What is Temcit Pilaf? The Story of the Idiom

by Abbas Jahangir · June 28, 2021

The Curious Centennial Story of Temcit Pilaf

The phrase “warm, warm and put forward like tomcit pilaf,” which you may hear from time to time in everyday speech, doubles the meaning of the sentence if used appropriately. The phrase temcit pilaf, which is one of the idioms in Turkish, is an element of oral culture that has been transferred from language to language for centuries.

When it comes to food and language, many idioms and proverbs about food can be studied. One of the idioms that draw attention is to heat it up like temcit pilaf and put it forward.

If you are a new acquaintance with idioms or if you have heard this idiom for the first time; Let’s talk about what the phrase ” warm, warm and put forward like temcit pilaf” means in its most clear and understandable way . Let’s take a look at the most curious idioms that show how rich Turkish is, thanks to this article.

What is Temcit Pilaf?

For those who say what temcit pilaf means, we can state that the idiom in question has been examined in detail in various sources.
As a result of the studies on language, according to the data presented to the public, temcit pilaf is actually the rice pilaf that everyone knows in its most summary form.
If you say why this pilaf is called temcit; Let’s say that it is food consumed especially in Ramadan.
Temcit, literally known as three months, is the name of the prayer read in mosques during the months of Recep, Şaban, and Ramadan.
The reason why a dish is given this name is that it is frequently consumed at Ramadan tables.
Temcit pilaf is rice pilaf that is cooked according to desire in almost every home.
There is no single answer to the question of how to make Temcit pilaf. Because the rice pilaf you prepare as you wish can be consumed as temcit pilaf. However, there are some criteria.
During Ramadan, rice is consumed by heating in sahur and iftar.
Since it is difficult to prepare rice in the food rush; pre-prepared rice pilaf was consumed at every meal.
This idiom, which is used for things that are “constantly put forward” among the people, is used when a subject is repeated frequently.
According to the statements made by the Turkish Language Association, temcit pilaf; It is defined as rice leftover from the iftar meal and reheated at sahur.
If we refer to the meaning of the idiom; We can remind you that there are topics and words that a person is bored with.
There is also a story of this idiom from ancient times to the present day. Since every idiom has a story of emergence, we will also include the story of temcit pilaf on this page.

Temcit Rice Idiom Meaning and Story

Let’s talk about the curious story of temcit pilaf, which is known as a meal that is heated and consumed in sahur.

During the Ottoman period, a man lived in a town called Bozaık in one of the Balkan countries.
According to the rumors, the name of the person living in the town was Brass Celal Efendi.
Rice Celal Efendi’s wife used to cook rice and put it on the table every Ramadan, sahur and iftar.
One day, rice was bothered by Celal Efendi and wondered why this rice was cooked so often.
He had an argument with his wife on this issue, and this incident spread from word to mouth.
Until today, temcit pilaf has been known as a meal eaten day and night.

The other story that has been told is as follows:

In ancient times, there was a prayer rising from the mosques at the time of sahur. This prayer is called temcit prayer.
People who heard the prayer of temcit would wake up from sleep, warm up the leftover food and pilaf and make sahur.
Since the same things are repeated over and over, the phrase “warm-up and put forward” has been added to our language like temcit pilaf.
Today, this idiom is used by many people.
In case the same subject is repeated and spoken over and over, people can use the aforementioned idiom.
To express the situation they were bored, people said, “Heat it like Temcit rice and don’t put it in front of me!” he may say.