Çilbir - Turkish Style Poached Eggs

Soft poached eggs on a bed of yogurt, flavored with garlic and cayenne pepper, and topped with a delicious Aleppo pepper butter.

I saw this dish on the menu of a beautiful cafe, Beyaz Firin, in Istanbul during my recent visit. I was immediately intrigued by this dish.

Soft poached eggs on a bed of yogurt, flavored with garlic and cayenne pepper, and topped with a delicious Aleppo pepper butter. Not bad, right?

So I set out to make this dish at home. But I added a little twist of my own to this centuries-old egg dish.

Ingredients

Yogurt Base: • 1/2 cup hung curd or greek yogurt • 1/2 clove of garlic, grated • 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne, this can be adjusted to your taste • 1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped dill • salt to taste

Chilli Oil: • 1 teaspoon Aleppo chili or any chili that doesn’t have any seeds in it • 2 tablespoons salted butter

Poached Eggs: • 2 eggs • water to poach the eggs • a small sieve or strainer • salt to taste

• crusty toasted ciabatta, optional • 1 spring green onion, chopped (garnish)

Directions

In a small bowl combine your yogurt, garlic (be careful this is raw, so a little goes a long way), cayenne, dill, & salt and mix it up. Set it aside till your eggs are ready. The yogurt is best served either at room temperature or a little warm. The best way I found to warm up the yogurt is over a bain-marie.

To make the chili oil, heat up the butter in a small saucepan until it starts to sing, i.e. when the butter has melted and starts to splutter. At this point turn off the heat and add in your chili and take the pan off the heat. The residual heat will “cook” the chili and infuse the butter.

Bring your water to a boil. Crack the eggs into a little strainer to make sure any runny whites pass through so that your poached eggs are perfectly shaped and don’t have any stringy whites attached. Once the runny whites have passed through, transfer the eggs to individual ramekins. When the water is ready create a little mini whirlpool in the pot and carefully drop your eggs into it and leave it to simmer until the whites are firm on the outside and the yolks are nice and runny. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and set aside the eggs on a kitchen towel.

To assemble your dish, place a large dollop of warm yogurt at the bottom of your serving dish, place the eggs over them gently, and top it with your warm chili butter. Garnish with some chopped dill & green onions and serve with a side of crusty ciabatta or sourdough bread.

Serves: 1