Persian recipes and ingredients for everyday kitchens.

recipe

Abdoogh Khiar: chilled Persian cucumber-yogurt soup

A cold Persian yogurt soup with finely diced cucumber, fresh herbs and raisins. Add chilled water and ice just before serving, with crisp lavash on the side.

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Ingredients and method

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces plain unsweetened low-fat yogurt, regular unstrained style
  • 3 small Persian cucumbers, rinsed and cut into a very fine dice; see English-cucumber note
  • 1/3 US cup very finely sliced fresh chives or green scallion tops
  • 1/4 US cup finely chopped fresh dill
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme or Greek oregano, as a restrained substitute for summer savory
  • 1/3 US cup plain unsweetened raisins, picked over and rinsed
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to begin
  • 1/2 US cup cold potable drinking water, with more available only if the yogurt is particularly thick
  • About 1 US cup ice made from drinking water, added just before serving
  • 1/2 teaspoon food-grade rosewater, optional (never cosmetic rosewater)
  • Plain crisp toasted lavash or another thin flatbread, broken into bite-size pieces, optional

Method

  1. Wash the cucumbers and herbs under running water and dry them. Dice the cucumbers fairly small so a spoon captures yogurt and pieces together; if substituting a large English cucumber, peel any tough skin and remove a watery seed center before dicing. Do not assume three small cucumbers equal an exact weight of any very large cucumber.
  2. In a broad bowl, whisk the plain yogurt until smooth. Add the finely diced cucumber, chives, dill, chosen oregano or thyme, rinsed drained raisins and starting salt. Mix gently so the ingredients remain suspended rather than crushing the cucumbers.
  3. If using rosewater, stir in the measured half teaspoon. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour and until thoroughly cold.
  4. Just before serving, pour in the first half cup of cold drinking water and stir. The result should run easily from a spoon like a cold soup while still showing diced cucumber. If your yogurt was exceptionally thick, add a little more cold water only until it reaches the desired consistency.
  5. Add the ice just before serving and ladle into chilled bowls. Pass the optional crisp lavash separately so each person can add pieces while eating.
  6. Return the bowl to the refrigerator promptly when not being served. Keep dairy soup at 40°F (4°C) or colder and do not use a period of standing at room temperature to develop its flavor.
Cold cucumber-yogurt soup with herbs, raisins, ice and crisp lavash on the side

It is a soup, not simply another mast-o-khiar

Abdoogh khiar (آب دوغ خیار; also ab doogh khiar) is a cold Persian yogurt-and-cucumber soup loosened with water. Homa of Persian Mama mixes diced Persian cucumbers, yogurt, herbs and raisins, chilling first and adding cold water and ice at serving. IranCook's Farsi recipe also thins yogurt into a doogh-like liquid, then adds herbs, cucumbers, raisins and optionally walnuts or bread. This intentional watery soup presentation is distinct from the site's existing thick mast-o-khiar dip.

Start with regular plain yogurt and the measured half cup of cold water; add more only if needed for a pourable soup. Greek yogurt is thicker and will need a different amount of water. IranCook's version begins with a greater water-to-yogurt ratio.

Sources: [1] [2]

Herb and garnish choices differ across households

Homa uses chives, dill and summer savory and explicitly suggests Greek oregano or thyme when summer savory is unavailable. The two-tablespoon amount here is a restrained Culinara interpretation rather than an exact 1:1 herb-volume conversion; oregano may taste stronger than fresh summer savory. IranCook uses chopped sabzi khordan, dried mint or dill, raisins and walnuts, plus a small amount of ground ginger.

This version has raisins but no walnuts or rose-petal garnish. The optional rosewater should be labeled for culinary use. Add crisp lavash at the table so it does not soften while the main bowl waits in the refrigerator.

Sources: [1] [2]

Cold dairy and cross-contact safety

Yogurt is perishable, even when the soup tastes acidic. Keep it refrigerated and use clean utensils, cold drinking water and safe ice. FDA's general rule is to refrigerate perishables within two hours, or one hour above 90°F (32°C); acidity does not make this a shelf-stable food.

Contains milk; wheat-based lavash adds wheat. Check labels for other allergens. Use the ingredient and safety notes above when serving the chilled soup.

Sources: [3]

Research sources

  1. Homa — Abdoogh Khiar, Persian Mama (checked 2026-10-22)
  2. IranCook — طرز تهیه آب دوغ خیار (checked 2026-10-22)
  3. FDA — Safe Food Handling (checked 2026-10-22)