Refreshing Cucumber Yogurt Dip Recipe – Khiyar bi Laban

Cucumber Yogurt is a smooth, healthy and very refreshing dip perfect for the spring and summer.  Its main ingredients are yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, mint and salt. We have this dish as a common appetizer during hot days, and during spring time in Lebanon, when in season, we prepare it using fresh local yogurt made from goat milk, which gives it a richer deeper taste.  It’s such an amazing and super easy to make dish that is also common to find in different variations in Turkish and Persian restaurants (aka Masto Khiar).  Our greek cousins have an offshoot that they call Tzatzki Dip, and I also learnt that they have a similar dish in Bulgaria which they call “Tarator”.

Summary: The Yogurt Cucumber dip/soup is a smooth, healthy and very refreshing dip perfect for the summer.

Ingredients

4 persian cucumbers (or equivalent), finely chopped
4 cups of plain yogurt
1/2 cup of water
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
a few leaves of green mint finely chopped, or 1 teaspoon of dried mint powder
a dash of salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)

Preparation Method

1. In a bowl, whisk the yogurt, water, crushed garlic, salt and lemon juice well.  If you’re preparing this in summer, you can add 2-3 ice cubes in the mix to cool the yogurt and make it even more refreshing
2. Finely Chop the cucumbers into cubes of ~ 1/3 inches, add to the mixing bowl
3. Add the finely chopped green mint or the dried mint powder and salt, mix well
4. Serve in small soup bowls as an appetizer or snack, enjoy and thank the Lord! 🙂

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Diet type: Vegetarian
Diet tags: High protein
Number of servings (yield): 4
Culinary tradition: Middle Eastern