Fragrant Cucumber Yogurt Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Make the soup: Put the English cucumber slices in a blender and add 1/4 cup cold water. Blend on low speed until smooth (you don't want to whip too much air into the soup). You may have to stop the blender to push the cucumbers down toward the blade. Season with salt, pepper and a touch of honey, if a little sweetness is needed. Transfer to a small bowl, then set it in a larger bowl filled with ice water to chill, about 3 hours.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce: Combine the chile pepper, honey, paprika and cumin in a small bowl and mash well with the back of a spoon so the ingredients meld. (If you own a mortar and pestle, this is a great chance to pull it out.) Stir in the yogurt and vinegar. Season with salt.
• Just before serving, drizzle the Kirby cucumber spears with the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Give the soup a final stir and pour into small glasses. Drizzle the yogurt sauce on top, garnish with the cucumber spears and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir jalapeno peppers, ginger, and garlic in the hot oil until the garlic is soft and the oil is fragrant, about 5 minutes.
• Stir yogurt, chili powder, turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala, and salt together in a Dutch oven; warm gently over low heat. Fold oil mixture into the yogurt mixture, remove from heat, and top with cilantro.

Steps:

• Puree yogurt, salt, and dried mint in a blender with enough of the water to create a smooth, thin soup. It will thicken some when you add the bread.
• Divide the cucumbers, raisins, walnuts, and herbs among four bowls.
• Pour one-fourth of the yogurt mixture into each bowl.
• Top with rose petals, and add a few ice cubes to each bowl.
• Tear bread into small pieces and add some to each bowl. Let bread soak 5 to 7 minutes before serving. Serve cold.

Steps:

• Peel and cut 1 1/2 of the cucumbers into large chunks (set the remaining unpeeled 1/2 cucumber aside).
• Combine the cucumber chunks in a food processor with the yogurt, sour cream, olive oil, mint, salt, garlic and plenty of white pepper. Pulse, scraping down the sides, until completely smooth.
• Ladle the mixture into cold bowls or refrigerate until serving. Chop the remaining cucumber into fine dice and divide among the bowls. Swirl some sour cream into each bowl, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and scatter with mint and almonds.

Steps:

• If using dried rose, crumble a few petals coarsely for garnish and set aside. Place the rest on a cutting board and chop as finely as possible.
• Place the buttermilk, yogurt and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender and blend until frothy, about 30 seconds, or whisk together in a large bowl until smooth and frothy. If you used a blender, pour the mixture into a large bowl. Add the cucumbers, raisins, walnuts, dill, chives, dried mint and 1/4 teaspoon of the finely chopped rose petals. Stir well to combine and season to taste with more salt. Cover and refrigerate to chill and allow the flavors to come to life, at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Just before serving, toast the lavash or bread until crisp but not burned, and break into pieces. Stir the soup to mix. It should be the consistency of a thin, runny soup. If it's too thick, thin it out with water or more buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time. Keep in mind that you will be adding ice cubes, which will also thin out the soup as they melt. Divide the soup among serving bowls and add the ice cubes. Garnish the top as creatively as you like with crumbled dried rose petals, cucumber, dried mint, dill sprigs, raisins, walnuts and fresh mint leaves. Add the bread pieces right before serving or serve on the side.

Steps:

• Combine the spelt, water and salt to taste, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer about 50 minutes to an hour until tender and some of the kernels have begun to splay. Remove from the heat, drain and set aside.
• While the spelt is cooking, place the cucumber in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Toss and place in a strainer set over the bowl. Allow to drain for 30 minutes. Rinse well, and drain on paper towels.
• Combine all the ingredients except the radishes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill for two hours or longer. Serve, garnishing each bowl with the sliced radishes.

Steps:

• Place the yogurt in a paper- towel-lined sieve and let drain over a bowl, in the refrigerator, several hours or overnight.
• Stir together the cucumbers, garlic, olive oil, dill and salt. Place the drained yogurt in a large bowl and gradually whisk in the water until very smooth. Stir in the cucumber mixture.
• Refrigerate the soup until very cold, at least 3 hours. If needed, thin with a little more water. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Ladle into bowls and serve.