Cilbir – Turkish Poached Eggs in a Garlic Yogurt Sauce
In looking at lively breakfast brunch options, I have eyed Cilbir. We have tried this lovely Turkish creation of poached eggs in a spiced yogurt sauce. Still, I did not know how the kids would react. I finally bit the bullet. In fact, even made some Turkish Flatbreads to go with them. The flatbreads are still a work in progress, but the eggs were a great hit. I am sure they will be back! By then, I will have my bread game perfected.
My Story of Cilbir
The brood has gone on a trip to drop Deepta off. She starts her internship next week at AFRL. Still sorry that she is out for summer but grateful that she has the opportunity. The report from the field say bad hotel choice. In addition, the meal options decided by Dad does not seem to be cutting the mustard. It has been such a whirlwind of a week. I am quietly processing and somewhat relishing the quiet solitude of the empty house. I will confess, I always commit to things that I will do with alone time but end up doing very little of what I plan.
What exactly is Cilbir?
Cilbir is just what I described and what makes the dish is the spiced butter that it folded into the yogurt. The concept is actually very similar to the Indian process of making tarka. Just the ingredients are a little different. I did rub in a piece of grated garlic into the yogurt. We love garlic in this household, well at least my son and I do. This is a very optional thing. So, overall this gets done with pantry staples. Yogurt is something that I make almost every day courtesy the instant pot. For this recipe you can either buy Greek yogurt, or alternatively strain homemade yogurt for about an hour.
If you are an instant pot fan, the eggs are poached in the instant pot as well. However, feel free to poach them anyway you like. An alternate to poaching the eggs would be frying them.
And then assemble, poach and add eggs and stir in the spiced butter. And enjoy! And to explore some more Turkish flavors on this site, consider this Turkish Pilaf or Turkish Chicken Wings. All easy and very flavorful recipe ideas.
Happy Sunday to everyone and here to a wonderful week ahead.
A gorgeous brunch or any time dish, eggs, yogurt and spices there is nothing not to like.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups natural yogurt
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 to 6 poached eggs (see notes for Instant Pot Instructions)
- 1 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons chopped dill
Instructions
- If time permits strain the yogurt in a cheesecloth for 1 hour and you can certainly use Greek Yogurt if you wish.
- Beat the yogurt with the garlic and the salt and set asie in a serving bowl.
- Prepare 4 to 6 small wells to nestle the eggs into the yogurt.
- Heat the butter and add in the smoked paprika and the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds.
- Gently drizzle the seasoned butter over the eggs.
- Garnish with the chopped dill and serve with some bread on the side.
Notes
To Poach the eggs in the Instant Pot Lightly grease 4 silicone egg cups Place 1 cup of water in the instant pot and set the saute mode. Place a trivet in the instant pot and carefully place the egg cups over the trivet. Turn off the saute mode and set to 2 minutes of high pressure. Do a quick release and carefully remove the eggs and use as needed.