For Sahur #1 - Pleated savory pastry with cheese and etc.

Finally, the Ramadan has begun!!! Tonight the first "sahur" will be made, and I baked those savory pastries with soft white fat cheese & parsley mixture, and also the cheese, parsley, dill, tomatos, green pepper and black Mediterranean olives for tonight's sahur.



Ingredients;

For the dough;

150gr. butter, softened

3 eggs (one's yolk will be set aside for brushing over the pastries)

5 tbsp yogurt

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tsp baking powder

550 gr. flour plus more for shaping

1,5 dessert spoon salt

For the filling;

100 gr. soft white fatty cheese, mashed

1/2 bunch parsley, minced

1 tomato, diced

1 green pepper, minced

1/4 bunch dill, minced

6-7 black Mediterranean olives, seeded, sliced

If you wish; sesame seeds and black cumin seeds for sprinkle over the pastries

Preparation;

1. For the dough; put butter, 2 eggs and 1 egg's white (set aside 1 egg's yolk), 5 tbsp yogurt, salt, olive oil in a large bowl, and then blend with your fingers.
   
   
2. Add the flour and baking powder, knead dough. You will obtain a soft dough.
   
   
3. For the fillings; I made some of them with only cheese and parsley and remaining with all of the filling ingredients.
   
   
4. In a bowl, put mashed cheese and minced parsley, mix well. Set aside a half of this cheese mixture. Add tomato, pepper, dill, olives into remaining half of the mixture. So you have two nearly different mixtures.
   
   
5. Sprinkle a little bit flour over the surface that you will shape the dough on it. Take a 4 cm diameter balls from the dough, and make flat with your palm and fingers or a rolling pin on floured surface (I used my own palm and fingers.), if it is necessary, sprinkle flour on your hands or dough.
   
   
6. (See; above photo) You have almost 30 rounds. Put cheese filling in middle of the rounds and close an edge over the filling, and take the next edge and close on cheese. Repeat closing process by giving a shape of pleat.
   
   
7. Place pleated pastries on a baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 360 Fahrenheit.
   
   
8. Whisk remaining egg yolk and brush over the pastries.
   
   
9. Sprinkle black cumin seeds or sesame seeds.

IMBB 25: Give Us This Day Yesterday's Bread - Ekmek Aşı

Due to being Turkish; we, Sahra and I chose a Turkish dish which is made of stale bread coming from the ancient times.

But the bread must be lavosh in this dish. Because of Lavosh is unleavened flat bread, it doesn't absorb liquid of dish, it just softens. If you use a leavened bread, it absorbs all of the liquid of dish with its spongy structure. So this is bad. :)

The original name of this dish is “Ekmek Aşı” which means "Bread Dish”.



Ingredients;

• 5 green tomatoes
  
• 5 red tomatoes
  
• 2 potatoes
  
• 5 onion
  
• 4 green peppers
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 150 gr. butter
  
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
  
• ½ tbsp red pepper paste
  
• 3 big lavosh bread
  
• Water as needed

Preparation;

1. Peel potatoes, onions and tomatoes. Cut them into 2cm dice. Slice peppers into 2cm.
   
2. In a big pan, melt the butter. Stir-fry diced onions until wilted. Add and stir tomato and red pepper pastes.
   
3. And add potato and pepper. After stirred them on low fire for a short while, add tomatoes. Put the water as needed and let it cook but the vegetables cannot be mashed.
   
4. Whip eggs in a bowl and add them into dish, stir quickly and then remove from fire (I prefer without egg, so if you wish, you cannot add egg.)
   
   
   
   
5. Cut stale lavosh into small pieces. Put lavosh pieces into a big plate. Pour the cooked dish over lavosh. Wait five minutes for lavosh had softened.

Noodle with chicken and vegetable

Last day I cooked this noodle food for Sahra. Actually, It would be a Chinese food but there was neither soy sauce nor ginger nor sesame oil. And here it's a Turkish-style noodle. However this noodle food was quite good. Everyone who ate this loves it. So no problem mission accomplished. People was fulled with a delicious food.

Ingredients:

• ½ packet noodle
  
• 1 courgette
  
• 2 carrot
  
• 3 cloves garlic (peeled)
  
• 2 red pepper (grilled one is better - cut into thin strips-)
  
• 1 chicken rump
  
• Spicies; cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt
  
• Olive oil

Preparation:

1. Cut chicken into thin strips. Heat olive oil in wok. Stir-fry chicken in wok for 10 minutes.
   
2. Sprinkle cayenne pepper.
   
3. Add sliced carrot and then continue stir-fry.
   
4. After carrots a little bit softened, add sliced courgette and garlic. Stir-fry for a while and add ½ cup water, cover the wok, cook them for 15 minutes.
   
5. Lastly add red pepper, black pepper and salt. Stir 1 or 2 times. Remove the wok from fire.
   
6. Cook noodles in boiling water for 5-6 minutes. Filter them and put the plates. Put sauté chicken over the noodle.

According to us, it was delicious...:) I pour first napolitan sauce and then sauté chicken, I recommend this way, especially if you like hot sauces!

Surprise Guests

I went Sahra the other day. We would supposedly study. But suddenly the doorbell rang; "ding dong" and surprise... We studied in the kitchen instead of computer. Here our humble menu is;

• İçli köfte (stuffed bulgur with meatballs)
  
• Canapé with cheese
  
• Pasta Salad
  
• Künefe


The easiest recipe of the menu;

Canapé with Cheese

Ingredients:


• 150 gr. soft white cheese
  
• 50 gr. parmesan cheese (grated)
  
• 3 tbsp yogurt
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1 sliced sausage (garlic-flavoured)
  
• Salt, black pepper, red pepper, thyme
  
• 1 bread (sliced)

Preparation:


1. Grate white cheese.
   
2. In a bowl, add and combine yogurt, spices, egg, olive oil, grated white cheese, purée them mashing with a fork.
   
3. Spread the cheese purée over slices of bread and arrange the sausage slices and then place them in a tray.
   
4. Put it to oven. Grill them. At this juncture, I said: "Let sprinkle grated parmesan cheese". I opened the furnace door; pulled the tray and sprinkled the cheese. My hand which is inside of oven began to burn and turn red. So I gave up the sprinkle job... They became some with parmesan, some without.

Pasta Salad

• 250gr. tiny pastas
  
• 10 pickled gherkin
  
• 5 tbsp mayonnaise
  
• 5 tbsp yogurt
  
• 5 tbsp boiled corn
  
• Salt, black pepper, red pepper

Preparation;


1. Cook pasta in boiling salted water for 12 minutes. Filter them and pour cold water over them.
   
2. Cut pickles into tiny peaces. Add and combine pickles and other materials into pasta.

And Künefe...is a Turkish dessert with sherbet which is made with sort of string dough called "KADAYIF".

The uncooked kadayıf;

Spinach Pasty

Last week, I've baked this Spinach Pasty which is one of the most favorite pasties for me. Although I love all of the vegetables. There isn't the like of vegetable. Pastry with Leek, Carrot, Courgette, Eggplant or Egg roll... Shortly, in recent times We ate one which is filled with Spinach;

Ingredients:

For the Dough:
A modarete dough which contains flour, water and salt.

For the Filling:

• 1 kg Spinach (cleaned and chopped)
  
• Grated cheese
  
• Red pepper
  
• Black pepper
  
• Salt
  
• 2 onion
  
• 1 cup olive oil

For spreading over the pasty: 1 egg and 1 cup yogurt

Preparation:

1. First of all, knead a dough consisting of flour, water and salt. Make balls which is size of orange from the dough. Place the dough balls into a tray or something like that and rest for half an hour by covering the balls with moist cloth.
   
2. Knead spinach with salt and then add red pepper, black pepper, cheese and olive oil.
   
3. Then roll out balls of dough one by one. Spread filling over thin sheets equally.
   
4. Roll sheets one by one. Place rolled sheets by spiral middle of the oiled tray.
   
5. Place other rolled sheets by the same way. Keep going until tray fulled.
6. Spread whipped together egg and yogurt over pastry.
   
7. Bake in heated of 180 C degree oven. And eat it hot from the oven.

This pasty that i baked is so much delicious. The rest of the whole tray is this half slice in those pictures. After we ate, we remembered to photograph it. I know I'm so modest :). But I can't help, I am so skilful.

Breakfast with Pizza in My Room

Kumsal & İrem

Triple Eyes Biscuit

Caused by My dearest Uncle, (Sahra's respected father) experienced a very difficult surgery; We've not had energy to write any recipe this blog. The other day, we remembered this biscuit while we were thinking his favourite cookies. His daughter, Sahra, baked for her father, and I helped a little (I spread marmalades :-) it's a really big work...-during the work, I filched four biscuits-). "Let's take a few pictures of these biscuits and post it while we have no depressing things" we said. We didn't find cornelian cherry marmalade, so we contented with apricot marmalade.

Note: My uncle could ate only two biscuit because of his uneasiness of surgery, he relished so much and consequently he warmed the cockles of our hearts.

Ingredients:

1 measurement sable dough;

• 250 gr. (2 cup) flour
• 150 gr. (½ packet + 1 tbsp) butter
• 2 eggyolk
• 100 gr. (½ cup)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
  
  The filling:

1 cup apricot marmalade;

• 400 gr. apricot
• 1 cup sugar

Preparation:

Marmalade:

• Cook cleaned fruits in some boiling water.
• Drain with skimmer and add sugar.
• Cook marmalade skirring until thickened over low fire.
Sable Dough:



1. Knead butter and flour together.
2. Add 2 eggyolks, icing sugar, vanilla and grated lemon rind and then knead for a while.
3. Rest the dough covering with a moist cloth in a cool place for 25-30 minutes.
4. Take a piece of dough and roll out in thinnes of ½ cm. Cut round pieces in diameter of 7-8 cm (with a small cup or something else).

5. Open three small hole of the half of round pieces. (We opened only one hole.)
6. Place them an oiled tray. Bake until turned into pink in oven of 180 C degree.
7. Spread plenty of marmalade over biscuits without holes; and then place the other biscuits over them. Dust icing sugar and serve.

Beefsteak in Eggplant

Ingredients:

• 5 eggplant
  
• 10 thin beefsteak
  
• 10 hot green pepper
  
• 5 tomato
  
• 100 gr. mushroom
  
• 100 gr. butter
  
• 1 tbsp tomato and red pepper paste
  
• 1 cup olive oil
  
• 1 cup water
  
• Salt, Black pepper

Preparation:

1. Peel eggplants partially. Bisect and then scoop out the insides. Salt them. Fry firstly peppers and then eggplants in heated oil until a little bit wilted.
   
2. If you wish a mild dish; put fried eggplants into hot water for 2 or 3 seconds. And then put them over a paper towel for draining.
   
3. In a bowl, whip grated three tomatos and both pastes (tomato and redpepper. And then put beefsteaks into a pat, pour tomato mixture over it. Add 1 cup water. Cover the pan. Let it cook.
   
4. Cook mushrooms with butter until drained its liquid.
   
5. Place eggplant into a tray. Roll cooked beefsteaks putting mushrooms their inside. And put rolled beefsteaks into eggplants. Arrange 1 slice tomato over each one.
   
6. Pour beefsteak's tomato sauce over eggplants. Roast in oven for 10-15 minutes. Serve it. Have a good appetite...

Kitties

Those kitties are too sweet.

RAMADAN {Spaghetti with Napolitan Sauce}

Today is the first day of Ramadan and I want to write recipes without stopping because of I'm starving. An old Iftar table:

That day, I've cooked Spaghetti with Napoliten sauce, spicy chicken steak in tomato, and Sahra's baked the cake and it was delicious (I couldn't remember "the soup part":).

SPAGHETTI WITH NAPOLITEN SAUCE

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
  
• 1 grated carrot
  
• 2 tbsp butter
  
• 2 tomato
  
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce
  
• 2 glove garlic
  
• 1 tbsp flour
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
  

Preparation:

1. Stir-fry grated onion with butter in a pan.
   
2. Add grated carrot and garlic into pan and then stir-fyr for a while.
   
3. Add grated tomato, tomato sauce and flour into mixture by stirring.
   
4. After stirred several time, add ½ cup hot water.
   
5. When boiled; put salt, black pepper and sugar.
   
6. Pour the sauce over cooked spaghetti, you can sprinkle chopped basil or parsley if you wish. If you prefer hot sauce add hot pepper into sauce, like me. Yes, it's pretty delicious...
   

Okra with Lamb

Ingredients::

• 1 kg okra
  
• 500 gr. lamb in small chunks
  
• 2 onion
  
• 2 tomato
  
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce (mixed with red pepper and tomato sauces)
  
• 100 gr. butter
  
• 1 lemon juice
  
• Salt, red pepper

Preparation:

1. Stir-fry lamb in small chunks with butter for a while. After drained its liquid, add diced onion and then fry until wilted. Add tomato and red pepper sauces and stir.
   
2. Add peeled and diced tomato.
   
3. Wash okras and cut thinly top of the okra gently.
   
4. Add okra into fried lamb and stir. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes over low fire.
   
5. Put a little hot water, salt and lemon juice. Cook until vegetable softened over medium fire. (It must put a little water because of fresh vegetable become watery.)
   

Cayenne

In these pictures, we can see carmine beauties that are Sahra's love and meaning of life. She lives her happiest moments while eating them.

Parfait with Lemon

Ingredients:

• 1 packet powder whipped cream
  
• 1,5 cup milk
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 2 grated lemon rind
  
• 2 lemon juice
  
• 3 egg

Preparation:

1. Whip milk and powder whipped cream for 5 mintes. Put it into refrigerator.
   
2. Whip eggs and sugar together for 5 minutes. Add into whipped creme in the fridge.
   
3. Add lemon juice and grated lemon rind and then stir.
   
4. Sprinkle grated coconut all over the mold.
   
5. Pour the mixture into mold and leave it in fridge for a night.

Hünkâr Beğendi

Sahra took these pictures for you. Unfortunately today's our own technology is not reflect its taste, so your loss is too much.

I almost forgot to acquaint you about the hünkâr beğendi's meaning... It's a kind of Ottoman dish.

Hünkâr = monarch
Beğendi => Beğenmek = please
The dish was made for Sultan Murad IV, and its name, Hünkâr Beğendi, means "The Monarch was pleased". So thereafter, word of "Beğendi" also became a "noun" which means "cream sauce made largely of puréed eggplant or squash, etc.".


Ingredients:

For Eggplant Purée:

• 6 eggplant
  
• 1 tbsp flour
  
• 1 tbsp butter
  
• 2 tbsp grated cheese
  
• 1 cup of milk
  
• 1 handful parsley
  
• salt, black pepper
  
  For Kebab:
  
• 1 kg hashed lamb
  
• 2 onion
  
• 2 tbsp butter
  
• salt, black pepper
  

Preparation:

1. Stir-fry minced onion and hashed lamb very well.
   
2. Add peeled and diced tomato and then stir.
   
3. Add 3 cup of water and cook until lamb softened. Sprinkle salt and black pepper.
   
4. 1-1,5 ladle of broth must be left.
   
5. Cook eggplants over live flame by reversing. Pierce all over eggplants with a knife for cook quite well.
   
6. Peel eggplants and mince.
   
7. Sauté butter and flour until turned into pink. Add and combine eggplants, grated chese and milk and then cook. Add salt.
   
8. Spread eggplant purée over a serving dish and put kebab over the purée. Decorate with parsley leaves.
   

Bean with Olive Oil

"Last night, We gave a feast for our special guests. Feast! Yeah I'm so modest. Sahra took these pictures. Now I'm starving and i can tell that i wanna eat these photos. She thinks that the photos have bad shots but in my humble opinion they're not bad."

• Tutmaç Soup
  
• Bean with olive oil
  
• Ratatouille
  
• Su Böreği
  
• Lettuce Salad
  
• Okra with meat
  
• Hünkarbeğendi
  
• Pilaf
  
• Sebzeli Tavuk Sarması
  
• Demir Tatlısı
  

Bean with olive oil;


Ingredients:

• 1 kg. bean
  
• 3 onion
  
• 5 tomato
  
• ½ cup olive oil
  
• 1 dessert spoon sugar
  
• 1,5 cup water
  
• Salt
  

Preparation:

1. Wash and shell the beans. Bisect If it's thin.
   
2. Sauté diced onion in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add peeled and diced tomato.
3. Add bean and sugar. Cook for 5-10 minutes.
   
4. Add water and cook. Then, Let it cool.
   
   

   For the special days:

   
   
5. Put peeled, julienne tomato like a circle into the pot.
   
6. Take a tomato. Draw it with knife (don't cut, only draw) to five lines. And put it middle of the pot.
   
7. Align beans like a circle. It can be a few line.
   
8. Lastly, put diced onion and tomato.
   
9. Add olive oil, sugar, salt and water. Let it cook.
   
10. After it cooks, reverse the pot to a platter. And open the lines on the tomato, and shape it as you wish.
    

Tomato Soup and Vegetable Pizza

We experienced a very exhausted day, yesterday. We upset via data cable of Kumsal's mobile phone. We hate all data cable! When we came home, we were starving. So.. i cooked tomato soup and baked a vegetable pizza. Actually i'm not a vegetarian but when pizza is under discussion i become a vegetarian.

TOMATO SOUP

Ingredients:

• 4 mashed tomato or 4 tbsp tomato paste
  
• 2 tbsp butter
  
• 4 tbsp flour
  
• 1 clove garlic
  
• 1 cup meat bouillon
  
• 1 litre boiled water
  
• Mint and black pepper
  

Preparation:

1. Sauté flour in melted butter for 5 minute.
   
2. Then add tomato paste or tomato purée, sauté for a while. Add hot water slowly and stir with a whisk quickly.
   
3. Then add bouillon, garlic and salt. If you wish, add mint and black papper.
   
4. Boil it for 10 minutes and serve the soup with diced and toasted bread.
   

PIZZA

Ingredients:

For the half-cooked:

• 1,5 cup warm milk
  
• 5 tbsp olive oil
  
• 21 gr. yeast
  
• 1 dessert spoon sugar
  
• 1 dessert spoon salt
  
• 5 cup flour
  
  For the filling:
  
• 5 tomato
  
• 2 sweet pepper
  
• 1 red pepper
  
• 100 gr. grated cheese
  
  For the sauce:
  
• 5 tbsp olive oil
  
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
  
• 1 dessert spoon thyme, chilli and salt
  

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, melt yeast in milk.
   
2. Add oil, salt, sugar, flour and knead dough. Spread dough on oiled baking tin.
   
3. Diced tomatoes, shred peppers.
   
4. Combine and mix oil, tomato sauce, thyme, chilli and salt for the sauce.
   
5. Spread the sauce on dough. Then spread peppers and then tomatoes. Lastly, sprinkle with cheese.
   
6. Bake in an oven at 175 C for 30 minutes.
   
7. Serve with coke on the rocks.