Urfa chilli

What is it?

Urfa chilli or urfa pepper, also known in Turkish as isot biber or urfa biber is a type of chilli pepper grown in the Urfa region of Turkey. Vibrant red urfa peppers turn dark red as they ripen, at which point they are sun-dried then wrapped up and left to sweat overnight, which results in an increased richness of lavour and means they retain some of their natural oils too. The chillies are then crushed. The resulting chilli lakes are deep burgundy, almost black, in colour and have a slight oiliness rather than being crisp-dry like many other types of chilli lakes.

What do the chilli lakes taste like?

A truly unique chilli pepper, urfa lakes are slightly smoky, with dried fruit sweetness, earthiness and just a hint of citrus. They’re not super-spicy, but rather provide a rich, rounded warmth and unique lavour.

So, what should I do with them?

In Turkish cuisine, urfa biber is traditionally used to lavour kebabs and stews or sprinkled over lahmacun (a Turkish labread topped with lamb mince) but it’s very versatile – try adding a pinch to your breakfast eggs or avocado toast, to grilled meat, ish or halloumi or even in brownies (it pairs well with dark chocolate). You can now also buy urfa chilli paste from Belazu (see right) – a delicious and interesting blend of urfa chilli lakes, oil, red pepper paste, balsamic vinegar and spices. It’s great for marinating meat, using as a chilli oil in noodles and stir-fries, or in dips and dressings.

Where can I get it?

You can buy urfa chilli lakes online at souschef.co.uk (£3.49, 100g), thespicery.com (£2.99, approx. 70g) and rootedspices.com (£2.95, 35g), and urfa chilli paste online at belazu.com or in store at Waitrose & Partners (£2.99, 170g).