Turkish eggs, explained: the dish people photograph most

Poached eggs over lemony yogurt. It sounds wrong the first time and it becomes the thing you come back for.

They are called çılbır, they are Turkish, and they are centuries old. They are also the plate most people photograph in our café and the one that needs the most explaining before anyone orders it.

The original

Poached eggs served over garlicky yogurt, finished with butter infused with paprika or chilli. Cold yogurt, hot egg. It confuses people on the first spoonful and converts them on the second.

How we make ours

• Two poached free-range eggs
• Over a lemon and yogurt cream
• With roasted cherry tomatoes and feta
• Finished with extra virgin olive oil and our spice mix

The lemon is the key. It lifts the yogurt, which can otherwise sit heavily, and keeps the whole plate tasting fresh despite the egg and the cheese.

Why the combination works

Three contrasts, all resolved:

• Temperature: cold yogurt, hot yolk.
• Texture: liquid yolk, crumbly feta, soft tomato, crunchy bread.
• Flavour: the acidity of yogurt and lemon against the fat of the yolk and the oil.

When a dish gets three contrasts right, it rarely gets boring.

How to eat them

Break the yolks as soon as the plate arrives and stir them through the yogurt. That sauce is half the dish. Use the bread.

Served with a slice of long-fermented sourdough, or gluten-free protein bread for 1 € more.

Price and where

12 € at La Galga, Calle Pintor Casilari Roldán 12, La Malagueta, Málaga. If you have never had savoury yogurt, start here.