Food&Drink
It may seem a strange idea to most Westerners, but there was a time when Turkey was awash with purpose-designed pudding shops. After a period in which they seemed to vanish, suddenly all things dessert are back in fashion again, with several chain pudding
The ‘Pudding Shop’ in Sultanahmet gained fame in the 1960s as the place to hang out and subsist on cheap yet tasty puddings. But these days wandering past the front counter and peering in the front window hoping to see displaced students brooding about global warming while supping on chicken-breast pudding will only lead to disappointment as the most famous of all pudding shops has evolved into a general fast-food restaurant.
The term ‘Pudding Shop’ was probably an English translation from ‘Muhallebicisi’, or the place where puddings made by a muhallebici were sold. This cook’s name in turn came from the original, plain smooth milk pudding called a muhallebi. Muhallebi, or milk puddings, as a culinary genre have been around for centuries, and have been known since the 15th century in Ottoman history; references to such puddings, or even to milk itself, were infrequent but present in texts on the Ottoman kitchen at the time. Without adequate refrigeration and storage, milk was difficult to transport from Anatolia to İstanbul, so the populace more commonly consumed yoghurt. In the 17th century dairies close to İstanbul opened and fresh milk and all its related puddings were more readily available. Muhallebicis would wander the street selling pudding in much the same way as vendors now hawk simit or corn on the cob.
The original ‘muhallebi’ is a plain, smooth milk pudding, but over time a myriad variations were added to the muhallebici’s repertoire. Sütlaç (rice pudding) is made with rice for thickening and texture; it becomes fırın sütlaç after the addition of a couple of egg yolks and baking in the oven to develop a blackish-brown caramel top. Taking the simple form and adding chicken breast results in tavuk göğsü, or chicken-breast pudding; if this is made well the potentially stringy, fibrous tissue is completely undetectable. Brown the bottom of this pudding and it becomes kazandibi, or tavukgöğsü kazandibi. A much richer version containing significant amounts of nuts is keflkül. Added to these are the variations that are made with the addition of gül suyu (rose water) or perhaps sakız (mastic).
Gullaç, a cousin of the thickened milk pudding, whilst available all year around, is specially prepared and eaten during Ramazan. It has closer ties to baklava in that layers of ultra-thin pastry filled with crushed nuts are used to construct the dessert. Güllaç, however, is simple to make and light in terms of fat content while baklava is anything but!
Many of the muhallebicisi, or pudding shops, sell much more than milk-based desserts these days, offering a full range of Turkish and sometimes international desserts. Some have diversified so much that they sell savoury as well as sweet selections.
Güllaç
Ingredients (makes 10 portions)
1 litre full-cream fresh milk
200gr granulated sugar
120gr pre-made güllaç leaves,
divided into 12 portions
80gr chopped walnuts
3-4 tablespoons pomegranate
seeds
Method
Scald the milk in a pan, then add sugar and stir until dissolved. Ladle 60ml (4 tablespoons) into the base of dish. Lay güllaç across milk, and ladle in another 60ml milk. Allow to soak and become soft. Continue until 6 portions have been soaked, then spread 2/3 crushed walnuts across. Repeat ladling milk and güllaç until all leaves used up. Pour over remaining milk and sprinkle with walnuts and pomegranate seeds. Allow to cool, then chill before serving.
The amount of sugar can be increased or decreased according to taste. Other fillings such as pistachio and kaymak can be used, or vanilla or rosewater can be added to the milk.
Özsüt
The Özsüt Pudding shop is a famous Turkish chain of patisseries specialising in an irresistible range of traditional desserts, puddings, cream cakes, baklava and biscuits guaranteed to undermine the most committed dieter. High on the list of lovely offerings must surely be their tavuk göğüsü, which is one of the most mouth-watering treats imaginable and the owner of the most improbable name for a dessert which means simply ‘chicken breast’. Trust me, this delicacy is one of the most memorable sweets you will ever eat and really does contain chicken breast! Other desserts range from sütlaç a kind of baked, sugary rice pudding, to the truly exquisite ‘ice cream cups’ drenched in wonderful sauces which I defy anyone with tastebuds to resist. There are also rich cheesecakes and kurabiyeler (cookies) that will not disappoint you.
As we enter the holy month of Ramazan the famous güllaç, a layered dessert which is flavoured with rose water and filled with walnuts, will be on offer and is certainly worth a try at least once (who am I kidding?).
Özsut has a sleek website complete with glitzy photos of gateaux in all their creamy glory. There are now branches across town and in most of the big shopping malls, including Akmerkez in Etiler and Capitol in Altunizade. The shop’s attractive logo translates broadly as ‘For the sweet things in life’, a good summary of the dessert heaven that you will discover when you visit it. Chris Bird
Özsüt
Divanyolu Caddesi, Hacı Tahsin Bey Sokak No 48, Sultanahmet
(0212) 512 7780, www.ozsut.com.tr
İnci
One of a kind, and, sadly, not likely to survive much longer given the fast pace of the redevelopment of İstiklal Caddesi, İnci is a shop that specialises in selling profiteroles. Yes, that is its raison d’etre! There may be other biscuits and cakes sitting on the shelves, and an old-fashioned ice-cream machine at the rear, but really people come here in their dozens to tuck into bowls of chocolate-covered choux pastry (4 YTL per portion), a hangover, surely, from the days when the French held more of a sway on Pera than they do today.
In oh so Turkish fashion, the puddings cannot be downed with a coffee, just with a boring old glass of water. This is clearly not helpful in the days of a Starbucks on every corner. İnci is also very pushed for space, which means that in summer profiterole-eaters literally flood out onto the pavements. For lovers of nostalgia, the shop retains its original shopfront with painted gold lettering as well as its original painted ceilings – none of which is likely to stand in the way of the developers! Pat Yale
İnci
İstiklal Caddesi No 56B
(0212) 243 24 12
Saray Muhallebici
In business since 1935, the Saray Pudding Shop is another of those İstiklal Caddesi institutions, albeit one that has been forced to move across the road because its original location is being redeveloped. It’s a clean, bright, inviting place, which prides itself on a speedy turnover of puddings, including, of course, the dessert du jour, güllaç. The menu divides itself into two sections, one for sütlü tatlılar (milk puddings), the other for hamurlu tatlılar (pastries) which means that if, like Mary Jane, you’ve had enough of rice pudding, you can instead opt for a baklava. Pudding prices average around 4 YTL regardless. And if you fancy a döner while you’re at it – no problem, you’ll find that here too. Pat Yale
Saray Muhallebici
İstiklal Caddesi No 173, Beyoğlu
(0212) 292 3434
Bolulu Hasan Usta
On any given night in Pera, Bolulu Hasan Usta Süt Tatlıları is a haunt for young people looking to get their late-night sweet fix. Located opposite the Hüseyin Ağa Camii, about halfway down İstiklal Caddesi, the upper storey of this pudding shop commands a fantastic view of the Grand Rue at its bustling best. The dining rooms are kept fastidiously neat and the service is fast as well as friendly.
Hasan Usta serves up several classic İstanbul dessert treats, including sütlaç (4.25 YTL), krem flokola (4.25 YTL) and dondurma (ice-cream, 3.75 YTL). In time for Ramazan, it is busy cranking out the güllaç (4 YTL) as well. This güllaç is light and sweet, with a pleasant rice and milk flavour accented by pomegranate seeds. The only drawback is that the over-zealous counter boys can overdo the pistachio powder on top! If you’re looking for a quality pudding in Beyoğlu (and elsewhere), however, Hasan Usta makes a good all round choice.
Oh, and of course it’s ‘Bolulu’ because, as every good Turk knows, everything excellent on the culinary front is believed to come from Bolu! Rich Carreiro
Bolulu Hasan Usta
İstiklal Caddesi, Ağa Cami karşısı
(0212) 245 22 44
Konyalı
Of all the plum places to put a pudding shop the Topkapı Sarayı surely has to be numero uno! And guess what? - that is where the Konyalı pudding shop is lucky enough to have its premier branch. The trouble is that to visit it you have to pay the entry fee to the Palace, which makes a dessert a trifle pricy. No matter, because there is a much cheaper branch just opposite Sirkeci train station which has been in business since 1897. It may lack the views (and the style) but the puddings, the böreks and the biscuits are all just as tasty, and while you tuck into them you get to eyeball the testimonies of the many worthies (Queen Elizabeth, Yasar Kemal, Süleyman Demirel) who have savoured the same over the years, albeit over at the Palace.
For Ramazan of course Konyalı is dishing up güllaç, but if you don’t think you could face another portion, then a particularly delicious alternative is Fatih sarması, a sort of Swiss roll sprinkled with grated coconut and pistachio.
Konyalı
Mimar Kemalattin Caddesi No 5, Vakıf Hanı, Sirkeci
(0212) 513 9610
Rice pudding again?
Writer: Sharon Croxford
It may seem a strange idea to most Westerners, but there was a time when Turkey was awash with purpose-designed pudding shops. After a period in which they seemed to vanish, suddenly all things dessert are back in fashion again, with several chain pudding
The ‘Pudding Shop’ in Sultanahmet gained fame in the 1960s as the place to hang out and subsist on cheap yet tasty puddings. But these days wandering past the front counter and peering in the front window hoping to see displaced students brooding about global warming while supping on chicken-breast pudding will only lead to disappointment as the most famous of all pudding shops has evolved into a general fast-food restaurant.
The term ‘Pudding Shop’ was probably an English translation from ‘Muhallebicisi’, or the place where puddings made by a muhallebici were sold. This cook’s name in turn came from the original, plain smooth milk pudding called a muhallebi. Muhallebi, or milk puddings, as a culinary genre have been around for centuries, and have been known since the 15th century in Ottoman history; references to such puddings, or even to milk itself, were infrequent but present in texts on the Ottoman kitchen at the time. Without adequate refrigeration and storage, milk was difficult to transport from Anatolia to İstanbul, so the populace more commonly consumed yoghurt. In the 17th century dairies close to İstanbul opened and fresh milk and all its related puddings were more readily available. Muhallebicis would wander the street selling pudding in much the same way as vendors now hawk simit or corn on the cob.
The original ‘muhallebi’ is a plain, smooth milk pudding, but over time a myriad variations were added to the muhallebici’s repertoire. Sütlaç (rice pudding) is made with rice for thickening and texture; it becomes fırın sütlaç after the addition of a couple of egg yolks and baking in the oven to develop a blackish-brown caramel top. Taking the simple form and adding chicken breast results in tavuk göğsü, or chicken-breast pudding; if this is made well the potentially stringy, fibrous tissue is completely undetectable. Brown the bottom of this pudding and it becomes kazandibi, or tavukgöğsü kazandibi. A much richer version containing significant amounts of nuts is keflkül. Added to these are the variations that are made with the addition of gül suyu (rose water) or perhaps sakız (mastic).
Gullaç, a cousin of the thickened milk pudding, whilst available all year around, is specially prepared and eaten during Ramazan. It has closer ties to baklava in that layers of ultra-thin pastry filled with crushed nuts are used to construct the dessert. Güllaç, however, is simple to make and light in terms of fat content while baklava is anything but!
Many of the muhallebicisi, or pudding shops, sell much more than milk-based desserts these days, offering a full range of Turkish and sometimes international desserts. Some have diversified so much that they sell savoury as well as sweet selections.
Güllaç
Ingredients (makes 10 portions)
1 litre full-cream fresh milk
200gr granulated sugar
120gr pre-made güllaç leaves,
divided into 12 portions
80gr chopped walnuts
3-4 tablespoons pomegranate
seeds
Method
Scald the milk in a pan, then add sugar and stir until dissolved. Ladle 60ml (4 tablespoons) into the base of dish. Lay güllaç across milk, and ladle in another 60ml milk. Allow to soak and become soft. Continue until 6 portions have been soaked, then spread 2/3 crushed walnuts across. Repeat ladling milk and güllaç until all leaves used up. Pour over remaining milk and sprinkle with walnuts and pomegranate seeds. Allow to cool, then chill before serving.
The amount of sugar can be increased or decreased according to taste. Other fillings such as pistachio and kaymak can be used, or vanilla or rosewater can be added to the milk.
Özsüt
The Özsüt Pudding shop is a famous Turkish chain of patisseries specialising in an irresistible range of traditional desserts, puddings, cream cakes, baklava and biscuits guaranteed to undermine the most committed dieter. High on the list of lovely offerings must surely be their tavuk göğüsü, which is one of the most mouth-watering treats imaginable and the owner of the most improbable name for a dessert which means simply ‘chicken breast’. Trust me, this delicacy is one of the most memorable sweets you will ever eat and really does contain chicken breast! Other desserts range from sütlaç a kind of baked, sugary rice pudding, to the truly exquisite ‘ice cream cups’ drenched in wonderful sauces which I defy anyone with tastebuds to resist. There are also rich cheesecakes and kurabiyeler (cookies) that will not disappoint you.
As we enter the holy month of Ramazan the famous güllaç, a layered dessert which is flavoured with rose water and filled with walnuts, will be on offer and is certainly worth a try at least once (who am I kidding?).
Özsut has a sleek website complete with glitzy photos of gateaux in all their creamy glory. There are now branches across town and in most of the big shopping malls, including Akmerkez in Etiler and Capitol in Altunizade. The shop’s attractive logo translates broadly as ‘For the sweet things in life’, a good summary of the dessert heaven that you will discover when you visit it. Chris Bird
Özsüt
Divanyolu Caddesi, Hacı Tahsin Bey Sokak No 48, Sultanahmet
(0212) 512 7780, www.ozsut.com.tr
İnci
One of a kind, and, sadly, not likely to survive much longer given the fast pace of the redevelopment of İstiklal Caddesi, İnci is a shop that specialises in selling profiteroles. Yes, that is its raison d’etre! There may be other biscuits and cakes sitting on the shelves, and an old-fashioned ice-cream machine at the rear, but really people come here in their dozens to tuck into bowls of chocolate-covered choux pastry (4 YTL per portion), a hangover, surely, from the days when the French held more of a sway on Pera than they do today.
In oh so Turkish fashion, the puddings cannot be downed with a coffee, just with a boring old glass of water. This is clearly not helpful in the days of a Starbucks on every corner. İnci is also very pushed for space, which means that in summer profiterole-eaters literally flood out onto the pavements. For lovers of nostalgia, the shop retains its original shopfront with painted gold lettering as well as its original painted ceilings – none of which is likely to stand in the way of the developers! Pat Yale
İnci
İstiklal Caddesi No 56B
(0212) 243 24 12
Saray Muhallebici
In business since 1935, the Saray Pudding Shop is another of those İstiklal Caddesi institutions, albeit one that has been forced to move across the road because its original location is being redeveloped. It’s a clean, bright, inviting place, which prides itself on a speedy turnover of puddings, including, of course, the dessert du jour, güllaç. The menu divides itself into two sections, one for sütlü tatlılar (milk puddings), the other for hamurlu tatlılar (pastries) which means that if, like Mary Jane, you’ve had enough of rice pudding, you can instead opt for a baklava. Pudding prices average around 4 YTL regardless. And if you fancy a döner while you’re at it – no problem, you’ll find that here too. Pat Yale
Saray Muhallebici
İstiklal Caddesi No 173, Beyoğlu
(0212) 292 3434
Bolulu Hasan Usta
On any given night in Pera, Bolulu Hasan Usta Süt Tatlıları is a haunt for young people looking to get their late-night sweet fix. Located opposite the Hüseyin Ağa Camii, about halfway down İstiklal Caddesi, the upper storey of this pudding shop commands a fantastic view of the Grand Rue at its bustling best. The dining rooms are kept fastidiously neat and the service is fast as well as friendly.
Hasan Usta serves up several classic İstanbul dessert treats, including sütlaç (4.25 YTL), krem flokola (4.25 YTL) and dondurma (ice-cream, 3.75 YTL). In time for Ramazan, it is busy cranking out the güllaç (4 YTL) as well. This güllaç is light and sweet, with a pleasant rice and milk flavour accented by pomegranate seeds. The only drawback is that the over-zealous counter boys can overdo the pistachio powder on top! If you’re looking for a quality pudding in Beyoğlu (and elsewhere), however, Hasan Usta makes a good all round choice.
Oh, and of course it’s ‘Bolulu’ because, as every good Turk knows, everything excellent on the culinary front is believed to come from Bolu! Rich Carreiro
Bolulu Hasan Usta
İstiklal Caddesi, Ağa Cami karşısı
(0212) 245 22 44
Konyalı
Of all the plum places to put a pudding shop the Topkapı Sarayı surely has to be numero uno! And guess what? - that is where the Konyalı pudding shop is lucky enough to have its premier branch. The trouble is that to visit it you have to pay the entry fee to the Palace, which makes a dessert a trifle pricy. No matter, because there is a much cheaper branch just opposite Sirkeci train station which has been in business since 1897. It may lack the views (and the style) but the puddings, the böreks and the biscuits are all just as tasty, and while you tuck into them you get to eyeball the testimonies of the many worthies (Queen Elizabeth, Yasar Kemal, Süleyman Demirel) who have savoured the same over the years, albeit over at the Palace.
For Ramazan of course Konyalı is dishing up güllaç, but if you don’t think you could face another portion, then a particularly delicious alternative is Fatih sarması, a sort of Swiss roll sprinkled with grated coconut and pistachio.
Konyalı
Mimar Kemalattin Caddesi No 5, Vakıf Hanı, Sirkeci
(0212) 513 9610