this Kadıköy simitçi is here rain or shine |
I know what simits are: they look like this and are sold on every street corner. The Turks’ answer to hunger pangs on the go!
But what about mahlep? This I didn’t know. Was it similar to sahlep, a root or bulb of some sort? Well, …
.
.
sweet-smelling sesame-coated simits baked with mahlep |
It was my friend Oya who told me about these simits. She said I really must try them so I did! I asked her where to find mahlep and she said that any supermarket would have it with all the other spices, and she was right!
There in my small local Migros, there it was, right there! How come I had never noticed it before?
the St Lucie Cherry |
I have since discovered that mahlep (or mahlab in the original Arabic) is a fragrant spice made from the seeds of the St Lucie Cherry, a very dark, very sour cherry which appears on the mahlep tree in late summer. It has been used for centuries throughout the Middle East to give an aromatic flavour to pastries of all sorts: the cherry stones are cracked to extract the tiny seed kernel which is ground to a powder before use. The flavour is something like a combination of bitter almond and cherry.
Mahlep can be found in speciality markets abroad especially during the holiday season. Greek stores may carry it (mahlepi). They use it in Christmas vasilopita and Easter tsoureki. You can also order it online from www.penzeys.com – a site that looks very interesting. But the good news is that you can substitute any of the following which are much more common:
Ground fennel seeds/toz rezene tohumu
Ground cardamom/toz kakule
Ground almonds/toz badem
OR grind one 2-inch/5cm cinnamon stick/tarçin çubuğu with 3 cloves/karanfil and 1 bay leaf/defne yaprağı
Ingredients for Mahlepli Simit
Makes 20-25
250g/1 packet/9oz butter
4 cups flour + 1 packet Baking Powder( 10 g or approx 3 tsp NOT packed)
1tbsp mahlep (yemek kaşığı)
1 tsp salt (çay kaşığı)
2 tbsp vinegar (çorba kaşıgı)
½ cup olive oil
½ cup yogurt
2 egg yolks
Sesame seeds, to sprinkle
Method
· Pre-heat oven to 180°C/350°F.
· Place the mahlep, salt and sugar, the sieved flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add the butter cut into small pieces and rub into the flour mixture with your fingertips.
rubbing in the butter |
· Add the vinegar, olive oil and yogurt and mix to a soft dough. Cover and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
adding all the other ingredients |
· Remove. Take small pieces and roll them in your hands into long rounded shapes. Bring the ends together to form a ring (simit). Place on an ungreased baking tray.
· Brush with the beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
· Bake until risen and golden. Best served warm with tea!
warm and fragrant, fresh out of the oven |
Afiyet olsun!
Comments
As you can see, I have included the Turkish spoon measurements in brackets because this was an original Turkish recipe. The word for spoon in Turkish is kaşık but when it is preceded by another noun, the special genitive occurs: kaşığı.This is probably a good place to explain a little about Turkish spoons:
You may think a spoon is a spoon but no. Theirs are different!
a) The obvious one is a teaspoon: a Turkish teaspoon is much smaller than our English teaspoon: exactly half to be precise – 2 ml. (Ours is about 5 ml).
b) One yemek kaşığı = one tablespoon = 15 ml
c) Çorba kaşığı actually means a soup spoon but not as we know it. So a çorba kaşığı is the same as one of our tablespoons = 15 ml
In Turkey soup is eaten with a yemek kaşığı – our regular old tablespoon.
d) One tatlı kaşığı literally means a dessert spoon but it’s different: it’s the same as our teaspoon = 5ml
This isn’t really as confusing as it may look! Just if you are curious.
I first herd of mahlep from Aglaia on the island of Kea in Greece. It sounds similar to Duqqa which as far as I know is of Egyptian origin. It sounds wonderful sprinkled on these.
It must be the same thing then. But I don't know Duqqa …are you familiar with the penzey site by any chance? It looks great.
I can't wait to try this recipe! I just bought some mahlep a couple of weeks ago at a local Persian market out of curiosity after seeing it in a recipe that I DIDN'T copy…. hmmph! Penzey's is a great store and I'm lucky enough to have one just "down the hill" from me – my spice shelf is overflowing with little jars of their spices. Yikes! By the way, I love your site and have been going through all your recipes to find gems to enjoy! I was in Turkey last May and fell in love with the country and the food! I can't wait to return, but need to save some $$$ first!
Hi Jane C! I'm like you: if there is something new or different, I just have to try it! Good to hear more about Penzey's too. And finally, thanks for those kind things you say about my blog and Turkey generally! Nice to hear.
They look amazing.. so delicious. Great recipe. Ciao!
The foods of Turkey and your cooking are so exotic and I would love to try these dishes.
Well, you've told me something there, Caludia. I'm going to have to go to our local Tansaş now to see if they sell mahlep and if they do, I'm like you – why have I never noticed it before? 🙂
loved these mahlep simits, yummy! I posted the sesame-encrusted simit last week, we must be both in the mood for them! look forward to trying yours:)xxx http://www.ozlemsturkishtable.com
Good evening,
my favourite recipe for Kandil Simidi unfortunately got deleted, so I decided to try this one this time (tried a couple beforehand) with some changes from other recipes and they were perfect!
– sugar was not listed in the ingredients list, I added 1 Tbs
– I used 13 gr of salt (I always use gr for salt because it‘s easier for me to estimate, I like a bit more then 2% of flour content for savory recipes
– most recipes use egg white for the egg wash; I used 1 egg white
– I mixed the remaining egg yolk into the yoghurt, that should make the cookies richer ( I had a bit less butter at home, so the addition of the yolk was convenient)
– I lightly roasted the sesame seeds
– next time, I‘ll decrease the oven temperature, they got a little too brown too quick (still taste great, I like a good browning)
They were the most crispiest Kandil Simidi I have ever made, with the perfect balance of saltiness and depth from the mahlab. It‘s a keeper!
Greetings from Germany,
Kirana
Thank you for that Kirana. Worth trying!