Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Turkey Related Subjects => Recipes & Turkish Cooking Section => Topic started by: xxbilleigh-joxx on September 05, 2010, 18:44:42 PM
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Hi all-
can anybody tell me what kind of rice they serve in the restaurants over there? (the rice with the brown rice looking bits in it) and is it available in the UK?
also, does anybody know of a good kofte recipe? have tried one out that ive found on the net but it was a bit spicy.
thankyou in advance for any help :)
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The "brown rice looking bits" are actually fried pasta. It's called Orzo, Risoni or Italian Rice and is available in most supermarkets in the UK. You can use Basmati, Jasmine or any other rice of your choice.
Put a small amount of Olive, Vegetable or Sun Flower oil in a pan together with a spoonful of the pasta and heat it until the pasta just begins to go golden. Then put your rice, salt and water in the pan with the pasta and boil it as normal.
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I bought a bag of the pasta rice things last time we were out and because the kids absolutely love "Turkish rice" I got a recipe from Fi and Eric (well Fi actually :D ) and the kids were amazed at the results, they thought I was a star chef. The really good news is that you use so little of the pasta that a 1kg bag will last you for months and months.
The recipe was as KKOB says but using butter, and we think butter does a great job. I think it's 40g pasta bits to 280g rice.
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Thanks so much guys- i love the stuff. can't wait to try it out xx
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Sounds good to me will definately give it a try.
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quote:
Originally posted by Scunner
I bought a bag of the pasta rice things last time we were out and because the kids absolutely love "Turkish rice" I got a recipe from Fi and Eric (well Fi actually :D ) and the kids were amazed at the results, they thought I was a star chef. The really good news is that you use so little of the pasta that a 1kg bag will last you for months and months.
The recipe was as KKOB says but using butter, and we think butter does a great job. I think it's 40g pasta bits to 280g rice.
Its actually me that cooks this rice in our house, although it is Fi's recipe.....lol
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Something strange here!Turkish rice with brown bits.The brown bits are not "orzo" in our Turkish rice recipe.But "Arpa".Arpa is in fact barley,hence it cooks out as brown bits.Put the arpa in the pan with oil,or butter if you wish cook until it turns brown, only a desertspoon full to a one person portion of rice.We use oil but add a small amount of olive oil so it does not burn.But similar to the descriptions above.But the special taste you get, is by cooking it in Chicken stock!not just water.When almost all the cooking liquid has boiled off,turn off the heat and cover the pan with with paper (news paper) will do.Leave it to rest so the rice separates as the water evaporates into the paper.Turkish rice with brown bits!!
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Hmmm I just checked the bag and yes it says arpa, and there is a barleyesque picture too so I guess it must indeed be barley and not small pasta. I've never really looked at the bag, just to see what was inside it. So I appear to have bought the wrong thing which could have ultimately turned out to be the right thing.
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and me ! :D
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Well the Turkish lady who gave me the recipe said it was pasta. Bag says Makarna on front and on back Arpa sehriye which translates to Barley Vermicelli.
Answer it's Barley pasta, pasta made by Barley flour.
Mystery solved
Glad to hear the recipe was a success Keith.
Fi
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It was thanks Fi, the twins had faces of happy shock that dad managed to do Turkish rice so close to the real thing ;)
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It could also be that it's called Barley / Arpa Pasta purely due to it's shape. A bit like Kelebek or Butterfly Pasta is butterfly shaped but still made from Durum Wheat, not butterflies.
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Ah but then would it have a picture of barley on the packet? Things are getting complicated in this topic now. As Alan points out, Kelebek pasta is not pasta made out of butterflies, that would be ridiculous. Kelebek pasta is quite obviously cake made out of butterflies.
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Well, if you search at Google images for barley, it doesn't look like the bits in the bag. They are way too uniform to be barley. Couple this with the fact that I've just checked and the bag I bought has an English language side which says "Durum Wheat Semolina Pasta" so I think it might be pasta :D
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OMG Gents - How confusing can you make it???
Just go to the pasta section in the supermarket & look for the smallest pasta(like rice grains) - Arpa Sehriye in Turkey, Orzo in the UK/Italy.
Buy, cook & enjoy :-)
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Hello, to make the best kofte use... 1 lb/450gr of mince, a large handful of dry breadcrumbs,a large handful of chopped parsley, 1 egg, 1 large clove of crushed garlic, 1 onion grated, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of dried oregano or thyme.
mix all the ingredients in a bowl and use your hand to sqaush it all together, then leave the mixture in the fridge for 30-40 mins. then make small oval shape balls flattening them slightly. then either fry them in some oil over a low to medium heat or simply grill or bbq until they go golden brown on the outside.
hope this helps. enjoy :)
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What, no chilli ?
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definitely chilli and your mince has to be both beef and lamb....
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Not everyone likes chilli you know [:o]
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as the girl said, they were too spicey! hence a spiceless recipe for kofte. also not everyone is keen on lamb mince but i would say 80% beef and 20% lamb is the perfect mix. as we know you cant buy a premixed pack of mince in england. but for those who prefer a little kick in their kofte add more cumin and some chilli. add what you think is to your taste. :)
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i don't mind if it has a bit of a kick but i'm a sensitive creature and i dont like food that burns :D
ps. thanks everyone...