Çılbır

Çılbır is poached eggs set over garlicky yoghurt and finished with a sizzle of paprika butter. It's an Ottoman breakfast dish that's quietly taken over brunch menus far beyond Turkey, arriving in Western kitchens under names like "Turkish eggs" as if it were a recent invention rather than a centuries-old palace dish.

What it actually is

Thick, strained yoghurt is beaten with crushed garlic until smooth and spread across a shallow bowl, and a freshly poached egg — or two — is set directly on top while still warm. Just before serving, butter is melted in a small pan with paprika or Aleppo pepper until it turns a deep red and starts to foam, and it's poured sizzling over the eggs and yoghurt at the last possible moment.

The dish lives or dies on timing: the yoghurt has to still be cool and the egg still be warm when the hot butter hits both, so the temperatures and textures stay in contrast rather than settling into one lukewarm bowl.

How it's served

• In a shallow bowl, yoghurt as the base, egg on top, hot butter poured over just before it reaches the table.
• With crusty bread, for scooping up the yoghurt and broken yolk together.
• As a breakfast or brunch dish, rarely appearing later in the day.

Writing it on a menu

• Flag egg and dairy; the poached egg and yoghurt-and-butter base carry both.
• Say how many eggs per serving, since one or two is a real difference in portion size.
• Mention that it's assembled and finished to order; the hot butter has to go on right before serving or the contrast the dish depends on is lost.
• Note if you offer a spicier or milder paprika butter, since the amount of heat varies noticeably between kitchens.