This delicious and refreshing soup of cucumbers and yogurt is cooling, salty, crunchy, and it is so easy to make! It saves my life during every heatwave, and now maybe yours.
Makes 4-6 portion
Ingredients:
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
2 Persian Cucumbers*, grated
1/4 cup golden raisins
20 oz (~2 1/2 cups) Plain Yogurt*
3 cups cold water
2 tbsp dried mint, crushed*
1/3 cup roughly chopped toasted walnuts
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Dried rose petals for garnish (optional)
Ice cubes for serving
Crackers or crunchy bread for serving*
Recipe notes:
*If using a strained kind of yogurt, you can double the amount of yogurt
*If you don’t have access to dried mint, you can use finely chopped fresh mint as well. Some people also put other kinds of chopped herbs in Ab Doogh Khiar. So you can experiment with different herbs if you’re curious.
Directions:
In a large bowl, add in the grated cucumbers, chopped onions, dried mint, and salt them generously. Give them a mix and taste, it should be a bit salty.
Next, add in the raisins, walnuts, and black pepper. Pour in the yogurt and the water. Mix everything together really well.
Alternatively, you can whisk/blend the yogurt and water together separately, and then pour it into the bowl. This is preferred especially if you are using a kind of yogurt that might need more mixing to get rid of lumpy parts.
Once everything is mixed, taste for salt. It should be salty in a gentle way. It takes quite some salt, so be generous. Ideally, you should let it chill in the fridge for an hour for maximum refreshing-ness. This rest time will also help the raisins become more plump and yummy. However, if you want to serve immediately, make sure to add in a few extra ice cubes and a touch more salt.
Once ready to serve, add in 8-10 ice cubes and top with half of the rose petals, saving the rest for garnishing individual bowls.
When ladling into bowl, keep in mind that all the goodies sink to the bottom. So make sure to ladle some from the bottom of the bowl. Pour into individual bowls, add in more ice cubes if desired, and garnish with more rose petals. Crack some crackers or crunchy flatbread into the bowl. Enjoy and be cool!