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Turkish

Çılbır

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Softly poached eggs set on a bed of cool garlicky strained yogurt and drenched in sizzling butter spiked with pul biber. Quick, protein-rich and made for dipping bread.

Çılbır is a Turkish egg dish from Türkiye, ready in about 15 minutes and made with greek yogurt, garlic and egg. It serves 2 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Çılbır poached eggs on garlicky yogurt with chilli butter and greens
Photo: Premshree Pillai from Brooklyn, NY, US / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-2.0
Prep
5 min
Cook
10 min
Total
15 min
Serves
2
Level
Intermediate
Calories
402

Ingredients

2 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Stir the grated garlic (opens in a new tab) and a pinch of the salt into the yogurt and spread it over two shallow plates. Let it sit while you cook the eggs (opens in a new tab) so it is not fridge-cold.

    • 2 min

  2. Step 2

    Bring the water to a bare simmer in a wide saucepan (opens in a new tab) and add the vinegar. Crack each egg into a cup, swirl the water and slide the eggs (opens in a new tab) in one or two at a time. Poach for about 3 minutes until the whites are set and the yolks still soft.

    Food safety: Runny yolks are not recommended for young children, pregnant people, older adults or anyone immunocompromised — cook until fully set for them.

    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Lift the eggs (opens in a new tab) out with a slotted spoon, drain briefly on kitchen paper and set them on the yogurt. Season with the remaining salt.

    • 1 min

  4. Step 4

    Melt the butter (opens in a new tab) in a small pan until foaming and just turning golden, then take it off the heat and stir in the chilli flakes (opens in a new tab) (and paprika (opens in a new tab)). Spoon the red butter over the eggs (opens in a new tab) and yogurt, scatter with dill (opens in a new tab) and serve straight away with bread.

    Take the pan off the heat before adding the chilli so it colours the butter without burning.

    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Türkiye · Commonly attributedA long-standing Turkish dish; often said to date back to Ottoman cuisine.More food from Türkiye
Dish
Breakfast · Brunch · Lunch · Egg dishes
Cooking method
Poached
Taste
garlicky, tangy, buttery, spicy (chilli heat), creamy
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
Without the optional extras: Whole-food focused, No gluten ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday
Cook more with
Greek yogurt · Garlic · Egg · White vinegar · Butter · Red chilli flakes
Techniques
Simmering · Poaching

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom greek yogurt, butter
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom crusty bread / baguette
  • Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom crusty bread / baguette
  • May contain: Sesamefrom crusty bread / baguette

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

402 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 270 g · recipe makes 2

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 26%
  • Carbohydrate 8%
  • Fat 66%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy402 kcal149 kcal
Protein26.4 g9.8 g
Carbohydrate7.9 g2.9 g
Net carbohydrate7.6 g2.8 g
Sugars6.5 g2.4 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre0.3 g0.1 g
Fat29.3 g10.9 g
Saturated fat14.5 g5.3 g
Trans fat0.5 g0.2 g
Cholesterol424 mg157 mg
Sodium874 mg323 mg
Salt equivalent2.2 g0.8 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
380 mg
Calcium
215 mg
Iron
1.9 mg
Magnesium
31 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
285 µg
Vitamin C
1 mg
Vitamin D
2 µg
Vitamin B12
2 µg
Folate (DFE)
56 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: paprika, dill, crusty bread / baguette.
  • Red chilli flakes: Ground cayenne (FDC 170932) used as a stand-in for dried chilli flakes such as pul biber or Aleppo pepper.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Room-temperature yogurt is the point: hot egg and butter on cold yogurt is the classic contrast, but fridge-cold yogurt chills the eggs too fast.

Common mistakes

  • Poaching at a rolling boil, which shreds the whites.
  • Burning the chilli flakes in the butter, which turns them bitter.

Serve with

  • Serve with toasted bread or simit and a glass of Turkish tea.

Storage

  • Best eaten immediately.

Variations

  • Fried-egg çılbır: Fry the eggs in butter instead of poaching them for an easier home version.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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