Panagyurishte-style eggs (in Bulgarian: ''Яйца по панагюрски'') is a popular Bulgarian dish originated from 15th century Turkish dish

Çılbır Çılbır or Turkish Eggs is a Turkish dish of poached eggs with yogurt (often with garlic mixed in). There are records of çılbır being eaten by Ottoman sultans as far back as the 15th century. It is now common to serve the dish topped with ...

made in Ottoman kitchen to

Sultans Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

. Food is made with

poached eggs A poached egg is an egg that has been cooked outside the shell by poaching (or sometimes steaming). This method of preparation can yield more delicately cooked eggs than higher temperature methods such as boiling. Poached eggs can be found in s ...

, Bulgarian

yoghurt Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its tex ...

and

sirene Sirene ( ; /; ; ), also known as "white brine sirene" (), is a type of brined cheese originating from Bulgaria. It is made of the milk of goats, sheep, cows, buffalo or a mixture thereof.,Characteristics of major traditional regional cheese ...

, and is eaten warm, often for lunch.

History

The original recipes for this dish are from the town of

Panagyurishte Panagyurishte (, also transliterated ''Panagjurište'', ) is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, situated in a small valley in the Sredna Gora mountains. It is 91 km east of Sofia, 43 km north of Pazardzhik. The town is ...

, as the name suggests, and are quite different from the modern version. The actual Panagyurishte style eggs recipe was invented in the system of the

Balkantourist Balkantourist () is the oldest existing Bulgarian tour operator, established on 6 January 1948 as a state-owned government monopoly in what was then the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Privatised in 1995, it has continued to exist in the post-19 ...

restaurants, in socialist era Bulgaria. Based on traditional Bulgarian ingredients - sirene and yogurt, it was given that particular name that highlights its folk origin. With time, the dish made its way to the average Bulgarian family's table, and with its easy preparation and great taste became a beloved breakfast or lunch for generations of Bulgarians. It is also worth mentioning that, in old Balkantourist-era cookbooks, there are two variations of the dish - one where the poached eggs are placed on a bed of crumbled sirene, and the other where the eggs are placed on a bed of yogurt seasoned with garlic paste. With time, the two recipes have apparently merged, and today people mix the crumbled sirene with yogurt.

Preparation

A pot of water is prepared with a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of white wine vinegar added (as colored vinegar might discolor the eggs). The water is brought to a boil and then taken off the heat to cool (to 80 °C, for example) to poach the eggs. There are different poaching techniques such as swirling the water before gently adding an egg in the middle or "bathing" the yolk with a spoon, e.g. After poaching, the eggs are immediately rinsed with cold water in order to stop further cooking and to remove any sourness from the vinegar. Some use boiling water and simply soft-boil the eggs, which is also fine, as long as the yolk is runny. Some sirene is ground or crumbled and mixed with the yogurt. Garlic paste is added to taste. Chopped garlic, baked garlic, or even garlic powder can be substituted. The butter is melted on the stove. Some

paprika Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...

is quickly mixed into the butter, and the mixture is immediately taken off the heat, as not to burn the paprika, which will give bitter taste to the dish. Finally, a bed is made from the sirene/yogurt mix, the warm poached eggs are put on top, and are doused with the butter-paprika sauce, after which some paprika might be sprinkled on top for aesthetic reasons. Ingredients: * Eggs * Bulgarian yogurt * Sirene * Butter * Paprika * Some fresh or powdered garlic * White wine vinegar * Fresh parsley or dill (optionally)

References

{{reflist, refs= Единен сборник рецепти за заведенията за обществено хранене, държавно издателство "Техника", София 1981, page 346 {{cite web , url=https://zvezdev.com/%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%BF%D1%82%D0%B0/%D1%8F%D0%B9%D1%86%D0%B0-%D0%BF%D0%BE-%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B3%D1%8E%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8 , title="Яйца по панагюрски" , website=zvezdev.com , access-date=12 August 2021 Bulgarian cuisine Egg dishes

History

Preparation

See also

References