This is my version of Yogurtlu Kebab in which I used lamb cubes served in a piquant tomato sauce on pita, and topped with plain yogurt. You can find another version with the recipe here .

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Yogurt has been the soul food in my family ever since I can remember, but we consumed it in its most modest form: plain. Occasionally we’d be adventurous and spike its flavor with minced garlic, a dash of salt and chopped fresh mint to serve with what Turkish cuisine classifies as summer vegetables, since green beans, eggplants, bell peppers or zucchini did not grow in Anatolian winters.

Yogurt’s use is not limited to being a flavorful topping for eggplants fried in olive oil, or a refreshing accompaniment with cucumbers and garlic or stuffed bell peppers and wine leaves. Grilled meats or spinach-filled phyllo would be considered incomplete without a side dish of plain yogurt, or cacik if it contained chopped cucumbers  and mint. 

Ottoman Emperor Sultan Süleyman introduced yogurt to France’s ailing King François I in 1542. According to “History of Food,” by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat (translated by Anthea Bell in 1992) after the health of the French king improved, the Ottoman envoy returned home taking the secret of yogurt making back with them, “and yogurt was forgotten for nearly four centuries.”

John F. Mariani, in the “Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink,” credits Turkish immigrants with the introduction of yogurt to the States in 1784. But its popularity wouldn’t arrive until 1940, when a man named “... Daniel Carasso emigrated to the United States and took over a small yogurt factory in the Bronx, New York. He was soon joined by Juan Metzger, and the two sold their yogurt under the name Dannon.”

Craig Claiborne’s “The New York Times Food Encyclopedia” states that “[Yogurt] first gained international prominence in the early 1900s when Ilya Metchnikov, a Russian bacteriologist, observed that the lifespan of Bulgarians, whose diet included the consumption of large quantities of soured milk, was 87 years and beyond.”

Today, the culinary versatility of yogurt is acclaimed worldwide. Yogurt is more than a fruit-flavoured light dessert or a healthy smoothie base. It enhances soups, marinates meats, dresses salads, moistens pancakes and replaces fatty creams in many recipes.

I was beside myself with joy when I recently saw ayran pronounced (I-run), on the dairy shelves of some Middle Eastern markets. Ayran is a national yogurt drink which refreshes the thirst of many during sizzling Anatolian summers. You can make it easily at home by stirring two parts yogurt to three parts of ice-cold water and a good pinch of salt. Served with extra ice, it's not only a healthy, thirst-quenching drink which is also an antidote against sunstroke, but I prefer it to a cold beer when grilled meat or a spicy dish is on the menu.

  ayran

Strained yogurt, known as Süzme yogurt  in Turkey - or Labneh in other Middle Eastern countries - is another product gaining in popularity and replacing cream cheese on bagels and toast or traditional cheese cake recipes in low-fat versions. I remember Babacim turning his homemade yogurt into a cheese-cloth lined sieve set over a large ceramic bowl, placing a dinner plate on top and leaving it in the fridge, overnight. By next morning we’d have a thick, creamy spread for our bread.

Whenever I was on antibiotics, I was given yogurt. As a child, I never questioned the explanation that it would protect me against bacteria. Now I know that antibiotics kill not only the bad, but also some of the beneficial bacteria in the intestines, causing diarrhea and gastrointestinal infections, and the “Lactobacillus acidophilus in yogurt produce bacteriocins, restoring natural intestinal cultures.”

Aside from its gastronomical and medicinal virtues, yogurt has its practical uses. Some sources claim that two servings a day clears canker sores, while others advise spreading yogurt on the skin and waiting 20 minutes before rinsing it off with lukewarm water to soothe the pain of sunburn, cleanse the skin and tighten up pores.

But, I’d rather eat yogurt than wear it !

Although many varieties and flavors fill the market, I prefer low-fat, plain yogurt containing active and living cultures. This gives me a base which I can turn into yogurt cheese (strained yogurt), healthy drinks, incorporate into salad dressings, sauces or baking. Whether it’s eaten plain, served with fruits, drunk as a smoothie or baked into a whole grain muffin, I could not imagine a day without yogurt.

I have been making cakes and pancakes with yogurt instead of buttermilk for years.  Below is a crepe recipe in which I used yogurt both in  the batter and as main part of its filling which is a lighter version of creme Anglais. 

Fresh Pear Crepe with Yogurt Custard 

Ingredients

4 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup plain yogurt

2 Tablespoons oil

1 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon grated orange rind

Filling

1- small package instant vanilla pudding

3 cups low fat vanilla yogurt

fresh fruit of choice (pears, strawberries, kiwi), sliced

Method

Beat eggs; add milk, yogurt, oil, flour, salt, sugar and rind in a mixing bowl until smooth. Leave at room temperature for one hour.

Meanwhile, in another large bowl combine pudding mix and yogurt. Beat until mixture thickens.  Cover with plastic film and refrigerate until use.

Heat a 10 inch skillet.

Brush with oil or butter and spoon in 3 Tablespoons of batter.

Tilt skillet to spread the batter evenly in the pan.

Cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 seconds, or edges of crepe pull away from sides of pan. Lift crepe with fingers and turn immediately onto waxed paper.

Repeat until batter is used up, oiling pan after each crepe.

Place 4 tablespoons of refrigerated filling in one half of the crepe and top with prepared fresh fruit. Fold the other half over.

Dust with powdered sugar.

Serve with a dollop of strained yogurt sweetened with maple syrup. Extra maple syrup for the sweet tooth may be served on the side.

Strained Yogurt sweetened with Maple Syrup

1 cup firm strained yogurt

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Using a fork or wire whisk, beat the ingredients together until creamy.

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Afiyet Olsun.  Bon Appetit.

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Füsun Atalay ~ Copyright © Will of my Own - 2011