Sheila's Authentic Baslama Bread

This is another of Sheila's specialties, made on board the She-Cat in the marina at Finike.   It is a Turkish bread recipe and is especially handy method to use on boats as you make it in a frying pan.

I am not sure where we would get soft wheat flour here, but it would probably be the same as for making pasta.   The flour sold in the US is from soft wheat.   The flour they use for making bread is labelled "bread flour". 

Sheila used the blocks of yeast they have in Europe.   We'd have to use a package of dry yeast.

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. dry yeast
5 cups flour (soft wheat)

Instructions:
Mix milk, sugar, and yeast, and leave until the yeast bubbles (about 15 minutes).

Put the flour in a bowl, make a well, and add the liquid. and stir.

 Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead, adding flour as required.













Cover the dough and leave until doubled in size.

Roll bits to fill frying pan about 1/4 thick.

Heat an oiled frying pan.

Cook 3-4 minutes, turn and cook 1 more minute.

When both sides are slightly brown, remove to plate.

Turgay's Turkish Salata

Several years ago, I had a Turkish doctor staying with me for 6 weeks, learning English.  He was young and quite engaging, newly married, and his wife expecting.  He learned English very fast and we had many laughs. He called me bossy, which surprized me a little as I thought I was so nice, and one day he was talking about bossyness when the penny dropped and I realized he was saying busy.    

And he was a great cook, very very fussy about everything, and taught me some basics about Turkish cooking.   He wouldn't let anyone else dish the ice cream because they just dug into the middle.   It had to be cut straight down one side of the bucket.

Turkish Salata
Ingredients
Tomato, peeled
green pepper
cilantro leaves
cucumber, peeled
Lettuce
Green onion or dry onion
Sumac
Salt

Lemon
EVOO
Dired mint

Instructions
Cut the vegetables up very fine.
For the onion, add the salt and sumac and hand press.
Hand press all the ingredients.
Serve on a flat plate.
Drizzle oil over.
Sprinkle dried mint over.

Turgay's Basmati Rice with Browned Butter

A Turkish doctor staying in my house taught me this recipe and it really tastes good. Now it is my standard method of cooking rice.


Turgai taught me quite a few things and I never saw anyone so fussy and particular about methods. For example, he would not allow anyone else to scoop ice cream because they didn't do it right. You can't just scoop in the middle or anywhere you want. In making salads and meatballs he was equally particular.


I always use Indian basmati rice because it smells and tastes so good. It is also better than white rice for health. Try to get basmati from India, not the US or other places as the flavour is more intense. Of course, they don't use basmati in Turkey, but the recipe is still works. The Turkish doctor was a traditional cook too, no measuring or timing, just went by experience.


My Sri Lankan aristocratic neighbour, Sumana, taught me how to make rice the traditional way, i.e. no measuring. The amount of water should be one finger nuckle above the rice.


Turgai's Basmati Rice with Browned Butter

Rinse 1 cup rice in running water and drain really well.
Meanwhile, in a large pot, on medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp. butter.
Stir with a wooden spoon until the butter sizzles and then a little more. It is okay if the butter browns a little.
Add the rice and stir it til it sizzles and then a bit more.
Cover with 2 cups hot tap water.
Add 1 tsp. sea salt.
Cover the pot with a lid. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low so the rice just simmers.
Set the timer for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, turn off the heat.
Put some paper towels under the lid and let stand 5 minutes.