Turkish Boza is a smoothie like fermented drink that is mainly based on bulgur and yeast. It has a sweet and tangy flavor that everyone finds addictive!
Boza is in between a drink and a pudding. It is one of those very special Turkish desserts that are sold on the street. Small local shops always have the best boza.
Turkish Boza is a pudding-like fermented drink, so you need to have enough time to make and wait it. It is made from bulgur, rice, sugar, yeast and water.
As it is a drink people in Turkey have in fall and winter, we wanted to update this post with some new photos (see them below) so that you can notice this amazing drink and hopefully try it yourself. You're missing a lot if you haven't tasted it yet!
Don’t get surprised when you hear the voice of a street vendor selling boza in cold evenings in Turkey. I feel like I’m in a time machine travelling to old days, to Ottoman Empire times whenever I hear his voice on our street.
It was known as a great drink to warm and strengthen your body, so it was one of the ultimate foods for the Ottoman army. You don’t feel cold and you get stronger as you drink Turkish boza! What’s more, it is suggested to new moms since it increases breastmilk quite lot.
What is Boza Drink?
Boza is a malt drink made from bulgur wheat and it’s so rich in carbs. It is one of the unique bulgur recipes in Turkey. It’s almost as thick as a pudding with a sweet and tart flavor. You might find it weird when you first try it, but then you easily become addicted before you realize!
You don't need many ingredients to make Turkish boza. Plus, I think you won't have any difficulty in finding the ingredients although it is a traditional recipe.
Turkish Boza is one of those very traditional drinks and it’s typically sold in winter although it’s not a hot drink. It’s associated with cold days and snow because it has a warming effect, but I think it would be a great summer drink too since it’s served cold.
There are some very famous boza producers in Turkey and the most famous one is Vefa around the country. Although it’s not as famous, there is a local shop in Eskisehir called Karakedi Bozacisi and we find their boza even better!
You should see how that tiny shop gets full in winter. There are no chairs or tables in this shop, people just stop by and grab one of glasses filled with this amazing pudding like drink on the counter. They don’t even need to give order, vendors prepare the glasses beforehand so that the customers can easily take one and enjoy their drink standing.
How to Serve Turkish Boza
Turkish Boza is traditionally served in typical Turkish water glasses with cinnamon and roasted chickpeas on the top. A dessert spoon is just dipped into it and you can either drink it or eat it or do both depending on your craving. Not something traditional, but we love to garnish boza with mint sprigs or sometimes with fruit like pomegranate or persimmon.
We don’t prefer making boza at home since we have a great producer in our town and it’s even sold at most of the supermarkets in Turkey, but we're going to share the recipe of it for those who are away from Turkey and don’t have chance to buy it prepared.
Love Turkish food and drink and want to learn more? Check out our Turkish category in the recipe index above. A suggestion: Start by learning How To Make Turkish Coffee, especially if you are a coffee lover.
More Turkish Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Turkish Boza
INGREDIENTS
- 2½ cups bulgur
- ½ cup rice
- 8 cups water for boiling
- ½ teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar to feed the yeast
- 1 cup lukewarm water for activating yeast
- 1½ cups sugar adjust to taste
- 6 cups water for thinning
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon for serving
- 2 tablespoons roasted chickpeas optional, for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Rinse the bulgur and rice thoroughly. Transfer them to a large pot.
- Add 8 cups of water and cook over medium heat until both are very soft.
- Once the mixture reaches a mushy, porridge-like texture, strain it. Then press it through a fine mesh sieve to remove the tough solids. Discard the pulp.
- Let the strained mixture cool to room temperature.
- In a small bowl, mix the yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 cup lukewarm water.
- Add the yeast mixture to the cooled bulgur-rice base. Whisk well to combine.
- Cover the pot and let it ferment in a cool, dark place for up to 24 hours. In hot weather, 6–8 hours may be enough. Stir occasionally to let it breathe.
- After fermentation, start by adding 1 cup of sugar and 6 cups of water. Mix thoroughly until smooth. Taste and add more sugar gradually if needed, mixing well after each addition. Adjust the water if necessary to achieve a thick but pourable consistency (like drinkable pudding).
- Chill before serving. Pour into glasses, sprinkle with cinnamon, and garnish with roasted chickpeas if desired.
- Store leftovers in the fridge and consume within a few days.
NUTRITION
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tea says
Hi,
This sounds great and I'd love to try it. I understand that traditionally it is a drink associated with winter, but I only crave warm drinks when it's cold outside, so I thought I'd make this in the summer.
However, it's already very hot here, and I'm worried about the fermentation, as the instructions say to leave it 'in a cool place'. Do you have any advice regarding this? Should I maybe put it in the fridge to ferment? Or maybe leave it out for a shorter time? Or maybe leave it out for the recommended amount of time, but use much less yeast?
Also, I'm interested in using honey instead of sugar, as I try to avoid refined sugar, do you think this would make the flavor strange?
One more thing: regarding straining, how much of the pulp is supposed to pass through? I have 3 fine mesh strainers, all with different density of mesh. I imagine some of it is supposed to pass through, in order to make the drink as thick as you describe it? But I'm worried if I pass it through the widest mesh it will *all* pass through, and through the finest, none will! :).
Thanks in advance!
Zerrin & Yusuf says
Hi Tea,
So sorry for the late reply and thank you so much for your thoughtful comment! After reading it, we actually went back and updated the recipe a little, so really appreciate you reaching out. 😊
About the fermentation: yes, if it’s very hot where you are, it will ferment much faster. Depending on the temperature, even 5–6 hours might be enough. Just make sure it stays at room temperature — not in the fridge, as that would slow things down too much.
As for the sugar: you can definitely use honey instead (even though it’s not traditional). But when activating the yeast, it’s important to use regular sugar — honey won’t give the same result.
And for straining: use a fine mesh strainer. You don’t want any of the pulp in the final drink, the liquid should be smooth and creamy.
Since this will be your first time trying it, we’d actually recommend making half the recipe. It’s a bit of a process, so starting small is a great way to get a feel for it.
Hope you enjoy making it! Let us know how it turns out!
Jakob Mayer says
Easy to do and delicious! Lots of thanks.
Jakob
Zerrin & Yusuf says
Hi Jacob,
Glad you liked it. Cheers!
Alexsndra says
Hello,
I would love to try the recipe. My friend told me about it and it sounds so yummy. I was wonder if I could use sourdough starter for the yeast? And how much should I use . If it’s possible to use.
Thank you for your help!
Yusuf says
Hi Alexsndra,
We never tried it with sourdough starter, but heard that it is possible to use when making boza.
Mayte says
Hi ! I just read in another blog that using sourdough smell kind of funny acid smell …😐
“ you want to make box’s , not bread “” it’s a read 😉
Mayte says
Sorry , my comment before is not box “”” you want to make BOZA not bread “””it is what I read …
Secil says
I suspect it is a winter drink because in summer yeasts would be overactive and it would turn sour quickly.
I'm from Eskişehir and loved Karakedi's boza - much sweeter than Vefa's probably because it's so fresh.
I was thinking of boza because I made some water kefir and was thinking how there is a similarity in taste - might try this in winter with water kefir. Thank you for the recipe!