Traditional Turkish Fig Pudding (İncir Uyutması) Recipe

When we look at Turkish cuisine in general, we see that most of the dishes are in their most caloric form. For example, although Revani could have been left as a cake and baklava as a crispy sweet pastry, they made sherbet and poured it over it. Or, while the ingredients in many oven dishes can be cooked directly in the oven, they thought, let's fry them first and degrease them. But somehow, there was one that managed to escape from all those calories; Traditional Turkish Fig Pudding.

They could neither add oil, make syrup, or drown it in carbohydrates with flour and starch. It's so light on its own with only 2 ingredients. It's a good thing it stayed. "Turkish food is very heavy." Thanks to us, we have a rare example that we can point to those who say this.

I was introduced to this "incir uyutması" recipe thanks to my old neighbor, Seyhan Abla. She used to make it from time to time, and she would always talk about the napping treats her mother used to make when she was a child, and how precious fig napping was in those years when the concept of dessert was very different from what it is today.

She used to chop the figs and put them in a cup without running them in a blender. You can do the same if you wish. Or, if you don't want to feel the grains inside, you can use the blender and take advantage of the blessings of modern life like me.

If you use a blender, as soon as you start mixing, the milk thickens Even if you do not use a blender, it will thicken while waiting. After letting the figs sleep, don't be hasty and don't disturb them by uncovering them, let them sleep until they come to room temperature. Think of it as if you were fermenting yoghurt.

You may be wondering, how does this work? How does fig thicken milk? Figs used to be used to ferment milk to make cheese. Probably a substance in the fig causes bacterial growth in the milk, and thus the milk thickens. Its consistency is like boza or pudding. The amount of sweetness will vary depending on the taste of the fig. You can add sugar if you wish, but I think it is unnecessary to spoil its naturalness. If it comes with very little sugar instead, I think it would be better to drizzle molasses on it while serving. Since I am not a big fan of sugar, the amount of sugar in the recipe I get with these amounts is just right for me. Even if I was making pudding, I would add sugar to this consistency.

The recipe may seem very simple, but there is a setting that can mess things up; heat. If you cannot adjust the temperature of the milk well, things may not go well. If you heat it too much, it will be mushy (like curdled cheese) and taste slightly sour. If you don't heat it enough, it won't thicken. But I don't think this second one is such a bad thing, you can drink it as milk with figs, it won't go to waste as its taste will not spoil. I use pasteurized milk and as soon as the it starts to evaporate, I take it off the heat and do not let it boil. If you are going to use raw milk, you should first boil the milk and then cool it until it is slightly warmer than the temperature at which you ferment the yoghurt.

The measurements I gave for good for 2 people, but for those on a diet, it will be suitable for 4 people. It will be a satisfying snack for those on a diet.

Enjoy the recipe...

Bon appetit...