When you look at this blog, it probably looks like all I eat is dessert and soup. But I promise I eat other things too! Most of what I eat isn't super exciting and not necessarily blog worthy. It's not uncommon for me to start my day with a very unsightly (but nutritious) quinoa porridge, or something I already posted like Chickpea Omelette. But I guess there's a certain convenience about making soup. Most of the time you chuck everything in the pot, simmer, and it's ready.
That said, there's a little bit more technique to this Turkish Yogurt Soup recipe. Which, by the way, is one of my favourite foods of all time. I guess i'm pretty grateful for this blog in that it helped me rediscover some childhood favourites. This soup I probably hadn't had since I turned vegan. And on a lockdown day when I was pondering what to post on the blog, I thought why not experiment and try to come up with my own vegan version. And frankly, it's even better than I remember!
This soup is traditionally made with eggs, it's said to help the yogurt from clumping up in the hot soup. However, I find that this is not necessary at all. The trick is to make sure to introduce the hot water into the yogurt in small increments, stirring often, and pouring it into the pot slowly. This technique is called "terbiye" in Turkish which roughly translates to "taming" the soup 😂. It's a pretty common technique used in Turkish soups. It's actually very easy to do, and it's important not to skip this step. Otherwise, chances are you're gonna end up with a very clumpy soup rather than the creamy, smooth awesomeness it's supposed to be. I've actually posted a video of this recipe on Instagram, which highlights this technique. Click here to watch it.
I'm looking forward to veganizing some more of my childhood favourites. I find the whole process really gratifying, and it's always a bit of a full circle moment when they turn out delicious and I get to share them here. So stay tuned!
If you make this recipe, please let me know what you think in the comments section below.
Finely chop the onion. I prefer red but any variety will work.
In a large pot, add the water, salt, onions and rinsed white rice. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until the rice is cooked (about 15 minutes.) Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Put coconut yogurt in a medium sized bowl and whisk until completely smooth. Take one ladleful of cooked water, and very slowly pour it into the yogurt, whisking the whole time. Repeat this one more time until the yogurt mixture is smooth and much thinner. Then very slowly pour a thin stream of this mixture into the cooked rice mixture, whisking the entire time. This process is very important as it prevents clumping.
Add red pepper, dried mint, black pepper and adjust salt to taste. If the soup has cooled down, gently heat it up. Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
Finely chop the onion. I prefer red but any variety will work.
In a large pot, add the water, salt, onions and rinsed white rice. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until the rice is cooked (about 15 minutes.) Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Put coconut yogurt in a medium sized bowl and whisk until completely smooth. Take one ladleful of cooked water, and very slowly pour it into the yogurt, whisking the whole time. Repeat this one more time until the yogurt mixture is smooth and much thinner. Then very slowly pour a thin stream of this mixture into the cooked rice mixture, whisking the entire time. This process is very important as it prevents clumping.
Add red pepper, dried mint, black pepper and adjust salt to taste. If the soup has cooled down, gently heat it up. Serve and enjoy!
