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Boza is a fermented bulgur drink which is quite popular in Turkey. Even though it is mostly consumed in winter,
I see no reason why it would not be enjoyed in summer days, either.

As many of you may know, living out of your own country has many disadvantages; not being able to find the
food you take for granted is a number one for many of us. This drink is one of those. But not anymore: About 5
Р6 months ago I asked one of my friends if she knew how to make it. Sure enough she (Zeynep Țre) knew
the recipe and was nice enough to share her grandma’s recipe with me.

I thought this drink was only known in Turkey. Well, I was wrong. A short internet searched revealed that many
Balkan countries and some Middle Eastern countries also enjoy it and turns out they even serve it in breakfast in
Bulgaria. This again brings up “Who owns the recipe?” or “Who made it first?” type of a question, but I am not
even going to go there. Whoever first came up with it: thank you!

It was once prohibited in the Ottoman Empire time, since it contains 2%- 6 % alcohol. This percentage heavily
depends on the length of the fermentation period, the sugar amount and the heat of the room it has been
fermented.

From what I read, it can be made with corn, bulgur, millet … possibly any grain you can think about. So far I
have made only with bulgur and mixture of bulgur & rice. Cannot taste the difference.

Maybe I should leave the history behind this drink to the famous Vefa Bozacısı of İstanbul. Here is a little
quote from them explaining the drink itself in short:

Boza is a fermented bulgur refreshment with addition of water and sugar. It contains vitamin A and
four types of vitamin B as well as vitamins C and E. During fermentation, Boza produces lactic
acid. This type of acid which is rarely found in food products helps digestion and also recommended
for its milk-producing property for pregnant women and for sportsman as a valuable source of
vitamin. It is very effective in the cholera treatment.

Without further ado, let me present you with the boza recipe:

Ingredients:

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Yogurt Land » Blog Archive » Boza http://www.yogurtland.com/2005/08/15/boza/

For 5 – 6 cups

1. 1 cup bulgur ( ½ cup bulgur + ½ cup rice can be used as well)

2. 1 cup sugar
3. 8 – 9 cups of water
4. 1 teaspoon active dry yeast

Preparation:

1. Put the grains and 8 cups of water in a big pot and slowly cook it. If you like, you can soak the grains in
the water overnight to help this process. Do not put the lid on. Cook until it is easy to mash the grains

2. Strain it through a fine colander by pressing hard and collect the thick juice; this will be your boza. You
can discard the pulp

3. Add the sugar to the thick juice and stir well. It should be thinner than tomato paste, but not as juicy as
tomato juice. If the blend is so thick, you can add more water to it. Put back on to low heat, and boil for
about 3 – 4 mins. Pour into a glass bowl and let it cool down to about 120F

4. In another bowl, mix the yeast with warm water, and pour it into the big bowl. Make sure to mix well.
Cover it with double layer cheesecloth or a kitchen towel and leave it in the room temperature until the
bubbles appear. This can take up to 2 days, depending on how hot the room is

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Yogurt Land » Blog Archive » Boza http://www.yogurtland.com/2005/08/15/boza/

5. Serve it chilled. Sprinkle cinnamon on top and serve with dry roasted chickpeas (another Turkish/Middle
Eastern snack), if you can have any. You may also need a spoon to get to the boza that is at the bottom of
your glass/cup

Enjoy!

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 15th, 2005 at 11:31 pm and is filed under Drink, Turkish Food. You can leave a response, or
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45 Responses to “Boza”

1. hera Says:
August 15th, 2005 at 11:39 pm

fethiye inanilmazi basariyorsun! bozaya bayildigim soylenemez ama nasil yapildigini gormek cok keyifli..
eskisehir’de daridan yapiliyormus sanirim, belki bilgin vardir…

2. deniz Says:
August 16th, 2005 at 1:16 am

Fethiye inanamiyorum, aramizda telepatik bir bag var galiba. Dun aksam saat on gibi sunu dusundum:
Turkiye’den ekimde donerken bir kavanoz boza getirsem, o bozayi burada maya olarak kullanip boza imal
etsem…Sonra senin boza tarifi yayinlayacagin aklima geldi, belki onun daha iyi bir fikri vardir da
bavulumu kopeklerin koklamasindan kurtulurum dedim. Bir de insallah, ekimden evvel tarifini verir
demistim ki…Oyy cok sevindinm, heyecanla bekliyorum.

Eger olur da becerebilirsem, butun kis burada iki kisi duacin olacak, inan. Aseriyorum bozaya.

3. deniz Says:
August 16th, 2005 at 5:33 am

pekiii kuru maya nasil kuru maya? dr oetkerin instant mayasi olur mu mesela?

4. fethiye Says:
August 16th, 2005 at 6:36 am

Hera, o inanilmazi basaran sagolsun Zeynep, ben de aradayIm. ;) Kabugu alinmis dari ile yapilirmis esas
herhalde ama ne yazik ki bu siteye yazarken istedigim kadar arastirma yapabilecek kaynagim yok. ;( Hem
yurtdisinda hem de universite kutuphanelerinden herhangi birine uzakta yasamam yuzunden.

Deniz, cok sevindim buraya baktigina. Sana eposta atacaktim, bozayi yazdim diye. Kuru maya herhangi
bir kuru maya, evet, diledigin marka! Istersen yas mayanIn cok azini da kabartip koyabilirsin,
Becerebilecegine eminim; Cok kolay.

5. zeynep Says:

6 of 13 2010-12-17 20:49