What to eat?
Çorum, famous for leblebi, is also rich in local dishes. The most significant ones are Mayalı , (Saç Mayalısı, Tava Mayalısı) , Yanıç , Cızlak , Kömbe, Oğmaç, Hingal, Haşhaşlı Çörek, Borhani (Hamurlu, Yumurtalı, Mantarlı) Helise, Çullama, Madımak, Tirit , İskilip Dolması , Keşkek, Kara Çuval Helvası, Hedik, Teltel, Has Baklava. It is possible to taste these dishes in Katiple Mansion and Veli Paşa Mansion.
RECIPES FROM ÇORUM
KEŞKEK
Ingredients:
(for 6 people )
500 gr cracked wheat
500 gr mutton
2- onion
3 spoons of butter
1 spoon of salt
1 tea spoon of pepper
11 glasses of water
Preparation : Cracked wheat is soaked at night. In the pot, onion, meat, red pepper , salt and
butter are roasted. A glass of hot water is added.It is boiled for 15 minutes. Cracked wheat is added with 10 glasses of hot water into the pot. When it boils, it is covered and edges are framed with dough. Only a hole , size of a finger, is left. It is cooked at low heat for 2 hours.
Note : This is a traditional Çorum dish. It is cooked in the city center and the towns. It is generally cooked in Ramadan (fasting month of Muslims) in a very early hour of the day in stewpan. It is served with salad and pickles.
İSKİLİP DOLMASI
Ingredients: ( 8 people )
2 kg rice
1,5 kg meat
500 gr butter
5 spoons of salt
1 dessert spoon of black pepper
15 glasses of water
5 onions
Preparation : Rice is soaked in salty water for half an hour and strained. 300 grams of butter is put in a pan. 3 spoons of salt, 1 dessert spoon of black pepper and rice are added. They are roasted for 5 minutes. One glass of water is added , covered and set aside. (30 mins) Meat is roasted with butter. Onions are minced and put in a pot. After stirring several times, salt and black pepper is added. Hot water is added. When the meat boils, sacıyak is put and they are put on a tray. The boiled rice is put on them in a cloth bag. The cover of the pot is put and the edges framed with dough. A hole is left for the steam. It is cooked at low heat for 4 hours. It is served hot with pickles, ayran, compost (cold stewed fruit) and salad.
Note : It is cooked in Çorum İskilip. It is cooked by cooks called “dolmacı” in the wedding ceremonies. Today , this tradition still continues.
MANTI :
Ingredients (4 people )
1 kg flour
1 kg minced-beef
1 bunch of parsley
1 spoon of tomato sauce or tomatoes
150 gr margarine
2 spoons of salt
1 dessert spoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of pepper
2 glasses of water
2 glasses of yoghurt
1 egg
4 cloves of garlic
1 onion
Preparation :
Mantı has two types. 1-Dry Mantı
2-Juicy Mantı
Dry Mantı :
Flour , salt, egg and water are kneaded. It must be as soft as your earlobe. It is set aside after covering it with a wet cloth. It is divided into two balls. The dough is rolled out thicker than sheets. Onion grated into the minced beef . Salt, black pepper and parsley are mixed. Sheet of dough is cut with the glass. Minced beef is put and it is folded. It is put on a oily tray and roasted.
Sauce is prepared with Margarine, salt, tomato sauce, pepper, black pepper and 2 glasses of water . It is put on a tray and cooked for 10 minutes. Garlic yoghurt is added on it and served.
Juicy Mantı; Dough is prepared in the same size. Dough is cut in square shap. It is folded. Minced beef is not put in the dough. It is added into the boiling water. (15 glasses of water is boiled. 1 spoon of salt is added.) Margarine is added into the pot. After it melts, minced beef is added. It is roasted until it drains. Onion is grated. Salt, black pepper, pepper, tomato sauce are added and roasted for 5 minutes. It is put on mantı. Garlic yoghurt is put on the plates.
Note: It is traditional Çorum dish. Before Ramadan, a great amount of mantı is prepared and roasted. It can be cooked any time in special days and upon desire. It might take 1 hour to prepare and serve.
ÇATAL AŞI :
Ingredients ( 6 people )
1 water glass of green lentil
1 water glass of cracked wheat
1 onion
2 spoons of butter
1 spoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of dried mint
6 glasses of water
Preparation :
Butter is put in a pot. Onion is grated and fried in butter first. Mint and pepper is added. 3 glasses of water is put and boiled. Lentil is added. After 20 minutes of boiling, 3 glasses of hot water is added.Then cracked wheat is added. 20 minutes later, salt is put. It is boiled at low heat and served.
Note: It is a traditional Çorum dish. It is cooked in Çorum and its environment. It is served with pickles and green onion.
ÇORUM BAKLAVASI (GÜL BURMA)
Ingredients ( 6 people )
500 gr first class flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon olive oil
150 gr butter
1 spoon of vinegar
1 spoon of yoghurt
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tea glass of water
200 gr crushed walnut
200 gr starch
500 gr sugar
Preparation :
2 eggs are broken into big basin and half teaspoon of vinegar, olive oil, yoghurt, a tea glass of water, half of a tea glass salt is added and kneaded. It is covered with a wet cloth and set aside for an hour. Dough is cut in the size of an egg and turned into a ball. Starch is put on it and it is rolled thin. The rolled sheets are put on a clean cloth and set aside to dry. The sheets are cut into 10cm pieces. Crushed walnut is put in it and it is rolled like a rose. It is set aside on an oiled tray to dry for one day. Then, the heated oil is added on it and roasted in the oven. 500 gram water, sugar is mixed and lemon juice is added. It is boiled until it becomes thick. It is poured onto baklava when it is hot. It is served when it is cold.
This baklava can also be made in a different way.
When dough rolled and set aside for drying , two rolling pins are put side to side. The sheet is covered around them and then it is twisted. This is called burma (twisted) baklava. The difference between two types are the shape. It is cooked in the same way.
Note: These are Çorum’s local desserts. They are usually cooked in wedding ceremonies, festivals. It has been cooked in Çorum since old times.
LEBLEBİ : (Roasted Chickpea)
Çorum’s famous roasted chickpea is made from black peas. It takes one and half months to make leblebi. In historical stores, the one time roasted leblebi is taken from sacks to the tins then to the basins. In the oven which is heated by wood, leblebi is roasted and they are taken into sacks hot again. In our city you can find a leblebi store in every corner. From the very old times, the big size of pea and its changing into leblebi has gained a reputation. Nonetheless, after the years of 1960s the peas produced in the area is not enough for leblebi production so peas are started to be bought from nearby cities.However, Çorum leblebi has never lost its reputation. The roasting system which is bequeath from one generation to another has a very important role in this reputation. On the one hand, the traditional production method in which producer try to give leblebi a golden colour and taste continues. On the other hand, people also started to use the modern method in which people start to use modern technologyy such as LPG. For the production , a roasting cooker which consist of a fire brick, mud brick , pan and mixer is needed. The woods used shouldn’t make fume. The peas are first categorized as to their size. They are roasted once and put in sacks when they are hot. They are set aside for two days after the second roasting. Then they are spread out on the ground for 15-20 days. Before the third roasting, peas are moisturised and set aside in sacks in sacks. In the third roasting the shells of the peas fall. If you want to add pepper, salt, clove , you should do this at this stage. The reputation of Çorum leblebi is because of this great effort.