VEGETARIAN BULGAR WHEAT KOFTE ( etsiz cig kofte )

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups fine bulgur ( bulgar ) wheat
• 1 onion
• 4- 6 cloves of garlic
• 5-6 sun dried tomatoes, diced finely
• 2 cooked potatoes, mashed
• 2-4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp pepper paste ( optional )
• bunch of parsley, chopped
• cumin, chilli pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

METHOD

1) Wash the bulgur in cold water and drain. Set aside.

2) Place onion, garlic, sun dried tomatoes in a food processor and pulse it a few times. (or grate onion, garlic and tomatoes by hand and mix everything well to make this dish.)

3) Add the oil, mashed potatoes, bulgur wheat into the food processor. Mix in the tomato paste, pepper paste, parsley, cumin, chilli, salt and pepper. Pulse it several times until it all bind together. Add sprinkle of cold water if needed to form a stiff mixture.

4) Shape them into little sausages by hand and serve them on bed of lettuce leaves.

CHICKEN MARINATED IN YOGURT SAUCE

This is my quick and tasty recipe for chicken legs. You can use chicken thighs or chicken breast if you prefer it. Today I served the chicken with roasted winter vegetables and baked potatoes but very good served with rice, pasta or with just a simple salad.

YOU NEED

• 8 chicken drum sticks
• 5 tbsp natural yogurt
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar or normal vinegar
• 2 tsp mixed dried herbs
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chili pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste.

1) First wash chicken pieces and drain.

2) mix the marinade: Mix yogurt and tomato puree. Add the crushed garlic, oil and vinegar.

3) Add the herbs, spices , salt and pepper. Mix well.

4) Pour the marinade over the chicken, cover with cling film and keep it in the fridge preferably overnight. ( if you don't have time, minimum 2-4 hour will be fine )

5) Cook the chicken pieces in preheated oven ,190 C for 45 minutes to one hour.

FRESH FIG CAKE

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups plain flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups chopped fresh figs
• sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling

1) Sieve the flour with, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

2) In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, add sugar, milk , oil and beat well.

3) Pour the wet mixture to the flour little at a time to make a soft pourable cake mix.

4) Fold the figs in and pour the mixture in a oiled tin.

5) Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top and bake at preheated oven 180C for 30 minutes. Cool and cut into slices before serving.

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Yorkshire pudding, rosto etli yemeklerin yaninda servis yapilan tuzlu kucuk keklerdir. Ingilterenin Yorkshire bolgesinden gelen bir kekdir. Ben bugun 12 lik muffin tepsisinde pisirdim ama, normal duz tepsidede pisirip, dilimlere keserek servis yapabilirsiniz.

MALZEME

• 225 g un
• 2 yumurta
• 600 ml sut ve su karisimi
• 1-2 yemek kasigi kiyilmis maydanoz
• 1-2 fiske tuz
• Tepsiyi yaglamak icin yag.

1) Once unu eleyin ve yumurtalari icini kirin. Tuz, sut, su ve maydonozu ilave ederek karistirin. Ya mixerle yada elde bulamac halinde hamur oluncaya kadar iyice cirpin.

2) Firininizi 220 C de onceden isitin.

3) Tepsinizi yaglayip firinda 5-10 dakika isitin.( Tepsinin iyice isinip sicak olmasi lazim hamuru dokmeden once.)

4) Hazirlanan hamuru sicak tepsiye dokup, firinin kapisini acmadan 30-35 dakika pisirin. Muffin tepsisinde 15- 20 dakika yeterli oluyor 12 kusuk pudding icin.

5) Dana rosta ve buharda pismis sebzelerin yaninda servis yapin.

SUNDRIED TOMATOES

Sun dried tomatoes are my favourite amongst dried peppers, dried aubergines and dried green beans. Every year I enjoy drying my own vegetables to last me until the next summer. I use them in casseroles, stir fries, rice, even in salads in olive oil. This year I used beef tomatoes. First I washed the tomatoes and slice them about 1 cm thick. Place all the sliced tomatoes on a clean cloth and sprinkle salt on them ( normal table salt is fine ). Make sure all the tomatoes salted on both sides. Then leave them to dry on a sunny spot. It takes about 4-5 days on hot days. Turn them over after 2-3 days for other side to dry.

Place them in airtight bags before storing.

TAHIN VE PEKMEZLI KEK

Bugun misafirlere ne yapayim diye dusunurken dolapta tahin ve pekmez gozume carpti. Kuru uzumde ekleyerek bu keki yaptim ve sonucda guzel oldu. Ben 37 x 37 cm capinda buyuk tepside pisirdim ama malzemeri yarilayarak daha kucuk bir kek yapabilirsiniz.

MALZEME

• 4 su bardagi tepeleme un
• 2 paket kabartma tozu
• 1 paket vanilya
• 2 yemek kasigi tarcin
• 1 bardak cekirdeksiz kuru uzum
• 3 yumurta
• 1 bardak pekmez
• 1 bardak seker
• 1 bardak tahin
• 1 bardak sivi yag
• 1 bardak sut
• Uzeri icin hindistan cevizi ve seker tarcin karisimi.

1) Tarcin, vanilya ve kabartma tozunu unla karistirip eleyin. Uzumu de unla karistirin.

2) Mixerde veya elde yumurtalari cirpin. Pekmez, seker, tahin, yag ve sutu ilave ederek biraz daha cirpin.

3) Bu karisimi unlu karisima yavas yavas ilave edin ve kekin hamuru olunca yaglanmis tepsiye aktarin.

4) Uzerine hindistan cevizi, sonra tarcin ve seker karisimi serpip, onceden isitilmis firinda 175C derecede 25-30 dakika pisirin.

5) Pisip soguduktan sonra kesip servis yapin. Afiyet olsun.

FRESH FIG MUFFINS

YOU NEED

• 2 1/2 cups of flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 cups of chopped figs
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1tsp vanilla essence
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup yogurt
• slices of figs for decoration
• cinnamon and sugar mixture for sprinkling.

1) Sift flour with baking powder and cinnamon. Mix chopped figs with flour.

2) In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, add oil, sugar, yogurt and vanilla and whisk well.

3) Pour the wet mixture into the flour little at a time.

4) Place the muffin mixture into muffin cases and decorate with fig slices. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture and bake at preheated oven 180 C, for 25- 30 minutes or until golden brown.

5) Cool on a wire rack before serving.