How to Make Ezme - Spicy Tomato Salad?

Spicy Tomato Salad

   Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad (Acılı Ezme Salatası) Recipe

         Turkish Kitchen or Anatolian (Turkish) Cuisine is very colourful. It is well known for its stuffed and wrapped vegetable meals called "Dolma" and "Sarma". Also, Turkish Kabaps (Shish kabab, chicken kabab, Adana kabab etc) and olive oil Turkish dishes are very unique throughout the region. Turkish people like all of them very much. What is more! Yes, many "side dishes" or "Mezes" or salad recipes of Anatolian Cuisine goes well with these meals and Turkish people like them very much. Our "Spicy Tomato Salad" or in Turkish: "Ezme" / Side-dish is one of the most popular of all Turkish Mezes/side dishes, and is found at almost all Turkish meals. You may like our Turkish-shepherd-salad-recipe

         Today, we want to mention about the our very special side-dish / salad to you (Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad Recipe). In Turkish, we call it "Ezme"/"Ezme Salatası" (pronunciation: Ezme Salatası: ez-MAY sah-lah-tah-SUH). This salad / Ezme is very yummy and covers combination of delicious Turkish vegetables and spices. We have incorporate those perfectly Turkish delicious ripe tomatoes into a "Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad (Ezme Salatası)". One of our friends who is from Abroad said that "it is reminiscent of a Mexican salsa (Tomato Spicy Salsa), Albeit with few additions, namely sumac and pomegranate syrup". Actually, both of which impart a fruits - tart flavor. The pomegranate syrup/molasses (in Turkish: Nar Ekşisi), essentially pomegranate juice that has been reduced until thick and syrupy, also adds a hint of sweetness (pomegranate molasses without added sugar is better). Bye the way, We use "sumac" and "pomegranate syrup/molasses" for the salads very much. You may like our Turkish-tabbouleh-salad-recipe

Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad

      What is Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad (Ezme Salatası)?

         Our Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad (Ezme Salatası - Turkish Ezme Recipe) is a wonderful Turkish side dish (or meze). It is made with the delicious Turkish ripest of tomatoes, which give it a deep, sweet flavour to contrast with the fiery kick of hot red pepper flakes (Turkish/Urfa Red chillies flakes) and the acidity given to the dish by vinegar and pomegranate syrup. You may like our Purslane-salad-with-yogurt-recipe

       Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad or only "Ezme" means "mashed", so this is a kind of mashed salad. Also, Ezme is known as a salad or appetizer in Turkey. It is realy a good one of the salad ideas. It is mostly served with meat dishes (such as Turkish shish kabab, chicken kabab, Adana kabab etc.) at Turkish Kebab restaurants. Anatolian Cuisine has many different and tasty mezes/side dishes. Generally, mezes or side dishes served before Kababs and you enjoy them before your Kabab is brought. You may like our Roasted-Beef-or-mutton-kavurma-recipe , Turkish-shish-kabab-recipe , Turkish-chicken-shish-kabab-recipe , Oven-baked-lamb-chops-recipe

         Our special lavash (flat bread) goes well with this salad. Because, the best bread to serve with Ezme is Turkish lavash (flat bread), which is similar to tortilla or Turkish Pita/Pide. And our unique ayran drink which is a fabulous cold yogurt drink, is undouptedly the best drink with these irresistible foods. You may like our No-yeast-cotton-soft-bread-recipe

   How to Make Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad?

         As we wrote above of the post. We are going to share a very addictive and unique salad (spicy tomato salad) from Anatolian Cuisine here today. Hope you all love it. We are sure that, when you try it. You are looking forward to next try. Actually, preparing this salad is not difficult. And, no special equipment is needed to pull this salad together, you just need a sharp knife to finely chop the ingredients or a blender machine to blend ingredients. Ezme salad is a simple way to incorporate summer produce with minimal effort. Sothat, don't worry about it, we are sure that you will do your best "ezme". You can make it as spicy as you like. For example; we added our "Urfa Red Flakes Pepper" sumac and pomegranate syrup/mollases in this salad. Our "Urfa Hot Red Flakes Pepper" and "pomegranate syrup/mollases" are very unique. They are almost impossible to found the outside of the Turkey. But, they are found on the online Turkish groceries. You may like our Turkish-navy-bean-salad-piyaz-recipe

         Feel free yourself, if you want, you can add your traditional spicies in this salad. This is one of those recipes that you can alter to suit your taste. So, add more or less hot red pepper flakes (it us depending on your desired level of heat), sumac, lemon juice, and pomegranate molasses. Bye the way, after pouring the Ezme into the glass jars. Tightly cover the jars and you can keep in glass jars in the refrigerator for over 6-7 months. We generally consume this Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad for winter times. Also you like our Mixed-cabbage-slaw-recipe

Ezme salad's ingredients

Very herby spicy salad's ingredients

Urfa hot red pepper flakes & pomegranate molasses are very unique in this salad

Urfa hot red pepper flakes is found Turkish groceries or online Turkish markets

Pomegranate Molasses makes this salad very yummy

Chop the onions and sweet green peppers or blend them

Chop the capia and hot green peppers or blend them

Preparation of ezme salad recipe

Cook all ingredients except vinegar, pomegranate molasses and lemon juice

         Recipe of Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad (Acılı Ezme Salatası)

        Here it is our Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad's recipe;

      Serve: 8 - 10 servings, Preparation Time: 10-15 minutes, Cooking Time: Nearly 1 hour, Food Type: 100% Vegetarian, Cuisine: Mediterranean/Anatolian Cuisine, 

         Very good family favourite;

         Ingredients: 

     - 1 or 1,5 kg Turkish ripe tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped or blended, 

   - 4 or 5 Normal size white or yellow onions, finely chopped or blended, 

    - 7 or 8 Cloves of garlic, minced,

   - 7 or 8 Sweet Green peppers or green bell peppers, deseeded and finely chopped or blended,

   - 4 or 5 Capia Peppers, deseeded and finely chopped or blended, 

    - 3 or 4 Hot green peppers, deseeded and finely chopped or blended, 

      -1/2 Bunch of parsley, finely chopped or blended,

    - 1/2 Bunch of dill, finely chopped or blended,

      - Couple of sprigs fresh mint leaves, finely chopped, 

      - 4 or 5 Tablespoons lemon juice, (it is used at the end of the cooking process), 

    - 4 or 5 Tablespoons pomegranate molasses (syrup), (it is used at the end of cooking process),

          - 4 or 5 Tablespoons vinegar, (it is used at the end of cooking process),

          - A glass of olive oil,  

         - 1 Teaspoon Rock salt to taste, 

        - 1 Teaspoon or if you want more Red pepper flakes to taste, (in this recipe; we used our famous "Urfa hot red pepper flakes"), 

      - 1 Teaspoon ground black pepper to taste,

           - 1 Teaspoon Sumac to taste, 

           - 1 Teaspoon thyme flakes to taste,

           - 1 Teaspoon Cumin to taste,  

       * Don't forget to Turkish Pita or flatbread for serving, 

       Preparation: 

1. First of all, put your all ingredients on your work surface (before we start to cooking processes, we always put all our ingredients on the work-table). 
2. Secondly, chop (or blend) tomatoes, onion, garlic, normal green peppers, hot green peppers, Capia peppers, parsley, dill, mint, and add the ground black peppers, red flakes peppers, thyme flakes, sumac and cumin into salad mixture. If you want you can add more hot chillies and spices. 
3. Then, Combine ingredients in a bowl except vinegar, lemon juice and pomegranate syrup/molasses (Because, we add these 3 ingredients at the end of the cooking process). Mix to combine. Then put your olive oil in a pot and cook the all ingredients at medium heat until mixture's juice removed (or cook mixture nearly 1 hour).   
4. When your mixture cooked. Take off it from the heat and add your rest of the ingredients right a way (vinegar, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses). Stir to combine very well. 
5. Taste and make preferred adjustments. Then, pour your Ezme salad into the glass jars. Tightly cover the jars and you can keep in glass jars in the refrigerator for over 6-7 months. Or After keeping 30-35 minutes in refrigerator,  you can eat in lunch tables or dinner tables. We generally consume this salad especially in winter times and through out the year. 
6. Serve it with warm pita/flat bread (in Turkish: Lavaş) as side dish for meat dishes.  

      ENJOY! 

      Our salted yogurt drink Traditional-turkish-ayran-beverage-recipe and Turkish Ezme Salad combination goes well with meat dishes.

You can keep your ezme in jars and refrigerator for a long time

Turkish ezme salad is served with flat bread for the meat dishes

Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad Recipe

    Please let us know how this "Turkish Spicy Ezme Salad (Acılı Ezme Salatası) Recipe" turns out for you in the comments. We are always so eager to hear from you.

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