Turkish Eggs (Çılbır)

Turkish eggs (çılbır) are poached eggs served over garlicky yoghurt with a spiced butter drizzle — a 17-minute Mediterranean breakfast that packs about 299 calories and 18.6g of protein a serving, mostly from the eggs and yoghurt working together.

This one's part of my "100 Ways to Have Eggs" series, and it's the recipe that made me actually learn to poach properly rather than just accepting whatever shape came out of the pan. The trick is a whirlpool: stir the simmering water into a gentle spin before you drop the egg in, and it wraps the white neatly around the yolk instead of scattering it everywhere. Straining the egg first — cracking it into a sieve to lose the watery bits of white — does most of the heavy lifting before it even hits the water.

• Ready in 17 minutes, start to finish
• Just yoghurt, eggs, butter and pantry spices — nothing exotic
• Works as breakfast, brunch, or a quick low-carb dinner

Key ingredients

Thick yoghurt is the base and where most of the protein comes from — a Greek or Turkish-style strained yoghurt holds its shape better than a thin one. Eggs are non-negotiable and the fresher they are, the neater they poach, since older eggs have thinner, runnier whites that spread in the water. Light butter carries the pepper flakes into a glossy, spiced drizzle — regular butter works too if you don't mind the extra saturated fat. Pepper flakes (Turkish Aleppo pepper if you can get it) give the butter its colour and gentle heat without overwhelming the dish. Garlic granules season the yoghurt without the sharp raw-garlic bite fresh cloves would give.

Coaching note: a plain note on the sodium — between the salt in the yoghurt mix, the light butter, and the eggs themselves, this comes to around 541mg of sodium a serving, roughly a quarter of a typical daily limit. That's not unusual for a savoury breakfast, but it's worth knowing if you're watching your sodium — go easier on the added salt and it drops noticeably, since the yoghurt and eggs alone aren't the main contributor.

Equipment

• Mixing bowl — for the yoghurt base.
• Measuring spoons — for the vinegar and spices.
• Small strainer — for straining loose egg white before poaching.
• Medium saucepan — for poaching the eggs.
• Sharp knife and chopping board — for the fresh herbs.

If you're building out your own egg repertoire, my hot honey feta eggs are a sweet-and-spicy contrast to this one, and my shakshuka is the tomato-based version if you want that instead. My Mediterranean pizza eggs are worth a look too if you like eggs for dinner as much as I do.

Alex :)