The name acılı ezme describes a spicy, crushed or finely chopped preparation. Versions differ in their onions, herbs and souring ingredient. This fresh tomato version follows the spring-onion, parsley and mint combination found in Adana-style recipes, using lemon for acidity and mild pepper paste so the chili can be adjusted separately.
Acılı Ezme — Recipe Card
Turkish spicy chopped tomato and pepper meze
Makes 6 servings · Makes about 650 g (23 oz), enough for 6 small meze portions; the yield varies with tomato juiciness.US 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 Acılı Ezme
Prepare the vegetables
Wash your hands, knife and board. Rinse the tomatoes, peppers, spring onions and parsley under running water, then dry them. Core the tomatoes, remove the pepper stems and seeds, and trim the spring onions.
Chop and drain the tomatoes
Finely chop the tomatoes into 2–3 mm pieces, keeping their skins. Place them in a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl for 5 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. Let excess juice drip away without squeezing the flesh dry.
Mince the remaining ingredients
Chop the peppers, spring onions and parsley just as finely. Crush the garlic to a paste. Keep the pieces small and even; a blender will make the mixture too smooth and watery.
Make the dressing
In a mixing bowl, stir the pepper paste with the lemon juice and olive oil until evenly combined. Mix in the dried mint, pul biber and salt. If your pepper paste is very salty, begin with half the measured salt.
Combine and chill
Fold the drained tomatoes, chopped peppers, spring onions, parsley and garlic into the dressing. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Stir again, taste, and add the remaining measured salt only if needed.
Serve
Spoon into a shallow serving dish. It should be moist and finely textured, not soupy. Serve cool with bread or as a meze beside a main dish; keep the rest refrigerated until needed.
Bring this recipe to your kitchen with a printable copy.
Print recipeRecipe from MyTurkishRecipes · https://myturkishrecipes.com/turkish-spicy-tomato-dip-acili-ezme. Quantities reflect your selected serving scale. Cooking times are estimates; follow the doneness cues.
Make it work in your kitchen
Ingredient Substitutions
These swaps change flavor or texture as described. Keep the original ingredients for the closest version of the dish.
Pul biber
Use the same amount of mild paprika for color and a gentler flavor. For heat, add a small pinch of chili flakes, then taste; chili flakes can be much hotter.
Turkish red pepper paste
Use the same quantity of tomato paste, then add mild paprika to taste. This gives a more tomato-forward flavor and will not reproduce the full pepper flavor.
A few helpful kitchen notes
Pepper paste
Use thick, mild Turkish biber salçası, not chili sauce. If unavailable, replace the full 20 g (1 tbsp) with 20 g (1 tbsp) tomato paste and add 1 g (½ tsp) sweet paprika to the dressing. This practical substitute has a different flavor.
Heat level
Medium with typical pul biber, although brands vary. For a mild version, omit the 2 g (1 tsp) pul biber and keep the peppers and paste mild; it will no longer have the usual acılı heat. For a hotter version, replace 20 g of the mild green pepper with 20 g fresh hot green chili, keeping the total pepper weight at 60 g. Wear gloves when handling hot chili.
Dietary notes
The base recipe uses plant ingredients and contains no dairy or eggs. Check packaged pepper paste and spices if avoiding gluten; their formulations and handling can vary. Bread served alongside is not included in these dietary labels.
Texture
Use ripe but firm tomatoes and hand-chop the vegetables. Drain only the loose tomato juice before mixing; do not add breadcrumbs or flour to thicken the relish.
How to store and reheat Acılı Ezme
Best on the day it is made. Refrigerate promptly in a covered container at 4°C (40°F) or colder and use within 3 days. Discard any portion left out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C (90°F). Stir before serving and serve cold; reheating is unnecessary. Lemon and an oil layer do not make this a shelf-stable preserve. Freezing is not recommended for texture.
Acılı Ezme: questions and answers
Is acılı ezme the same as a chopped tomato salad?
Ezme has a much finer texture and a pepper-paste dressing. The vegetables should still be recognizable, but they are chopped small enough to scoop together rather than served as large salad pieces.
Can I make it without a food processor?
Yes. A sharp knife is the preferred method here. Chop in small batches and then run the knife through the mixture again, keeping the pieces around 2–3 mm.
Can I use pomegranate molasses instead of lemon?
Replace the full 30 ml (2 tbsp) lemon juice with 15 ml (1 tbsp) pure pomegranate molasses and 15 ml (1 tbsp) water. This gives a sweeter, darker relish; acidity varies by brand. Keep the same refrigeration and storage limits.
Can I prepare it ahead?
For the freshest texture, prepare it on the day you serve it and refrigerate after mixing. Tomatoes release more liquid as they stand; stir before serving and lift the relish out with a spoon if liquid collects.
