Hamsi has a particularly strong place in Türkiye's Black Sea cooking. An official Ministry recipe identifies Hamsi Buğulama as a well-known regional dish and records a covered bake of anchovies and sliced vegetables. This home version keeps that structure, with carefully specified slice thickness and safe doneness cues.
Hamsi Buğulama — Recipe Card
Black Sea anchovies baked with potatoes, tomatoes, onion and lemon
Makes 6 servingsUS cup = 240 ml · tablespoon = 15 ml · teaspoon = 5 ml. Cup and weight conversions are approximate. Australian cooks: use a 15 ml measuring tablespoon.
Ingredient quantities and servings are scaled. Cooking times, pan sizes, frying oil depth, and temperatures stay the same; cook larger batches as needed.
Ingredients
How to make Hamsi Buğulama
Prepare the anchovies
Check that the anchovies are fully cleaned and deboned, then pat them dry. Toss with 4 g (¾ teaspoon) of the salt and place in a colander set over a bowl in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Pat dry again; do not leave the fish at room temperature.
Heat the oven
Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Lightly oil a 23 × 33 cm (9 × 13-inch) baking dish. Make sure the potato, onion, tomato and lemon slices are all ready before removing the fish from the refrigerator.
Build the layers
Arrange the anchovies closely in one even layer. Scatter over half the parsley. Add the onion, potato and tomato slices in that order, overlapping them slightly but avoiding thick piles. Tuck in the bay leaves and finish with the lemon slices.
Add the cooking liquid
Whisk the remaining 6 g (1 teaspoon) salt and black pepper into the water, then stir in the olive oil. Pour evenly around the vegetables. Press a sheet of baking parchment directly over the surface and cover the dish tightly with a lid or foil.
Bake gently
Bake covered for 35 minutes. Remove the lid and parchment carefully, allowing the steam to escape away from you, then bake for 8–10 minutes more. The potatoes should be tender and the thickest fish should reach 63°C (145°F), with opaque flesh that separates easily.
Finish and serve
Remove the bay leaves. Scatter over the remaining parsley and rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot or warm, spooning the lemony tomato-and-olive-oil juices over each portion.
Bring this recipe to your kitchen with a printable copy.
Print recipeRecipe from MyTurkishRecipes · https://myturkishrecipes.com/turkish-baked-anchovies-hamsi-bugulama. Quantities reflect your selected serving scale. Cooking times are estimates; follow the doneness cues.
A few helpful kitchen notes
Fish choice
Use fresh or refrigerator-thawed European anchovies sold as hamsi. Larger sardines are not a direct substitute: their bones, thickness and cooking time differ. Ask the fishmonger to remove heads, guts and backbones if needed.
Dietary notes
The base recipe uses plain ingredients that are gluten-free and dairy-free, but it contains fish. These labels do not certify freedom from cross-contact or suitability for coeliac disease; check any packaged spice and the preparation area when that matters.
Heat level
No added chili. Black pepper provides gentle warmth. Pul biber may be offered separately, but it is not part of this mild base version.
Food safety
Thaw frozen anchovies in the refrigerator, keep raw seafood separate from ready-to-eat foods and cook fish to 63°C (145°F). Reheat leftovers to 74°C (165°F).
How to store and reheat Hamsi Buğulama
Refrigerate within 2 hours in shallow covered containers at 4°C (40°F) or below and use within 3 days. Reheat only the portion needed, covered, until it reaches 74°C (165°F). Freezing is safe but softens the potatoes and tomatoes, so refrigeration gives the better texture.
Hamsi Buğulama: questions and answers
What does buğulama mean in this dish?
It refers to gentle cooking with trapped moisture. Covering the pan lets the fish and vegetables cook in steam and their own juices rather than frying.
Can I use canned anchovies?
No. Salt-cured or canned anchovy fillets are far too salty and have a different texture. This recipe needs fresh whole European anchovies that have been cleaned and deboned.
Why are my potatoes still firm?
The slices were probably too thick or the cover was loose. Keep them at 5 mm (¼ inch), overlap them lightly and seal the dish for the full first 35 minutes.
Can I assemble it ahead?
Prepare and slice the vegetables a few hours ahead and refrigerate them separately. Assemble immediately before baking so raw fish does not sit under acidic lemon and tomato, which would change its texture.
