I don't know about you... but from time to time and season to season... I get different urges .... for beverages that is!!! Let's not get off track now! This encompasses both hot and cold and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages!
If you've been keeping up with my posts, you know that we've had bad weather with lots of snow in Istanbul and the rest of Turkey too... In fact Europe and the Balkans have been hit hard as well!
The first 3 days of this week were okay with cold weather and just rain, but then it started to snow yesterday and it didn't stop until about noon today and now (at about 4:15pm), the sun is out and lots of the snow has already melted!
Anyway... on Wednesday night as I was sitting and watching TV around 7:00pm, I got an urge for salep and shared my thoughts with my friends on Facebook!
It was too late for me to do anything about it because I didn't have the ingredients to make it - in fact, I didn't even know what ingredients to use. They also sell instant salep, but I didn't have that either! And... my friends on FB gave me all sorts of recommendations on where I could have the best salep... now I really didn't want to hear that as I couldn't go out to get it!
I woke up the next morning - looked outside and the streets were covered with snow!
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| Istanbul - February 9, 2012 |
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| Istanbul (my housing complex) - Febuary 9, 2012 |
But, I still had salep on my mind!!! So, I first got on my PC and went to google to find out how to make salep and found a video that my good friend Dilistan Shipman had taped for a local TV channel on the fine art of making salep! Dili (as her friends call her) is a woman with many many attributes! Besides being a PhD and an instructor at a university, she is a professional in the world of culinary arts too and has appeared on TV shows, written books, taught on the subject, etc.
So, after I watched her video, I clicked onto another site to get the ingredients. For some reason, she showed how to make it, but the ingredients weren't listed - or the video was editted afterwards - who knows!
With the ingredients in hand, I waited for my kapıcı (I guess you can say he's our building's janitor/superintendent - but in Turkey, they also run your chores for you - once a day - if you'd like and it's included in their wages) who swings by at around noon to ask if I want anything from the market...
After Mehmet got my ingredients... I made salep for the very first time in my life (and I've had a long life!) - from scratch no less! He had also gotten me the "instant" salep, just in case I messed up I guess!
By now, you must be dying to know what salep is - if you've never heard of it before! Although primarily consumed in Turkey, salep is also consumed in other countries around the world (just visit 'salep in wikipedia' if you want to get the details).
Simply... salep is prepared with milk, sugar and salep flour (salep tozu), but since this flour is not sold at supermarkets, I had to make my own salep flour! You can find salep flour at specialty shops that carry herbs, spices etc. (like at the Egyptian Bazaar) though.
So, let me now list all the ingredients to make salep! This recipe is for one serving, so just multiply the measurements based on how many you are going to make. Also, make sure you are ready to drink it immediately after preparing because it should be consumed piping hot!
Ingredients for salep (1 serving)
1 cup whole milk (I don't think non-fat or low-fat milk will work well... just go for it and use the real thing!)
2 teaspoons sugar (I prefer brown sugar, but you can use white sugar, but don't use sweetener and add more if you like your beverages very sweet - I personally don't)
1 teaspoon rice flour (pirinç unu)
1 1/2 teaspoons buğday nişaşta (wheat starch)
1 teaspoon wheat flour
1 cinnamon stick
ground cinnamon
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| Pirinç unu (rice flour); buğday nişaşta (wheat starch) |
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| Wheat flour (buğday unu) |
1. Place all dry ingredients in a pot over low hit and whisk for about 1-2 minutes until they are all mixed...
2. Slowly add in the milk - whisking all the while...
3. Add the cinnamon stick and whisk until the texture starts to thicken up... but be careful that it doesn't thicken up too much (I guess for 1-2 minutes - it should be a little liquidy and a little thick), otherwise, it will turn into pudding! (I overdid it a little the first time I made it, but today I got it right!). Don't forget - you are preparing this over low heat!
4. Remove the cinnamon stick and pour into cup and sprinkle with ground cinnamon to taste and serve (I like lots of cinnamon).
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| Salep |
***
I am definitely a caffeine addict! I love my coffee and I drink it black - no milk or sugar for me!!!
I drink at least 3-4 mugs (large) of coffee every day and am NOT awake or very friendly before I've had my first cup of coffee of the day!
When I go out, I like to have a cup of espresso or machiato (yes... I like frothy milk in my coffee once in a while, but still no sugar) after my meal, but since I don't have an espresso machine, I stick to regular coffee at home.
However, the majority of Turks are major teatotalers and start their day with a cup of brewed tea (no tea bags for Turks!!!). But, since I grew up in NYC, I rarely drink tea, so I'm not your typical Turk!
When Turks drink coffee - 9 times out of 10, they prefer Turkish coffee - or Türk Kahvesi. Surprisingly, although I am a caffeine freak, I rarely if ever drank Turkish coffee (don't know why) - until a couple of weeks ago!
Suddenly, I have an urge for Turkish coffee and must have one cup a day! Although I'm a "novice" to our local treat, I make a mean cup of Turkish coffee! Let me tell you - it takes talent to make a frothy cup!
This time, let's start with the end result and then I will give you the ingredients and how to prepare it...
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| Turkish coffee - Türk Kahvesi |
Must Turks do not drink Turkish coffee is such a big cup. The "standard" or normal size of the cup is similar to an espresso cup, but, it's not just enough for me.. after a few gulps you are done! I need more of a kick, so I make mine a double serving, but the ingredients I will give you below can be adjusted for any size cup.
Ingredients:
1. Using the cup you will pour your coffee in, fill it up with water and pour it into the cezve (a special pot used to make Turkish coffee).
2. The most important thing is the amount of ground turkish coffee used and although there are "standard" measurements to use.. I prefer to prepare it to personal taste. So, for the size of cup I use, I use 1 1/2 heaping spoons of ground coffee (see the spoon in picture below)
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| Ground Turkish coffee |
3. Add sugar to taste (white or brown - don't use sweetener - it changes the taste).4. Stir all the ingredients, but not until it gets soupy... make sure some of the ground coffee remains.
5. Place the pot over LOW heat and let it do its thing - do not stir anymore.
6.Make sure you don't walk away as the coffee is being prepared because it can boil over very quickly! Once it starts boiling and starts to rise, pour half of the pot in your cup and then let the remainder boil and pour in the rest.
As we would say in Turkish - afiyet olsun or enjoy!
Just a final note on Turkish coffee... one of the best brands is called Kuru Kahveci Mehmet Efendi (www.mehmetefendi.com).
They have a shop at the Egyptian Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı) and just follow the smell of the coffee to find the shop! You can buy coffee beans or ground in a variety of sizes. But, most importantly, you can find this brand at all supermarkets and grocery stores around town.
Recently, a major international brand came out with "Instant Turkish Coffee" and I included the news on this in a "What's "UP" in Istanbul" post, but to be quite honest - I suggest you try the "real" thing... the instant has a whole bunch of additives and preservatives and you won't get the real taste! I'm sure you can find Turkish coffee in most major cities throughout the world too...
Dani
