Recipe: Tavuk Göğsü

Photo by Michele Humes

Adapted from Classic Turkish Cooking by Ghillie Başan

Serves 6

    • 1 chicken breast
    • 3 1/2 cups milk
    • 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 3/4 cup sugar
    • 5 tablespoons rice flour
    • Ground cinnamon (optional)
    • Roasted, unsalted almonds (optional)

Place the chicken breast in a pan with a little water, bring it to boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the meat is cooked. Drain and tear it into fine threads.

Moisten the rice flour with a little of the milk. Put the rest of the milk into a saucepan with the cream, salt, and sugar, and bring the liquid to boil. Add a few spoonfuls of the hot liquid to the moistened rice flour, and pour the mixture into the pan.

Beat vigorously and continue to cook over a low heat, stirring all the time so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan, until the mixture begins to thicken. Beat in the fine threads of chicken and continue to cook the mixture until very thick.

At this stage, the pudding can be cooled and eaten plain. Garnish, if desired, with ground cinnamon and/or lightly-toasted almonds.

Alternatively, tip it into a heavy-based frying pan and place over the heat for 5 to 10 minutes to burn the bottom of the pudding. Move the pan around so that the pudding is evenly burnt. Leave to cool in the pan, cut into rectangles, and lift them out with a spatula.

Roll the rectangles into logs, and serve at room temperature or slightly cooled.