Binnur's Turkish Cookbook

TurkishCookbook.com - Delicious, healthy and easy-to-make Ottoman & Turkish recipes

Monday, March 21, 2005

Sesame Seed Rings

(Susamli Simit)

Sesame Seed Rings
125 ml salted butter (room temperature)
125 ml unsalted butter (room temperature)
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoonful (~1/4 cup) Turkish plain yogurt
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour (use fine strainer)
1 egg yolk
1 tsp mahlep

Top:
Sesame seeds
1 egg white

First, pre-heat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Put all the ingredients in a large plastic bowl. Use your hand to mix them well. Grab some dough the size of a little ball and shape it like a ring, with the diameter being approximately 2 inches.

First dip (only one side) in the egg white then in the sesame seeds. Place on a baking tray. Repeat for the remaining dough and then bake for 30-35 minutes or until the tops take a light pink colour. This recipe will make 36 pieces.

Best served with tea or milk.

Mahlep is obtained from the fruits of the Idris Tree. It is used in a variety of dishes including Kandil Simidi. It also keeps the food fresh and makes it brittle.

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21 Comments:

At 8:09 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm looking for Kacamak recipe. If you happen to haveone would you please be kind enough to include it on this site. Thank you.

Gulacti B....

 
At 9:46 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

I do have a recipe for Kacamak, and I'll post it soon. :)

 
At 10:56 PM, Blogger Mother of Abdullaah said...

This is a very nice website because we can correspondence to the cook! Please keep posting. My husband is Turkish and I love Turkish food. I crave for Simit and I'd love to make one day. Anyway what is Mahlep?

 
At 3:04 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Hi Ummu,
Thank you very much.I just posted some information about mahlep under the recipe:)

 
At 10:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am interested in finding a recipe for just plain simit. The bread. Do you happen to know how to make it and if so, I would greatly appreciate it. I love your site. It is easy to read & understand and I love that you provided pictures! Also, a recipe for profiterol (I hope that I spelled them correctly)

Thank You!

 
At 12:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

my husband is also Turkish, I need some recipe's. he is from a village close to Gersun. If anyone has some native recipe's I would greatly appreciate them. Also I need yogart recipe's ,specially drinks. e-mail me at momof4inva@yahoo.com

 
At 10:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Binnur hanim,

Can mahlep be substituted for anything else? I live in Las Vegas and cannot find it here.

Tesekkurler,
Tony

 
At 10:35 AM, Blogger Binnur said...

Merhaba Tony,
Mahlep's taste can't be substituted :( But you don't have to use it,
Mahlep just adds flavour, without it, it is still yummy:)
Sevgilerimle,

 
At 9:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Binnur Hanim'cigim,
1 paket mahlep neye tekamul ediyor? Tam olcu olarak soylerseniz memnum olurum.
Ayse

 
At 9:50 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Sevgili Ayse,
Bir paket mahlep tam bir tatli kasigi. Arzu edeseniz 1 cay kasigi da kullanabilirsiniz. Mahlep tadini ne kadar almak istedinize bagli:)
Sevgilerimle,

 
At 5:25 PM, Blogger Elcin Haskollar said...

i was wondering if you had any suggestions to find this infamous item called "mahlep"? I live in the east coast.

PS: so excited, i'm making this tonight. yay!

many many thanks.

keep up the awesome work! i'm a big fan!

 
At 3:34 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Hi Elcin,
I buy Mahlep from Highland Farms, Mediterranean Stores or from Turkish Groceries in Toronto. I think none of them are located where you live! Tulumba.com may have Mahlep....but even without Mahlep Sesame Seed Rings are so delicious, butter and sesame seeds give it enough relish... give it a try:)
Sevgilerimle,

 
At 8:26 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Binnur,
Thanks so much for your site. I am excited to try to make simit; the simit I had in Istanbul was delicious. ls Mahlab the same thing as Mehlep? I found this on the penzey's spice website (www.penzeys.com):

"Mahlab, the pit of the sour cherry, has been used for centuries in the Middle East (especially in Turkey and Syria) as a sweet/sour, nutty addition to breads, cookies and biscuits. This old spice has gained an American following with the new interest in Mediterranean cooking and is mentioned in several popular new cookbooks.
Whole Turkish Mahlab"

Thanks again,
Alev

 
At 2:49 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Mahlep is obtained from the fruits of the Idris Tree. It is used in a variety of dishes including Kandil Simidi. It also keeps the food fresh and makes it brittle. So they should be the same:)

 
At 7:50 PM, Anonymous Debby said...

What is an Idris Tree? I can't find any mention of it anywhere online.

 
At 4:03 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Please search Idris Agaci (Idris Tree) on google and translate the page to English. There are also some images of Idris Agaci on the web.

 
At 8:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I read an article that substituted a stick of cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf for mahlep but haven't tried it yet. Please comment re: substitution. I'll try this though sans the mahlep! Thank you

 
At 7:38 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Hi,
No, you can not:)

 
At 5:36 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Hi Binnur,

Thank you so much for a wonderful site, with so yummy, delicious, traditional recipes! Your recipes are not only delicious, but what I love about them, is that you really are on top of the measurements. I just made the Susamli Simit and the dough was perfect, no additions, no subtractions!

Tashakeour!

Elena

 
At 6:14 PM, Blogger Binnur said...

Thank you Elena for your lovely comment:)Ellerine saglik!

 
At 3:08 AM, Anonymous Trudie Akin said...

Thankyou for your wonderful work here. You truly are inspirational. I'm an English expat living in Adana. I love making bread and would love to try making simit. Would I be likely to find mahlep in the spice store or on the pazar stall that sells flour etc? I've never seen it before and my (Turkish) husband doesn't know what it is. Çok teşekkür ederim :)

 

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