European Style Mashed Potatoes (Patates Puresi)

1 lb (450-500 gr) potatoes, peeled
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
¼ stick (35-40 gr) butter
1 tsp salt
Black pepper (optional)
Fresh parsley for garnish

Peel the potatoes and cut them in half. Put them in a pot and cover up the potatoes with water. Add salt and boil till they are cooked. Put the boiled potatoes in a bowl immediately when they are hot. Mash the potatoes with a blender and meanwhile add the milk and the egg. Mash them until the mixture is smooth.
Then, in a pot, put the butter and mashed potatoes. Cook by stirring continuously on a low-medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. You can adjust the salt as you like. Before serving you can sprinkle some black pepper and garnish with fresh parsley.
It is a nice side item to go with meat and fish dishes.
ENJOY!
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TURKCE
450-500gr ( ½ kg) patates, soyulmus
2/3 su bardagi sut
1 yumurta
35-40 gr tereyagi/ margarin
2 cay kasigi tuz
Karabiber (istege bagli)
Suslemek icin taze maydanoz

Patatesleri soyup ikiye bolun. Bir tencereye koyup, patateslerin uzerine cikana dek su koyun. Tuz ilave edip patatesler pisene dek kaynatin. Pismis patatesleri sicakken hemen buyuk bir kaseye alin.Bir blendir yardimi ile patatesleri ezin ve arada sutu ve yumurtayi ilave edin. Putursuz bir karisim olana dek ezmeye devam edin.
Sonra bir tencereye tereyagi/margarini ve pure karisimini koyun. Dusuk ateste surekli karistirarak, 4-5 dakika pisirin. Tuz oranini isteginize gore ayarlayabilirsiniz.
Servisten once purenin uzerine biraz karabiber serpebilirsiniz ve taze maydanoz ile susleyebilirsiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN!

Turkish Coffee (Turk Kahvesi)

1 tsp Turkish coffee
1 tsp sugar
1 Turkish coffee cup of purified water (see the picture)

Put the coffee and sugar in the coffeepot (cezve, see the picture ) and stir. Fill the Turkish coffee cup with water, leaving some room at the top. Then pour it to the cezve. Depending on how many cups of coffee you want, repeat the previous process.
Put cezve on high heat and stir with a spoon to let the sugar dissolve and coffee to mix with the water. When it starts being foamy on the surface, take some of the foam with a spoon and put into the coffee cup.( It is for a foamy Turkish coffee) When bubbles form on top and starts rising, take the cezve off the stove and pour the coffee into the cup.
There would be grinds at the bottom of the cup, do not drink this part.
You can serve the Turkish coffee with a glass of water and a piece of chocolate.
ENJOY

Turkish Coffee has been an important part of Turkish Culture. There is an old saying about it. “ Bir fincan kahvenin kirk yil hatiri vardir”(A cup of Turkish coffee will be remembered for forty years.”) It means that the person who offers the coffee is to be respected and remembered for a long time for the sake of his offering. For many people, the most enjoyable side of Turkish coffee is when another person reads the coffee grains, which is a kind of fortune telling.

TURKCE
2 cay kasigi Turk Kahvesi
2 cay kasigi seker
1 kahve fincani olcusu icme suyu

Seker ve kahveyi cezveye koyup, karistirin. Kahve fincani ile suyu olcup cezveye ilave edin. Yuksek ateste , sekerin erimesi ve kave ile suyun butunlesmesi icin biraz karistirin. Cezvenin uzerine kopuklenmeye basladigi zaman, kasik yardimiyla biraz kopuk alip, kahve fincanlarina paylastirin. (Kahvenin bol kopuklu olmasi icin)
Yuzeyi kaynamaya ve kabarmaya basladigi zaman, cezveyi ocaktan alin ve kahve fincanlarina paylastirin.
Fincanin dibinde kahvenin telvesi birikecektir, bu kisim icilmez.
Turk kahvesini bir bardak su ve bir parca cikolata ile servis edebilirsiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN

Turk kahvesi, Turk Kulturunun onemli bir parcasi haline gelmistir. Bununla ilgili eski bir soz de vardir. “Bir fincan kahvenin kirk yil hatiri vardir” Turk kahvesini ikram eden kisiye uzun zaman boyunca saygi duyuldugu ve ikramindan dolayi uzun zaman hatirlandigi anlamina gelir. Cogu kisiye gore, Turk kahvesinin en eglenceli yani, birinin kahvenin telvesinden fal bakmasidir.

Kidney Bean Salad (Piyaz)

1 can kidney beans or 1½ cup cooked kidney beans
1 tomato, diced
¼ red/ white onion, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled, grated
Sauce:
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp vinegar (optional)
½ tsp salt
Garnish:
Black olives
Fresh parsley
1 egg, boiled, sliced

Wash the kidney beans and drain. Then mix all the main ingredients in a plate.
In a small bowl mix all the sauce ingredients and pour the sauce on the piyaz.
Garnish with the boiled egg, fresh parsley and black olives.
Piyaz goes well with meatballs, beef, lamb and chicken dishes.
ENJOY!
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TURKCE
1 kutu kuru fasulye konservesi ya da 1½ su bardagi pismis kuru fasulye
1 domates, dogranmis
¼ kirmizi/beyaz sogan, dogranmis
1 yesil sogan, dogranmis
1 havuc, rendelenmis
Sos:
4 yemek kasigi sizma zeytinyai
3 yemek kasigi limon suyu
1 cay kasigi sirke (istege bagli)
1 cay kasigi tuz
Sus:
Siyah zeytin
1 tane haslanmis yumurta, dilimlenmis
Taze maydanoz

Eger konserve kullaniyorsaniz, kuru fasulyeleri yikayip suzun. Sonra butun malzemeleri karistirin.
Kucuk bir kasede sos malzemelerini karistirin ve piyazin uzerine dokun.
Haslanmis yumurta, siyah zeytin ve taze maydanoz ile susleyin.
Piyaz; kofte, dana eti, kuzu eti ve tavuk yemekleri ile iyi gider.
AFIYET OLSUN!

Grilled Mackerel (Uskumru Izgara)

2 whole mackerels
1 tsp salt
½ lemon or lime
1 onion, sliced in the shape of rings
Carrots or other vegetables for garnish
Electric grill or barbecue

First, thaw the mackerels if they are frozen. Then gut the mackerels. You can cut the heads off if you wish. Wash and drain the mackerels. Spread the salt all over the mackerels (inside also).
Let them stay for about 10-15 minutes with salt. Salt the onion rings and other vegetables. Then cook them and mackerels on an electric grill or on a barbecue on medium heat till they are golden brown.
Serve them with lemon or lime wedges. Also potato salad or smashed potatoes goes well with this dish.
NOTE: While thawing the frozen fish, first leave it in the fridge (40F) for 12 hours, then thaw it at room temperature for 4-5 hours and cook immediately. Make sure you do not leave the frozen fish at the room temperature. This would cause the pathogenic organisms to grow and spread all over the fish quickly.
ENJOY!

Benefits of Fish
TURKCE
2 tane uskumru
2 cay kasigi tuz
½ limon
1 sogan, yuvarlak dilimlenmis
Garnitur icin havuc ya da farkli sebzeler
Elektikli izgara ya da mangal

Oncelikle, dondurulmus uskumru kullanacaksaniz, cozundurun. Iclerini yarip, temizleyin. Isteginize gore kafalarini kesebilirsiniz. Yikayip suzulmesini saglayin. Uskumrularin hem icini hem disini guzelce tuzlayin.
Tuzun absorbe olmasi icin 10-15 dakika bekletin. Sogan halkalarini ve diger sebzeleri tuzlayin. Uskumru ve sebzeleri elektirikli izgara ya da mangalda orta ateste, kizarana dek pisirin.
Limon dilimleri ile servis yapin. Ayrica patates salatasi ve patates puresi ile de servis yapilabilir.
NOT: Dondurulmus balik cozundururken; once dolapta (4C) 12 saat boyunca bekletin. Sonra oda sicakliginda 4-5 saat boyunca cozundurun ve hemen pisirin. Dondurulmus baligi direk oda sicakliginda cozundurmemeye dikkat edin. Cunku bu, hastalik yapici organizmalarin hemen gelismesine ve baligin uzerinde yayilmasina sebep olacaktir.
AFIYET OLSUN!

Baligin Faydalari

Balcan Style Cabbage (Balkan Lahana Asi)

½ medium cabbage, chopped
1 onion, chopped
½ cup whole grain bulgur
2 cups whole milk
1 tbsp salt
3 tbsp oil
Garnish:
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp red pepper
A pinch of salt

In a large pot, place the oil and chopped onions. Sauté for 4 minutes over low-medium heat. Then add the chopped cabbage. Cook for 5 minutes over high medium heat stirring occasionally.
Then add the milk and salt. When the bubbles come out on the surface, add the bulgur and stir. Over low heat, cook for about 25 minutes, till the bulgur is soft.
For garnish, place the butter in a small frying pan and melt over the low-medium heat. When it starts spitting, stir in the red pepper and salt. Pour on the cabbage.
It is a very healthy dish. Cabbage contains so much fiber and whole grain bulgur is very nutritious.
ENJOY!
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TURKCE
½ orta boy lahana, dogranmis
1 sogan, dogranmis
1 cay bardagi pilavlik bulgur
2 su bardagi sut
1 yemek kasigi tuz
3 yemek kasigi sivi yag
Sus:
3 yemek kasigi teregi
1 tatli kasigi kirmizi biber
Bir tutam tuz

Buyuk bir tencereye sivi yagi ve dogranmis soganlari koyun. Dusuk ateste 4 dakika boyunca soganlari kavurun. Sonra dogranmis lahanayi ilave edin. Orta ateste ara sira karistirarak 5 dakika boyunca pisirin.
Sonra tuzu ve sutu ilave edin. Yuzeyde baloncuklar olusmaya baslayinca; bulguru ilave edin ve karistirin. Kisik ateste yaklasik 25 dakika boyunca, bulgur pisene dek pisirin.
Kucuk bir kizartma tavasinda tereyagini dusuk ateste eritin. Cizirdamaya baslayinca, kirmizi biberi ve tuzu karistirarak ilave edin. Lahana asinin uzerine dokun.
Lahana asi cok sagliklidir. Lahana lif acisindan cok zengindir ve bulgur besleyici bir gidadir.
AFIYET OLSUN!

Turkish Tea (Turk Cayi)

1 tbsp Turkish Tea leaves
3 cups purified water
1 cup purified water (to wash the tea leaves)
A pinch of sugar

Fixing Turkish Tea With Caydanlik
Caydanlik (see picture) consists of two kettles. The small one is the brewer (demlik), to put the tea in and the larger is to boil the water.
First place the Turkish Tea leaves into the brewer and in order to obtain a clear, bright and healthy tea, wash them with purified water and then drain. Otherwise the immediate contact of the tea leaves with boiled water would result in the lost of the Vitamin C and affect the minerals in it. Also boiled water damages the tannin (tanen) material and it causes anaemia(kansizlik). Add a pinch of sugar to adjust the strongness of the tea.
Put the 3 cups of water in the larger kettle and put the brewer on top of it. Then place the caydanlik over medium heat and let the water boil. Pour the half of the boiled water into the brewer over the washed tea leaves. You can add some more water in the bottom kettle and boil it (if the water seems not enough). Let the tea brew for about 5-8 minutes over low heat.
Using a tea strainer, pour the tea to the tea glasses. Fill 1/3 of the glasses with tea and the rest with boiled water. You can adjust the brew amount as you like. You can use a few drops of lemon juice, for a lighter taste. Also you can add some sugar to taste.
To obtain aromatic taste you can add 1 tsp of bergamot to the brewer and 2-3 cloves to the water.

Fixing Turkish Tea With Coffee Machine
If you do not have caydanlik, you can try the coffee machine to make Turkish Tea. It will not be as delicious as the tea made with caydanlik, but it is an option. Just place the Turkish Tea Leaves where you normally put the coffee and use 4 cups of water. And start the machine. Meanwhile boil some water to adjust the lightness of the tea. When it is done you can adjust the tea with adding some boiled water. Pour the tea to the tea glasses or cups
ENJOY!
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TURKCE
1 yemek kasigi Turk Cayi
3 su bardagi icme suyu
1 tutam seker

Demlik ile Turk Cayi Yapmak
Caydanlik iki bolumden olusur. Ustteki kucuk olan, cayi icine koydugumuz demliktir ve alttaki de suyu kaynattigimiz bolumdur.
Oncelikle cayi demlige koyun. Daha berrak, parlak ve saglikli bir cay elde etmek icin cayi yikayip suzun. Cay yapraklarinin kaynamis sui le ani temasi , caydaki C vitaminini yok eder ve icindeki mineral degerlerini azaltir. Ayni zamanda kaynamis su , cayin icindeki tanen maddesini parcalar, yok eder ve bu da kansizliga yol acar. Bunu onlemek icin demlige koydugumuz cayi temiz su ile yikiyoruz ya da 1-2 kasik soguk su ile islatiyoruz. Aciligi onlemek icin bir miktar seker ilave edi Caydanligin alt kismina 3 su bardagi suyu koyup uzerine demligi koyun. Caydanligi orta ateste kaynamaya birakin. Su kaynayinca, yarisini demlige , yikanmis cay yapraklarinin uzerine dokun. Eger su yeterli degilse, caydanligin altina biraz daha su ilave edip kaynatabilirsiniz. Dusuk ateste cayi 5-8 dakika demleyin.
Cay suzgeci kullanarak, cayi cay bardaklarina dokun. Bardagin 1/3 unu dem, geri kalanini sicak sui le doldurun. Cayin demine isteginize gore ayarlayabilirsiniz. Daha hafif bir tad icin bir kac damla limon suyu ilave edebilirsiniz. Isterseniz seker ile tatlandirabilirsiniz.
Aromatik ve kokulu bir cay icin; demlige 1 cay kasigi bergamot, suya 2-3 tane karanfil ilave edebilirsiniz.

Kahve Makinesi ile Turk Cayi Yapmak
Eger caydanliginiz yok ise, kahve makinesi ile cay yapmayi deneyebilirsiniz. Caydanlik ile yapilan cay gibi lezzetli olmayabilir, ama bir alternative olabilir.
Kahveyi koydugunuz bolume Turk Cayi yapraklarini koyun ve su haznesine 4 su bardagi su koyun. Makineyi calistirin. Bu sirada cayin demin ayarlayabilmek icin ayri bir yerde biraz su kaynatin. Cay hazir oldugunda; cayin dem oranini kaynattiginiz suyu istediginiz oranda ilave ederek ayarlayabilirsiniz.
AFIYET OLSUN!

Turkish Rice Pudding (Sutlac)

1/2 cup rice (short or whole grained), washed, drained
1 cup water
2 cups whole milk
8 tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk, whisked
1 tbsp corn starch, heaping
½ tsp vanilla extract
Cinnamon
Pomegranate pieces

In a pot place the water and, washed and drained rice. Put them over high-medium heat. After the bubbles come out, close the lid and turn on low-medium heat. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Simmer till small amount of water remains.
Add the milk, whisked egg yolk and sugar and stir. Meanwhile, dissolve the starch in 3 tbsp of milk and add it to the rice pudding. Stir constantly. When you see the bubbles on the surface, add the vanilla extract and cook for 2-3 minutes over low heat.
This recipe makes 4 bowls of Turkish rice pudding. But you can make it 6 servings by using smaller bowls.
With a ladle, pour the Turkish rice pudding into small glass or porcelain bowls. Let them cool in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
Before serving sprinkle some cinnamon or pomegranate pieces on top.
NOTE: Do not sprinkle cinnamon right after you pour the rice pudding to the bowls. This would let the microorganisms grow fast at the contact surface of cinnamon and the hot surface of the rice pudding which may lead to foodborne diseases. Make sure you sprinkle the cinnamon just before serving the cooled rice pudding.
ENJOY!
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TURKCE
1 cay bardagi kirik yada baldo pirinc, yikanip, suzulmus
2 cay bardagi su
2 su bardagi sut
8 yemek kasigi seker
1 yumurta sarisi, cirpilmis
1 yemek kasigi misir nisastasi,tepeleme
1 cay kasigi vanilya esansi
Tarcin
Nar taneleri

Orta boy bir tencereye suyu ve yikanmis suzulmus pirinci koyup yuksek ateste kaynamasini bekleyin. Kaynadiktan sonra kapagini kapatip dusuk atese alalim. Tahta kasik ile ara sira karistirin. Tencerenin dibinde biraz su kalana dek kaynatin.
Sutu, cirpilmis yumurta sarisini ve sekeri ilave edin ve karistirin. Bu arada nisastayi 3 yemek kasigi sut ile cozundurun.Sutlacin icine ilave edin.Surekli karistirin ve yuzeyde baloncuklar olusmaya baslayinca vanilya esansini ilave edin ve kisik ateste 2-3 dakika pisirin.
Bu tariften 4 kase sutlac cikar. Ama daha kucuk kaseler kullanarak 6 porsiyon yapabilirsiniz.
Bir kepce yardimiyla sutlaci kucuk cam veya porselen kaselere bosaltin. Buzdolabinda 1-2 saat sogutun.
Servis yapmadan once sutlaclarin uzerine bir miktar tarcin ya da nar tanesi serpistirebilirsiniz.
NOT: Tarcini sutlaci kaselere doker dokmez koymayin. Cunku bu sayede mikroorganizmalar tarcin ve sicak sutlacin temasiyla; yuzeyde hizla ureyecektir ve bu da gida zehirlenmesine yol acabilir. Tarcini koyarken sutlacin soguduguna ve servisten hemen once olmasina dikkat edin.
AFIYET OLSUN!