Full recipe for TARHANA
Ingredients (For 3.5-4 kg soup-mix)
2 kg tomatoes
2 kg sweet red peppers
2 kg yoğurt
1 kg onions
1 kg whole wheat flour
3 kg unbleached all purpose flour
2 tbsp salt
½ tbsp dry yeast
Directions
PREP-Day-1
Pre-cooking & Reducing
Cover a large sieve with 3-4 layers of cheese cloth and place on a deep container
Pour 2 kg of yogurt into the covered sieve and let the excess water drain for 4-5 hours
Set aside
Wash and dry the tomatoes
Discard the stems, the seeds
Roughly chop the tomatoes and place into a deep pot
Cook on medium heat until they release their juices
Then, set aside
Wash and dry the peppers
Discard the stems, seeds
Then, chop and place them in a separate pot
Start cooking at low heat setting then medium-high and cook for 40-45 minutes, until most of the juice has evaporated, set aside
Peel and wash the onions
Grate the onions when you begin to prepare the dough
Reducing the ingredients increase the nutritious and taste of the soup-mix as we will use them as the liquid for the dough
PREP-Day-2
The Dough
Combine the reduced tomatoes and peppers, grated onions, and strained yogurt in a very large container
Using a hand blender, puree all the ingredients until a smooth mixture is achieved
Add ½ tbsp of dry yeast
Gradually, add some of the flours
Add the salt and the rest of the flour, mix the ingredients
Knead the dough for 25-30 minutes
Cover the container with a breathable fabric, and rest the dough on the counter for 10-12 hours or over night
FERMENTATION
Day-1
On the first day, the dough will be very active
It has to be kneaded almost every 2 hours
Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes each time (or until it losses the extra volume)
Then, cover the dough again with the fabrics and rest on the counter until it rises again
(!) Do NOT feed the bacteria by adding flour during fermentation
The trick is to rest the dough enough to mature its taste without prolonging the fermentation process
Day-2
By the second day, the fermentation will slow down
So kneading once in the morning and once in the evening will suffice
Day-3
On the third day of fermentation, you will recognize a change in the texture of the dough
Continue kneading twice a day
Cover the dough with a breathable fabric and rest between kneading sessions
Day-4,5,6
Fermentation will really slow down by the fourth, fifth, sixth days.You will observe slightly dryness on the surface of the dough
Continue to knead twice a day
If you like a sour taste, you can skip to the next stage on the 5th or 9th day of the fermentation process
(!) However, it is recommended to ferment Tarhana for 9 to 10 days so it can develop a more mature, sweeter taste
Day-7
On the seventh day of fermentation, you will observe a soft scab form on the surface
Although the fermentation is almost over, kneading is necessary to keep the dough homogenous and prevent the formation of a scab
Day-8
Fermentation will stop on the eight and ninth days
Continue kneading the dough twice per day
Day-9
It is finally day 9: Tarhana has completed its fermentation and matured in taste and aroma!!
The dough is now ready for the drying process
DRY-BREAK-Day-1
A slightly windy and sunny day is perfect for the first day of drying the Tarhana
Cover a large table with several layers of clean fabrics
Make sure the fabrics can be cleaned easily as they will absorb some of liquid from the dough
Using a spoon, spread the dough over the table in the form of thin patties
(!) At this stage, you can skip the drying process and store the Tarhana dough in the deep freezer by dividing it into cooking portions
However, the traditional way of preservation is by completely drying out the dough, breaking down into sand-sized particles and hanging it in cotton bags to keep it dry for a year
Keep the patties away from dust and insects during drying process
Once you have layed out all the dough, let the patties slowly dry out in the breeze
After a couple of hours, the patties will become dehydrate enough to flip
Keep your eye on them and flip them as soon as you can So, both sides dry evenly
When both sides of the patties become slightly solid, tear them into smaller pieces
Continously tore the patties into smaller and smaller pieces while they were slowly drying
DRY-BREAK-Day-2
(!) do NOT let the pieces dry completely
Using a processer, grind the dough into very small particles
Use a sieve to equalize the size of the particles
And re-process the bigger particles
Once the dough is thoroughly ground into dust, spread as a thin layer over several trays
Let the Tarhana air-dry for a minimum of 10 more days
AIR-DRYING-Day-1 to 10
Keep the trays in a shaded and well-ventilated corner of the house
Mix the Tarhana once or twice a day so every single grain becomes completely dry
STORE & SHARE
TARHANA is completely dry after 10 days of air-drying
Now, it’s time for storage!
Keep Tarhana in clean glass jars and store them in a cool pantry or the refrigerator
Enjoy a cozy winter!!