Recipe
Çılbır
Ottoman-era comfort food: poached eggs on a bed of garlicky yogurt, showered with sizzling pul biber butter. Ready in twenty minutes and best mopped up with bread.
Çılbır takes about 20 minutes and makes 2 servings. Each serving has 484 kcal.
- Preparation
- 10 minutes
- Cooking
- 10 minutes
- Total time
- 20 minutes
- Servings
- 2
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 484 kcal
- Protein
- 23.5 g
- Carbohydrates
- 8.5 g
- Fat
- 39.5 g
Ingredients
- Eggs4 pcs
- Greek yogurt300 g
- Garlic2 cloves
- Butter50 g
- Pul biber (Turkish chili flakes)1 tsp
- Vinegar1 tbsp
- Salt1 pinch
Instructions
- 1
Stir the room-temperature yogurt with the crushed garlic and a pinch of salt, then divide it between two shallow plates.
Tip: Take the yogurt out of the fridge ahead of time - cold yogurt under hot eggs makes the whole dish lukewarm.
- 2
Bring a wide pan of water to a bare simmer and add the vinegar.
- 3
Crack each egg into a small cup and slide them into the water one by one. Poach for 3–4 minutes until the whites are set and the yolks still soft.
Tip: Use the freshest eggs you have and keep the water at a quiet shimmer - a rolling boil tears the whites apart.
- 4
Melt the butter in a small pan, stir in the pul biber and let it sizzle for just a few seconds - it must not brown.
- 5
Lift the eggs out with a slotted spoon, let them drain briefly and set them on the yogurt.
- 6
Pour the chili butter over the eggs and serve immediately, with bread for dipping.
Cooking methods
On the stove
You need two burners: one wide pan of barely simmering water for the eggs, one small pan for the butter. Keep the poaching water just below a simmer - tiny bubbles on the pan floor, no movement on the surface.
On induction
Bring the water to a boil on level 8, then hold it at 3–4 for poaching. Melt the butter on level 4 - induction heats small pans very fast, and pul biber burns bitter in seconds.
Over an open fire
Possible with care: poach the eggs in a pot set beside the embers where the water barely trembles, and melt the butter in a small pan held briefly over the coals. The yogurt needs no cooking at all.
Recipe questions
- How long does this recipe take?
- Plan for about 20 minutes from start to finish.
- How many servings does this recipe make?
- This recipe makes 2 servings.
- Can I cook this recipe on induction?
- Yes. Bring the water to a boil on level 8, then hold it at 3–4 for poaching. Melt the butter on level 4 - induction heats small pans very fast, and pul biber burns bitter in seconds.
- Can I cook this recipe over an open fire?
- Yes. Possible with care: poach the eggs in a pot set beside the embers where the water barely trembles, and melt the butter in a small pan held briefly over the coals. The yogurt needs no cooking at all.
- Which dietary preferences does this recipe support?
- This recipe is tagged: vegetarian.
In the app
Cooking the way it should feel
One step on screen, a timer that keeps going, and clear progress until the dish is done.
