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Tarhana – A Labour of Love

28th October 2018 By Lulu Witt 5 Comments

Tarhana is one of the oldest known instant soups. Possibly the first of its kind, created centuries ago by the Turks living in Central Asia and then spreading widely.

Tarhana

Combining many foods that have been collected and harvested over the summer, they are then cooked, dried and crushed to create a delicious soup.  It is a fermented cereal-based product and can be simply defined as a mixture of yoghurt, cereal flours, yeast, different vegetables, herbs, and spices.

Tarhana

Bread of any description (this being lavaş) is being dried out in a small village street, ready to be crushed into the Tarhana mix.

In the past I have bought tarhana from the village ladies at the market but I have never understood how to make the soup properly. I thought adding water and bringing it slowly to the boil was just about all I had to do. However, I have since been told that it is far tastier to pre-soak it before cooking it.

My friend Kat staying at George House in Faralya managed to catch these two lovely ladies hard at work making Tarhana at the end of the summer. It is necessary to make this whilst the weather is still very hot and the ingredients have the opportunity to really dry out.

Tarhana by Kat Kamstra - Seasonal Cook in Turkey

Photo by Kat Kamstra

Tarhana by Kat Kamstra - Seasonal Cook in Turkey

Photo by Kat Kamstra

Tarhana by Kat Kamstra - Seasonal Cook in Turkey

Photo by Kat Kamstra

Tarhana by Kat Kamstra - Seasonal Cook in Turkey

Photo by Kat Kamstra

Garlic by Kat Kamstra - Seasonal Cook in Turkey

Photo by Kat Kamstra

Tarhana by Kat Kamstra - Seasonal Cook in Turkey

Photo by Kat Kamstra

Tarhana by Kat Kamstra - Seasonal Cook in Turkey

Photo by Kat Kamstra

Tarhana by Kat Kamstra - Seasonal Cook in Turkey

Photo by Kat Kamstra

Tarhana by Kat Kamstra - Seasonal Cook in Turkey

Photo by Kat Kamstra

Aşure by Kat Kamstra

Photo by Kat Kamstra Aşure cooking gently all day and night

Aşure by Kat Kamstra

Photo by Kat Kamstra Aşure cooking slowly, needs constant attention as it cooked in such a large cauldron

Aşure by Kat Kamstra

Photo by Kat Kamstra

Aşure by Kat Kamstra

Photo by Kat Kamstra

I was served Tarhana Soup by Şerife in Fethiye who makes it every year and hers is also absolutely delicious. It is truly a labour of love. Incredibly time and energy consuming. If you are ever offered some of the dried concoction to make up yourself at a later point, treasure it! It is hard to put a value on it.

Making Tarhana

The process begins but putting in 5 kg of thick (suzme) yogurt. Lentils are next.

The village womens’ hearts and souls go into this. Each one may slightly differ, believing theirs is the most delicious ever. Generally they are all wonderful and occasionally one will be truly sublime. I have to say Serife’s is that.

Making Tarhana

Dried beans, chick peas, split peas, bulgur have been added

It is impossible to get one true recipe that stands for all time for the Tarhana base as it can vary quite a bit. It depends on what they have on hand and how they are feeling at the time. If the garlic crop has not been a good one, they might just choose not to put in any at all. Or if their crop of tomatoes is better than usual, they might add more.

Chopped tomatoes, peppers, basil, parsley of vast quantities, purslane and other greens are next

Making Tarhana

Salt goes last and it’s time to start scrunching

Making Tarhana

At this point between 1.5 and 2 kg of flour is then mixed in.

Making Tarhana

It changes colour after the flour has been added

After the mixing process, tarhana dough as they call it, is fermented for up to 10 days and then dried. Both lactic acid bacteria and yeast fermentations occur simultaneously during tarhana production.

Tarhana has a sour and acidic taste with a yeast flavour on top. This not only sounds complex but possibly not very appetising either. However, the two complicated underlying flavours actually work extremely well together and give this soup an undeniably tasty depth.

Making Tarhana

It is then dollopped out onto a clean sheet and laid in the sun for a few hours before being turned

Making Tarhana

Turning it over

Making Tarhana

Once it has sufficiently dried, it is ground by hand and sieved

Making Tarhana

What cannot be ground finely enough by hand will then be placed in a blender

Making Tarhana

Since tarhana is a good source of B vitamins, minerals, organic acids, and free amino acids, and since it is a product of lactic acid bacteria and of a yeast fermentation, it can be considered a probiotic food.

Tarhana

Another neighbour dries it in bowls but this takes considerably longer. It is bagged in ‘tulum’ – natural fibre, breathable bags such as calico.

Here’s hoping that you can find some Tarhana soup base and enjoy making it up to suit your palette. I will include instructions on how to make up the soup below. It is important to follow these carefully as by just adding water to the Tarhana mix will not be the same, according to the Tarhana aficionados around here.

Tarhana Soup
 
Print
Prep time
5 mins
Cook time
15 mins
Total time
20 mins
 
Author: Lulu Witt
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: Turkish
Serves: 3 - 4
Ingredients
  • 100g tarhana or the equivalent of a large tea glass (100 ml)
  • 1 flat Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 4 cups water, hot or cold
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tsp thyme (optional)
  • 1 tsp dried mint (optional)
  • 1 or 2 cloves crushed garlic
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • ½ tsp red pepper powder
Instructions
  1. Place the tarhana into a saucepan with 1 cup cold water
  2. Stir the tomato paste in well
  3. Leave it for half an hour to thicken
  4. Add 4 cups water, heat gently and continue mixing
  5. Do not leave it at all. It will thicken. Keep stirring.
  6. Add 100ml milk and stir until it has taken on a nice colour.
  7. Gently cook for several minutes and then add the garlic, herbs and salt as desired
  8. In a small pan melt the butter and the red pepper powder
  9. Allow it to bubble for 30 seconds and then pour on top of the soup in the pan
3.5.3251

And here is a recipe with a slightly different method for non-vegetarians.

Tarhana Çorbası/Tarhana Soup

Tarhana

Photo by Claudia Turgut

Filed Under: General blog, Grains and Pulses, Soup, Village Life

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Suzan says

    28th October 2018 at 12:35 pm

    Thank you for sharing this. If I ever see this I will try it.

    Reply
  2. Ken Curtis says

    31st October 2018 at 1:15 pm

    Our former landlord in Dalyan used to make this – it’s deeee-licious. The photography by Kat Kamstra accompanying this post is exquisite.

    Reply
  3. cathy says

    31st October 2018 at 1:32 pm

    Fascinating, it’s lovely to see these old ways preserved, can’t wait to try some. Great photos also.

    Reply
  4. Anonymous says

    31st October 2018 at 10:44 pm

    Sounds quite extraordinary would love to try it but making the taharna is certainly a Labour of love you’ll have to do for me one day!!

    Reply
  5. Andrea Fletcher says

    8th February 2020 at 11:36 pm

    Love this post and photos, soup sounds delicious.

    Reply

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Hi! My name is Claudia and I am the original author of 'A Seasonal Cook in Turkey'
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Hi, I'm Lulu. I made it my goal to cook from fresh many years ago, so Claudia's blog resonated with me immediately. I hope you will enjoy the new journey with 'Seasonal Cook in Turkey' discovering new ways with seasonal ingredients and hearing the odd story or two from our little Turkish village on the Turquoise Coast. Read More…

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