Turkish healthy drink; Sahlep (Salep).. What is it and how to make it

Selam everybody..... Merhaba from Turkey

Winter 'officially' comes in our town. After raining since last night follow by soft snow fall down turns Bursa into uniform color-white... hhhh.... finally fresh air and softness cool. And nothing can comfort us in this such weather better than hot yet nutritious beverage.

Salep or Sahlep or sahlab is a powder made from the tubers of the orchid genus orchis (including species Orchis mascula and Orchis militaris). These tubers contain a nutritious, starchy (about 10%~30% starch) polysaccharide called glucomannan (about 30%~55%). 

Salep flour is consumed in beverages and desserts, especially in places that were formerly part of the Ottoman Empire.

The root of the plant is collected in Sahlep season (May and June). Collected tubers are cleaned by washing with water, boiled in water or milk, and hang on a rope, then air-dried. The tubers are pounded to dried powder. The obtained powder gives sahlep powder ready to used product. Widely used as raw ingredients like dondurma (ice cream) also as beverages. It'll swell when used with ice water and milk. 

1 kilogram of pure sahlep powder produces from around 2 thousand 600 orchis tubers. So no wonder the price of pure sahlep powder is very expensive about 300~400 TL per kilo.

Urap Sayur / Indonesian vegetables mix with spicy coconut

For Recipe in English please scroll down

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم

السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

Merhaba dari Türki semuanya 👋

Terima kasih udah mampir kemari ya. Boleh kok tinggalkan kesan dan pesan di kolom komen dibawah... Saya akan sangat-sangat berterima kasih dan makin semangat update-update 💟

Tanggal 22 Desember di Indonesia diperingati sebagai "Hari Ibu" nasional. Berbeda di Turki yang memperingati "hari Ibu" pada tanggal 8 Mei. 
So untuk kangen-kangenan dengan ibu yang jauh di tanah air, saya mencoba memasak masakan yang biasa ibu bikin untuk kami dulu. Sebenarnya banyak sekali makanan yang biasa ibu bikin dan semuanya pastinya enak tiada dua ^,^
Saya paling suka kalau Ibu masak kepiting kare campur sayur terong...kangeeennnn banget makanan itu...sayang disini susah banget nemu kepiting..hiks..kalaupun ada (itupun di supermarket besar) kepitingnya sering 'gembos' alias gak ada daging...

Terus Ibu saya kalau 'nyambel' maknyusss.... Mungkin tiap orang akan selalu bilang "sambal ibuku paling top" ..... ya..memang begitulah..tiap masakan ibu pasti berkesan dan melekat sepanjang hayat pada anak-anaknya.
Selain sambal uleg dan sambal tumpang, ibu suka masak sayur trancam dan urap-urapan.... hmm... harum kencur dan daun jeruk purutnya begitu menggugah selera...

So.... kali ini saya mau sharing Urap sayur a la ibu saya... Biasanya Ibu membuat ayam bakar bumbu rujak sebagai lauk pendampingnya..tapi karena disini saya sudah banyak "effort" untuk membuat urap sayur ini, jadi lauknya seadanya saja.... tempe goreng dan ikan asin. Walaupun sederhana..alhamdulillah terasa lezat dan enak sekali karena memang saya jarang masak makanan Indonesia disini. Mungkin lain kali saya akan masak ayam bakar bumbu rujak khas Ibu juga.....jadi kangen iiihh..

Seperti masakan rumah kebanyakan yang tanpa menggunakan takaran persis sama, Ibu saya pun kalau ditanya bumbunya apa aja dan berapa banyak, pasti jawabnya..kira-kira segini..atau sekitar segitu.... yaahh.sama halnya dengan urap-urapan ini... resep dibawah juga hasil kira-kira dari ibu (^,^) Utuk kesesuaian rasa, modifikasikan saja jumlahnya, bisa dikurangi atau tambah sesuai selera, yang pasti jenis bumbu-bumbu dasarnya seperti ini.
Urapan khas Ibu saya ini wangi kencur dan daun jeruk purutnya berasa sedap...itu kuncinya.

Pideli Köfte recipe (Turkish Kofte with pide/ flat bread)

Selam everybody..... Merhaba from Turkey.....

When you visit Bursa there are some local cuisines you should try. For example; İskender Kebab, Bursa cantık (read; jantek is a kind of pide with round shape with meat topping), Pideli Köfte, İnegöl Köfte, Yenişehir Kasap Köfte, Kemalpaşa tatlısı, kestane şekeri, and more with recommended  places around the city.

Some of them I already post here in my page for you if you want to make at home. And now I'd like to share my homemade Pideli Köfte (kofte meatball with pide bread).
The flat meatball serve over pide chunks flush with tomato sauce then during serving hot melting butter splashed over the plate, bring wonderful appetite aroma.

Also serve with yogurt, grilled tomato and carliston chili pepper bring you more another delicacy of traditional Turkish food. For complement serve some vegetables pickles, chili pickles and ezme in other small plates.

Because of so many complement and things to prepare mostly people eat outside and hesitate to prepare at home. But for me who love to try new thing/ recipe especially Turkish cuisine. And more over, those complements are things that always ready in my fridge.
But if you want to make it at home as well, basically you just need to prepare pide bread, meatball and tomato sauce which I will share today. 

Pecel Tumpang / #sambaltumpang (Indonesian sambal from tempeh)

For Recipe in English please scroll down



Assalamu'alaikum....... Merhaba dari Turkey.

Selain suasana kampung ketika kita kecil dulu, hal yang selalu dirindukan jika jauh dari kampung halaman adalah makanan. Yaa... makanan adalah sebuah tradisi/ kebiasaan yang tumbuh bersama kita. 
Misalnya saya masih ingat ketika setiap pagi bapak saya (almarhum) selalu bersepeda bersama saya dan adik untuk mencari sarapan berupa ketan bumbu kedelai atau jajan pasar lainnya. Kadang kami mencari kompyang, roti goreng atau cakwe untuk sarapan.

Tapi yang paling melekat dalam benak adalah masakan ibuk tentu saja. Makanan ibuk menurut kami adalah makanan paling enak, terutama sambal uleg nya. Mbah uti (ibunya ibu) juga pinter masak mungkin itu diturunkan ka ibuk saya. Mbah Uti dan Ibuk saya kalau bikin bumbu pecel..wahhh..top markotop! nomer satu pokoknya! ^,^
Bahkan dulu sempat ibuk buka warung nasi pecel di rumah di Surabaya dulu ketika kami masih kecil. 

Ketika Ibuk sudah tidak berjualan pecel lagi, di rumah ibuk masih suka membuatkan kami bumbu pecel. Kadang Ibuk membuat pecel tumpang juga buat pendamping/ campuran bumbu pecel kacang... jangan tanya lagi rasanya.... hmmmm.... kita sampe "tanduk" (nambah nasi) berkali-kali ^,^

Kali ini saya mau sharing resep pecel tumpang a la ibu saya. Biasanya kalau bikin sambel tumpang Ibuk selalu kasih cabe rawit agak banyakan sebab rata-rata orang rumah jago makan pedes semua jadi semua masakan ibuk kebanyakan pedas.

Lebeniye Çorbası (Turkish Lebeniye Soup)

Assalamu'alaikum...... Merhaba from Turkey....

Lebeniye Çorbası or Lebeniye soup is a refreshing soup made from broth seasoned with yogurt sauce (in Turkish we call it "terbiyeli") consist of meatball, chickpea and rice/ wheat grain. Flush with butter mint during serve.

This is number one chosen soup during winter in my family due to the freshness, health and warmth of it. Traditionally came from Gaziantep and generally serve in family dinner table as appetizer or sometimes entree.

Each family has owned its own recipe and vary in ingredients compositions. Some thinner and some prefer thicker soup for family taste. But basically use the same ingredients below.

And here my recipe base on my family preference. I use 2 egg yolk to give more richness in my soup, the yogurt and flour ratio is just perfect for our taste.

Wedang Ronde (Indonesian Glutinous balls in ginger syrup)

Selam everybody..... Mehaba from Turkey....

My today post is Indonesian glutinous dumpling balls in ginger sugar syrup or Wedang Ronde. Wedang means hot drink in Indonesian language.
I don't know if I should call this "drink" because there are glutinous dumpling in it, either I can't call this dessert because mostly we didn't eat/ drink this after meal.
Just we are usually consume this herb dish to warm up our body during cool days like in rainy season.

And here in Turkey still, uncertain weather, frosty windy...that's why I am thinking to make something that could warmth us a bit. Beside that this dish is very good to fighting cold cause made from ginger and lemongrass herb. 

Generally we didn't make this at home. There are plenty street stalls selling it during rainy season. Well...they sell a long all season actually, but mostly increase during cool days or rainy season.
Generally they open their stalls only at night or start afternoon. 

Mini #Apple Pie #recipe / resep pie apel mini

Resep dalam Bhs İndonesia ada di bagian bawah





Selam Everybody.... Merhaba from Turkey...

We love pie especially fruit pie as dessert and tea time. And this mini apple pie is the best apple pie for our tea time. Serve individually with vanilla ice cream or simple whipped cream then flush with the syrup from the filling...hmmm...just heavenly yummy.

 For pie shells

• 125 gr cold butter, cut into small chunks
• 180 gr all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp almond essence 
• 75~85 very cold water

Susamlı Gevrek Toplar (Sesame balls cookies)

If "plan A" didn't work... don't worry, there are still 25 more letters in alphabet  (^,^)

Selam Everybody...Merhaba from Turkey....

Talking about alphabet... in Turkçe (Turkish language) we have 29 letters seven of which are (Ç, Ğ, I, İ, Ö, Ş, and Ü) but letters W, Q and X (replace by V, K and KS) do not occur in Turkish alphabet.

So Turkish has more than 26 other plans if "plan A" failed (^,^)
It was just an intermezzo from me.... the point is we should not give up on things we want to reach because - like other proverb says - many ways to go to Rome... right?

Well.... those are nothing to do with my recipe I'm going to share today because making this crunchy sesame balls you don't have to make plan A or B or C .... this snack is simple as it looks yet best companion for your tea or coffee time.

It's simple and quick to make so this is absolutely your choice when you have an unexpected guest come by.

This recipe I took from iyiyemeginsirri.blogcu.com with minor adjustments.

Jamie Oliver's easy Brownies

Selam Everybody..... Mehaba from Turkey....

Nothing can comfort me in this 8°C days better than hot Turkish tea together with this warm brownies... 
Yes... I'm craving something chocolaty these few days.... 

And this time I use Jamie Oliver's recipe. This recipe should have dried cherries combined with roasted chestnuts... But I don't wanna anything in my brownies today so I skip those two. This is the brownies I like,  gooey with yummy crust outside..just perfect for my chill lazy days...

This brownies absolutely gorgeous! Rich chocolate taste just like melting in your mouth, indulge your sweet tooth with its chocolate richness.. I just love it....
Maybe next time I will twist this recipe with cream cheese or walnuts...

Nasi Goreng Seafood (Indonesian style fried Rice)

Selam Everybody...... Merhaba from Turkey.

Rice is staple dish in Indonesia. We eat rice in breakfast, lunch and even for dinner. We make many food's variant made from rice. Not just for pilaf and rice cake (lontong or ketupat), we even process rice to become traditional snack and dessert.

And one of popular dish is Nasi Goreng or fried rice. Fried rice it self has many kind of varieties. You can check my lamb/mutton fried rice for one of variety.

And today I am gonna share my seafood fried rice. You can vary the ingredients as your liking beside shrimp and calamari as long as there is seafood in it, like fish meatball or slice of fish. And for the greens you can add some baby spinach too...

Make 4 shares

Ingredients:

• 500 gr white steamed rice (preferable left over one)
•3 medium calamari, cut into square or ring
•200 gr shrimp
•½ cup peas
• a hand full mung bean sprout
•1 spring onion, finely slice
•2 tsp oyster sauce
•2 Tbsp kecap manis/ sweet soy sauce
•1 tsp salt or to taste
•2 tsp black pepper powder
•1 tsp sesame oil
•2 + 1 Tbsp cooking oil
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten