Rice Pudding with Gum Mastic nimbuls(Damla Sakızlı Sütlaç)

When it comes to Turkish milky desserts, a considerable number of people in Turkey prefer mastic gum flavor. In Turkey mastic gum is used in milky desserts, ice cream (it's the best), and, naturally, chewing gum. Originally liquid, mastic gum is sold as hard small transculent lumps and melted in hot milk while making dessert. It can also be ground with mortar and pestle. This fragrant resin is cultivated from mastic trees that are native throughout the Mediterranean; however, the most famous ones come from Greek island of Chios. In the States, you can easily find Chios mastic gum, "tears of Chios" online, even through Amazon. I usually bring back a big bag of mastic gum when I visit Turkey.

Rice pudding is a traditional recipe that has different versions such as regular, baked, and with mastic gum.



























4 cups of milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup long grain rice
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
2-3 pieces of mastic gum

-Put rice and 2 cups of water in pot and cook until rice is soft. Drain.
-Put 3 cups of milk, rice, and salt in a pot and bring to a boil.
-Add sugar and keep cooking until rice gets really soft stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
-Mix well corn starch and remaining 1 cup of milk, and slowly stir in to the pudding along with mastic gum lumps. Cook until pudding thickens.
-Pour pudding into individual bowls or cups. (If you want baked pudding, make sure the bowls are oven safe.) If you do not want to bake your pudding, wait until pudding cools down and then put the bowls in the refrigerator.
-If you want baked pudding, place the bowls in a deep oven tray / dish. Fill the tray with water half way through the bowls.
-Broil them until golden brown on top. Let them cool and refrigerate.

Rice pudding is usually served with ground cinnamon on top. Try a scoop or two of ice cream on top on hot summer days.

Carrot Salad with Yogurt nimbuls(Yoğurtlu Havuç Salatası)

Carrot salad with yogurt is one of the greatly respected rakı companions. Mainly for this reason, that it's highly associated with consumption of alcohol, it's made rarely at homes by women who do not want to cause an increase in rakı consumption of their husbands, because any reason is a good reason to have rakı. Therefore, carrot salad with yogurt is made usually for big dinner parties or special occasions like New Year's eve or bayram dinners. However, you can find this simple yet delicious meze (appetizer/starter/hors d'oeuvre) at every pub that serves rakı, especially at seafood pubs. Surprisingly carrot salad with yogurt tastes even better at sloppy pubs than it does at home although it's most probably made with a low quality oil, you're lucky if it's olive oil at all, and yogurt. Yet again rakı fixes every imperfection.


























serves 2 to 3 people
4 cups of grated carrot
1 cup plain yogurt, preferably whole milk yogurt
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
salt
1 tbsp mayonnaise (optional)

-Heat oil in a skillet and add grated carrots. Stir until carrots are wilted.
-Put carrots in a bowl with yogurt, garlic, dill, and salt. Mix well.

Serve with crusty bread with any kind of meat.

note: At people's houses this meze is made with yogurt, but at pubs they sometimes use mayonnaise to thicken it up.

Vegeterian Zucchini Boat nimbuls(Kabak Bayıldı)

Remember that eggplant dish with a funny name, İmam Bayıldı (the priest fainted)? Kabak bayıldı is the "zucchinized" version of the same dish. Unlike imam bayıldı, which was originated in the Palace kitchens, kabak bayıldı was created in regular, non-imperial kitchens, yet inspired by the eggplant version.

In the very traditional way of preparing kabak bayıldı, zucchinis are deep fried before the stuffing process; however, I choose not to for a lighter and healthier dish.
























5 medium zucchinis, washed and halved lengthwise
3 medium onions, cut thinly in rounds or half moons
5-7 cloves of garlic, chopped
3-4 tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp spicy crushed peppers (optional)
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 bunch dill, finely chopped

-Cut the zucchini into two lengthwise and scoop out the seedy part. Place them in a wide, not so deep pot, scooped part facing up.
-In a skillet heat olive oil.
-Add onion and garlic. Cook until soft.
-Add diced tomato, sugar, salt and crushed pepper.
Cook for five minutes on medium stirring occasionally.
-Add parsley and dill after turning it off. (save some to garnish at the end)
-Stuff generously the zucchini boats with the sauce.
-Pour 1 cup of water on top. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for half an hour.
-Sprinkle dill and parsley and serve luke warm or cold.

Kabak bayıldı goes well with rice or bulgur pilaf and yogurt.