I tried TikTok’s viral Turkish pasta. Is it worth the hype?

Boy, do I have a perfect recipe for the busy season! This is Australian content creator Anna Paul’s TikTok about her mother’s Turkish pasta, which she describes as an easy, under-15-minute dish with ground beef cooked until “crunchy ”, onion, black pepper, sweet paprika butter and a simple garlic and yogurt sauce. With a breathtaking breath billion seen on all platforms, is it possible that she is really on something?

In his megaviral TikTok, Paul chronicles his mother’s cooking, saying she loves the recipe because it’s made in the time it takes to boil the pasta and so delicious. She swallows it so quickly that she almost chokes, but it’s all for fun.

Paul also points out that his mother uses a pinch of curry powder to balance the flavors of the meat, then presses it into very small pieces during frying, presumably to promote that crispy texture.

No measurements are offered for spices, because Paul says his mother cooks “by eye,” as of course all great cooks do. While the meat and pasta cook, they make a yogurt sauce right in the container by simply adding a little salt and freshly squeezed garlic. It’s a “universal” sauce in their household, says Paul, brandishing the carton. “Every time you see this in our refrigerator, it’s garlic. There’s garlic in there!

They garnish their easy masterpiece with roughly chopped parsley and tomatoes, and one component that certainly caught my attention on the tongue: paprika butter. It is prepared by briefly simmering sweet paprika in butter and drizzling it when serving.

This is similar to Turkish recipes usually called “cheat manti” or kiymali makarna, as it is an easy way to get the flavors of manti (Turkish dumplings) without actually making manti. As with any great traditional recipe, there are as many versions as there are cooks, but it is generally ground meat in a sauce or garnish, seasoned with onion and paprika as in Paul’s mother’s version, but sometimes it’s lamb, or it may have mint. or tomato paste added.

Turkish Cypriot cookbook author Meliz Berg offers a similar, standardized recipe if you want to cook more by letter than by eye, but this version takes much longer to prepare and won’t have that crispy mouthfeel.

What explains the popularity of this dish? Turkish food in general seems to be having a moment in the United States. There are also videos of Turkish eggs (çılbır) with similar seasonings and that magical yogurt sauce, and I’ve been obsessed with this video of a flatbread called bazlama for months, with 50 million other viewers .

Many commenters on her videos mention that the dish is quick, delicious, and “picky kid approved,” so let’s see what all the hype is about.

Here are the main ingredients. You can’t see that little pinch of curry powder, but I used it.

I estimated half a teaspoon of salt, cracked black pepper, onion powder and sweet paprika after scrutinizing the video. I put the water on to boil and began cooking the meat and chopping the onion, extremely skeptical that it would start to crisp up in the time Paul claimed. I heated it over medium-high heat, added the onion and seasonings after a few minutes, mashed it carefully as directed, and it cooked in about 10 minutes. Even though I stirred frequently, I had time to chop my toppings, mix salt and garlic into my yogurt, and soak some paprika in butter (I just micro-microed it). waves for about 30 seconds, stirring halfway through cooking).

I layered the pasta, then the yogurt, the meat, the chopped parsley and the tomato, and finally a spoonful of paprika butter. It’s simply delicious and the aroma is divine.

I was also skeptical that cooking the meat that long would be a desirable texture, but it is truly delicious. It adds a welcome texture, as well as a grilled, kebab-like flavor that I’ve never had with pasta. The seasoning is simple but tasty.

Don’t skip the toppings or the paprika butter, but the real hero here is the yogurt sauce. I can’t believe how good it is. The effect is that of a much more complicated cooked cream sauce, not too tangy, with a luxurious texture.

Some tips for preparing this delicious dish: I used lean ground meat and it worked very well. If you want to trim excess fat from yours, do so before the meat becomes crispy and add the seasonings immediately afterward rather than at the beginning, so you don’t lose any flavor. Although you could use low-fat yogurt, it would change the mouthfeel; in this case I would suggest 2% instead of completely fat free.

One thing I don’t suggest changing? Fresh garlic. You’ll need a mint, maybe even two, but it’s worth it.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com