Sahi Istanbul: Jessica's Turkish Delight

Sahi, near the Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque, Karakoy

We discovered a delightful new place in Karakoy, called Sahi, that was running a promotion where you could make your own Turkish Delight. I thought this would be fun for Jessica, so we went to try it out. The word "Sahi" in Turkish means "real" or "true", and so it was, with authentic recipes dating from early Ottoman times, together with more modern versions. Everything in the shop/cafe spells "Ottoman", from the handicrafts on sale to the delicious food on offer, even though some of the more traditional designs and flavours have been given a new, and modern twist.

Jessica started by brushing over the prepared base of the Turkish delight to remove the paper backing

She carefully removed the paper, assisted by the chef

Jessica was asked to choose from a whole selection of fillings. She chose to use dried apricots and pistachio nuts, with a powdered sugar covering.

First Jessica chopped the dried apricots...

...then she sprinkled the pistachio nuts along the edge of the base...

...and placed the cut dried apricots on top.

The chef helped Jessica in her task

He showed her how to roll the base around the filling

Jessica cut off a section and firmly rolled it together

Then she cut the Turkish Delight into pieces with a huge pair of scissors

And here are the pieces, all ready to eat in their wooden box.

That was such a fun thing to do, and I know Jessica enjoyed the experience. If anyone else is thinking of trying their hand at this, the promotion finishes on March 22, so there are only two more weeks left!

Elizabeth Coughlan