Persian cold yogurt soup (ab doogh khiar)
A no-cook summer soup from Iran: cool yogurt with crunchy cucumber, walnuts, raisins and lots of fresh herbs, with toasted bread stirred in just before eating.
- 45 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $3.46 a serving
- 500 calories
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Most of the time here is hands-off, so you can sit down while it cooks.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 cucumber, peeled and grated
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 2 cups plain yogurt
- ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
- ¼ cup raisins
- 2 pita bread, toasted and torn
From your pantry
- 1 cup water, cold
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 500 calories, 23 g protein, 73 g carbs and 14 g fat, and costs about $3.46 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
- No plain yogurt? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No raisins? Dried cranberries work.
- No pita bread? Flour tortillas work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
and the cucumber on the big holes of a box grater, grate the garlic on the small holes, and the mint and dill.
Peel. Peeling means removing the skin with a vegetable peeler or a small knife. It takes off tough or bitter skins, though potato and carrot skins are fine to leave on unless the recipe insists.
How you’ll know: The color underneath is even all over, with no patches of skin left behind.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
the yogurt, cold water, salt and pepper in a large bowl until smooth and pourable, like thick buttermilk.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Dolly’s tip: If it’s thicker than you like, whisk in more cold water a splash at a time.Stir in the cucumber with its juice, the garlic, herbs, walnuts and raisins.
Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes, so the raisins plump up and the flavors mix.
Timer: 30 min
Toast the pita in a toaster until and tear it into bite-size pieces.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Taste for salt, ladle into bowls, and stir the pita pieces in right before eating so they stay a little crunchy.
Dolly’s tip: Drop in an ice cube or two on a really hot day. That’s how it’s served in Iran.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
