Ab Doogh Khiar – Refreshing Yogurt Soup

Ab Doogh Khiar is a refreshing, cold yoghurt soup with cucumbers, herbs, raisins and walnuts. We dunk pieces of bread in it, making the soup nice and filling without being too heavy. It’s the ideal lunch or dinner for hot summer days.

In this weather, we don’t really feel like eating a proper meal, but being the foodies that we are, we still want to eat something delicious. If it’s cooling us down at the same time, all the better!

The basis of this cold yoghurt soup is a Persian yoghurt drink called Doogh, similar to Turkish Ayran. You can easily make it yourself! I recommend using strained yogurt, a sour-tasting one would be ideal. You can find it in Turkish or Iranian supermarkets. But if you don’t have access to one, don’t worry. You can also use Greek or Greek-style yoghurt and your Ab Doogh Khiar will be just as refreshing.

Cook the most popular Persian dishes at home with the help of my e-book.

Ingredients (serving 4)

500g / 2 cups strained yoghurt OR 1kg / 4 cups Greek-style yoghurt

700 ml / 3 cups water (if using strained yoghurt) OR 350 ml / 1.5 cups water (if using Greek-style yoghurt)

Strained yoghurt is much thicker than Greek-style yoghurt. That’s why you’ll need half the amount of yoghurt and twice the amount of water if you’re using strained yoghurt.

1 salad cucumber or the equivalent amount of small cucumbers (280g/10oz)

1/2 bunch of dill (about 20 sprigs)

1/2 bunch of mint (leaves of about 20 sprigs)

1/4 bunch tarragon (about 10 sprigs)

1/4 bunch basil (leaves of about 10 sprigs)

8 whole walnuts (crushed)

3 tbsp raisins

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp salt

8 ice cubes

Crunchy bread to serve

A few spring onions as garnish (optional)

1 tbsp rose petals as garnish (optional)

Time

Prep: 20 min

Total: 20 min

Method of preparing Ab Doogh Khiar

Wash the herbs and spread them on a clean kitchen towel to dry.

Transfer the yoghurt to a bowl and add a bit of the water. Stir until the mixture is well combined, then add more water. The end result should be quite runny, almost like milk. It should have a solid white colour.

Season generously with salt. Add the raisins to the doogh, so they can soak for about 15 minutes until serving time.

Wash the cucumber and chop it into fine cubes. If you like, you can peel them first but I usually keep the skin on because of its nutrients. Add the chopped cucumber to the soup.

Finely chop the garlic and add it to the Ab Doogh Khiar.

Crush or chop the walnuts and add them as well.

If your bread is too soft, you can toast it to make it more crunchy. Cut it into 2 x 2 cm / 0.8″ x 0.8″cubes and set them aside.

When the herbs are dry, finely chop them and add them to the soup.

Finally, add the ice and bread cubes and decorate your Ab Doogh Khiar with dried rose petals and chopped spring onion, if you like.

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