This Turkish Egg is one unique was of serving egg for breakfast. It’s definitely different but in a good way. A poached egg with runny yolk sitting on tangy garlicky yogurt drizzled with melted spiced butter and sprinkled with fresh herbs. It’s salty, spicy, buttery, a breakfast worth waiting for.

I was fascinated with this recipe when I saw it. Not only that it looks delicious but I find it interestingly unique. Poach egg and yogurt? I cannot imagine it working well together, the only way to find out it to try it myself. I read about it and this appears to be common breakfast in Turkey, that says a lot to me. I LOVE Turkish food and so I have a high expectation for this one. I gave it a try.. I LOVE IT!!

It does work! It taste delicious!! I love the creamy runny yolk and the tangy garlic herb yogurt and the sliced melted butter. What really works is the runny yolk of the poached egg, so don’t over cook the egg. You want the center to be really runny so it mix with the yogurt when you cut on it.

I did not make a lot of yogurt because I don’t want mine floating on too much yogurt. Most of the recipe I saw uses a lot of it m, I guess that’s the traditional way of doing it. Feel free to double or even triple the yogurt but do not double the salt and garlic. As it is, the garlic flavor is already strong.

I like this served with toast. I would say a baguette or any artisan bread is a nice bread to pair, or maybe a plain focaccia bread, Simit (Turkish Bagel), or snub flatbread. A chewy texture bread is best to soak up the garlic yogurt and poached egg. You can also add some sautéed veggie to go with it. So much fun making and eating this egg dish. Give it a try 🙂

What is Turkish Egg?

Turkish Egg or Cibir as called in Turkey is an egg dish where the egg is served poached and lay over a bed of garlic Greek yogurt and drizzled with spiced melted butter.

About This Recipe

• Ease in Making the Recipe: If you’ve made poached egg before, then you can say that this recipe is quite easy. A lot of people I know are scared of making poached egg and so they would rather do fried, hard boiled or scrambled egg. It does look difficult, but it is really not, it’s a matter of getting the hang of it. I avoided making poached egg for a long time until I finally decided to give it a go. The first few tries are not that bad, but it gets better in time. So if you haven’t made it before, maybe this is the perfect time to try them. Don’t be hard on yourself, regardless how it turn out, it will still be delicious, it’s egg. 🙂 for me eggs taste good no matter how I cook it. Once you passed the poached egg step, the rest are easy breezy. The spiced melted butter and the Greek yogurt mixture is nothing special, consider this 2 done, you got this.
• Ingredients: The ingredients are quite simple. Eggs, butter, yogurt, seasoning and spices. I had to use some substitute ingredients for the Turkish spices and used what I had, paprika, cayenne peppers and red Chile flakes. I also used dried dill as that is what I have on hand. If you can get hold of fresh dill, that would be better m. Fresh herbs are always better.
• Texture, Taste & Flavor: It’s very creamy, even if I did not make a lot of yogurt mixture. I like it in small amount but you can double the amount of yogurt (1/2 cup) if you like it that much. The creamy garlic yogurt and the runny yolk worked together really well. I was hesitant as first, egg and yogurt? But they do work, I liked it. The yogurt not only give the creaminess but it also helps tame the spicy melted butter drizzled on top. I like the garlicky flavor too. What really made this even better for me is the addition salty feta cheese, olives and the fresh cucumber. They are worked together like a great team. The salty, spicy and fresh taste are match made in heaven. These additions are not traditional for a Turkish Egg but I think they are a great addition that you should try. It’s a lot of texture to the dish.
• Make- Ahead: You can make the poach egg at night for serving the following day. Store it in a large bowl with water and cover it and leave it in the refrigerator. This makes the process easier especially if you are making a lot. You can also prepare the yogurt mixture and keep it refrigerated. Make sure to take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving it to get it to room temperature. As for the spiced melted butter, do it the day you are serving the egg. It’s pretty easy and will not take too much time, probably a minute or 2.

Poaching Egg Methods

Traditional Turkish Egg used poached egg. Poaching is a method of cooking the egg wherein the egg is cook for few minutes in a hot water. This produces a really nice runny yolk if cooked properly, and a healthier way to cook egg. A lot of people shy away from poaching egg, but it is not as difficult as it should. There are few tips and methods that you can follow to guarantee a beautifully poached egg with runny yolk. I’ve gathered 4 methods that people say works. I’ve tried 3 of them and I can say they actually works.

• The Fresh Egg Method – the idea for this one is to use a fresh egg as possible. You can check the box of the egg to check the date. People who tried tried recommended buying the egg and using it after 1-2 days or in the same day. The idea is that fresh eggs have less water inside. The older the eggs get, the more water it starts to have. This water in the egg will not form with the egg white instead it will create a puddle of broken whites in the water. You will end up with an poached egg with less egg white. I personally never tried this because I am pretty sure the egg that I had used before is not just 1-2 days old, they’re probably in my refrigerator for a week or so.
• The Vortex Method – this method requires you to stir the water in a circular motion before putting the egg. This will make the egg swirl in circular and will at least keep the egg white together. I’ve tried this method and it does work, but if you are not using a fresh egg, expects the small pieces of egg white to scatter in the water. That’s actually the water in the egg that mixes with the egg white.
• The Strainer Method – this method involves using a strainer to remove the excess water from the egg. This works if you are not using a fresh egg. What you do is you crack the egg on the fine strainer and let the water drip before transferring it to a cup. I’ve discovered this method awhile ago. I was hesitant to try it because I was worried that the egg will break when I transfer it from the strainer to a cup, I was wrong. This is the method that I used to make this poached egg, and I have to say it was pretty happy with the result. The have a perfectly poached egg and this time I have more egg white as well. This is the method that I will be using from now on.
• Vinegar Method – this method simply requires adding small amount of white vinegar to the water. You will not be able to taste the vinegar at all. The purpose of the vinegar is to keep the egg whites close together. I’ve used this along with the vortex method and it also works. If not using a fresh egg, same with vortex method, this also creates small amount of egg whites scattered in the water

I have the detail instructions below on how to poach egg. You can also visit the post “How to Poach Egg”.

Substitute for Poached Egg

If you do not want to make poach egg, you can also make fried egg instead. Cook the fried egg in a way that the center is still very soft, this way it comes close to poach egg and you also get that runny yolk when you cut on it. It’s not traditional but it also work. Do not be hard on yourself if you cannot make a poach egg, fried or poach, it’s still egg 🙂

Ingredients for Turkish Egg

• Eggs – the main ingredient. Fresh is best but if not using fresh, I recommend doing the strainer method mentioned shoved. Details will be in Instruction section
• Plain Greek Yogurt – this is the creamy base where the poach egg will sit. Greek yogurt is best because it is thick with less water.
• Butter – I prefer using salted butter for more taste. If using unsalted Butter simply add a bit of salt. This is what will be drizzled on top of the poached egg. It’s a spicy melted butter sauce of some sort
• Seasoning and Spices – salt, dill and lots of peppers. I like using a combination of mild and hot peppers.
• Garnishing – totally optional but I find it made the dish taste even better by not only adding texture but also by balancing the taste. I chose Olives and Crumbled Feta to give the salty taste and sliced cucumber for a nice crunch and freshness. Plus Cucumber works well with the garlic yogurt, so good!

How to Make Turkish Egg

• Make the Yogurt Mixture: All you need to do with this is to mix yogurt, dill, minced garlic and salt. If you have fresh dill, that would be a better option. Fresh herbs are always better in terms of flavor. Make sure the yogurt is at room temperature so that it is more loose. You can add more or less seasoning and spices to adjust it to your preference. Spoon the yogurt in the serving plate, use the back of the spoon to spread the yogurt. You can add more yogurt up to 1//2 cup, I prefer mine with less yogurt so I only use 1/4 cup. Since we are using fresh garlic, be mindful of the amount you put as it could be a bit sharp when you add too much. For 1/4 cup of yogurt, use into small piece of garlic, unless you really like it extra garlicky then use a big piece of garlic. You can make the yogurt mixture a day ahead and keep it refrigerated or make it the same day since this is so easy to make, won’t take you more than 10 minutes to do this.
• Cook the Egg: You’ll need a large pan enough to hold 1 egg at a tine or a bigger pan to hold 2. For this recipe, we are using the strainer method on the assumption that we are both using fresh eggs. Pour the pan with water enough for the egg to cook, about 3-4 cups. Bring the water into a boil and once it comes to a full boil, lower the heat. You should see anymore vigorous bubble coming up. Keep it that way so that it doesn’t disturb the egg too much. Crack the egg in a sieve and let the excess water drip, about – minute. Make sure your sieve doesn’t have any sharp metal pieces protruding to avoid breaking the yolk. Carefully transfer the egg in a small bowl, this is important so you have more control when you put the egg in the hot water. Slowly pour the egg to the hot water and wait for 1 -2 minutes. The white should not be translucent anymore and the yolk starts to get cloudy. The longer you cook, the harder the yolk will be. Aim for a soft runny yolk. When it’s time to remove the egg, use a slotted spoon with hole to scoop the egg. This will allow the water to drip. Transfer the in the plate with yogurt. I mention before, you can make this ahead of time. If you are making a lot, make it at night and keep it in a large container full of water. Do not over crowd the container so you can remove it easily without breaking it.
• Make the Spiced Butter: the sliced butter is what it says it is. Simply melt the butter in a pan and add red pepper powder and flakes. I like using paprika, cayenne pepper and red Chile flakes. Any of these 3 will work. You can use all butter or make it half butter half olive oil. I prefer the mix of butter and oil just to reduce the amount of butter. Traditional Turkish Egg use pure melted butter. I also like adding a bit of salt to taste, that is if I am not using salted butter.
• Plate It: this is the moment. By this time you should already have the egg on the plate with the yogurt mixture. What’s left to do is to drizzle the spiced melted butter on top and to add the garnishing. Tue garnishing are optimal, but highly recommended. It made the dish even better by balancing the taste, adding more texture and freshness. Try it.

Ingredients:

• 2 – 3 Poached Eggs
• 1/3 cup plain Greek Yogurt
• 1/3 teaspoon table Salt
• 1 clove grated Garlic or 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Dill or 1 teaspoon fresh chopped Dill
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 1/4 teaspoon Red Chile Flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon Paprika

Garnishing:

• Crumbled Feta
• Olive
• Cucumber
• Cherry Tomato
• Chives

Instructions:

1. Make the Yogurt Mixture: In a bowl, mix yogurt, dill, grated garlic and salt. Spoon the yogurt in the serving plate, use the back of the spoon to spread it on the plate.
2. Cook the Egg: You’ll need a large pan enough to hold 1 egg at a time or a bigger pan to hold 2. For this recipe, we are using the strainer method on the assumption that we are both using fresh eggs. Pour the pan with water enough for the egg to cook, about 3-4 cups. Bring the water into a boil and once it comes to a full boil, lower the heat. You should see anymore vigorous bubble coming up. Keep it that way so that it doesn’t disturb the egg too much. Crack the egg in a sieve and let the excess water drip, about – minute. Make sure your sieve doesn’t have any sharp metal pieces protruding to avoid breaking the yolk. Carefully transfer the egg in a small bowl, this is important so you have more control when you put the egg in the hot water. Slowly pour the egg to the hot water and wait for 1 -2 minutes. The white should not be translucent anymore and the yolk starts to get cloudy. The longer you cook, the harder the yolk will be. Aim for a soft runny yolk. When it’s time to remove the egg, use a slotted spoon with hole to scoop the egg. This will allow the water to drip. Transfer the in the plate with yogurt. I mention before, you can make this ahead of time. If you are making a lot, make it at night and keep it in a large container full of water. Do not over crowd the container so you can remove it easily without breaking it.
3. Make the Spiced Butter: in a heated pan, add the butter. Wait for the butter to melt then add red pepper flakes and paprika or cayenne pepper. If not using salted butter, add a pinch of salt to taste.
4. Plate It: on the serving plate, spread the yogurt on top. Arrange the eggs and drizzle the spiced melted butter on top.
5. Garnish: Garnish as per your preference
6. Serve It: serve with bread on the side. I find that chewy texture bread like baguette, artisan bread, focaccia, flatbread, bagel or soft bread like naan are perfect for this dish.

Serves 1

Nutritional Information

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