Boza - Turkish Fermented Drink

Ingredients

1 cup Bulgur
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
7 g yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbs sugar

Topping:

Roasted chickpeas
Cinnamon

Method

Soak bulgur overnight in a large pan. In the morning add more water to cover the bulgur and cook over a low heat until the it has softened. This should take around 3 hours. Add in more water as is needed.

Place a strainer over a large glass bowl and then add some of the bulgur to the strainer. With the back of a spoon, press out the liquid from the bulgur to make the base of your Boza. Continue this process till you have pressed out the water from all of the bulgur. Empty out your strainer as you add in new bulgur.

In another bowl, mix the yeast, sugar and warm water together, then allow to stand for 10 minutes. Add this mixture to the pressed bulgur.

Cover pressed bulgur and yeast mix with a towel or cheesecloth and allow to ferment. This process with take 2-3 days and bubbles should appear on top of the mixture. Give the mixture a stir every now and again. This will produce the right sourness and smell of the boza.

Once fermentation has finished, add in sugar and yeast mix and vanilla extract. Then slowly add in a little water until you get the right consistency of boza. This should be about the same thickness of tomato paste watered down, but not as thin as tomato sauce.

Once you get the consistency, place the mixture in the fridge overnight and serve chilled with roasted chickpeas on top and cinnamon sprinkled over.

Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Credits: Kerry Arslan