Urfa biber

Flavour and aroma

smoky, raisin, chocolate, earthy. Earthy, smoky and sweet-sour like raisins, with mild heat that builds slowly.

Heat

Mild

Forms

flakes

How to use it

• use raw

  Use as a finishing sprinkle on eggs, yogurt, grilled meat and roasted vegetables.

• bloom in fat · Tadka (tempering) technique

  Warm gently in butter or oil for 15–20 seconds to colour and flavour a sauce; it scorches quickly.

• use raw

  Knead into minced lamb for kebabs and çiğ köfte-style dishes.

• Urfa and Adana-style kebabs
• Sprinkled over eggs, yogurt dishes and grilled vegetables
• Lahmacun and pide toppings
• Rubbed on lamb and beef
• Stirred into dips and grain salads

Identifying good quality

Moist, oily, very dark maroon to black flakes with a smell of raisins, tobacco and chocolate. Dry or brown flakes are old.

• Not to be confused with Aleppo pepper: Aleppo pepper is brighter red, fruitier and less smoky.
• Not to be confused with Chipotle chile (dried): Chipotle is smoked over wood and much hotter.

Origin and history

Origin: The Şanlıurfa region of southeastern Turkey.. Grown and used: Grown and processed around Şanlıurfa; used across Turkey and increasingly in Western kitchens..

Isot is a regional speciality of Şanlıurfa, where the ripe chillies are dried in the sun by day and wrapped tightly at night to sweat, a process that darkens them and develops their smoky, raisin-like flavour. It is used in local kebabs, çiğ köfte and lahmacun.

Commonly told; not firmly documented