Tarator Soup

Name: Tarator Soup: Bulgarian Cold Cucumber Yogurt Soup Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: Bulgarian cuisine
Ingredients: Soured milk 0.5 l; Boiled water as needed, if the milk is thick; Cucumbers 2-3; Dill 0.5 bunch; Garlic 1-2 cloves; Walnuts (shelled) 1 tbsp (8 g); Olive oil 1 tbsp; Salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste; Wine vinegar a few drops, if the milk is not sour enough; Ice cubes optional

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15 mins

Probably most, if not all, cuisines of the world have cold soups made with a fermented milk base. In Bulgaria it is tarator, a light cold soup of soured milk with cucumbers, dill and garlic. Milk is a product found all over the world, and soured milk is everywhere too. So a cold soup with soured milk is truly an international dish.

The well-known kvass-based cold soup, okroshka, is sometimes dressed with soured milk, and similar dishes exist in the Baltics and in Ukraine. In the Caucasus, Transcaucasia and the East there are cold soups made with ayran (a kind of soured milk thinned with water): in Armenia it is “matsnabrdosh”; in Turkey, cacik, made of cucumbers, garlic, mixed herbs and ayran (or yogurt); and in Spain gazpacho — a chilled tomato purée with spices and ice, poured over chopped vegetables such as cucumbers, onion, garlic and herbs. In Iran a similar soup is called “mast o khiar”, which means “soured milk and cucumbers” (ماست و خيار).

Bulgarian tarator is a wonderful refreshing dish. It takes a few minutes to make and quenches thirst superbly even in the fiercest heat. In summer there are always fresh cucumbers and herbs. All you need to do is cut up fresh cucumbers, add a clove of garlic and some dill, and pour in soured milk thinned with water.

Tarator is built on soured milk. Not yogurt from a tub, but the natural product the Bulgarians call “kiselo mlyako” and the Turks call yoğurt, which simply means soured milk.

In the summer heat, I think there are few foods that quench thirst as well as a cold soup made with soured milk. The soup is very popular in the Balkans. Under different names it is, as a rule, one and the same recipe with small variations. At home we make this ice-cold soup often, and in summer it has become almost a must.

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Ingredients

1 serving

Soured milk 0.5 l
Boiled water as needed, if the milk is thick
Cucumbers 2-3
Dill 0.5 bunch
Garlic 1-2 cloves
Walnuts (shelled) 1 tbsp (8 g)
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste
Wine vinegar a few drops, if the milk is not sour enough
Ice cubes optional

Step-by-step recipe

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Soured milk base

Prepare a cold soured milk base. The best soured milk is what tarator is all about. Whole milk, once it has soured, is mixed with boiled water and whisked. The base should be very cold and not too thick. If the milk does not taste sour enough, you can add a few drops of wine vinegar. Usually, though, the milk is sour enough and no extra acid is needed. The soured milk with water must be very cold. Really, truly ice-cold. Some people even add ice cubes to the soup.

Vegetables and dressing

Cucumbers are the backbone of tarator. Good, green, fresh cucumbers that smell of the garden, dew and summer. How many? It depends on who you ask. Bulgarians say 1-2 cucumbers per 0.5 liter of soured milk. I like this soup fairly thick, so I take 2-3 small, very green cucumbers.
Cut the cucumbers. Wash the fresh green cucumbers, trim off the ends and dice them finely. It is better not to grate them, or you will end up with mush.
Chop the garlic and dill. Chop the garlic very finely with a knife, or grate it on the finest grater, and add it to the cucumbers. Chop the fresh dill very, very finely and add it to the vegetables.
Season the vegetables. Salt and pepper the vegetable mixture, then mix thoroughly. If you are in no hurry, let the cucumbers stand for 10 minutes so they release their juice. Add the olive oil and mix once more.
Here is another option: some cooks season with a mix of dried dill, granulated garlic, pepper and salt. They use this mixture to salt the soup and leave out the fresh garlic.

Assembly

Pour the soured milk with water over the vegetables. After mixing the vegetables, pour in the soured milk with water. If the soured milk is thick, feel free to add more water.

Serving

Sprinkle with dill and walnuts. Sprinkle finely chopped dill on top, along with walnuts crushed in a mortar.
Serve the tarator very cold. Tarator, the soured milk cold soup, is eaten very cold. Add ice cubes if you like.

Calories and macros

535 kcal

Serving ≈ 860 g

Protein19 g14% of kcal
Fat36 g60% of kcal
Carbs33 g25% of kcal

100 g62 kcalProtein 2.2 gFat 4.1 gCarbs 3.9 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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