Saray Muhallebicisi ★ 4.0
Saray Muhallebicisi on Istiklal, the 1935 muhallebici keeping milk puddings, kazandibi and tavuk göğsü flowing for late Beyoğlu walkers until 02:00.
Try: Tavuk göğsü chicken-breast pudding
History
Sutlac has been on Istanbul muhallebici menus since the late Ottoman period, when cold milk-puddings became the city's standard dessert in the long evenings between dinner and tea. The version baked in a clay bowl under a fierce top heat, leaving a black-spotted skin, is the Istanbul signature; lighter unfired versions belong to other Turkish cities.
Common allergens: Dairy
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 100g short-grain pudding rice
- 300ml water
- 1.2 litres whole milk
- 180g caster sugar
- 30g cornflour
- 4 tablespoons cold milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon, to dust
Method
- Rinse the rice. Bring the rice and 300ml water to a gentle simmer in a heavy pan, cover, and cook 15 minutes until the rice has absorbed the water and is just tender.
- Add the milk and sugar. Simmer uncovered 25 minutes, stirring often, until the rice grains start to suspend in a thick milky base.
- Whisk the cornflour into the 4 tablespoons cold milk. Stir into the simmering pudding and cook 4 minutes more until it visibly thickens and coats a spoon.
- Stir in vanilla. Ladle into 6 small ovenproof clay or ceramic bowls.
- Preheat the grill to its highest setting. Slide the bowls onto a tray and grill 4 to 6 minutes until the surface is scorched in dark patches but the pudding underneath is still milky.
- Cool to room temperature, then chill at least 2 hours. Dust with cinnamon at the table.
Tip from the editors. The grill is the whole game; if your top element is weak, finish each bowl with a chef's blowtorch held close until the surface freckles dark brown.
Where to eat sütlaç (turkish baked rice pudding)
Sütlaç (Turkish baked rice pudding) in Istanbul
Karaköy Lokantası ★ 4.5
The teal-tiled Karaköy Lokantası, Bib Gourmand listed in the Michelin Guide, runs an Ottoman-leaning lunch lokanta downstairs and a meyhane upstairs at night.
Signature: Lakerda, Hünkar beğendi, Lamb shank
Hayvore ★ 4.4
Hayvore off Istiklal, the Black Sea steam-table cooking corn-bread anchovies and smoky bean stews for whoever knows the side street. Located in Beyoğlu.
Why locals love it: Locals fill it for the Black Sea menu, tourists walk past for the larger Istiklal places ten metres away.
Tip: Order the hamsi pilav and the muhlama; they only run while supplies last.
More cities are in research. Want sütlaç (turkish baked rice pudding) covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.