Popara
Popara (Cyrillic: Попара) (Greek: παπάρα, papara;[1] Turkish: papara[2]), is a meal made with left over or fresh bread. It is mostly made in Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Turkey and Montenegro.
Recipe
The milk or water is boiled, and bread is cut into cubes before being mixed with the boiling milk or water. It is then cooked for a few minutes until the bread is moist, it should not burn. A warm spoonful of pork lard or kaymak is poured over the popara.
Another popular variant substitutes Feta or white cheese, this can be spread over the top and allowed to melt on the hot bread, for "kaymak" .
Making popara Bulgarian style does not require boiling the bread. To make popara Bulgarian style,
1. the bread is mixed with the white cheese (sirene) (sugar can be added for sweetness) in a large bowl,
2. the hot water or milk is poured over (only enough to give texture to the bread, not to create a soup),
3. A lid is used to cover it and it is left to steam for about five minutes.
4. Finally, a knob of butter is added.
Popara is a traditional kids' breakfast meal.
Making popara in Bosnian style:
- Boil milk, in which you add some salt, and some "kaymak".
- Add bread previously cut in to smaller pieces.
- Cook for few more minutes until it turns in thick paste. Be careful not to burn it.
General ingredients of popara
- One- or two-day-old or fresh bread (with a thick crust)
- Milk, water or tea
- Butter
- A teaspoon of sugar
- kaymak or local cheese
Tirit
- Day-old bread, cut in chunks
- Feta cheese, crumbled
- Green onion, chopped
- Parsley, chopped
- Beef broth or stock, hot
Place the bread slices in a bowl. Sprinkle the green onion, parsley and feta cheese on top. Pour some hot beef broth and wait until the bread soaks it in, then pour the rest. The bread shouldn't be dry or juicy. If needed, add some salt and pepper.
Tirit is a Turkish dish made from old bread so it doesn't have to be thrown away.