Yogurt Soup

This soup is another one of my favorites. Yogurt is very popular here in Turkey, and also very delicious. After a few months of eating nothing but Turkish yogurt, all other types taste chalky to me. They don't have the tang or the thick, creamy texture of yogurt here. This soup really needs to be made with Turkish yogurt, but it is rather hard to come by in other parts of the world. Fortunately many stores in the US now carry Greek-style yogurt, which is very close.

1/4 cup rice
5 cups of water (or half water, half chicken stock)
2 cups of plain yogurt
1 egg
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp dried mint
1 tsp salt

Cook the rice in the water/stock until very soft. In a bowl, beat the egg and flour together until well incorporated. Add the yogurt and mix. Add 1-2 tsp water to thin the mixture.

Most recipes say to add the yogurt mixture directly into the water/stock and cook on very low heat, or to cook it separately and then add the liquid. I prefer to use some of the water and temper the mixture first, to make sure the eggs and yogurt do not curdle. Once you have slowly added some of the hot liquid and brought the yogurt mixture up to temperature, add it to the pot. Heat slowly for about 15 minutes, stirring continuously.

Heat butter in a skillet. Let it sizzle for a minute (without browning) and add the mint. Sizzle together for 20-30 seconds and add to the soup.

This soup is so good! Just inhaling the steam off a bowl of this soup will make you feel better. You get the bright tang of the yogurt mixed with the mint and it is just wonderful.