IRMIK HELVASI Irmik Helvasi semolina halva 1 cup olive oil, 3 cups semolina, 2 cups sugar, 3 cup milk mixed with 1 cup water. In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over moderate heat until a light haze form above it. Pour in the semolina in slow, thin stream, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and stirring occasionally, simmer for 20 minutes or until all the oil has been absorbed and the meal turns a light golden color. Add the sugar and then gradually stir in milk and water mixture. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes longer, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick enough to hold its shape almost solidly in spoon. Pour to the plates and let them cool before serve. Muhallebi To serve 6 ½ cup rice flour, 4 cup milk, 6 table spoon sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Dissolve the rice flour in 1 cup of milk. In a 2-3 quart saucepan combine the remaining 3 cup of milk and the sugar and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to low, add the dissolved rice flour and stirring constantly. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in the vanilla then pour the Muhallebi into small individual dessert bowls. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. KADIN GOBEGI To make about 2 dozen fritters Syrup 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice To make the syrup, combine the sugar, 2 cups of water, and the lemon juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and cook briskly, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Set aside off the heat and let the syrup cool to room temperature. Fritters 11 cups water, 3 tablespoons butter, 7 teaspoon salt, 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour, 3 eggs, Vegetable oil for deep frying, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 3 cup chilled heavy cream, stiffly whipped In a heavy 2- to 3-quart saucepan, bring the 11 cups of water, the butter and salt to a boil over high heat, stirring until the butter melts. Pour in the flour all at once, and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture is blended and becomes an almost solid doughy mass. Immediately make a well in the center of the paste with the spoon. Break an egg into the well and beat vigorously until it has been absorbed. Beat in the remaining eggs, one at a time. The finished paste should be thick, smooth and shiny. In a large deep-fat fryer with a frying thermometer, or an electric deep fryer, heat 3 to 4 inches of oil to a temperature of 360 degree. For each fritter, pinch off 2 tablespoons of dough and roll it into a ball 1 inch in diameter. Dip a thumb into the almond extract and press it into the center of the ball, making a depression 1/2 inch deep. In batches of 5 or 6, deep-fry the fritters for 10 to 12 minutes, turning them occasionally to brown them evenly. Plunge the browned fritters into the syrup, let them steep for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a platter and cool to room temperature. Before serving, drop a teaspoon of whipped cream into the depression in each fritter. KAYMAKLI ELMA KOMPOSTOSU To serve 4 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 16 whole cloves, 4 large firm cooking apples, peeled and cored, 1 cup chilled heavy cream, stiffly whipped In a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Firmly insert 4 cloves in a ring around the top of each apple. Place the apples side by side in the pan, baste with the syrup, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Basting occasionally, simmer for 15 minutes, or until the apples are tender. Cool them in the syrup. To serve, transfer the apples to individual dessert dishes. Pile whipped cream in the center of each apple and pour over it a tablespoon of the syrup. BAKLAVA Layered pastry with pistachio and honey To make one 9- by 13-inch pastry 3/4 pound butter (3 quarter-pound sticks), cut into 1/4.inch bits, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 40 sheets file pastry, each about 16inches long and 12 inches wide, thoroughly defrosted if frozen, 4 cups shelled Turkish Pistachio pulverized in a blender or with a nut grinder or mortar and pestle Clarify the butter in a heavy saucepan or skillet in the following fashion: Melt the butter slowly over low heat without letting it brown, skimming off the foam as it rises to the surface. Remove the pan from the heat, let it rest for 2 or 3 minutes, then spoon off the clear butter and discard the milky solids at the bottom of the pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degree and stir the vegetable oil into the clarified butter. Using a pastry brush coat the bottom and sides of a 13-by-9-by-2 1/2inch baking dish with about 1 tablespoon of the mixture. Fold a sheet of filo in half crosswise, lift it up gently and unfold it into the prepared dish. Press the pastry flat, fold down the excess around the sides and flatten it against the bottom. Brush the entire surface of the pastry lightly with the butter and oil mixture, and lay another sheet of filo on top, folding it down and buttering it in similar fashion. Sprinkle the pastry evenly with about 3 tablespoons of pistachio. Repeat the same procedure using two sheets of buttered file and 3 tablespoons of the pulverized pistachio each time to make 19 layers in all. Spread the 2 remaining sheets of filo on top and brush the baklava with all of the remaining butter and oil mixture. With a small, sharp knife score the top of the pastry with parallel diagonal lines about 1/2 inch deep and 2 inches apart, then cross them diagonally to form diamond shapes. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300 degree and bake for 45 minutes longer, or until the top is crisp and golden brown. SYRUP 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon honey Meanwhile, make the syrup. Combine the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan and, stirring constantly, cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to high and, timing it from the moment the syrup boils, cook briskly, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, or until the syrup reaches a temperature of 220 degree on a candy thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the honey. Pour the syrup into a bowl or pitcher and set it aside. When the baklava is done, remove it from the oven and pour the syrup over it. Cool to room temperature, and just before serving, cut the baklava into diamond-shaped serving pieces. ZERDE Saffron flavored rice pudding To serve 12 2 quarts water, 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice, washed and soaked, 2 cups sugar, 8 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, 1 1/2 teaspoons saffron threads, pulverized with a mortar and pestle or the back of a spoon, and dissolved in 1 tablespoon water, 6 tablespoons slivered blanched almonds, 4 tablespoons slivered or finely chopped unsalted pistachios, 1/2 cup bottled rose water, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 8 whole blanched almonds In a heavy 4- to 5-quart saucepan, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Stirring constantly, pour in the rice in a slow thin stream. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible point and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Stir in the sugar, then add the butter and the saffron mixture and continue stirring over low heat until the sugar has dissolved, the butter has melted, and the rice is bright yellow. Stir in the slivered almonds, and 1 tablespoon of the pistachios and, stirring frequently, cook for 30 minutes longer, or until the mixture is thick enough to hold its shape almost solidly in the spoon. Stir in the rose water and ladle the mixture into a large heatproof serving bowl, spread it out evenly with a spatula and sprinkle the top with two thin crossing lines of cinnamon to divide it into quarters. Sprinkle each quarter with the remaining 3 tablespoons of pistachio nuts and decorate with the whole almonds. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the pudding is thoroughly chilled and firm. Serve directly from the bowl. KESKUL Almond and rice flour custard To serve 6 2 cups light cream, 2 cups milk, 1 cup blanched almonds, pulverized in a blender or with a nut grinder or mortar and pestle, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, 1/4 cup rice flour, 1 tablespoon fresh pomegranate seeds, 1 tablespoon finely chopped almonds, 1 tablespoon finely chopped unsalted pistachio nuts In a 2- to 3-quart saucepan, combine the cream, 1 1/2 cups of the milk, the ground almonds, sugar and almond extract. Bring to a boil, remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let the almonds steep for 20 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve set over a bowl, pressing down hard on the almonds with the back of a spoon to extract their moisture before discarding them. Return the almond-flavored liquid to the saucepan. Dissolve the rice flour in the remaining 1/2 cup of milk, stir it into the liquid and set the pan over low heat. Stirring frequently, simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the custard thickens enough to coat the spoon lightly. Strain through a fine sieve and spoon the custard at once into 6 individual desert bowls. Chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. Before serving, garnish with pomegranate seeds ringed with circles of chopped almonds and pistachio nuts. LOKMA Deep-fried fritters with honey syrup To make about 3 dozen fritters Syrup 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice To make the syrup, combine the sugar, honey, wacer and lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, uncil the sugar dissolves. Increase, the heat to high and cook briskly, uncovered and undisturbed, until the syrup reaches a temperature of 220 degree on a candy thermometer, or until the syrup thickens sufficiently to coat a spoon lightly. Pour the syrup into a bowl or heatproof pitcher and set aside to cool. Fritters 1 package active dry yeast, a pinch of sugar, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degree), 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degree), 1 egg, Vegetable oil or shortening for deep frying In a small, shallow bowl, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar over 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water. Let stand for 2 or 3 minutes, then stir to dissolve the yeast completely. Sec the bowl in a warm, draft-free place (such as an unlighted oven) for 8 to to minutes, or until the mixture doubles in volume. Combine the flour and salt in a deep mixing bowl, make a well in the center and pour in the yeast, milk and 1 cup of warm water. Drop in the egg and stir the center ingredients together with a spoon. Then slowly incorporate the flour and beat vigorously until the batter is smooth and just chick enough to hold its shape in a flexible ribbon when the spoon is lifted from the bowl. If the batter is too rigid, beat in up to 1/4 cup more warm water, a tablespoon at a time. Drape a kitchen towel loosely over the bowl and set aside in a warm, draft-free place for about 45 minutes until the batter doubles in bulk. Preheat the oven to 200 degree, and line a large shallow roasting pan with a double chickness of paper towels. In a deep-fat fryer with a frying thermometer or an electric deep fryer or saucepan, heat 3 to 4 inches of oil or shortening until it reaches a temperature of 375 degree. Dip a tablespoon in cold wacer, scoop up a level measure of the batter and, with another spoon push it into the hot oil. Repeat until you have made G friners, dipping the spoons into the cold water before scooping each measure of batter. Turning the fritters frequently with a slotted spoon to keep them apart, fry them for 2 or 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer them to the lined pan to keep warm in the oven while you fry the remaining fritters. To serve, mound the fritters on a large platter and pour the syrup evenly over them. Or, if you prefer, pass the syrup separately in a pitcher. Lokmas are sometimes served sprinkled with ground cinnamon or chopped nuts.