Another favorite dessert is Kazandibi.
It is a traditional Turkish dessert that became popular in Northern Greece after the liberation of Greece from the ottoman Empire and the return of misplaced populations mainly in Thessaloniki.
http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazandibi
It is a creamy dessert made from cornstarch and buffalo milk. It's very simple, refreshing and yet very tasty! The name means bottom of the pan as for this specific dessert you have to burn the bottom part of it.
There are a couple of variations in relation to the flavor. You can either make it with rosewater or Mastic. I prefer the one with the rosewater.
I have tried a couple of recipes but I was never happy with the outcome. For the following recipe I combined different elements and secrets I found in both Greek and Turkish websites.
I hope you try it out! It is very easy to make and so so tasty!
Ingredients:
1 litre Buffalo Milk
100 gr cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp rosewater
1/4 cup sugar
butter
sugar
Directions:
Grease the bottom of a 25x25 cm square pan with butter and sprinkle enough sugar. Place under the grill at 200 degrees Celsius. Cook until the sugar is caramelized.
Put it aside and in a bowl mix 250ml of the milk with the sugar, cornstarch, rosewater and vanilla essence until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated. Heat the 750 ml of the milk on medium heat and then add the mixture. Cook until it turns into a thick cream. Make sure you keep stirring to make sure you maintain the good consistency of the creme.
Once cooked set aside until it cools down. Preheat the oven on 180 degrees Celsius. Gently pour the creme in the pan making sure it doesn't get mixed with the caramelized sugar. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Once out of the oven let it cool. Cut the Kazandibi in square pieces and serve with the brown part on top.
http://kurkubinii.wix.com/kurkubini#!kazan-dibi/c1q83
