Doogh is the salty yoghurt drink of the Afghan summer: plain yoghurt thinned with cold water, salted, scattered with finely chopped cucumber and dried mint rubbed between the palms. It is drunk with meals on long hot days, lunch above all, and it is taken as a digestive. It is salty, never sweet, and it is meant to be very cold; keep the jug in the fridge, since ice waters it down.
Zone: Silk Road Table
INGREDIENTS
- 450 g plain yoghurt
- 950 ml cold water
- ½ cucumber (peeled and finely chopped)
- about ½ tsp salt
- good pinch of dried mint
METHOD
- Put the yoghurt in a large jug and whisk in the cold water.
- Add the chopped cucumber and the salt.
- Rub the dried mint between your palms over the jug.
- Mix well and chill until very cold before serving.
NOTES
UK adaptation: Full-fat natural yoghurt from any supermarket; a sharp, live yoghurt is best. Mini or Lebanese cucumbers from Middle Eastern grocers, or half a standard cucumber, seeded. Dried mint from the spice aisle. Everything else widely available.
US adaptation: Plain whole-milk yogurt. Persian cucumbers. Dried mint from Middle Eastern grocers. Everything else widely available.
Cook’s note: Chill the jug well instead of adding ice. Ice melts into the doogh and thins out its sharpness.
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