Turkish Soups
Turkish Soups
Turkish Soups
Servings: 6
Preparation:
Wash the rice and place in a saucepan together with water and salt and cook for about 30
minutes, until tender. Blend the flour into yogurt in a separate dish, break in the egg, mix and
warm the mixture by adding a couple of spoon full of the hot soup. Gradually add the yogurt mix
to the saucepan, stirring continuously and keep stirring until it comes to boil and then cook for 10
minutes. Melt the butter or margarine in a pan, add the mint, stir a couple of times and remove
from heat and slowly sprinkle over the soup.
Notes :
This a soup which is made in all regions of Turkey. Literal translation of its name means "the
soup of the high plateaus". In the old days when refrigeration was not available it was difficult to
keep milk fresh and it was thus turned into yogurt as soon as possible. Plateaus were cool and
consequently the best yogurt could be found in these high plateaus. Hence the name of this
yogurt based soup.
Tarhana Soup (Tarhana Corbasi)
Ingredients Measure Amount
Tarhana (dry) ½ cup 75 grams
Water 6 cups 1200 grams
Salt 1½ teaspoons 9 grams
Butter or margarine 4 tablespoons 40 grams
Mint 1½ tablespoons 2 grams
Red pepper ½ teaspoon 1 gram
Servings: 6
Preparation :
Dissolve tarhana in water, add the salt and cook for 10 minutes. Melt butter or margarine, add
mint and red pepper and stir a few times and sprinkle over the soup.
Notes :
In some regions, while preparing the soup, pre-cooked chickpeas, pre-cooked dried white beans
or browned ground meat and green peppers are also added.
Guli Soup (Guli Corbasi)
Ingredients:
500 g of dark green cabbage leaves (finely chopped)
250 g white beans (soaked overnight)
100 g suet or lard
100 g stewed lamb
2 tablespoon maize flour
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
1.5 liters chicken stock
salt and pepper
Preparation:
Melt suet and fry the onions over a high heat for 3 minutes. Stir in the maize flour with cabbage
leaves and beans and continue to fry for a few minutes. Slowly add the chicken stock and stewed
lamb and bring to the boil. Season to taste, cover and simmer for 35 minutes.
Notes:
This is a typical soup of the Black Sea region of Anatolia.
Asiran Soup (Also known as Den Soup or As Soup)
Ingredients:
200 g wheat grains
1 bowl yogurt
10 g flour
1 white onion
knob of butter
fresh coriander or mint (depending on the season)
Note: Coriander, known locally as "asotu", is picked in season and dried for the winter.
Servings: 6
Preparation:
Boil the wheat grains in plenty of water until tender. Beat the flour into the yogurt and pour
slowly into a pan of boiling water, stirring constantly.
Simmer for a few minutes until thickened, and then add the boiled wheat, the onion (finely
chopped and fried in butter), and the chopped coriander. Tiny meat balls and mint may be added
to the soup if desired.