Tarator - Bulgarian Cold Cucumber Soup

"This cold soup is among Bulgarians favorite foods for the summer. It is served as a first course instead of a salad or between meals as refreshment. You might even see it served in a glass. Most men here say it goes great with a glass of cold rakiya (Bulgarian grape or fruit brandy) or Ouzo."
 
Download
photo by Euphoriaaa photo by Euphoriaaa
photo by Euphoriaaa
Ready In:
20mins
Ingredients:
8
Serves:
3-6
Advertisement

ingredients

Advertisement

directions

  • Cut the cucumbers into cubes and put them in a bowl. You may aslo grate them but it changes the look and the consistency.
  • Beat the yogurt with a fork until it gets liquid and pour it over the cucumbers.
  • Add the crushed garlic, the walnuts and the minced dill as well as salt and oil to taste.
  • If needed add some water to make the soup as liquid as you like but take care not to make it too "thin".
  • Put into the refrigerator to cool or add ice cubes.
  • Serve cold.

Questions & Replies

  1. Dealing with reflux and can't have raw or even cooked garlic; would garlic powder work here? If so how much? I would think maybe a quarter of a teaspoon but I don't really know.
     
Advertisement

Reviews

  1. As a Bulgarian I would say: make it as it is. Do not fry the garlic, it's a healthy and delish recipe why ruin it, and do not blend it. But, that's just me. It is my all time favorite soup. Well done, Nelke.
     
  2. I really love this simple and refreshing side dish. I usually prefer it thicker, as a salad versus a soup. I recommend eating it immediately upon preparing it because I find the garlic flavor becomes too strong by the next day. I guess an alternative to this would be to soak the cucumbers and sliced garlic in salt water or several hours (like a wilted cucumber salad) then drain thoroughly, toss out the garlic and then add the yogurt, dill and walnuts. Just a thought to make leftovers less "leftover" :-)
     
  3. This recipe is so simple but the result is fantastic! I had never heard of tarator but ran across this looking for a way to use our garden cucumbers. I blended the cucumbers, garlic, walnuts, and dill in a food processor and then mixed in the yogurt, salt, and oil. I made a similar recipe recently and this is far superior. The biggest difference was the addition of the walnuts, and also more garlic. I will be making this again and again! Thank you!
     
  4. WOW was this fantastic,!!!! It is so so easy and its summertime and a great time for cold soup. I would give it 10 stars if I could. ONE IMPORTANT CAVEAT. Eat it the day you make it. The seasoning will overwhelm it to something you will not want
     
  5. YES!!! I'm Macedonian-Bulgarian. This was a summer favorite in our family.
     
Advertisement

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

What can I say? I love to cook. And I love to eat. <br> <br>As I am Bulgarian and as I live in Bulgaria I'm bound to do and to post the recipes for many typical Bulgarian or Balkan dishes - like the potato moussaka, the tikvenik and the tarator. You can check out all those and some other Bulrarian recipes posted by other people on the site in my specially devised public cookbook. I hope you try and like them. Bon apetit!
 
View Full Profile
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Find More Recipes