained
1/3 cup olive oil/canola oil for frying
½ tsp salt to taste
1/3 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C) and place peppers over an oven tray with baking paper. Roast them for an hour or till they turn partly light brown (see the picture). You can also roast peppers over a grill/barbecue. Take out and let them cool. Then peel and sprinkle with salt to taste (see the picture).
Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan over high heat. And then, dip peppers into flour and shallow fry their both sides.
Place Shallow Fried Roasted Peppers over a serving plate and serve with garlic yogurt or tomato sauce.
ENJOY

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TURKCE½ kg carliston/yesil/kirmizi biber, yikanip kurulanmis
1/3 su bardagi zeytinyagi/ sivi yag
½ tatli kasigi tuz
1/3 su bardagi un

Firini onceden 200 C (400 F)’ye isitin. Yagli kagit koydugunuz firin tepsisine biberleri dizin ve yaklasik bir saat boyunca ya da biberler hafifce kozlenene dek pisirin. Ayrica, mangal/izgara ve kor uzerinde de kozleme islemini yapabilirsiniz. Kozlediginiz biberleri sogumaya birakin. Sonra, kabuklarini soyun ve uzerine tuz serpin.
Bu sirada bir kizartma tavasinda yagi kizdirin ve biberleri once una bulayip her iki taraflari da kizarana dek yuksek ateste kizartin. Servis tabagina alin.
Kozlenmis Biber Kizartmasi’ni yaninda sarimsakli yogurt ya da domates sosu ile servis edebilirsiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN

Ana Sayfaya Don

Tulumba Dessert (Tulumba Tatlisi)

Dough:1½ cup flour
1½ cup water
2 tbsp margarine/butter
2 tbsp starch
1½ tbsp semolina
3 eggs
½ tsp sugar
¼ tsp salt

Syrup:2 ½ cup sugar
2½ cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
Canola oil for frying

To prepare the syrup, place sugar and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and stir in lemon juice. Boil for about 5 minutes and let it cool.
In a pot, put water, sugar, salt and margarine/butter. Let the margarine/butter melt over medium heat. Stir in flour and stir continuously to form thick dough. Cook for 5-6 minutes over low heat such as cooking halvah. Transfer the dough in a wide bowl and let it cool down. And then, add semolina and starch. Knead with your hands. Add the eggs one by one and knead until forming a lump of sticky and creamy dough.
Fill the dough into a pastry bag with a ½ inch diameter star tip. Fill a frying pan with canola oil and make one inch dough pieces, cut the ends with scissors and place them in the oil. Let them double in size over medium heat by shaking the pan lightly (make sure oil is not that hot, otherwise the tulumba will be raw inside). Once they rise, increase the heat and fry all sides of tulumba pieces.
Place the fried tulumba over a paper towel and then place them into the cooled syrup immediately.
Take the out and place over a serving plate. Serve Tulumba Dessert plain or with thickened cream.
ENJOY

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Hamur:1½ su bardagi un
1½ su bardagi su
2 yemek kasigi margarin/tereyag
2 yemek kasigi nisasta
1½ yemek kasigi irmik
3 yumurta
1 cay kasigi seker
½ cay kasigi tuz

Serbet icin:
2 ½ su bardagi seker
2½ su bardagi su
1 tatli kasigi limon suyu
Kizartmak icin sivi yag (tercihen kanola)

Serbeti hazirlamak icin, bir tencereye su ve sekeri alin. Kaynayinca limon suyunu ilave edin. 5 dakika kadar kaynatin ve ocaktan alip sogumaya birakin.
Margarin/tereyagini ve suyu bir tencereye alin ve icine sekerle tuzu ilave edin. Orta ateste yag eriyene dek bekleyin. Unu ilave edin ve hizlica karistirarak sert bir hamur elde edin. Helva yapar gibi dusuk ateste 5-6 dakika karistirarak pisirin. Hamuru genis bir kaseye alin ve sogumasini bekleyin. Sonra, icine irmik ve nisastayi ilave edin. Elinizle yogurarak yumurtalari teker teker kirin ve hamura yedirin. Ele yapisan krema kivaminda bir hamur elde edin.
Ucu tirtikli bir krema torbasina hamuru doldurun. Kizgin olmayan sivi yag ile doldurdugunuz kizartma tavasina hamurdan 3 cm uzunlugunda hamurlar sikip makasla keserek tavaya atin (yag soguk olmalidir ki, hamurlarin disi birden kizarip ici cig kalmasin). Orta ateste tavayi sallayarak hamurlarin kabarmasini bekleyin. Kabarinca atesi yukseltin ve hamurlarin her tarafini kizartin.
Kizaran hamurlari kagit havlu uzerine alin ve bekletmeden hemen soguk serbetin icine koyun.
Serbetin icinden alin ve servis tabagina alarak sade veya kaymak ile servis yapin.
AFIYET OLSUN

Ana Sayfaya Don

Sweet Peas with Ground Beef (Kiymali Bezelye)

2 lb peas, frozen/fresh
½-2/3 lb (250-350 gr) ground beef

1 big onion, chopped

2 carrots, cut in cubes

2 medium potatoes, chopped in cubes

1 tomato, diced
1 tsp tomato paste

2 tbsp canola/vegetable oil

1 tbsp salt to taste

1-1½ cup hot water
Black pepper to taste

Cook ground beef with canola/vegetable oil over medium heat in a pot (4-5 minutes). Stir in onion and sauté for 3 minutes. Then, add tomato paste and carrots, cook for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Then, add tomato, potato and peas. Cook for 4 additional minutes and stir in water and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Close the lid and cook till the vegetables get soft (for about 20 minutes).
Sprinkle black pepper on top and serve Sweet Peas with Ground Beef warm.

ENJOY

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TURKCE

1 kg bezelye, taze/dondurulmus
250-350 gr kiyma

1 buyuk boy sogan, dogranmis

2 havuc, kup kup dogranmis

2 orta boy patates, kup seklinde dogranmis

1domates, dogranmis
1 tatli kasigi domates salcasi

2 yemek kasigi sivi yag

1 yemek kasigi tuz

1-1 ½ su bardagi sicak su

Karabiber

Genis bir tencerede sivi yag ve kiymayi orta ateste yaklasik 4-5 dakika pisirin. Sogani ilave edip, 3 dakika kadar sote edin. Sonra domates salcasini ve havucu ilave edin, 2-3 dakika cevirin. Sonra domates, bezelye ve patatesi ilave edin. Yaklasik 4 dakika kadar pisirin. Son olarak su ve tuzu ilave edin, kaynamaya baslayinca hafife alip, kapagini kapatin. Sebzeler yumusayana dek pisirin (yaklasik 20 dakika).

Uzerine karabiber serpin ve Kiymali Bezelye’yi sicak servis yapin.

AFIYET OLSUN

Ana Sayfaya Don

Fried Dough (Hamur Kizartmasi)

2 cups lukewarm water

4-5 cups flour
1 tsp salt to taste
1 package fresh yeast/ 2 tsp active dry yeast
1 ½ -2 cups oil for frying

Place the lukewarm water and the yeast into a bowl. Stir well to dissolve the yeast. Add the salt and flour; knead for 10 minutes, till dough becomes elastic. The more you knead the better your dough will be. Cover the dough with a plastic wrap or a clean cloth (see the picture) and let it rest for 2 hours in a warm place or till it rises up to double its volume (see the picture).Place dough on the counter and punch to release air. Cut the dough into walnut or egg size pieces (as you like). Place them on the counter and leave for 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile heat the oil in a saucepan or pot. Flatten dough pieces using your fingers (for about 1/3 inch thick). Fry both sides lightly. Dough will turn yellow. Then, place the fried dough pieces over a paper towel.
Serve Fried Dough warm or hot with cheese, cream cheese, jam/jelly or fruit preserves.
It is good to go at breakfasts or brunches.

ENJOY

P.S: Do not use metal container when kneading or resting the dough. Metal spoils the texture of dough.

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TURKCE
2 su bardagi ilik su

4-5 su bardagi un
1 tatli kasigi tuz
1 paket yas maya/1 yemek kasigi toz instant maya
1 ½-2 su bardagi sivi yag (kizartmak icin)

Ilik suyu ve mayayi bir kaseye alin ve maya cozunene kadar iyice karistirin. Sonra un ve tuzu ilave ederek, 10 dakika hamur elastik olana dek yogurun. Hamuru ne kadar cok yogurursaniz o kadar basarili olursunuz. Uzerini seffaf film ya da temiz bir bez ile ortun (resime bakiniz) ve sicak bir ortamda, hamur iki kati kadar kabarana dek ya da yaklasik 2 saat bekleyin (resime bakiniz). Hamuru tezgahin uzerine alin ve havasini indirmek icin uzerinden bastirin. Hamurdan ceviz ya da yumurta buyuklugunde parcalar kesin (Istediginiz buyuklukte yapabilirsiniz).
Bu sirada, bir tenrece ya da derin bir tavada yagi kizdirin. Hamur parcalarini elinizle yayarak 1 cm kalinliginda acin ve kizgin yagin icinde her iki taraflarini da kizartin. Hamurlar sararana ya da kizarana dek dilediginiz kadar kizartin ve kagit havlu uzerine alin.
Hamur kizartmasini sicakken; peynir, recel, marmelat ve turleri ile servis yapabilirsiniz. Ozellikle kahvalti ve cay saatlerinde guzel bir alternatiftir.
AFIYET OLSUN

NOT: Hamuru yogurmak ya da dinlendirmek icin metal kap kullanmayin. Metal, hamurun yapisina zarar verir.

Ana Sayfaya Don