Turkish Eggs (Çılbır)

Name: Turkish Eggs (Çılbır)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 17 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: 125 g Thick strained yogurt (Greek-style); 1 clove Garlic clove; 2 pinches Salt; 2 slices Sourdough bread; 80 g Cucumber; Tomato × ½; 1 tbsp Butter; 1 tsp Sweet paprika; ¼ tsp Chili flakes; 15 ml White vinegar, for the poaching water; Very fresh eggs × 2; 1 tbsp Fresh dill, chopped

17 min · Medium · Serves 1

700 kcal per serving · 32g protein

Çılbır is an old Ottoman breakfast that found a second life on TikTok and Instagram: soft poached eggs on a thick bed of garlicky yogurt, with hot paprika butter spooned over the top. The contrast is the point: tangy room-temperature yogurt, warm runny yolks and sizzling red butter, all mopped up with toasted sourdough. Cucumber and tomato on the side make it a full breakfast plate.

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Ingredients

125 g Thick strained yogurt (Greek-style)
1 clove Garlic clove
2 pinches Salt
2 slices Sourdough bread
80 g Cucumber
Tomato × ½
1 tbsp Butter
1 tsp Sweet paprika
¼ tsp Chili flakes
15 ml White vinegar, for the poaching water
Very fresh eggs × 2
1 tbsp Fresh dill, chopped

Method

Mix the garlic yogurt

Grate the garlic into a bowl with the yogurt and a pinch of the salt and stir until smooth. Leave the garlic yogurt on the counter so it loses the fridge chill while everything else cooks.
Bring the poaching water to a boil

Fill a medium pot with water at least 8 cm deep, cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat, until large bubbles roll across the surface.
Toast the sourdough

Toast the sourdough slices in a dry pan over medium heat for 2 minutes per side while the water heats, until golden and crisp.
Slice the cucumber and tomato

Slice the cucumber and tomato into rounds and arrange the cucumber and tomato on a side plate next to the bread.
Make the paprika butter

Melt the butter in the same pan over low heat for 1 minute, until foaming, then take the pan off the heat and stir in the paprika and chili flakes.
Turn the water down to a bare simmer

Turn the heat under the pot down to low until only small bubbles rise from the bottom and the surface barely trembles, then add the white vinegar.
Crack the eggs into cups

Crack each egg into its own small cup or ramekin, keeping the yolk whole.
Poach the eggs

Lower each cup until the rim touches the water, tip the egg in gently and poach the eggs for 3 minutes without stirring, until the whites are opaque and set but the yolks still look soft and domed.
Lift out and check the eggs

Lift each egg out with a slotted spoon and nudge the yolk with a fingertip: the white should feel firm and the yolk should wobble like a water balloon. Rest the eggs on kitchen paper for 10 seconds to drain.
Plate the çılbır

Spread the garlic yogurt in a wide swirl on a plate and set the poached eggs on top. Spoon the paprika butter over the eggs, scatter over the dill and a pinch of the salt, and eat straight away with the toast, cucumber and tomato.