Turkish Puddings: Instant Mixes & Classics

Turkey has one of the world's great milk-pudding traditions. Long before chocolate mousse arrived, Ottoman kitchens were perfecting sutlac, kazandibi and keskul — gentle, milky desserts served cold in small bowls after dinner. Today the same classics live on in two forms: made from scratch at home, or from remarkably good instant mixes by brands like Dr Oetker, Basak and Kenton that need nothing more than milk and a whisk. This guide covers both.

The Classics: What Each Pudding Is

Sutlac is baked rice pudding, creamy with a caramelised top when oven-finished. Kazandibi means bottom of the pan — a milk pudding deliberately scorched on one side, then folded so the burnished caramel layer faces up. Supangle is the chocolate one: dense, glossy cocoa pudding usually hiding a piece of cake at the bottom and finished with pistachios or coconut. Keskul is an almond and coconut milk pudding, delicate and fragrant. All four are eaten chilled, which makes them ideal make-ahead desserts for guests.

Instant Mixes: Fifteen-Minute Desserts That Actually Taste Right

Turkish pudding mixes deserve their popularity. You whisk the sachet into cold milk, bring it to the boil for a few minutes, pour into bowls and chill — that is the whole job. Dr Oetker's cocoa and vanilla puddings are the family staples, and the same brand makes proper supangle and kazandibi mixes that come surprisingly close to a pastry-shop result. Basak's 4-6 portion range covers rice pudding and a keskul with coconut, while Kenton offers chocolate puddings topped with pistachio. Keep two or three sachets in the cupboard and you always have a dessert for unexpected guests.

Tavuk Gogsu: The Famous Chicken Breast Pudding

Yes, it is real, and yes, it is delicious. Tavuk gogsu is an Ottoman palace dessert made with finely shredded chicken breast, which gives the milk pudding a unique chewy, elastic texture — the meat is flavourless, purely there for body. Dr Oetker makes an instant tavuk gogsu mix, so you can try this legendary curiosity at home in the UK without hunting down a pudding shop in Istanbul.

Making Sutlac From Scratch

If you want the full homemade experience, real sutlac needs short, starchy rice. A bag of dedicated pudding rice, such as Bodrum's 1kg pack, releases the starch that gives the pudding its natural creaminess without any thickener. Simmer the rice in water until soft, add milk and sugar, cook gently until thick, then portion into oven-safe bowls and grill the tops until blistered and brown. Traditional clay or glass rice pudding bowls make the presentation authentic and go straight from oven to fridge to table.

Serving and Topping Ideas

Chill every Turkish pudding for at least three to four hours — the flavour and texture both improve dramatically. Top sutlac with a dust of cinnamon, supangle with crushed pistachios, keskul with toasted coconut. For a dinner-party trick, make two mixes in one evening: a dark chocolate pudding layered over vanilla in glasses looks far more impressive than the ten minutes it takes. Everything you need, from the sachets to the pudding rice and bowls, is available for UK-wide delivery at Turkish Online Market.