Cilbir (Turkish Poached Eggs with Garlic Yogurt)
Softly poached eggs on a bed of garlicky strained yogurt, finished with sizzling chilli butter — cilbir is a 500-year-old Ottoman breakfast that feels made for brunch today.
Ask Bio about this recipe
Ingredients
300g Turkish strained (suzme) yogurt, at room temperature
2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with a pinch of salt
1/2 tsp salt, plus extra to season
4 very fresh eggs
1 tbsp white vinegar, for the poaching water
50g butter
1 tsp pul biber (Turkish red pepper flakes)
1/2 tsp dried mint
Toasted pide or crusty bread, to serve
Instructions
- 1
Beat the yogurt with the crushed garlic and salt until smooth and creamy, then divide between two shallow bowls or plates. It must be at room temperature, not fridge-cold.
- 2
Bring a medium pan of water to a gentle simmer and add the vinegar — you want lazy bubbles, not a rolling boil.
- 3
Crack each egg into a small cup. Stir the water to create a gentle whirlpool and slide the eggs in one at a time.
- 4
Poach for 3-4 minutes until the whites are set but the yolks are still soft, then lift out with a slotted spoon and drain briefly on kitchen paper.
- 5
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan over low heat until it foams. Take it off the heat and stir in the pul biber and dried mint — it will sizzle and turn deep red.
- 6
Nestle two eggs onto each bed of garlic yogurt, season with a little salt, and pour the hot chilli butter over the top.
- 7
Serve immediately with toasted bread for dipping into the yolk and yogurt.
Cilbir (pronounced chul-BUR) has been eaten in Turkey since the days of the Ottoman sultans, and one taste tells you why it never went out of fashion. The contrast is everything: cool, tangy garlic yogurt, warm runny egg yolk, and a spoonful of foaming butter stained red with pul biber poured over the top at the last second.
Two small details make or break it. First, take your yogurt out of the fridge early — it should be at room temperature so it doesn't chill the eggs, and a thick strained (suzme) yogurt holds its shape far better than a thin one. Second, don't let the butter burn: melt it gently, add the pepper flakes off the heat, and pour while it's still foaming so the chilli blooms without turning bitter.
Serve cilbir with plenty of toasted pide or crusty bread — you'll want every last streak of yogurt and yolk off the plate. Thick Turkish strained yogurt, pul biber and proper dried mint are the three ingredients that make it taste like Istanbul, and you'll find all of them at Turkish Online Market.
More recipes
BreakfastAcuka (Spicy Walnut & Pepper Breakfast Spread)
Acuka is a fiery, nutty spread from southeastern Turkey made with walnuts, pepper paste and pomegranate molasses. It comes together in 20 minutes and keeps for a week in the fridge.
BreakfastPogaca (Soft Turkish Breakfast Buns)
Pillowy, golden Turkish breakfast buns with a salty white cheese and parsley filling. This yogurt-enriched dough stays soft for days and freezes brilliantly.
BreakfastKol Boregi (Rolled Borek with Cheese)
Long ropes of yufka filled with herby white cheese, coiled into a tray and baked golden. Kol boregi looks like bakery work but is surprisingly simple at home.
BreakfastIspanakli Borek (Spinach & Cheese Borek)
Golden, flaky tray borek layered with yufka pastry, sauteed spinach and salty Turkish white cheese. A Sunday breakfast classic you can easily make in a UK kitchen.
